e-Crop - Your Own Agriculture Assistant

Present day food production is not sufficient to achieve zero hunger, especially in the third world countries where food demand is increasing continuously for the ever-growing population. With the cultivatable area shrinking in these regions, achieving higher productivity from the available genetic stock is crucial. Addressing individual crops and applying required inputs in precisely sufficient quantities leads to increased production and minimizes environmental loss. The gap between potential and achieved yield is generally wide, and narrowing this gap is a challenging task to meet future food requirements. Smart farming technology, which integrates technological advances in information technology with agriculture, is the best strategy to reduce this gap. ICAR-CTCRI has developed an IoT device called Electronic Crop (e-Crop) for smart farming by simulating crop growth in real-time. This device works with crop simulation, real-time weather, and soil data collected by sensors.

e-Crop: An Overview

e-Crop is a weatherproof electronic device developed for working in any terrain under various climatic conditions. The device consists of a main control unit to which sensors collecting various soil and weather parameters are connected. The data collected by the device include:

Temperature

Wind velocity

Humidity

Solar radiation

Wind direction

Rainfall

Soil moisture

Geo-coordinates

The microcontroller inside the control unit coordinates the clock, initiates the internet connection, and collects data from different sensors. A web interface is used for managing smart farming using e-Crop, allowing users to add crops, fertilizers, soil types, locations, new e-Crops, fertigation devices, etc.

e-Crop Interface

The e-Crop web interface is the platform facilitating the management of farming. This interface can also be operated through the "e-Crop " mobile app. Different types of users have specific rights to manage e-Crop:

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

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Admin

Device Owners can:

Viewing and adding new e-Crop, locations, users, crops, varieties, soil types, and fertigation devices.
Setting up simulations for crops like cassava, sweet potato, elephant foot yam, and others added to the system.

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

Owner

Device Owners can:

View all features.
Add new Farmer-type users.
Set up simulations.
Add or update the fertigation system.

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

Farmer

Farmers can:

View all features.
Set up simulations.

Manager

Smart farming can be monitored at different hierarchy levels from the Director of Agriculture at the state level to the Agricultural Officer at the Panchayat level. Directors can view e- Crop-based smart farming details for every farmer's field in the state. Principal Agriculture Officers can monitor fields in their district, and Assistant Directors and Agriculture Officers can view details at block and Panchayat levels, respectively. Agriculture Officers, as device owners, can add new farmers to the interface under their jurisdiction.

Management of Farm Using e-Crop

One of the core features of the e-Crop system is its ability to simulate crop growth in real-time. Setting up a simulation involves entering data on the crop, soil type, location, and planting date, among other parameters.

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Step 1: Adding Farmers and Setting Up Simulations

The Device Owner adds new farmers for the e-Crop device under their purview and sets up new simulations for these farmers. This includes crops, soils, varieties, and devices already added by the Admin.

Step 3: Input Management

Users can add information regarding water, N, P, and K available in the soil at planting and those added later.

Step 2: Creation of Simulation ID

A unique Simulation ID is created when a new simulation is set up for the crop, variety, location, planting date, e-Crop device, cultivated area, and farmer. This ID is used for executing the simulation in a single step. Required parameters include:

Crop
Crop area
Variety
Initial values of N, P, K, and water in the soil
Location (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude)
Date of planting
Duration
Field ID
Soil type
e-Crop ID
Farmer ID

Step 4: Simulation Results

Each day, the crop growth is simulated using the web interface or mobile app with the Simulation ID. The generated advisory is sent to the farmer's mobile and other included numbers. The advisory includes information on:

Date of planting
Variety of crop
Potential yield achievable to date
Water, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium required
Normal yield predicted
Cultivated area

The results are sent via SMS, detailing water and fertilizer requirements for that day, the next week, and the remaining crop duration in one dose. This device aids in real-time agro- advisory to reduce yield gaps and achieve targeted yields, promoting the application of fertilizers as per demand in smaller, frequent doses, reducing losses and increasing yield.

Applications of the Device

e-Crop can forecast crop yield more accurately at local, regional, and national levels. Forecasts sent by e-Crop devices to a centralized database can be compiled for national, state, or regional crop yield/status predictions. The device provides real-time information to farmers, even if they are far from their fields.

e-Crop - Your Own Agriculture Assistant

e-Crop: An Overview

e-Crop Interface

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

Device Owners can:

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

Device Owners can:

An IoT Solution for Precision Farming

Farmers can:

Management of Farm Using e-Crop

Step 1: Adding Farmers and Setting Up Simulations

Step 3: Input Management

Step 2: Creation of Simulation ID

Step 4: Simulation Results

Applications of the Device

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