Sensing Technology for Precision Crop Farming

Abstract

Precision agriculture (PA) or site-specific crop management is a concept based on sensing or observing and responding with management actions to spatial and temporal variability in crops. Conventional PA technology is commonly associated with geolocation through global positioning system or global navigation satellite system technology. The emergence of modern electronics has made broad sensing technologies available for management of crop production. Electronics and sensor systems were exploited for application in agricultural equipment early after the availability of emerging electronics technologies. Yield monitoring is an important source of information in PA systems. Comparative yield information may be used to assess the performance of farming practices. Error in yield monitoring systems arises from not only the crop flow measuring system but also from the speed and effective width inputs. Crop flow meters that utilize force or mass measurement are susceptible to errors due to motion of the harvesting machine.