CONCEPT OF PRECISION FARMING
Precision farming or precision agriculture is generally defined as information and technology-based
farm management system to identify, analyses and manage spatial and temporal variability within
fields for optimum productivity and profitability, sustainability and protection of the land resources
by minimizing the production costs. The productivity gain in global food supply have increasingly
relied on expansion of irrigation schemes over recent decades, with more than a third of the world’s
food now requiring irrigation for production. Rapid socio-economic changes in some developing
countries, including India, are creating new scopes for application of precision agriculture.
Altogether, market-based global competition in agricultural products is challenging economic viability
of the tradition agricultural systems, and requires the development of new and dynamic production
systems.
Tools and Equipment
1. Global Positioning System (GPS): It is a set of 24 satellites in the earth orbit. It sends out
radio signals that can be processed by a ground receiver to determine the geographic
position on earth. It has a 95% probability that the given position on the earth will be within
10-15 meters of the actual position. GPS allows precise mapping of the farms and together
with appropriate software informs the farmer about the status of his crop and which part of
the requires what input such as water or fertilizer and /or pesticides etc.
2. Geographic Information System (GIS): It is software that imports, exports and processes
spatially and temporally geographically distributed data.
3. Variable Rate Technology (VRT): The existing field machinery with added Electronic
Control Unit and onboard GPS can fulfill the variable rate requirement of input. Spray booms,
the Spinning disc applicator with ECU and GPS have been used effectively for patch spraying.
During the creation of nutrient requirement map for VRT, profit maximizing fertilizer rate
should be considered more rather than yield maximizing fertilizer rate.
4. Yield Maps: Yield maps are produced by processing data from adapted combine harvester
that is equipped with a GPS, i.e., integrated with a yield recording system. Yield mapping
involves the recording of the grain flow through the combine harvester, while recording the
actual location in the field at the same time.
5. Remote Sensors: These are generally categories of aerial or satellite sensors. They can
indicate variations in the colors of the field that corresponds to changes in soil type, crop
development, field boundaries, roads, water etc. Aerial and satellite imagery can be
processed to provide vegetative indices, which reflect the health of the plant.
Need for Precision of Farming:
To meet the huge food grain requirement of 480 million tons by the year 2050, with the increasing
challenges of biotic and abiotic stresses experienced by crops, introduction and adaption of modern
technology in Indian agriculture is inevitable.
The global food system faces formidable challenges and that will increase over the next 40 years.
More radical changes to the food system and investment in research are required to cope up with
Precision farming or precision agriculture is generally defined as information and technology-based
farm management system to identify, analyses and manage spatial and temporal variability within
fields for optimum productivity and profitability, sustainability and protection of the land resources
by minimizing the production costs. The productivity gain in global food supply have increasingly
relied on expansion of irrigation schemes over recent decades, with more than a third of the world’s
food now requiring irrigation for production. Rapid socio-economic changes in some developing
countries, including India, are creating new scopes for application of precision agriculture.
Altogether, market-based global competition in agricultural products is challenging economic viability
of the tradition agricultural systems, and requires the development of new and dynamic production
systems.
Tools and Equipment
1. Global Positioning System (GPS): It is a set of 24 satellites in the earth orbit. It sends out
radio signals that can be processed by a ground receiver to determine the geographic
position on earth. It has a 95% probability that the given position on the earth will be within
10-15 meters of the actual position. GPS allows precise mapping of the farms and together
with appropriate software informs the farmer about the status of his crop and which part of
the requires what input such as water or fertilizer and /or pesticides etc.
2. Geographic Information System (GIS): It is software that imports, exports and processes
spatially and temporally geographically distributed data.
3. Variable Rate Technology (VRT): The existing field machinery with added Electronic
Control Unit and onboard GPS can fulfill the variable rate requirement of input. Spray booms,
the Spinning disc applicator with ECU and GPS have been used effectively for patch spraying.
During the creation of nutrient requirement map for VRT, profit maximizing fertilizer rate
should be considered more rather than yield maximizing fertilizer rate.
4. Yield Maps: Yield maps are produced by processing data from adapted combine harvester
that is equipped with a GPS, i.e., integrated with a yield recording system. Yield mapping
involves the recording of the grain flow through the combine harvester, while recording the
actual location in the field at the same time.
5. Remote Sensors: These are generally categories of aerial or satellite sensors. They can
indicate variations in the colors of the field that corresponds to changes in soil type, crop
development, field boundaries, roads, water etc. Aerial and satellite imagery can be
processed to provide vegetative indices, which reflect the health of the plant.
Need for Precision of Farming:
To meet the huge food grain requirement of 480 million tons by the year 2050, with the increasing
challenges of biotic and abiotic stresses experienced by crops, introduction and adaption of modern
technology in Indian agriculture is inevitable.
The global food system faces formidable challenges and that will increase over the next 40 years.
More radical changes to the food system and investment in research are required to cope up with
