About Site Specific Crop Management
There are broadly over 20 agro-ecological zones in India and each zone has its own suitability for different crop types. Beyond this broad variation, the soil conditions in a region as small as an acre of farmland also vary to some extent. In order to maximize the yield from the fixed area of land, it’s important to identify these variations and supply inputs accordingly. Site specific crop management (SSCM) is a branch of precision agriculture that does exactly the same.
SSCM is a farming management concept which involves observing, measuring and responding to inter or intra-field variability in crops .It is one of the modern farming techniques which can make production more efficient in the limited availability of land and also ensure soil conservation. SSCM practices lead to better yield with least depletion of minerals and quality of soil.
How Site Specific Crop Management is helping precision Agriculture
Spatial variability maps are created for the farmland with the help of technologies like Global Positioning system (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). This variability map captures variables like crop yield, terrain features/topography, organic matter content, moisture levels, nitrogen levels, pH, and essential minerals across the area. Similar data is also collected by GPS equipped machinery like harvesters, tractors etc. These data are analysed to be used in decision making process in variable rate technology (VRT) including seeders, sprayers, etc. to optimally distribute resources across the field area.
Real-time soil sensors are also available that can wirelessly transmit data without the need of human presence. As a cheaper alternative to these modes, agricultural drones equipped with multispectral or RGB cameras are also being used successfully. SSCM practices can address multiple contemporary issues facing Indian Agricultural arena like low farmer’s income, degrading soil quality, insufficient food production, high input costs etc.
FocusAgritech’s Outlook: The data collected under these practices can be useful input for tailoring insurance schemes, government schemes and policy development etc. SSCM is the key to Precision agriculture which is relatively unexplored in India. It’s a technological hotspot and opportunity area for technological companies to develop more affordable and scalable tools for SSCM. Government organisations like Indian Council of Agricultural Research encourage such initiatives through infrastructural and incubation support at each stage.
Companies to Watch: Framers edge, MavrX, Geo Visual Analytics, Aglytics, Proagrica
Recent Article
