Hailstorms are a frequent natural weather disaster in the Canadian Prairies that can cause catastrophic damage to field crops. Assessment of damage for insurance claims requires insurance inspectors to visit individual fields and estimate damage on individual plants. This study computes temporal profiles and estimates the severity of hail damage to crops in 54 fields through the temporal analysis of vegetation indices calculated from Sentinel-2 images. The damage estimation accuracy of eight vegetative indices in different temporal analyses of delta index (pre-and post-hail differences) or area under curve (AUC) index (time profiles of index affected by hail) was compared. Hail damage was accurately quantified by using the AUC of 32 days of Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Plant Senescence Radiation Index (PSRI). These metrics were well correlated with ground estimates of hail damage in canola (r = −0.90, RMSE = 8.24), wheat (r = −0.86, RMSE = 12.27), and lentil (r = 0.80, RMSE = 17.41). Thus, the time-series changes in vegetation indices had a good correlation with ground estimates of hail damage which may allow for more accurate assessment of the extent and severity of hail damage to crop land.

Shelterbelt agroforestry systems inventory is challenging given their narrow linear feature and extensive distribution. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of Sentinel-2A Multispectral Instrument (MSI) and Sentinel-1B Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery in (i) delineating shelterbelt tree rows on managed agricultural land in Saskatchewan, Canada, and (ii) detecting shelterbelt removal during the period 2008–2016. Contrast split segmentation for the normalized difference vegetation index and Gaussian filter (line filter) data sets from SAR were used to delineate feature borders. Several feature variables from the spectral bands of MSI were used as inputs for an object-based classification using the random forest classifier. A resulting land cover map, including the linear features of existing shelterbelts, was created with an overall accuracy of 80% and kappa value of 0.69. Shelterbelt change detection analysis using the land cover map (2016) and a legacy shelterbelt inventory map (2008) showed that 354 km of shelterbelts were removed within the study area (1,400 km²), accounting for 29.8% of the total shelterbelt length present in 2008. Our results demonstrated that the combination of Sentinel SAR and MSI imagery can provide sufficient information for mapping future shelterbelt planting, as well as allow the detection of shelterbelt removal.

Advances in high‐throughput platforms such as UAVs (unoccupied aerial vehicles) facilitate rapid image‐based phenotypic data acquisition. However, existing plot‐level data extraction methods are unreliable if field plots differ in size and spacing, as often occurs in early‐generation plant breeding trials. To overcome the limitations of conventional plot extraction techniques, a combinational approach with both field‐map information and image classification techniques can be used to optimize plot extraction. The objective of this study was to develop a plot boundary extraction workflow for irregularly sized and spaced field plots from UAV imagery using plot spacing data and vegetation index‐based classifiers. An herbicide screening experiment consisting of three replications of 780 lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) populations was foliar sprayed with saflufenacil. Aerial image acquisition was conducted during the peak vegetation stage using a RedEdge multispectral camera. A semi‐automatic workflow was compiled in eCognition software to extract lentil plot boundaries. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated to locate the plots with vegetation and those with low NDVI or no vegetation, and pixel resizing based on plot size and orientation was used to draw the plot boundary. The extraction results showed a precise estimation of plot boundary for all the plots with a wide range of herbicide damage, including the plots with complete loss of vegetation. By using a simple convolutional filter (line filter), image thresholding, and pixel resizing, this approach avoided the use of complex algorithm‐based methodologies. Results suggest that this workflow can be extended to a wide range of phenotyping studies.

The field pea has both semi-leafless (SL) and leafed (L) types. Mixing these two types together might improve yield by optimizing pea solar radiation interception, reducing lodging, and decreasing disease. However, an optimum mixing ratio has not yet been established, since previous studies mixed two leaf types from two separate varieties. This study used four near-isogenic pairs of pea genotypes differing only in leaf type to determine the optimal mixing ratio for yield and agronomic traits. Two leaf types were mixed at seeding in five mixing ratios: 0:100, 50:50, 67:33, 83:17, and 100:0 SL/L. With precise UAV quantification of canopy height (r² = 0.88, RMSE = 2.6 cm), the results showed that a ratio of over 67% semi-leafless pea had a 10% greater lodging resistance when compared to the leafed monoculture. For mycosphaerella blight and Uromyce viciae-fabae rust diseases, the 83:17 mixture decreased disease severity by 4% when compared with the leafed monoculture. Regression analysis of yield estimated that the 86:14 ratio provided an 11% increase to the leafed monoculture, but there was no increase compared with the semi-leafless monoculture. Mixing the two types in a high semi-leafless ratio can reduce leafed lodging and prevent yield loss but does not increase the overall yield over the semi-leafless monoculture.

Plant breeding experiments typically contain a large number of plots, and obtaining phenotypic data is an integral part of most studies. Image-based plot-level measurements may not always produce adequate precision and will require sub-plot measurements. To perform image analysis on individual sub-plots, they must be segmented from plots, other sub-plots, and surrounding soil or vegetation. This study aims to introduce a semi-automatic workflow to segment irregularly aligned plots and sub-plots in breeding populations. Imagery from a replicated lentil diversity panel phenotyping experiment with 324 populations was used for this study. Image-based techniques using a convolution filter on an excess green index (ExG) were used to enhance and highlight plot rows and, thus, locate the plot center. Multi-threshold and watershed segmentation were then combined to separate plants, ground, and sub-plot within plots. Algorithms of local maxima and pixel resizing with surface tension parameters were used to detect the centers of sub-plots. A total of 3489 reference data points was collected on 30 random plots for accuracy assessment. It was found that all plots and sub-plots were successfully extracted with an overall plot extraction accuracy of 92%. Our methodology addressed some common issues related to plot segmentation, such as plot alignment and overlapping canopies in the field experiments. The ability to segment and extract phenometric information at the sub-plot level provides opportunities to improve the precision of image-based phenotypic measurements at field-scale.

Accurate field boundary delineation is critical for accurate modelling on crop yields and for precision agriculture (PA), enabling site-specific management to optimize resource use and crop productivity. Traditional boundary mapping methods, such as manual digitization and semi-automated extraction from farm machinery, are labor-intensive and challenging to apply at large scales. Advances in high-resolution land cover data and satellite imagery offer scalable solutions for automated field boundary extraction. In this study, we propose a fully automated workflow that integrates a pre-trained foundation model, the Segment Anything Model - SAM [1] with time-series Sentinel-2 imagery. Seasonal composites of Red, Green, and Blue bands were generated at different phenological stages to support segmentation. The method was applied across over 32 million hectares (79 million acres) of cultivated land in the Canadian Prairies, achieving an intersection-over-union (IoU) accuracy of 0.86 compared to manual segmentation. The workflow consists of four main steps: (1) setting the python working environment, (2) seasonal image acquisition and preprocessing using Google Earth Engine via Python API; (3) field boundary segmentation using SAM; and (4) post-processing and feature cleaning using ArcGIS Pro. This approach demonstrates a scalable, efficient solution for large-scale field boundary mapping to support PA applications. • Integrates a foundation segmentation model (SAM) with Sentinel-2 seasonal imagery • Demonstrates high-accuracy, large-scale automated field boundary delineation • Provides a reproducible workflow adaptable to other regions and datasets