Development of a Variable-Rate Controller for a Low-Cost Precision Planter

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-243
Author(s):  
Andre L.de F. Coelho ◽  
Daniel M. de Queiroz ◽  
Domingos S.M. Valente ◽  
Francisco A. C. Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Angular Velocity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Planting Density ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Seed Metering Device

HighlightsA low-cost controller for variable-rate seeding was developed.The controller successfully identified management zones and changed the angular velocity of the seed metering device.The variable-rate controller maintained the actual seeding rate according to the prescribed seeding map.Abstract. The use of machines for variable-rate applications is becoming popular in modern agriculture. Due to the presence of imported and complex components, the acquisition cost of these machines is high for smallholder farmers. Several studies have been carried out using low-cost components in the development of precision agriculture machines to facilitate their adoption in low-income agriculture. Thus, the objective of this work was to develop a variable-rate controller for a low-cost precision planter. The system was developed and installed on a 1-row manual planter with a horizontal perforated disk distributor. A direct-current electric motor was used to drive the seed metering device. The angular velocity of the electric motor was controlled by a BeagleBone Black single-board computer. A program was written in Python 3.6 language, and a graphical user interface was generated by using PyQt5. Field trials were performed with maize seeds using a 28-hole disk and a prescription seeding map with four management zones. The row spacing was 0.75 m, and the planter ground speed was close to 1.0 m s-1. Field tests showed that the controller was effective at identifying the four management zones and controlling the angular velocity of the motor. By counting the number of plants germinated in the field test, it was verified that the variation in the angular velocity of the motor produced a change in the planting density. At each management zone, the planting density corresponded to the prescribed seeding map. The total cost of the parts used to assemble the controller was US$337.97, characterizing it as low cost. Successful field tests showed the potential for using low-cost components to develop variable-rate machines for smallholder farmers. Keywords: Low-income agriculture, Management zones, Precision agriculture, Single-board computer, Smallholder farmers.

Role of Telecommunications in Precision Agriculture

2011 ◽  
pp. 252-266
Author(s):  
James M. McKinion
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Positioning Systems ◽  
Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Data Files ◽  
Commercial Sources

Precision agriculture has been made possible by the confluence of several technologies: geographic positioning systems, geographic information systems, image analysis software, low-cost microcomputerbased variable rate controller/recorders, and precision tractor guidance systems. While these technologies have made precision agriculture possible, there are still major obstacles which must be overcome to make this new technology accepted and usable. Most growers will not do image processing and development of prescription maps themselves but will rely upon commercial sources. There still remains the challenge of storage and retrieval of multi-megabytes of data files for each field, and this problem will only continue to grow year by year. This chapter will discuss the various wireless technologies which are currently being used on three proof-of-concept farms or areas in Mississippi, the various data/ information intensive precision agriculture applications which use wireless local area networking and Internet access, and the next generation technologies which can immensely propel precision agriculture to widespread use in all of agriculture.

scholarly journals Precision for Smallholder Farmers: A Small-Scale-Tailored Variable Rate Fertilizer Application Kit

Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelle Van Loon ◽  
Alicia Speratti ◽  
Louis Gabarra ◽  
Bram Govaerts
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
The Right

Precision agriculture technology at the hands of smallholder farmers in the developing world is often deemed far-fetched. Low-resource farmers, however, are the most susceptible to negative changes in the environment. Providing these farmers with the right tools to mitigate adversity and to gain greater control of the production process could unlock their potential and support rural communities to meet the increasing global food demand. In this study, a real-time variable rate fertilizer application system was developed and tested as an add-on kit to conventional farm machinery. In the context of low investment costs for smallholder farmers, high user-friendliness and easy installment were the main concerns for the system to be viable. The system used nitrogen (N)-sensors to assess the plant nutrient status on the spot and subsequently adjust the amount of fertilizer deposited according to the plant’s needs. Test bench trials showed that the add-on kit performed well with basic operations, but more precision is required. Variability between N-sensors and metering systems, combined with power fluctuations, created inaccuracies in the resulting application rate. Nevertheless, this work is a stepping stone towards catalyzing the elaboration of more cutting-edge precision solutions to support small-scale farmers to become successful, high producing agro-entrepreneurs.

scholarly journals Maize-Pigeonpea Intercropping Outperforms Monocultures Under Drought

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah L. R. Renwick ◽  
Anthony A. Kimaro ◽  
Johannes M. Hafner ◽  
Todd S. Rosenstock ◽  
Amélie C. M. Gaudin
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Drought Resistance ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Gliricidia Sepium ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Planting Density ◽  
Adverse Weather

There is an urgent need to develop resilient agroecosystems capable of helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, particularly drought. In East Africa, diversification of maize-based cropping systems by intercropping with grain and tree legumes may foster productivity and resilience to adverse weather conditions. We tested whether intercropping enhances drought resistance and crop and whole-system yields by imposing drought in monocultures and additive intercrops along a crop diversity gradient—sole maize (Zea mays), sole pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan), maize-pigeonpea, maize-gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium, a woody perennial), and maize-pigeonpea-gliricidia—with and without fertilizer application. We developed and tested a novel low-cost, above-canopy rainout shelter design for drought experiments made with locally-sourced materials that successfully reduced soil moisture without creating sizeable artifacts for the crop microenvironment. Drought reduced maize grain yield under fertilized conditions in some cropping systems but did not impact pigeonpea grain yield. Whole-system grain yield and theoretical caloric and protein yields in two intercropping systems, maize-pigeonpea and maize-gliricidia, were similar to the standard sole maize system. Maize-pigeonepea performed most strongly compared to other systems in terms of protein yield. Maize-pigeonpea was the only intercrop that consistently required less land than its corresponding monocultures to produce the same yield (Land Equivalent Ratio >1), particularly under drought. Despite intercropping systems having greater planting density than sole maize and theoretically greater competition for water, they were not more prone to yield loss with drought. Our results show that maize-pigeonpea intercropping provides opportunities to produce the same food on less land under drought and non-drought conditions, without compromising drought resistance of low-input smallholder maize systems.

Role of Telecommunications in Precision Agriculture

2010 ◽  
pp. 836-850
Author(s):  
James M. McKinion
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Positioning Systems ◽  
Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Data Files ◽  
Commercial Sources

Precision agriculture has been made possible by the confluence of several technologies: geographic positioning systems, geographic information systems, image analysis software, low-cost microcomputer- based variable rate controller/recorders, and precision tractor guidance systems. While these technologies have made precision agriculture possible, there are still major obstacles which must be overcome to make this new technology accepted and usable. Most growers will not do image processing and development of prescription maps themselves but will rely upon commercial sources. There still remains the challenge of storage and retrieval of multi-megabytes of data files for each field, and this problem will only continue to grow year by year. This chapter will discuss the various wireless technologies which are currently being used on three proof-of-concept farms or areas in Mississippi, the various data/information intensive precision agriculture applications which use wireless local area networking and Internet access, and the next generation technologies which can immensely propel precision agriculture to widespread use in all of agriculture.

scholarly journals Simplified and Hybrid Remote Sensing-Based Delineation of Management Zones for Nitrogen Variable Rate Application in Wheat

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1104
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rokhafrouz ◽  
Hooman Latifi ◽  
Ali A. Abkar ◽  
Tomasz Wojciechowski ◽  
Mirosław Czechlowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Unsupervised Clustering ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Variable Rate Application

Enhancing digital and precision agriculture is currently inevitable to overcome the economic and environmental challenges of the agriculture in the 21st century. The purpose of this study was to generate and compare management zones (MZ) based on the Sentinel-2 satellite data for variable rate application of mineral nitrogen in wheat production, calculated using different remote sensing (RS)-based models under varied soil, yield and crop data availability. Three models were applied, including (1) a modified “RS- and threshold-based clustering”, (2) a “hybrid-based, unsupervised clustering”, in which data from different sources were combined for MZ delineation, and (3) a “RS-based, unsupervised clustering”. Various data processing methods including machine learning were used in the model development. Statistical tests such as the Paired Sample T-test, Kruskal–Wallis H-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were applied to evaluate the final delineated MZ maps. Additionally, a procedure for improving models based on information about phenological phases and the occurrence of agricultural drought was implemented. The results showed that information on agronomy and climate enables improving and optimizing MZ delineation. The integration of prior knowledge on new climate conditions (drought) in image selection was tested for effective use of the models. Lack of this information led to the infeasibility of obtaining optimal results. Models that solely rely on remote sensing information are comparatively less expensive than hybrid models. Additionally, remote sensing-based models enable delineating MZ for fertilizer recommendations that are temporally closer to fertilization times.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Pairing a Low-Cost Positive Displacement Pump With Low-Energy Pressure Compensating Drip Irrigation Emitters for Smallholder Farms in Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Engelkemier ◽  
Fiona Grant ◽  
Jordan Landis ◽  
Carolyn Sheline ◽  
Hannah Varner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Control Algorithm ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Physical Relationship ◽  
Positive Displacement ◽  
Effective Manner

Abstract In low income countries, existing drip irrigation systems are cost prohibitive to many smallholder farmers. Companies are working to develop efficient, low-cost irrigation systems by using technologies such as positive displacement (PD) pumps and pressure compensating (PC) emitters. However, these two technologies have not been paired in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Here we describe a proof-of-concept pump control algorithm that demonstrates the feasibility of exploiting the physical relationship between the input electrical power to a PD pump and the hydraulic behavior of a system of PC emitters in order to determine the optimal pump operating point. The development and validation of this control algorithm was conducted in partnership with the Kenya-based irrigation company SunCulture. This control method is expected to reduce cost, improve system efficiency, and increase accessibility of irrigation systems to smallholder farmers.

Strategies for variable rate nitrogen fertilization in hummocky terrain

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Beckie ◽  
A. P. Moulin ◽  
D. J. Pennock
Keyword(s):  
Triticum Aestivum ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Linum Usitatissimum ◽  
Black Soil ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Net Returns ◽  
Use Efficiency

A study was conducted from 1994 to 1996 in a hummocky landscape near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in the moist Black soil climatic zone to determine the best criterion for defining fertilizer management zones within a field and how much fertilizer to apply in each zone. A uniform rate fertilization (CF) treatment was compared with three variable rate fertilization (VRF) treatments that used management zones based on soil residual nitrate-N (VRFrn), organic carbon (VRFom) and topography (VRFt). For VRFom and VRFt, fertilizer recommendations were based on soil residual N levels within zones and yield potentials that differed between zones. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) was grown in 1994, spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) in 1995, and canola (Brassica rapa) in 1996. Fertilizer use efficiency (FUE), defined as kilograms seed per kilogram fertilizer N, was markedly higher for VRFom and VRFt than CF or VRFrn. This enhanced FUE resulted in net returns, defined as crop revenue minus fertilizer cost, of about $10 ha−1 more than that of CF. Three successive years of VRF in this study suggests that this practice can enhance the efficient use of fertilizer N and has potential to increase profitability of fertilizer use, by more closely matching fertilizer N inputs with crop nutrient requirements. Key words:Brassica rapa, Linum usitatissimum, Triticum aestivum, nitrogen, variable rate fertilization, precision agriculture

scholarly journals Research on Time-Correlated Errors Using Allan Variance in a Kalman Filter Applicable to Vector-Tracking-Based GNSS Software-Defined Receiver for Autonomous Ground Vehicle Navigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luo ◽  
Li ◽  
Yu ◽  
Xu ◽  
Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kalman Filter ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Allan Variance ◽  
Correlated Errors ◽  
Ground Vehicle ◽  
Correlated Error ◽  
Vector Tracking

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) has been applied to many areas, e.g.,the autonomous ground vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), precision agriculture, smart city,and the GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R), being of considerable significance over the past few decades.Unfortunately, the GNSS signal performance has the high risk of being reduced by the environmentalinterference. The vector tracking (VT) technique is promising to enhance the robustness in highdynamics as well as improve the sensitivity against the weak environment of the GNSS receiver.However, the time-correlated error coupled in the receiver clock estimations in terms of the VT loopcan decrease the accuracy of the navigation solution. There are few works present dealing with thisissue. In this work, the Allan variance is accordingly exploited to specify a model which is expectedto account for this type of error based on the 1st-order Gauss-Markov (GM) process. Then, it is usedfor proposing an enhanced Kalman filter (KF) by which this error can be suppressed. Furthermore,the proposed system model makes use of the innovation sequence so that the process covariancematrix can be adaptively adjusted and updated. The field tests demonstrate the performance of theproposed adaptive vector-tracking time-correlated error suppressed Kalman filter (A-VTTCES-KF).When compared with the results produced by the ordinary adaptive KF algorithm in terms of the VTloop, the real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and code-based differential global positioning system(DGPS) positioning accuracies have been improved by 14.17% and 9.73%, respectively. On the otherhand, the RTK positioning performance has been increased by maximum 21.40% when comparedwith the results obtained from the commercial low-cost U-Blox receiver.

Role of Telecommunications in Precision Agriculture

2010 ◽  
pp. 834-848
Author(s):  
James M. McKinion
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Positioning Systems ◽  
Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Data Files ◽  
Commercial Sources

Precision agriculture has been made possible by the confluence of several technologies: geographic positioning systems, geographic information systems, image analysis software, low-cost microcomputer- based variable rate controller/recorders, and precision tractor guidance systems. While these technologies have made precision agriculture possible, there are still major obstacles which must be overcome to make this new technology accepted and usable. Most growers will not do image processing and development of prescription maps themselves but will rely upon commercial sources. There still remains the challenge of storage and retrieval of multi-megabytes of data files for each field, and this problem will only continue to grow year by year. This chapter will discuss the various wireless technologies which are currently being used on three proof-of-concept farms or areas in Mississippi, the various data/information intensive precision agriculture applications which use wireless local area networking and Internet access, and the next generation technologies which can immensely propel precision agriculture to widespread use in all of agriculture.

scholarly journals An Open-Source, Low-Cost Measurement System for Collecting Hydrometeorological Data in the Open Field

Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Kenichi Tatsumi ◽  
Tomoya Yamazaki ◽  
Hirohiko Ishikawa
Keyword(s):  
Measurement System ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Photon Flux Density ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Cost Measurement

To realize precision agriculture at multiple locations in the field, a low-cost measurement system should be developed for easy collection of hydrometeorological data, such as temperature, moisture, and light. In this study, a compact and low-cost hydrometeorological measurement system with a simplified wire code, which is customizable according to the purpose of observation, was built using a circuit board that connects Arduino to the sensors, which was then implemented and analyzed. The developed system measures air and soil temperatures, soil water content, and photosynthetic photon flux density using a sensor connected to Arduino Uno and saves the continuous, high-temporal-resolution output to an SD card. The results obtained from continuous measurement showed that the data collected using this system was significantly better than those collected using commercially available equipment. Anyone can easily measure the weather environments by using this fully open, highly versatile, portable, and user-friendly system. This system can contribute to the growth and expansion of precision agriculture, field management, development of crop models, and laborsaving. It can also provide a global solution to ongoing agricultural issues and improve the efficiency of farming operations, particularly in developing and low-income countries.

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