The decrease in agricultural lands and the rapid increase in migration from village to city increase productivity in agriculture; It makes it necessary to increase the agricultural production obtained from the unit area. The prediction that the world population will be 9.7 billion people by 2050 draws attention to the fact that the world's agricultural production should increase by at least 70% in order to feed the population. In this case, it is inevitable to use technology to increase productivity in agriculture. When the latest trends in agriculture in the world are examined, it is seen that there are important developments in agricultural technologies. In agricultural production, every technology that is possible to obtain more output with less input (such as water, fertilizer, fuel, medicine) is important. When examining the topics under which these technologies are developing, it is emphasized that 8 headings stand out. Let's try to summarize these topics briefly.
1.Smart Agricultural Technologies
What is Smart Agriculture?
Smart
agriculture is the techniques that aim to obtain more products with less input
using improved information and control systems of soil analysis, tillage,
planting, fertilization, spraying, product conditions monitoring and harvesting
processes in agricultural lands. What are the Benefits of Smart Agricultural
Technologies? Making regionally variable rate applications on the same land
by reducing chemical expenses such as fertilizers and pesticides, Reducing
environmental pollution by minimizing harmful chemicals that mix with soil and
air by using excessive inputs, Providing high quantity and quality products, To
provide ease of labor, to reduce energy costs, Quick and effective
implementation of the right decisions for the business, It aims to prevent
economic fluctuations by creating a registration system in agriculture. There
are some issues that need to be developed in order for smart agricultural
technologies to become more widespread in our country. Briefly, these are; The
technology competencies of our farmers, whose average age is high, need to be
improved. Most of the agricultural equipment used in our country has a
low level of competence in terms of digital technology. It is necessary to make
these equipments more compatible with digital technology or to renew the
equipment that has completed its economic life.
2. Irrigation and Fertilization Systems
What is Irrigation and Fertilization System?
The use
of water and fertilizers in agriculture are two of the most basic inputs.
Today, developing technology is also used in order to prevent environmental
problems that occur as a result of wrong practices in agriculture and to
realize a more effective plant production. How Do Irrigation and Fertilization
Systems Work? In recent years, as a result of land surveys with satellites or
drones, a land map consisting of some parameters such as albedo map of plants,
leaf area index map and plant height map, humidity level, productivity level
can be produced. The basic principles of the technologies used here are; The
reflections in different bands are associated with the ground measurements made
with the spectroradiometer and to obtain a result with the developed empirical
equations and to reflect this visually on the land surface in digital
environment. One of the irrigation and fertilization studies suitable for
precision agriculture is done with sensors. Sensors placed under the soil
measure the soil moisture, pH, EC (Electrical Conductivity) values at
sensitive and frequent intervals, and an operation can be performed according
to these measurement results. In addition, irrigation and fertilization of drip
irrigation pipes placed under the ground is carried out only towards the roots
of the plant, while minimizing water and fertilizer costs, while increasing
productivity.
3. Greenhouse Automation Systems
What is Greenhouse Automation Systems?
Today,
smart greenhouse applications are increasing day by day. The reason for this is
that the products produced in conventional greenhouses cannot meet the demands
of the consumers as much as they should. It is desired to create the most
environmental conditions for the development of the plant in the process from
the planting of the plant to be produced in the greenhouses to the harvesting
of the product from the soil. In order to create these environmental
conditions, climatic parameters; ambient temperature, light intensity, ambient
humidity, soil moisture, and like that. must be kept under control. Greenhouse automation systems are all
software and hardware systems created to improve the ambient conditions by
activating the heaters at the right time in line with the data received from
the sensors in the greenhouse, opening the ventilation windows at the necessary
times, switching on and off the devices such as the water pump. By using these
automation systems, we can reduce the manpower used in the greenhouse and make
production more efficient by using less input.
What are Greenhouse Automation System Types?
Irrigation
fertilization systems.
Energy
management systems.
Seeding
machines, irrigation apparatus, spraying apparatus.
We can
classify them as classification systems and packaging systems.
What are the Applications that Increase Efficiency in Greenhouse Automation Systems?
Automatic
irrigation systems = It allows us to automatically make the water needed by the
plant from the computer.
LED
light source plant growing luminaires = It has been measured that the LED light
source plant growth luminaires, which enable the plant to perform
photosynthesis for faster growth, provide energy savings of 60% to 71%.
Another
example of smart greenhouse technologies can be given as a large greenhouse
business producing Lettuce in Japan. This enterprise produces 7.7 million
pieces of lettuce per year using various automation systems and they aim to
reuse 98% of the water they use. Thus, they achieve high efficiency at very low
cost.
4. Use of Drone Technologies in Agriculture
What are the Benefits of Drone Technologies?
The use
of drones for agricultural applications is increasing day by day.
Especially Asian countries take the lead in the use of UAV (Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle) in agriculture. By using drone technology in agriculture, for
instance, it is possible to control the produced crop. During this monitoring,
questions such as whether there is a disease or pest outbreak anywhere in the
field can be detected without damaging the product. In the same way, cost
advantage can be achieved by spraying more sensitively and faster than
alternative methods. If conditions such as disease and insect outbreaks are
detected beforehand, spraying only the detected areas with variable rate
spraying provides great benefits in terms of protecting soil health as well as
reducing the cost.
Drone
systems are used in many different areas such as natural disasters, monitoring
of various organizational activities, traffic control, cinema and television
industry, wild animal tracking, agricultural applications, as well as
military purposes, especially in the defense industry.
What are the Uses of Drones in Agriculture?
Product
analysis with image processing techniques,
Spraying
– Fertilizing,
Combating
invasive plants (weed control),
Seed
and granule spreading,
5. Automatic Steering Systems
What is Auto Steering?
In
agriculture, a series of agricultural operations and applications are carried
out with tractors and equipment, as well as self-propelled equipment (such as a
combine) from tillage to harvest. During these applications, operators are
exposed to certain difficulties and stresses. For example, planting seeds in
agriculture is a task where straight and parallel lines must be created with
extreme precision. It is not possible for even the most experienced operators
to be able to perform steering wheel control operation accurately and
precisely.
How Does Automatic Steering System Work?
Automatic
steering systems are currently widely used in the world. Many agricultural
machinery manufacturers in the world can produce and develop these systems.
Although various companies in our country have some studies on this subject,
foreign companies dominate the sector in general for the time being. In
general, automatic steering systems receive location data from GPS. Real-time
kinematic positioning system (RTK) modules are also used to correct the error
margin of signals coming from GPS to provide cm-level accuracy.
What are the Benefits of Automatic Steering System?
Reducing
the cost of seeds and fertilizers,
More
effective tillage (Soil resistance, soil type and drainage applications)
Reducing
the cost of drugs and chemicals
Increasing
production efficiency
reduce
environmental pollution
Ensuring
quality product yield
To
provide a continuous and more effective flow of information for management and
aquaculture decisions To create agricultural records and database
Ensuring
energy efficiency
Protecting
soil and groundwater
Facilitating
tool machine operations in the field, reducing the load on the driver
6.Digital Pheromone Trap Technologies (Insect Trap)
What are Digital Pheromone Trap Technologies?
Today,
after understanding the negative effects of chemical control on humans and the
environment with harmful insects emerging during agricultural
production, many biotechnical methods have been developed to reduce the use of
pesticides. One of them is the use of pheromones. It is the name given to the
chemical that is secreted chemically by insects, other animals and humans and
causes them to react by being felt by other individuals of that species.
Within
the scope of smart agriculture technologies, these pheromones are produced
synthetically and a trap is created and the trap is constantly controlled with
a high resolution camera placed inside the trap. The camera sends the image
inside the trap to the user at certain intervals. If it is seen that the
population in the trap has exceeded a certain risk stage, the producer can
start the spraying process immediately. There is a very limited time frame to
intervene with some pests in agriculture, so crop losses are prevented thanks
to this technology.
7. Early Warning Systems-Agricultural Meteorological Station Technologies
What is an Early Warning System?
Early
warning systems, which are similar to meteorology stations, are a system that
detects and announces the time to fight against a disease factor or harmful
organism in the area where a cultivated plant is grown. Here, as in the
meteorology station, the parameters we obtain are transferred to a central
computer. The information reaching the center is evaluated as computer aided
and necessary actions are taken by comparing it with the data set created in
the past.
The
main difference between the early warning systems and the meteorological
station is that it advises the spraying time according to the type of product
produced. The emergence of diseases and pests is closely related to the
climatic events and the developmental periods of the plant that it harms. In
some years, humidity, precipitation or air temperature may not be suitable for
the emergence, development and damage of the disease and pest. The climate data
required for control, the developmental stages of the plant, the biology of the
disease-causing fungus or bacteria or pest can be monitored regularly. If
chemical control is desired, the most suitable time for control can be
determined and necessary precautions can be taken.
How Do Early Warning Systems Work?
Agricultural production is a set of events that are directly dependent on
weather conditions at every stage. It is necessary to benefit from agricultural
meteorology at every stage of agricultural production, from sowing,
planting, fertilization, irrigation, spraying, harvesting and animal
production. Apart from the use of Agricultural Meteorology information
during agricultural production, the obtained information is combined
with various data analysis methods to help us understand how applications
should be made for the following years. Today, although many studies such as
drought analyzes, frost risk maps and agricultural forecast reports are
published by the General Directorate of Meteorology on the official website of
the institution, it would be more beneficial to establish agricultural
meteorological stations on the fields in order to make region-based or even
field-based applications within the scope of smart agricultural technologies.
For example,
in a hilly area, part of the terrain may be exposed to strong winds while the
other part may experience a much less strong wind, or it may rain in one area
and not in another very close area. It would be beneficial to expand agricultural
meteorology stations in order to minimize such risk factors and to make more
sensitive production practices. Thanks to the sensors they have on these
stations, they can inform the producers about many parameters such as humidity,
soil moisture, wind intensity, amount of rain, leaf wetness, air temperature,
soil temperature.
8. Livestock Technologies
What is Livestock Technologies?
The
livestock sector is one of the most important elements of agriculture. In order
to increase productivity, smart agriculture technologies have been used
intensively in this field today.
What are the Benefits of Livestock Technologies?
·
Monitoring the
health, development and safety of animals,
·
Ensuring that
animal products are more efficient,
·
It is developed
in order to facilitate the work of livestock, to save time and to reduce costs.
The
temperature conditions, disease conditions, productivity, water and feeding
needs of the animals of the producers dealing with livestock are recorded with
various technological solutions, so that the producer can take the necessary
actions in the light of these data. A variety of technological solutions are
available that not only retain herd-related data, but also optimize weights for
the animals.
Various
solutions are also available for dairy producers used today. With the developed
milking devices, maximum milking is aimed and analysis of the quality and
nutritional values of the milk obtained after the milking process can be
performed. As a result of these analyzes, a price is determined according to
the quality of the milk. The use of these technologies reduces the labor force
of many producers, while protecting animal health and increasing the efficiency
achieved.
Comments
Post a Comment