The future of agriculture makes you dare not imagine

Today's agriculture has entered the high-tech realm, and most 20th century farmers can no longer even recognize them. Over the past 20 years, the advent of global positioning systems (GPS), electronic sensors and other new tools has pushed agriculture further into a "tech wonderland".

In addition to the sleek air conditioning and sound systems, modern large tractors have computer monitors in their enclosed cabins that show mechanical performance, field location, operation of planters and other ancillary equipment. These amazing technologies today are just the beginning of the future of agriculture. Self-driving machines and drones will automatically detect and treat crops with pests and diseases, and these tools will become commonplace on farms known as "precision agriculture."

The ultimate purpose of all these high-tech products is to optimize agriculture, both economically and environmentally. We just want to find the optimal amount of inputs (water, fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, labor, etc.) to grow high-yielding crops more efficiently.

GPS provides hyperlocal information

At least 3 orbiting satellites are involved in calculating your distance at a time, helping GPS to provide your precise location information anywhere on Earth. Thus, agricultural machines equipped with GPS receivers are able to identify their location on the farm and adjust operations to maximize productivity or efficiency at that location.

Take soil fertilization, for example. Farmers can use GPS receivers to identify preselected fields and collect their soil samples. Then the samples were analyzed experimentally, and a GIS fertilization map was established. Essentially, this is a computer database program. Using such maps, farmers can precisely determine the amount of fertilizer to apply in each sampled field area. Variable Technology (VRT) fertilizer applicators deliver precisely the desired fertilizer to the field. This process is a model of "precision agriculture".

Information, Analysis and Tools

"Precision agriculture" requires success in three areas. It requires location-specific information, such as a soil-fertility map; it requires an understanding of location-specific information and the ability to make decisions; decision-making often requires the help of computer simulations, which require mathematical and statistical analysis of the relationship between soil fertility and soil fertility. Variable relationship between crop yields.

automation

Robots can replace humans for more tedious tasks, such as harvesting vegetables by hand. Using sensing technology, including machine vision, they can detect information such as position, stem and leaf size, and then notify the machine during the operation. Japan has become a leader in this field. Japanese agriculture is often divided into smaller fields, and the country is also a world leader in robotics. But autonomous machines are also on the rise in the United States, especially in California, where many of America's specialty crops are grown.

Breeding + Sensors + Robots

High-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) is a futuristic "precision agriculture" technology that combines genetics, sensors, and robotics. It can be used to develop new crop varieties, or to improve crop nutrient content, drought tolerance, and resistance to pests and diseases. HTPP technology uses multiple sensors to measure important physical data of plants, such as height, number of leaves, size, shape, angle, color, degree of wilting, stem thickness, number of fruits, etc. These are phenotypic traits and physical expressions of the plant's genetic code. Scientists can compare these data with known genetic data for specific plants.

The field of agricultural production has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. It's hard to imagine how far it will go in the next few years. But the pace of high-tech innovation in agriculture is only going to get bigger. Don't be surprised 10 years from now: You're driving down a highway and you see small helicopters flying over farmland and landing on crops, picking leaves with robotic pliers, viewing them with cameras and machine vision Pests and diseases then took off again to view other crops.