Category Archives: Sensing

Automation, Drainage, Research, Sensing

A Digital Horticulture Research Strategy

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Value Chain Approach To Identifying Priorities

Roger Williams

Roger Williams
New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (PFR)

 

The industrial revolution gave us machines and agri-inputs that enabled us to farm at scale and speed. The green revolution began to unlock the potential of plant genes to increase yield. Now the digital revolution provides us with an opportunity to harness the power of ‘big data’ and technological innovation to radically re-engineer our horticultural production methods and supply chains.

Digitally informed decisions during production, harvesting, sorting, packing, storage and transit could be the basis for a step change to high profitability, high resource efficiency and low footprint horticultural value chains.

Identifying the research priorities that we need to realise this opportunity in New Zealand is a challenge in itself, given the pace of developments in sensing technology, robotics and the internet of things globally. Accordingly, Plant & Food Research assembled an expert panel from across its science teams, augmented with other specialists from New Zealand and Australia, to develop a digital horticulture research strategy.

The panel has taken a value chain approach to identifying research priorities, particularly in relation to production, harvesting, sorting and packaging, storage and transit.  Future science needs are structured around the concepts of ‘sense, think, act’ for each part of the value chain and are linked by an ‘artery’ of data to feed forwards and backwards along the value chain.

Plant & Food Research looks forward to working with a wide range of partners to deliver this digital horticulture strategy for the benefit of New Zealand’s producers and exporters.

AgTech, MicroFarm, Plant Health, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Sensing

Mapping Onion Canopies

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Investigating Technologies to Map Onion Crop Development

DanBloomer200

 

Dan Bloomer and Justin Pishief – Centre for Land and Water

 

The OnionsNZ/SFF Project “Benchmarking Variability in Onion Crops” is investigating technologies to map onion crop development. The purpose is to better understand variability and to gather information to inform tactical and strategic decision making.

An AgriOptics survey provided a Soil EM map of the MicroFarm which was used as a base data layer and helped select positions for Plant & Food’s research plots.

As the crop developed, repeated canopy surveys used a GreenSeeker NDVI sensor and CoverMap, a Smartphone application. Both were mounted side by side on a tractor fitted with sub-metre accuracy GPS.  Altus UAS provided UAV survey data including MicaSense imagery with five colour bands captured. A mid-season 0.5 m pixel NDVI satellite image was captured.

Both ground based systems had difficulty recording very small plants. GreenSeeker data were dominated by soil effects until a significant canopy was present. Once plants could be seen in photographs, the CoverMap system was able to distinguish between plants and soil.

Direct photos of Plant & Food plots were processed to calculate apparent ground cover. A very strong relationship was found between these and actual plant measurements of fresh leaf weight and leaf area index – both strongly correlated to final crop size.

Attempts to directly correlate the map layers with Plant & Food field plot measurements were frustrated by inadequate or inaccurate image location. Onion crops have been found highly variable over small distances. The GreenSeeker only records a reading every four or five metres, and CoverMap about every 1.5 m. Compounded by errors of a metre or more, finding a measurement to match a 0.5 m bed plot was not possible. Similarly, the UAV and satellite images, while able to identify plots, did not initially show correlations.

Using ArcGIS, fishnets were constructed over the various canopy data layers and correlations between them found at 5 m and 10 m grids. The 10 m grid appears to collect enough data points even for the GreenSeeker to provide a reasonable if not strong correlation with other canopy layers.  Similar processes are being used to compare soil and canopy data.

After one season of capture, there appears to be merit in using an optical canopy cover assessment as plants develop. Once full canopy is achieved, the NDVI or a similar index may be better. Colour image analysis will be tested as a method of recording crop top-down as a measure of maturity and storage potential.

We were not successful in mapping yield directly, but did identify a process for creating a yield map based on earlier crop canopy data.

Agronomy, MicroFarm, Plant Health, Research, Sensing, Soil

Onions – Plant and Crop Modelling

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Understanding Variation in Onions and Potential Causes

Bruce Searle, Adrian Hunt, Isabelle Sorensen, Nathan Arnold, Yong Tan, Jian Lui   Plant and Food Research

Onion growth, development, quality and yield can vary significantly within a field. This can be observed as inter-plant variability, where two plants side by side or within very close proximity vary significantly in size and maturity or quality from each other. Additionally, spatial variability in between different areas of the field has been observed. Put these two scales of variability together and there can be significant reduction in yield and profitability for growers.

It has been estimated that a modest increase of yield from 45-50t/ha associated with a 10% reduction in size variability can increase gross margins by $1700 per hectare. Add to this the fact that variability in the field results in variability in bulb maturity and therefore storage losses, minimising variability has a strong value proposition for growers.

To minimise variability we need to know how much variability is present, what causes it and when it occurs. We used soil EM maps to identify four zones across an onion field. Within each zone we recorded variability in growth and development of individual plants to better understand plant to plant variability and how this affects overall yield variability within a field.

We also monitored crop characteristics such as leaf area across a plot and light interception to understand how yield accumulated across the different zones. Soil moisture and temperature was logged at different depths for the duration of growth.

Agronomy, AgTech, Drainage, MicroFarm, Nutrients, Plant Health, Planting, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Sensing, Soil, Water

Profit Mapping Variability in Onions

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Profit Bands Across A Paddock

 Justin Pishief

Justin Pishief and Dan Bloomer
Centre for Land and Water

 

As part of the Onions NZ project “Benchmarking Variability in Onion Crops” a process was developed to generate yield and profit maps. This presentation explains the process using the example of a 7.3 ha paddock in Hawke’s Bay.

Data from a satellite image captured in late November were used to identify high, medium and low biomass zones.  Paddock yield samples were taken from these zones at harvest and used to generate a paddock yield map. The average yield of the paddock was estimated at 95 t/ha, with a predicted total field harvest of 669 tonnes. This compares to the grower recorded harvest of 614 tonnes.

The relative yield data were combined with grower supplied costs and returns to determine gross margins across the paddock. Data were mapped in ArcGIS and a Gross Margin map with five “profit bands” produced. The highest band had a mean Gross Margin of $11,884/ha compared to the lowest at $3,225/ha.

The breakeven gross margin yield is estimated to be 62.5 t/ha at current costs and prices. The estimated cost to business of low performing areas is $27,945, assuming the whole paddock could achieve the top band mean yield.

The poorest performing areas were identified by the grower as impacted by a failed council drain and areas of slowed drainage in the main paddock areas. An OptiSurface® assessment using historic HBRC LiDAR elevation data analysed of the impact of ponding on the site and also suggested ponding was a significant issue.

An OptiSurface® landform assessment was conducted using both single plain and optimised surface designs and the soil movement required to allow effective surface drainage was determined.

The assessment showed ponding could be avoided by land shaping with 224 m3/ha soil movement and few areas requiring more than 100 mm cut or fill. The cost is estimated at $2,000/ha or approximately $14,000 total.

Agronomy, AgTech, MicroFarm, Plant Health, Planting, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Sensing

Enhancing Value of New Zealand Onions

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Onions New Zealand Research project

 

Dr Jane Adams
Research and Innovation Manager, Onions New Zealand Inc.

The New Zealand onion industry expects to further develop high value export markets, particularly in Asia, which could see its exports double to $200million by 2025. To realise these export opportunities the industry needs to improve efficiency and consistency of production and reliably supply high quality onions.

Currently industry average yields for brown onions vary between 33 and 50t/ha depending on season, which are significantly below demonstrated potential average yields of 100t/ha. Competition for productive land mean growers must maximise both productivity and crop value, while also meeting requirements to sustainably use resources and minimise environment impacts.

To help the industry achieve these objectives Onions New Zealand developed a project ‘Enhancing the profitability and value of NZ onions’, in collaboration with LandWISE Inc and Plant and Food Research, to understand causes of low yields and variable quality of onion crops and to develop tools to help growers monitor and manage crops. The project received additional funding from Ministry of Primary Industries Sustainable Farming Fund and commenced in July 2015.

In the first season of the project a crop of cv Rhinestone onions was grown on the LandWISE MicroFarm to allow easy access for both LandWISE and Plant and Food Research scientists to assess crop development and test methods and tools for monitoring the crop and environment at regular intervals.

Four monitoring zones were established across the trial paddock for detailed measurement of plant growth and crop development. Several tools and techniques were tested for obtaining digital data of site and crop attributes. 

An important part of the project is the involvement of local growers in discussion of progress results and use of monitoring tools and advice on crop management.  

Agronomy, AgTech, Irrigation, Precision Agriculture, Sensing, Soil

Farmers getting value from soil EM maps

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Chris SmithChris Smith
AgriOptics NZ Ltd

An electromagnetic (EM) soil conductivity Survey maps the variability in soils characteristics; these values are strongly influenced by many factors but mainly soil texture, soil moisture at the time of the survey as well as bulk density and salinity.

Combining this data with topography data collected at the time of the survey gives the farmer a powerful management tool for creating management zones for various aspects of his business, including amongst other things; managing water, zonal soil sampling, improving yield and pasture performance where soil characteristics are the limiting factors, managing inputs to targeted placement, highlighting and reducing the environmental impacts or risks.

AgriOptics has been conducting EM surveys since 2011, with various clients and in many differing scenarios and enterprises, covering over 20,000ha in that time.

This presentation explained what an EM survey is and what information the farmer receives from the service and how the different layers of data from that survey are being utilised by farmers in the South Island with both its direct and indirect uses, and how that translates into a dollar value to those clients.  Examples of both dairy and arable farmers each with not only common goals but their own specific issues and requirements were given.

AgTech, Precision Agriculture, Research, Sensing

Turning precision data into knowledge for vegetable systems

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JulieOHalloran1Julie O’Halloran

 Senior Development Horticulturist, Horticulture and Forestry Science Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

Queensland vegetable growers and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have been collaborating to adapt precision agriculture technologies into vegetable systems for the last two years.  This work has focused on 3 key areas: assessing spatial variability, implementing variable rate technologies and yield monitoring.  Significant spatial variability has been successfully identified in Queensland vegetable systems using a range of crop sensing technologies (e.g Satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and tractor mounted Greenseeker®).

Ground truthing the underlying causal factors of this variability has proven critical to enable informed decision making to manage block uniformity. These ground truthing activities have focused on EM38 soil mapping to understand any inherent soil variability, mapping of cut and fill areas, crop sensing imagery, strategic soil sampling programs and monitoring pest, diseases, irrigation and drainage.

While within block biomass and yield variability can be inferred from crop sensing data, it is ideal to measure yield itself.  The measurement of yield variability is currently being trialed in carrot, sweet potato and potato production in Queensland using retrofitted load-cell based, geo-referenced yield monitors.  Primarily, this provides growers with a quantitative data set of the spatial and temporal nature of yield variances and the cost of lost yield potential.

Additionally, it allows growers to cost benefit analyses of potential management interventions to improve under performing areas and make decisions as to whether these are likely to be cost effective.  This presentation will highlight the undertake outcomes from a range of variable rate applications and how multiple data layers can be used to manage crops to address spatial variability.

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Drainage, Irrigation, Plant Health, Research, Sensing, Soil, Water

Investigating variability in potato crops

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Sarah SintonLandWISE 2016 Conference presenter Sarah Sinton is a well experienced member of a Plant and Food Research group studying potatoes.

In the 2012-13 growing season the Plant and Food researchers surveyed commercial potato crops in Canterbury and confirmed grower concerns that a “yield plateau” of approximately 60 t/ha was common.  At this level, potato growing is becoming uneconomic.

Plant and Food Research computer-based modelling shows that yields of 90 t/ha (paid yield) are theoretically possible in the surveyed paddocks in most years. This shows a “yield gap” of about 30 t/ha.

The most important factors found to be reducing yield were soil compaction, the soil-borne diseases Rhizoctonia stem canker and Spongospora root galls.

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Tuber health, disease management, soil compaction and irrigation all have ability to reduce yields

Using CORE funding, Sarah and colleagues have been running a number of related trials, comparing field performance with modeled potential growth rates. They’ve used DNA to assess soil pathogens, applied a range of treatments and measured disease incidence and yields. They have also looked at the role of seed quality in potato emergence, variability and yield.

But it is not all about diseases. Soil compaction, structure and related issues such as aeration, drainage and water-holding show up as crop limiting factors.  Also implicated are irrigation management and weeds.

Potatoes NZ reports that the use of guidance technology and variable rate application based on soil testing is being undertaken but there is limited crop based management of inputs.  There may be opportunity to manipulate some inputs.

In paddock variability can be relatively easily identified using remote sensing equipment (both NDVI and Infrared) but there are three major problems with potatoes which are:

  • Remote sensing can identify differences in a paddock but these need to be ground truthed to determine what the reason for the difference is – e.g. canopy disease etc.
  • Often by the time a difference is apparent on a crop sensor map, even when it is ground truthed, growers cannot implement a management decision that will change the crop performance.
  • Yield maps are generally used as the baseline reference for Precision Agriculture and this is difficult and expensive to implement for potatoes.

Sarah is presenting some of her group’s work at LandWISE 2016. Look for “Investigating variability in potatoes”.

Agronomy, AgTech, Automation, Controlled Traffic Systems, MicroFarm, Planting, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Sensing

Trans-Tasman Grower Day

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Looking for answers - LandWISE 2015
Looking for answers – LandWISE 2015

What’s the Trans-Tasman Day about?

Given there are two dozen top Australian growers, agronomists and researchers joining us for our conference, arranging more time to discuss issues of interest was too good an opportunity to pass up.

The programme for the day is less structured than a normal conference day.  The morning is inside discussion, the afternoon getting out and about. But it does follow two days of conference, so we’ll be well primed.

We will spend time discussing some key crops – onions and potatoes included – and importantly technologies we can use to better understand and manage them.

We aim to identify areas of common interest and possible collaboration. What topics are relevant in both countries? What joint research opportunities are there? Where to from here?

After lunch we travel to a local farm, True Earth Organics, where Scott and Vicki Lawson and staff grow and pack a range of field, vegetable and berry crops. From there we go to a local major vegetable processing factory to view the next stage in the value chain.

Register here>

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Agronomy, AgTech, Automation, Controlled Traffic Systems, LandWISE People, MicroFarm, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Sensing, Soil, Water

Excellent LandWISE 2016 Conference Speakers

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We published the list and short biographies of our invited speakers today. We are again privileged to have an extremely knowledgeable group representing farmers, technologists and researchers from both sides of the Tasman Sea.

Conference keynotes and new LandWISE Australians include Ian Layden and Julie O’Halloran, precision horticulture researchers and extension specialists from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).

Ian and Julie are leading a group of two dozen top growers and agronomists for a week of related events built around the LandWISE Conference. Queensland farmer Ben Moore and Tasmanian farmer Robbie Tole will present their own experiences investigating precision horticulture opportunities.

Returning LandWISE Australians are Tristan Perez from Queensland University of Technology and John McPhee from the University of Tasmania. Tristan will update us on progress with weeding robot AgBot II and Harvey the capsicum picker. John will tell us about precision horticulture research underway in Tasmania.

Parallel work is being done in New Zealand. Look for reports from  Plant and Food researchers Sarah Sinton, Paul Johnstone and long serving LandWISE Board member Bruce Searle. Chris Smith from AgriOptics, Jane Adams of OnionsNZ and LandWISE’s Dan Bloomer and Justin Pishief will overlay a series of precision cropping and related topics.  Charles Merfield from the Future Farming Centre will give a review of biostimulants and related technologies – a different aspect of the agritech revolution.

Rounding out Day 1 are agritech accelerator Sprout Entrepreneur in Residence Stu Bradbury and two accelerating companies represented by Tom Rivett and Julian McCurdy.

Day 2 has a focus on value from data and robotics. We hear a lot about “big data” and “value chains”: what are they? Alistair Mowat, James Beech and Megan Cushnahan will tell us how they and others are getting real value, and where there’s still value to be tapped. Roger Williams will outline how Plant and Food is investing in digital horticulture research.

Lincoln Agritech’s Armin Werner has been a regular attendee at LandWISE. This year he takes the stage with a global review of field robotics and weeding technologies in particular. Kit Wong will tell us about Callaghan Innovation development of systems for machine vision to manage onion crops.

David Herries of Interpine will take us to a different sector and explain how UAVs are giving value in forest research and management.  And rounding it all up, Simon Morris of ALtus UAS will make sure we understand the regulations governing our use of this still new but very powerful technology.

So come to LandWISE 2016: the value of smart farming. Have you mind expanded, your knowledge updated and your excitement kindled. Mix and mingle with leaders in farming, agronomy and agtech!

Conference programme here>

Speaker biographies here>

Conference registration here>