This document provides an overview of precision farming and its importance. It discusses how precision farming uses GPS, GIS and other technologies to help farmers increase yields and farm more sustainably. Precision farming allows farmers to vary application of inputs like fertilizer based on soil conditions within their fields. This helps farmers use resources more efficiently while reducing environmental impacts. The document also outlines how precision farming techniques can be applied to different stages of crop growth like planting, fertilizing and harvesting. While precision farming is well established in developed countries, it is still emerging in India where government programs are helping promote its adoption.

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WELCOME

2. “PRECISION FARMING ”
Course title: Modern Concepts in Crop Production ,Agron-501
Course lecturer : Dr. N.N. Gudadhe Asst.Proff.
Dept. Of Agronomy,NMCA,NAU.
Presenter
Mahesh.B.Tengli Jr.M.Sc (Agri) Extn.Edu.
Semester: II, Reg.No:2010114046
NMCA,NAU.
30/3/2015
2014-2015
M.B.Tengli M.Sc(Agri) Extn.Edu.,NMCA,NAU
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3. Introducing you the global challenges…..!!!!!
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4. • Our world is getting larger… and hungrier… with every tick of the clock.
• Each second, the world’s population grows by nearly 3 more people, that is
240,000 people a day.
• By 2025, the global population will reach 8 billion people and 9.6 billion by 2050.
• This means there will be an extra billion mouths to feed within the next 12 years.
• And within one generation, there will be more people additionally on the planet
than there were at the beginning of the 20th century.
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HOW TO FEED THE WORLD BY 2050?

5. • By 2050, food production must increase by 70% to keep pace.
• We will need to produce more food in the next 50 years than we did in the past
10,000 years.
• To generate enough food to meet the ever-growing demands of a growing
population, we need to build more sustainable food production systems and to
embrace smarter farming methods.
• Fortunately, the technology to do so is available – and working – right now!
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6. FOOD PRODUCTION“A GATHERING STORM”
• Achieving the level of agricultural productivity necessary to meet the
immensely risen world demand for food, fibre and fuel by 2050 will be a
tremendous challenge.
• Meeting this challenge is made even more daunting by a number of
stringent constraints - the combined effect of which the Food and
Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has termed “a
gathering storm”.
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7. Key constraints that global agriculture is facing:
• Slow-down in productivity growth
• Limited availability of new arable land
• Climate change
• Price and availability of energy
• Impact of urbanisation on rural labour supply
• Policy
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8. • In light of the above challenges to our food supply and to the
environment, the FAO has declared Sustainable Crop Production
Intensification (or SCPI) as their first strategic objective.
• Sustainable intensification has been defined as producing more from
the same area of land while reducing negative environmental impacts.
• What is therefore needed are innovative tools and techniques that
empower farmers to do just that!
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9. One answer to all above global challenges ….!
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10. What is Precision Farming all about?
• Precision Farming is about managing variations in the field accurately to grow
more food using fewer resources and reducing production costs.
• All aspects of the environment – soil, weather, vegetation, water – vary from place
to place. And all these factors determine crop growth and farming success.
• Farmers have always been aware of this, but they lacked the tools to measure, map
and manage these variations precisely.
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11. • Precision Farming (or: Precision Agriculture) is about making farming processes
more accurate, efficient, and sustainable through the use of advanced satellite
navigation systems (like GPS) and Information Technology (IT).
• Put in a different way, Precision Farming is about taking the 4 Rs in agriculture to
a new level: doing the right thing, in the right place, the right way, at the right
time in the field.
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12. • An integrated agricultural management system incorporating several technologies.
• The technological tools often include the global positioning system,
geographical information system, yield monitor, variable rate technology, and
remote sensing.
(http://www.amesremote.com/section4.htm)
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13. Why is Precision Farming important?
• Precision Farming is a key technology to master the global challenge of feeding
a rapidly growing world population in a sustainable way.
• Precision Farming achieves this by helping farmers to grow more food with less
environmental impact.
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14. What are the benefits of Precision Farming?
• Greater sustainability
and environmental protection
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• Higher productivity • Economic benefits

15. • Robert et al. (2002) in their study entitles, Precision Farming Tools: GPS
Navigation, found that GPS navigation has many advantages over conventional
marking devices as a markers and especially over the visual estimation method for
spinner spreader. GPS Navigation system can increase the efficiency of the farm
or agribusiness while minimizing adverse environmental impacts associated with
overlapping applications.
• Cristian et al. (2014) in their study entitled, Automation and Computer-based
Technology for Small Vegetable Farm Holders found that using the Automation
and Computer-based Technology system it is possible to reduce fertilizers needs
by 70-90%.
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16. How do farmers benefit from Precision Farming?
• Farmers can benefit in a number of ways from Precision Farming, which can
help them to:
• make optimal use of resources
• increase the profitability of production
• reduce environmental impact
• reduce time in farming operations
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17. What are it’s building blocks?
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Applications: Yield Monitors, Remote Sensing, Precision
Navigation, Variable Rate Technology
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18. Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Military- Satellites
• GPS Receivers
• Locating your position on Earth
• Prices range from Rs.6,000 – Rs.24,00,000
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19. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• GIS=computer hardware and software-features attributes and location data to
produce maps.
• An important function of an agricultural GIS is to store layers of information, such
as yields, soil survey maps, remotely sends data, crop scouting reports and soil
nutrient levels.
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20. Applications
• Yield Monitors:
• Remote Sensing,
• Precision Navigation,
• Variable Rate Technology.
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1 bushel equals:
27.2155 kg wheat or soybeans
25.4012 kg of corn, rye or sorghum
21.7724 kg of barley grain
15.4221 kg oats (Canada)
14.5150 kg oats (US)

21. Precision Farming: key technologies &
concepts
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22. • High precision positioning systems (like GPS) are the key technology to achieve
accuracy when driving in the field, providing navigation and positioning capability
anywhere on earth, anytime under any all conditions.
• The systems record the position of the field using geographic coordinates (latitude
and longitude) and locate and navigate agricultural vehicles within a field with
2cm accuracy.
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23. • Automated steering systems: enable to take over specific driving tasks like auto-
steering, overhead turning, following field edges and overlapping of rows.
• Automated steering systems, take full control of the steering wheel allowing the driver
to take the hands off the wheel during trips down the row and the ability to keep an eye on
the planter, sprayer or other equipment.
These technologies reduce human error and are the key to effective site management:
• Assisted steering systems show drivers the way to follow in the field with the help of
satellite navigation systems such as GPS. This allows more accurate driving but the
farmer still needs to steer the wheel.
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24. • Intelligent guidance systems provide different steering patterns (guidance
patterns) depending on the shape of the field and can be used in combination with
above systems.
• Geomapping is used to produce maps including soil type, nutrients levels etc. in
layers and assign that information to the particular field location.
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25. • Sensors and remote sensing are used to collect data from a distance to evaluate
soil and crop health (moisture, nutrients, compaction, crop diseases). Data sensors
can be mounted on moving machines.
• Integrated electronic communications between components in a system for
example, between tractor and farm office, tractor and dealer or spray can and
sprayer.
• Variable rate technology (VRT): ability to adapt parameters on a machine to
apply, for instance, seed or fertiliser according to the exact variations in plant
growth, or soil nutrients and type.
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26. Where can Precision Farming techniques be
used?
• Precision Farming techniques can be used in a wide range of agricultural
processes.
• For crop growing, different Precision Farming techniques are available for use at
every stage of the growing process: i.e. during ploughing, planting, fertilizing,
spraying, and/or harvesting.
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27. Precision Farming techniques in the crop growth cycle
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29. • Soil preparation is the first step before growing a crop.
• The ultimate objective is to produce a firm and weed-free seedbed for rapid
germination and emergence of the crop.
• One of the most important tasks in soil preparation is tilling (or ploughing):
turning the soil and loosening it.
• Soil preparation is one of the most energy-consuming parts of agriculture,
requiring significant inputs of fuel and time. Depending on the field’s location, it
may also increase the risk of soil erosion.
• Today, precision farming equipment exists that helps farmers to use considerably
less fuel and time in soil preparation by improving the accuracy, efficiency and
sustainability of the process.
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31. • Seeding (or: sowing) is a critical step in crop growing. For a successful seeding
process, two challenges need to be overcome:
• Correct depth: if sown too deep into the soil, roots will not be able to
breath. If sown on the surface, birds may damage the seeds.
• Proper distance: if plants are overcrowded, they will not to get enough
water, nutrients and sunlight, resulting in yield loss. If they are planted too far
from each other, valuable land is left unused.
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32. • Modern precision seeding equipment manages to place the seeds uniformly at
proper distances and depths for optimal access to moisture and sunlight.
• The fast, uniform germination ensure the crop can compete with weeds and
promotes even maturity across the whole field for easier harvesting and greater
yields.
• The system can be combined with Geomapping (a map showing soil density,
quality etc.).
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34. During their growth phase plants need:
• The right amount of nutrients – FERTILISATION
• Adequate protection from pests and diseases –
CROP PROTECTION / SPRAYING
• The right amounts of water - IRRIGATION
• In all three areas, precision farming solutions help farmers to produce more
with less. 34

35. 35Precision Irrigation
Precision SprayingPrecision Fertilising

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37. • For the farmer, harvesting is a critical point in time. Speed, accuracy, and timing
determine whether the harvest will be successful.
• Until recently, harvesting was the most burdensome and laborious activity of the
entire growing season.
• Today, the task is taken over by some of the most sophisticated farm machines
such as:
1. The combine harvester (‘combine’)
2. Forage harvesters (‘foragers’)
3. Specialist harvesters
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38. • It combines 3 separate harvesting operations into one single process: reaping,
threshing and winnowing.
• The excess straw is either chopped and spread on the field or - using automated
balers - baled to provide feed and bedding for livestock.
• Combines are used to harvest crops such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn,
soybeans and linseed.
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39. • Forage harvesters (‘foragers’) for feed production: foragers chop grass, corn or
other plant into small pieces which are then compacted together in a storage silo
for fermentation to feed livestock.
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40. • Specialist harvesters: tailor-made machines have been developed for the
automated harvesting of other fruits and crops such as potatoes, carrots, sugar
beet, grapes, cotton or apples. One key challenge for these machines is how to
ensure perfect extraction while maintaining the physical integrity of the crop.
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42. Present scenario of PF in India
• Though precision farming is very much talked about in developed countries, it is
still at a very nascent stage in developing countries, including India.
• Space Application Centre, ISRO, in collaboration with CPRI, Shimla, has initiated
a study on exploring the role of remote sensing for precision farming.
• Space Application Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad has started experiment in the
Central Potato Research Station farm, at Jalandhar, Punjab to study the role of
remote sensing in mapping the variability with respect to space and time.
• M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, in collaboration with
NABARD, has adopted a village in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu for variable
rate input application.
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43. • IARI, New Delhi has drawn up a plan to do precision farming experiments in the
institutes’.
• PDFSR, Modipuram and Meerut (UP) in collaboration with Central Institute of
Agricultural Engineering (CIAE), Bhopal also initiated variable rate input
application in different cropping systems.
• In coming few years precision farming may help the Indian farmers to harvest the
fruits of frontier technologies without compromising the quality of land.
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44. Precision agriculture in India- ?
Yes or No
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45. Conclusion
• Precision agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively
including fertilizers, pesticides, and tillage and irrigation water.
• More effective use of inputs means greater crop yield and/ or quality, without
polluting the environment.
• Precision farming technology brings increased efficiency to crop production. By
closely matching application rates with crop needs, profit potential can be
increased and possible environmental impacts can be minimized.
• In India precision farming is possible on the cooperative principle.
• Various policy and scientific innovations relating to encourage precision farming
will boost up bringing larger area under precision farming.
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46. Reference
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/precision-farming-0
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/1-precision-soil-preparation
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/2-precision-seeding
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/3-precision-crop-management
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/4-precision-harvesting
• http://www.cema-agri.org/page/5-precision-livestock-farming
• www.paulchefurka.ca
• www.aqueductdsr.com
• www.circleofblue.org
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47. Reference
Cristian Iacomi, Ioan Roca, Roxana Madjar, Beatrice Iacomi, Viorel
Popescu, Gaudeniu Vrzaru and Ctlin Sfetcu (2014). Automation and computer-
based Technology. Scientific papers. Series a. agronomy. 415-420.
Robert “Bobby” Grisso, Mark Alley, W. G. Wysor and Gordon Groover
(2002). Precision Farming Tools: GPS Navigation. Virginia cooperative
extension, 1-7.
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Written by Mahesh.B.Tengli
Thank you