Mobile platform for crop monitoring and treatment

A method for treating a plant in a crop, the method comprising:

• assessing a health of the plant in the crop by gathering sensor data using an automated vehicle equipped with multiple sensors;
• processing the sensor data to determine a treatment to be applied to the plant in the crop;
• dispensing the treatment from a storage system carried on-board the automated vehicle, the storage system housing at least one chemical pesticide and at least one biological control agent, wherein the at least one biological control agent is housed in a container in the storage system, and wherein the at least one biological control agent comprises at least one living organism or natural product, rather than a chemical, that is capable of reducing or eliminating at least one pest or disease;
• agitating or aerating the at least one biological control agent so that the at least one biological control agent is more uniformly dispersed within the container compared to dispersion of the at least one biological control agent within the container without aeration or agitation;
• and
• delivering the treatment to the plant in the crop via a robotic arm and an applicator carried on-board the automated vehicle;
• wherein a concentration and a dosage of the treatment applied to the plant in the crop are controllable and adjustable by a controller on-board the automated vehicle.

A mobile crop monitoring and treatment system comprising:

• a vehicle with a propulsion system;
• multiple sensors mounted on the vehicle, each sensor configured to capture data pertaining to at least one plant-related parameter when the sensor is positioned proximate to a plant in a crop;
• a storage system configured to house chemical pesticides and biological control agents on-board the vehicle, the storage system comprising multiple containers, at least one of the containers comprising multiple compartments, the compartments of the at least one of the containers collectively configured to store multiple materials including the chemical pesticides or pesticide component materials, the biological control agents, one or more solvents, and one or more adjuvants, wherein each of the biological control agents comprises a living organism or natural product, rather than a chemical, that is capable of reducing or eliminating at least one pest or disease, and wherein at least one of the containers for housing the biological control agents comprises an aerator or agitator configured to disperse the biological control agents more uniformly within the at least one of the containers compared to dispersion of the biological control agents within the at least one of the containers without aeration or agitation;
• one or more applicators configured to apply one or more treatments to the plant;
• one or more robotic arms configured to position at least one of the one or more applicators for application of the one or more treatments to the plant;
• and
• a controller configured to control movement of the vehicle and operation of the mobile crop monitoring and treatment system, the controller configured to cause the one or more applicators to apply the one or more treatments to the plant in response to one or more signals from one or more of the sensors, wherein different treatments are associated with different materials or combinations of materials from the containers.