Technological developments around the world directly affect all areas of life. With the opportunities provided by technology, more advanced, efficient and easily accessible applications are also observed in the agricultural sector. Nowadays, the increasing world population has raised the demand for food. In order to meet the increasing demand for food, the agricultural sector also benefits from technological developments. Digital farming aims both to increase productivity in agriculture and to ensure sustainable production.
The increase in the world’s population is leading to the rapid depletion of resources, which are the basic needs of humanity. In addition, climate change, the effects of which are observed all over the world, is also a factor in the reduction of resources. In order to leave a better future for future generations and to ensure the protection of existing resources, digital farming practices are very important. In this article, we will provide information about the key aspects of digital farming. Let’s take a look at digital farming, which offers revolutionary solutions for our present and future.
Intelligent and Efficient Solutions: Digital Farming
Agricultural production is an activity that depends on external factors such as weather, seed quality, and soil. Therefore, many factors affect the rate of agricultural production. With the increase in the world population, efforts are being made to stabilize agricultural activities. With digital farming, economic and high-quality agricultural activities are realized.
Agriculture does not only contribute to people in the field of nutrition. It also provides a source of raw materials, national income, employment, and balanced economic distribution. Therefore, agriculture is an important sector that should not be ignored in the economic planning of a country. In particular, developed countries have made significant investments in the agricultural sector in addition to their industrial developments.
With digital farming, the use of computers in agriculture, technological agricultural tools, artificial intelligence applications, unmanned vehicles, and much more have become a part of agriculture. Digital farming is a technique that enables soil and crop management to increase agricultural productivity. It also allows more economical use of resources and minimization of environmental damage. The first activity of digital farming was realized in 2017. With this activity, crops planted and grown entirely with technological agricultural tools without a labor force were harvested for the first time.
Principal Aim of Digital Farming
The primary purpose of digital farming is to use the inputs applied in agricultural production where, when, and how much they are needed. In addition, it optimizes the contribution to the food chain. Agricultural activities are affected by external factors, creating a negative situation for the sector. Digital farming aims to minimize uncertainty against negative situations and maximize yields. In addition, food waste occurs due to the wrong methods applied in agriculture. Furthermore, digital farming practices aim to prevent this waste and achieve quality harvests. The increase in product quality also benefits the consumer.
Digital Farming Tools
Digital farming applications increase productivity in agriculture by providing great convenience to farmers. Sensors, drones, satellites, and robotics technologies are the most commonly used applications of digital farming. In addition, these applications provide detailed and real-time information on which part of the field, how much and what kind of fertilizers should be applied, when to irrigate the plants and the estimated harvest time.
Smart Soil Sensor
Irrigation in agriculture is the delivery of the water needed by the plant and which cannot be met by precipitation to the root zone of the plant in the soil in the required amount and time. In arid and semi-arid agricultural areas, agricultural irrigation should be carried out with the most appropriate method for high yield and quality in case of insufficient natural rainfall during the growing period of plants.
In addition to the importance of irrigation for the plant, the most important thing is the critical irrigation period and the amount of water needed for each plant. If the amount of moisture needed by plants in development and critical irrigation periods is not taken into consideration, serious yield losses and a decrease in product quality are observed. Soil sensors are used to eliminate such problems in agriculture and to use our increasingly scarce water resources effectively. A soil sensor is a sensor used to measure the amount of moisture in the soil. Soil sensor probes are measured by immersing them in the soil.
Drones
Thanks to today’s technology, drones and agriculture form an incredible partnership. Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are lightweight and small smart devices with a camera or sensors. They can hover around farmland and provide an aerial view of the land. These small devices can scan farmland in a matter of hours, allowing farmers to be aware of potential problems in their farms.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping to improve a wide range of tasks, such as obtaining healthier crops, monitoring soil and growing conditions, organizing data for farmers, and more. Due to changing climatic conditions and increasing air pollution, it is difficult for farmers to determine the right time for planting seeds. With the help of AI, farmers can analyze weather conditions using weather forecasts. It helps them plan what type of crops can be grown and when the seeds should be planted. Furthermore, AI applications in agriculture provide farmers with information on water management, timely harvesting, the type of crops to be grown, crop rotation, pest attacks, and nutrition management.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things is a communication network where smart devices are connected to larger systems. Nowadays, the Internet of Things is used in different areas, from small household appliances to smart cities. The data generated here is called big data.
The Internet of Things is an important digital farming tool used in many areas of agriculture. One of the most popular smart farming tools is weather stations. Placed in the field, these sensors collect various data from the environment and send it to the cloud. IoT sensors provide accurate real-time information about greenhouse conditions such as soil conditions, lighting, temperature, and humidity.