An automated cost-effective system for real-time slope mapping in commercial wild blueberry fields

Abstract

The development of site-specific agriculture has increased the need for knowledge regarding within-field variability in factors such as soil/plant characteristics and topography that influence wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)production. Surface soil properties are the first type of information most frequently used by blueberry producers in developing management plans. Topographic features are not yet routinely used to guide within-field management. The majority of blueberry fields in eastern Canada have gentle to severe topography. An automated slope measurement and mapping system (SMMS) consisting of low-cost accelerometers used as tilt sensors, differential global positioning system (DGPS), and laptop and custom software was developed. The SMMS was mounted on an all-terrain vehicle for real-time slope measurement and mapping. Six commercial wild blueberry fields were surveyed in central Nova Scotia to evaluate the performance of SMMS. The automatically sensed slopes (SS) were also compared with manually measured slopes (MS) at 20 randomly selected points in each field to examine the accuracy of SMMS. The SMMS measured slope reliably in the selected fields with root mean square error ranging from 0.12 to 0.56 degrees and correlations of SS with MS of R2=0.95 to 0.99. The selected fields had substantial variation in slope (ranging from 0.8 to 31.0 degrees). Therefore, the use of low-cost and reliable accelerometers with a DGPS is a better option than expensive real-time kinematic DGPS for developing cost-effective SMMS to quantify and map slopes (real-time) for planning site-specific management practices in commercial fields. The SS maps or real-time SMMS could also be used to adjust vehicle speed at particularly steep slopes.