Robots, Drones to Lead Next Wave of Farm Transformation
There were systems designed to help a farmer zero in on a stressed part of the crop on his or her farmland, based on data gathered by satellites.
Hyderabad: The days of farmers pushing a wooden plough pulled by bullocks, and staring at the sky and praying for rain, may become history soon what with an array of robots, drones, automated land levellers, and satellite tech becoming available. All of these promise to make agriculture more efficient and productive and are on display at the three-day agri show that concludes at the NTR stadium here on Sunday.
The expo has stalls displaying proven systems like drip irrigation to satellite-based crop health monitoring technology that promise effective solutions to some of the more challenging tasks a farmer faces.
Jostling for space in the tightly packed tented expo is a demonstration of how far agriculture has come, and where it is headed. While the use of drones has caught on for spraying pesticides, or fertilisers, there were other machinery and gadgets on display including a small robotic vehicle that can tug along a cart carrying heavy sack loads of materials, or harvested crops along a predetermined path, while another promises effortless levelling of land, not just filling holes in a field but also ensuring proper drainage by creating slopes as required, and determined by farmers.
Also on display were systems designed to help a farmer zero in on a stressed part of the crop on his or her farmland, based on data gathered by satellites. These systems provided data on a phone that can pinpoint where a disease is starting, with resolution that comes down to as small an area as nine square metres.
For those who are not into agriculture but have a green thumb, there is plenty to choose from too from plants – both ornamental and vegetable — from various nurseries, as well as smaller gadgets that can make home gardening a little easier.
