Innovation is the cornerstone of modern farming. The sector is plagued with labour shortages, increasing costs of supplies, and customer preferences for transparency and sustainability. There has been explosive growth in agricultural technology in the last ten years. Tractors have undergone huge advancements to focus on operator safety and valuable implements. The global market has developed key technological innovations focusing on automation, livestock technology, robotics and indoor vertical farming. Farmers are adopting digital technology for managing fields and treating crops. AgTech facilitates smart agriculture to make it safer, more efficient and more profitable.
Modern farms have too much to gain from the new agriculture technology. Some benefits include low prices, low chemical runoff into groundwater, low fertiliser consumption, nutrients and water consumption. It results in business turning more sustainable, smart and cost-effective. If you are curious to know more about new agriculture technologies in modern farming, go through the rest of the article.
GIS Application
A Geographic Information System is used for capturing, storing, deploying, evaluating and presenting geographic data. In agriculture, GIS maps the future and current changes in the soil temperature, crop output and sleet. Through soil analysis, farmers can determine the soil type. Thus, it becomes easier to select what crops to grow in it. The data also gives insights regarding the maintenance of soil nutrients. Agricultural mapping promotes sustainable production through the appropriate use of natural resources. Rather than sitting on tractors all day, you can leave the monitoring to the GIS system.
In addition, farmers can adapt to varying variables such as elevation, wind direction, rainfall amount and soil type for establishing crop management. Accurate decision-making can be achieved using valuable data obtained from drones and satellites. GIS can work with smart machinery to optimise pesticide and fertiliser dispersal. You do not have to spray the entire farm using tractors; you can only target specific areas. It saves time, effort and money to a large extent.
Internet of Things
In agriculture, IoT employs computer imaging, remote sensors, drones and robots to monitor crops, survey, and map the fields. Farmers can use the obtained information to develop a balanced farm management plan, which saves both money and time. Put your tractors to rest, as IoT applications will automate most of your work. These systems play a crucial role in soil and crop monitoring to encourage smart farming. Predictive analysis and machine learning help farmers to prepare for adverse weather conditions like floods and drought.
Real-time data on farms is available through smart sensors, light detectors and motion detectors. You can monitor product quality with the help of real-time crop monitoring. IoT establishes the smart irrigation system by checking the moisture level in the air or water lanes made by farmers. You will agree to the fact that livestock demands constant monitoring. IoT allows smart tracking to send information about livestock on smartphones directly. Another important aspect is that farmers can easily detect flu breakouts in advance. They can separate the infected breeds from the non-infected ones.
Robotics
Agriculture is responsible for a significant portion of India’s economic stability and growth. Technology has been collaborating with agriculture to modify the development parameters. With the human population on the rise, there is a significant need for an increment in agricultural production. This is where robotics comes in. Agricultural robots help perform activities that can be dull, repetitive or slow for farmers. The farmers can put their full attention into improving the overall yield. Robots can handle essential duties: weed control, soil analysis, sorting and packing, phenotyping, harvesting, automated spraying, seeding, pruning and mowing.
Irrigation and fertilisation are essential steps to nurture healthy crops. Ground robots can go through the rows of plants autonomously while pouring water on them. Robots can access areas that can be tricky for other machines like tractors to reach. It also resolves the issue of a labour shortage, as the workload capacity of robots is superior to humans. You can now focus on entrepreneurial elements instead of the manual workload.
RFID
Waste is a huge concern for farmers concerning food production. Producers face a variety of challenges related to transportation, limited shelf life and time-to-market. RFID solves such issues faced by farmers daily. Producers can use a mix of IoT, Near Field Communication and RFID to set up new processes to ensure timely delivery, high quality and decreased waste. Deployment of RFID enables farm automation and control. Tractors cannot do everything. RFID crop tagging is an excellent tool for tracking all stages of cultivation. This technology automates inspections and records accurate crop data at once. RFID tags can offer data that enables farm productivity as farmers spend less time on tractors and more on informed decision-making.
Minichromosomal Technology
Cells contain small structures known as minichromosomes that store little genetic material. However, they can keep vast pieces of information. Using this technology, agricultural geneticists can add different traits to a crop. It can be agronomically helpful for the plants as they can avail of critical attributes like enhanced nitrogen usage and drought-tolerant. Rest assured, this process is not going to change the genes of crops. As the demand for greater yields increases, minichromosomal technologies have gained traction worldwide. The goal is to produce superior-quality and healthy crops. Examples include BT Cotton, which can easily resist bollworms. In addition, farmers will be less dependent on chemical usage as crops can be made resistant to particular diseases and pests.
Pervasive Technology
Pervasive technology involves all innovations that can decrease operator workload. Autonomous tractors can be controlled remotely or by robotics to determine optimal fertilisation and seeding routes. Smart tractors use GPS, radar and sensors for land cultivation and crop harvesting without an operator. Pervasive automation facilitates controlled and accurate growth via suitable guidance to producers regarding pest attacks, nutrient management, crop rotation, water management and optimum planting. Machine learning with drones and satellite imagery helps in predicting weather conditions and detecting poor nutrition or the presence of pests and diseases. Some vital automation practices under pervasive technology include deep learning, artificial intelligence, machine learning, wireless communication and IoT.
