PHOTO: ENTRELINHAS
AgroSmart sensor colletcs data inside the plantation.
need, which means an excess of 60%. “Everything that comes in terms of efficiency is very welcome because it is possible to com- bine productivity and economics, especially because of sustainability. Resources are finite and we need to take this seriously. More agri- culture and less inputs,” says Rafael Hungaro, CEO of AgroHungaro, which provides Digital Farm solution. Digital Farms already measure phosphorus, urea, potassium and nitrogen usages in soy- bean, maize and sugar cane plantations in Bra- zil and Bolivia. The conclusion suggests that it is possible to save those inputs and to increase production and profitability. Through a precise map of samples (each 5 hec- tares), managers can know exactly where they need to use fertilisers to achieve best results for each crop. In soybean, for example, crops rose 28.5% while fertilisers usage dropped down 30.4% after four years. The same
practices also got good results on maize and sugar cane crops.
Agrize to save chemicals Agrize offers a solution for chemical spraying processes through robust drone and mapping technologies. The solution alr-eady covers 70,000 hectares of rice fields in Santa Catarina state with up to 90% reduction on the quantity of soup/mixture (chemical plus water) dispersed. “Aside from chemicals and water savings, Agrize ensures much more precision on appli- cation, which preserves neighbour areas, for example. More than that, tractors can destroy part of plantations and manual application could be dangerous for workers,” explains Igor Luduwichack, Agrize´s founder. Their drone weighs 25kg, takes four gallons of mixture and operates from a sophisticate field mapping system, called Mission Planner, con- nected wirelessly. This tool can cover up to six
hectares per hour in any kind of topography, which is impossible for tractors and risky for workers’ safety. The next step is integrate spectral cameras to gain further benefits. The research with this kind of equipment is going on and will take 48 months to be completed. Despite that, ear- liest projections show that it will be possible to save 30% of chemicals and fertilisers on several cultures.
Agrize equipment reduces chemical usage. ▶ FUTURE FARMING | 24 May 2019 21
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