Agronomists in India are using IoT applications to help shape the future of agriculture.
Agronomists in India are using IoT applications to help shape the future of agriculture.
Some readers of agricultural literature may have come across the terms "agronomy" or "agronomists." It is time to take a closer look at the current agronomy trends and how IoT technologies are affecting them. Needless to say, agronomic methods are a key component of farming systems, and they are greatly influenced by geography. Farmers use these strategies to improve soil quality, increase water consumption, manage crops, and improve the environment. All of these efforts are carried out to improve the farm's quality and quantity, which directly results in improved revenues. In a nutshell, these activities and practices form the foundation of any farm operation.
Not every farmer is technologically proficient or up to date on the newest agronomic procedures. Agronomists play this duty. An agronomic is a scientist who investigates the interaction between the plants farmers raise and the environment. Agronomists study soil and plant samples from around the world to better understand how their qualities and genetic make-up will interact with their surrounding environment. They then use this knowledge to create innovative farm methods and technology that increase crop yields while protecting against weeds and pests.
Technology has been used in agriculture for a long time by research institutes, but it is still far away from producers and agronomists who are not part of the existing system. However, the previous way of leveraging sensor technology had the disadvantage of not allowing us to obtain live data from the sensors. The sensors utilized to log the data into their associated memory, which we were later able to utilize.
With the implementation of IoT in agriculture, significantly more sophisticated sensors are being used. Sensors are now connected to the cloud via cellular or satellite technologies, or via a local network (WSN – Wireless sensor network employing Sub-GHz networks – open ISM band), informing growers and agri specialists.
1. Micro-weather at the farm level
2. Soil moisture levels
3. Real-time images from the field
As a result, decision-making becomes more effective.
The current situation
Agronomists are the backbone of Indian agriculture. They are the professionals who advise growers on every stage of the crop, and the procedure is quite time-consuming. Currently, it entails visiting the field, scouting the field, and determining any potential disease or pest assault, as well as nutrient deficit. Making a plan for the crop's irrigation schedule. This necessitates extensive travel to the remote region, which can take up to a day.
Consider an agronomist working with an NGO that works with farmers in the Odisha area of Kalahandi. Even twice a month would be difficult for him to visit the location. Another example is a business-to-business firm that handles contract farming in Simliguda, Odisha, with an agronomist in Gurgaon. Even if they had the resources, traveling to Odisha every 2-3 months would be incredibly inefficient.
What they must provide in the advisory is:
1.What is going on at the farm — what is the average temperature for the last 24 hours or last week?
2. Has it rained? If so, how much and when?
3. How moist is the soil?
4. How wet is the leaf? And for how long? (important for foliage crops)
5. What is the weather forecast?
6. What are the outcomes of the soil testing?
7. Images from various areas — image scouting – with geo-tag.
8. What activities do farmers engage in?
9. If possible, satellite photos to track crop growth - increase in vegetation cover.
At the moment, the majority of the procedure is somewhat manual, with a manual error factor involved. As a result, the agronomist receives insufficient and erroneous information, which can result in a less accurate or insufficient recommendations.
How Yuktix's GidaBits are assisting agronomists
An expert should remain focused on the domain in which he or she works. Investing time in gathering data from the field takes him away from his area of expertise. At the same time, relying on data tainted by human error might diminish the effectiveness of recommendations.
Agronomists and agri-experts can focus on their core-strength and core domain of analyzing data, combining it with their experience and insights provided by the GidaBits platform, and curating an advisory that is backed by data, agronomist experience, and scientific research, using modern agri-intelligence tools like Yuktix GidaBits.
The best way to grasp it is with an example. An agriculture organization in the seed industry is collaborating with ten contract farmers in three districts. Advisory and planning by agri-experts or agronomists is critical to ensuring that the aim of producing X kg of seed is reached. At the same time, agronomists cannot visit all of the places (specifically in conditions like at present with COVID spread even in villages). Yuktix provided their GidaBits platform to the group. GreenSense nodes equipped with soil moisture sensors, soil EC sensors, and soil temperature sensors were installed as part of GidaBits. In addition, a Yuktix solar-powered automatic weather station was installed. The field staff was given the Yuktix GidaBits application for image scouting and engagement with the Agri-expert.
Agronomists can now access:
1. Real-time readings of soil moisture, EC, and temperature, as well as air temperature and humidity sensors
2. Photographs taken by field personnel
3. The weather forecast.
4. Report on soil testing that has been digitized
5. GidaBits platform irrigation advisory and analysis
6. Trends program for comparing data from several locations
7. Access to raw data and reporting
8. Alerts – sensor-specific
With all of this information, he has all he needs to create daily activities, a practice package for next week, irrigation planning, and generating advice for field employees. This is more akin to a doctor, who receives all test results on his phone and uses them to develop medication that is appropriate for the patient.
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