Precision agriculture is one of the most important trends in modern agriculture. It provides great opportunities in improving the quality and quantity of production, and in the long run, savings in the production process. There are numerous discoveries in this area, and we believe that many of them will find their place in domestic agriculture.
An early example of precision agriculture was the auto-steer technology that came about as a result of work at NASA. Uses GPS or other geo-referenced input to guide tractors and other equipment in a way that prevents overlap or misses with seed, fertilizer or pest control.
Other applications included detailed, optimal distribution of seeds, pest control products or fertilizers based on spatial, satellite or drone data based on aerial images or yield data from previous harvests. All these tools help farmers maximize productivity while minimizing inputs and costs.
There are also many solutions that enable precise identification of weeds using cameras, in order to use the means for treating weeds in the most optimal possible way.
It is talked about, but no one understands it – What is precision agriculture?
Science in the service of spray optimization
Former MIT student Vishnu Jayaprakash observed the process of spraying crops and recognized that the main challenge in the process was how to make the water-based delivery system work effectively on the waxy surface of the plant.
There is a whole list of variables that affect this process including the effects of surfactants in the spray mixture on liquid surface tension, pressure, flow and applicator nozzle configuration, as well as temperature, sunlight intensity, wind and humidity at the time of spraying.
Džajaprakash founded a company called “AgZen” and developed a two-camera system that can be connected to typical spraying equipment and use images of the sprayed solution on the target plant to work out the adjustments needed to achieve the optimal level of coverage with droplets of the appropriate size.
This system can be used for on-the-go adjustments, allowing the farmer to obtain excellent spraying efficiency using only 20-30% of the product per hectare. The farmer has an obvious incentive to save money on treatment as long as it is still effective in terms of pest control, fertilization, plant growth modification, or other goals.
The technology was tested for use in cotton defoliation and worked with 50% of the lowest recommended quantity of the product. It is being tested on wine grapes where a 30% rate reduction was still effective. All tests have confirmed savings in pesticide costs with an excellent level of crop protection.
This system can be integrated with most existing spraying equipment.
Modern, new, FUTURE – advantages and challenges of modern agriculture
New technology perspective
It should be noted that the primary benefit of this technology is primarily the cost savings for farmers, rather than any safety issue associated with pesticides and other products. The question of the toxicity of preparations is constantly present, and the competent services are responsible for quality control and for the safety of treated foods.
Technologies like REALCOVERAGE represent an important step forward in precision agriculture, enabling farmers to achieve better results with less resource consumption. These innovations not only help to reduce costs, but also contribute to the sustainable management of agricultural production.
Source: Forbes
Source: www.agromedia.rs
