SATELLITE FARMING: Next level of agriculture

-
On Earth, 37% of the land is used for Agriculture. This portion of Earth has to become more and more productive. This means continuous adaptation of new technological what modern world brings. In automatic irrigation and tractors with computers the technology is easy to see, but one piece of critical infrastructure sits miles away from any farmland. Satellites, especially geostationary ones, are changing the landscape of agriculture.


Farmers with thousands of acre properties often coordinate effective management in their farm. Satellite farming helps them to stay on track to their targeted areas. Farmer gets a machine like drones that is revolutionising big farming, field by field. Its steering is assisted by satellite, it downloads data about crops. Farm manager use data collection devices with GPS for accurate positioning to map pest, insect, and weed infestations in the field. Pest problem areas in crops can be pinpointed and mapped for future management decisions and input recommendations.  It works 24x7 effectively, Drones using infrared thermal cameras and tell to within a square meter the size of a field and where the most fertile or waterlogged places are. The first satellite with the second civilian signal was launched in 2005.

Today, many farmers use GPS-derived products to enhance operations in their farming businesses. Location information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads, irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions
Mechanical grape harvesters are at work around the world in places such as the Chablis region of France. Machines are now able to look at the grapes, check the difference between good and bad ones, identify the quality of the crop and its maturity, De-stem the fruit and grade the fruit while it is picking it.

Today, many farmers use GPS-derived products to enhance operations in their farming businesses. Location information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads, irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions
Mechanical grape harvesters are at work around the world in places such as the Chablis region of France. Machines are now able to look at the grapes, check the difference between good and bad ones, identify the quality of the crop and its maturity, De-stem the fruit and grade the fruit while it is picking it.
    Fig 2. Photographer: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

There are machines now for just about every crop. They can be used to pick olives, grapes, and tulips. A combine can do far more than cut wheat or rape. It does cereals, pulses, beans, peas, pumpkin seeds, anything.
Satellites have applications for farmers raising animals as well. A device that fits on a collar and measures each animal’s temperature, called “moo monitor”. The monitor is able to detect whether a cow is ill or on heat. It’s very accurate and should pay itself off in around three years. The main advantage of the moon monitor is that it saves time and labour.
 The cost of getting satellite farming is still high, but it is coming down with the rise of smaller systems using commercially-available components. This is opening up a new market for large constellations (multi-satellite systems) and some space companies adopting this approach are starting to see themselves as data providers rather than hardware manufacturers and are offering services directly to farmers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TYPES OF GREENHOUSES

-
Image
Greenhouse structures of various types are used successfully for crop production. Although there are advantages in each type for a particular application, in general there is no single type greenhouse, which can be considered as the best. Different types of greenhouses are designed to meet the specific needs. GREENHOUSE TYPE BASED ON SHAPE Greenhouses can be classified based on their shape or style.    For the purpose of classification, the uniqueness of the cross section of the greenhouses can be considered as a factor.    As the longitudinal section tend to be approximately the same for all types, the longitudinal section of the greenhouse cannot be used for classification. The cross sections depict the width and height of the structure and the length is perpendicular to the plane of cross section. Also, the cross section provides information on the overall shape of the structural members, such as truss or hoop, which will be repeated on every day. The...
Read more

Mist Chamber and Its components

-
What is mist Chamber? Enclosed structure in which artificially mist is generated for the propagation of Plants or seedlings. In Mist Chamber, Relative humidity is maintained at high level (95 %) with the help of mister’s, which spray water under high pressure. Size of mist partials lies between 50 to 100 µ m. High relative humidity facilitate better root initiation and cooling effect prevents the cutting from drying out.   Advantages of mist chamber          This method results in faster rooting of the cuttings.          Create optimum Microclimate for better root initiation and development.          Higher success rate found in propagation of hard wood cuttings. Disadvantages of mist chamber Hardening of rooted cuttings is more difficult and requires careful attention. Selection of right medium is very important. Under mist conditions oxygen deficiency can create problem....
Read more

GREENHOUSE TYPE BASED ON COVERING MATERIALS

-
Image
Covering   materials   are   the   major   and   important   component   of   the   greenhouse   structure. Covering materials have direct influence on the greenhouse effect inside the structure and they alter the air temperature inside the house. The types of frames and method of fixing also varies with the covering material.    Based on the type of covering materials, the greenhouses are classified as glass, plastic film and rigid panel greenhouses. Glass greenhouses Only glass greenhouses with glass as the covering material existed prior to 1950.   Glass as covering material has the advantage of greater interior light intensity.    These greenhouses have higher air infiltration rate which leads to lower interior humidity and better disease prevention.   Lean-to type, even span, ridge and furrow type of designs are used for construction of glass greenhouse. Figure: Glass greenhouse ...
Read more