In our January article, we spoke about the agriculture value chain, its challenges and opportunities in India. In this edition, we touch on the various technologies that are being used and developed in the farming stage, leading to precision farming.
Precision farming is based on the optimised management of inputs in a field according to actual crop needs. It involves data-based technologies, including satellite positioning systems like GPS, remote sensing and the Internet, to manage crops and reduce the use of fertilisers, pesticides and water
Precision agriculture also known as, satellite farming or site specific crop management (SSCM). The goal of precision agriculture research is to define a Decision Support System (DSS) for whole farm management with the goal of optimising returns on inputs while preserving resources.[1]
Precision agriculture provides farmers with a wealth of information to:
- Get better insights on the plant needs
- Have a record of their farms
- Improve decision making
- Have a greater traceability
- Enhance quality of farm products
Technologies used in Precision Agriculture today
There is a myriad of technologies that is used across the agricultural value chain that helps in precision farming. But some of the key technologies and their usage is described below:
1. Sensor based technology
Wireless sensors have been used in precision agriculture to gather data on soil water availability, soil compaction, soil fertility, leaf temperature, leaf area index, plant water status, local climate data, insect-disease-weed infestation, and more.
- Optical Sensors employ light to measure soil properties, measuring various frequencies of light reflectance in near-infrared, mid-infrared, and polarised light spectrums.
- Electrochemical Sensors help collect, process, and map soil chemical data. Electrochemical sensors provide the information needed such as soil nutrient levels and pH.
- Dielectric soil moisture sensors measure moisture levels utilising the dielectric constant, which is an electrical property that changes, depending on the moisture content in the soil.
- Agricultural weather stations are self-contained sensors that are located at the growing fields. These stations have a blend of sensors that are applicable for the local crop and climate. Information such as air temperature, soil temperature at various depths, rainfall, leaf wetness, chlorophyll, wind speed, dew point temperature, wind direction, relative humidity, solar radiation, and atmospheric pressure are determined and recorded at programmed intervals.
2. GPS/ Satellite based
Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) enable the coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information, leading to the efficient mapping and analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping. Location information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads, irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions.[2]
Satellites are being applied to agriculture in several ways, initially as a means of estimating crop yields. Optical and radar sensors can provide an accurate picture of the acreage being cultivated, while also differentiating between crop types and determining their health and maturity. This information helps to inform the market, and provide early warning of crop failure or famine.
By extension, satellites are also used as a management tool through the practice of precision agriculture, where satellite images are used to characterise a farmer’s fields in detail, often used in combination with geographical information systems (GIS), to allow more intensive and efficient cultivation practices.
NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) is a common measure in remote sensing for agriculture — capturing how much more near infrared light is reflected compared to visible red. The basic principle of NDVI relies on the fact that leaves reflect a lot of light in the near infrared (NIR). When the plant becomes dehydrated or stressed, the leaves reflect less NIR light, but the same amount in the visible range. This helps in remote monitoring of plants.
3. Farm Automation/ Robots
From planting greenhouse crops to pruning vineyards, farm robots are taking on many tasks in agriculture today. The biggest push has been for autonomous machines that are remotely controlled by telematics
Agricultural robots automate slow, repetitive and dull tasks for farmers, allowing them to focus more on improving overall production yields. Some of the most common robots in agriculture are used for:
- Harvesting and picking
- Weed control
- Autonomous mowing, pruning, seeding, spraying and thinning
- Sorting and packing
- Utility platforms
4. Internet of Things (IOT)
The buzz word in precision farming lately has been IOT. In IoT-based smart farming, a system is built for monitoring the crop field with the help of sensors (light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture, etc.) and automating the irrigation system. The farmers can monitor the field conditions from anywhere. IoT-based smart farming is highly efficient when compared with the conventional approach. Large farm owners can utilise wireless IoT applications to collect data regarding the location, well-being, and health of their cattle as well.
A smart greenhouse can be designed with the help of IoT; this design intelligently monitors as well as controls the climate, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
5. Drone Technology
One of the latest developments is the increase in the use of small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, for agriculture. Drones are remote controlled aircraft with no human pilot on-board. These have a huge potential in agriculture in supporting evidence-based planning and in spatial data collection. Despite some inherent limitations, these tools and technologies can provide valuable data that can then be used to influence policies and decisions. Drones can help in the analysis of soils and drainage, crop health assessment and are being used in variable rate application of liquid pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides.
The penetration of these technologies in large scale are yet to be seen in India, but there are high advantages of using technology in agriculture. Apart from higher crop productivity, decreased use of water, fertilizers and pesticides, entry of technology, can also change the mind-set of new generation farmers, and making farming more exciting and viable.
We at GramworkX help in precision farming including integrating field data, weather patterns to drive agronomic advice to farmers and yield forecasting. We are building smart products at affordable prices for the farmers for a sustainable tomorrow. This company is born from the desire to be ready for an agricultural transformation which has its core values at poverty reduction, food security and improved nutrition. Our solution helps in quantifying and providing analytical insights into water consumption patterns across fields and soil types and providing data support systems into the amount of water required for irrigation. This will enable optimal water consumption using automation and capability building tools to enable resource management. We aim to bring predictability to farming.
Reference:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture
