Farming support method, farming support system, and program

Abstract

To reflect the influence of a flow of irrigation water in a field in determining an input amount of inputs in the field.SOLUTION: A farming support method includes: generating area input information indicating input amounts of inputs to a plurality of areas of a field, based on input / output position information concerning the positions of a water mouth and a water bottom of irrigation water provided in the field for collecting irrigation water; and outputting output information concerning the generated area input information. Generating the area input information may further include determining, for each of the plurality of areas, a correction factor corresponding to whether more or less inputs remain in the area relative to the amount input into the area based on the relative position of the area from the water mouth and the water bottom indicated by the input / output position information, and determining the input amount of the inputs to the plurality of areas based on the correction factor and a reference input amount of the inputs to the plurality of areas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a farming support method, a farming support system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] As agriculture becomes increasingly information-based and automated, systems have been developed to assist in the application of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides to farm fields.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for reducing unevenness in the amount of input within a field by mixing a constant amount of solid fertilizer into irrigation water supplied to the field. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-117588 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In general, uneven growth of crops can occur within a field due to differences in conditions such as sunlight exposure and soil properties. Since uneven growth can cause problems such as undergrowth or overgrowth of crops in some areas and variations in quality, technologies have been developed to reduce growth differences by varying the amount of input materials to multiple areas within the field (e.g., variable fertilization technology).

[0006] However, the technology of Patent Document 1 does not allow the amount of input material to be changed in a field filled with irrigation water. However, if the amount of input material is changed in a field filled with irrigation water by a technology used in fields that do not contain irrigation water, such as dry rice fields and farmland, the input material may move due to the water flow, and an unintended amount of input material may remain in an unintended area.

[0007] In view of the above, one object of the present disclosure is to reflect the influence of the flow of irrigation water in a farm field when determining the amount of input material to be input in the farm field. Other objects can be understood from the following description and the description of the embodiment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The means for solving the problems will be described below using the numbers and symbols used in the description of the embodiment of the invention. These numbers and symbols are added in parentheses for reference purposes to show an example of the correspondence between the description of the claims and the description of the embodiment of the invention. Therefore, the description in parentheses should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0009] The farming support method according to the embodiment includes generating area input information (D4) indicating the amount of input materials to multiple areas (A) of a field (F) based on inlet / outlet position information (D2a) relating to the positions of an irrigation water inlet (WI) and outlet (DO) of irrigation water provided in a field (F) containing irrigation water, and outputting output information relating to the generated area input information (D4).

[0010] The farming support system (1) according to the embodiment includes a generation unit (130) that generates area input information (D4) indicating the amount of input materials to multiple areas (A) of a field (F) based on inlet / outlet position information (D2a) relating to the positions of an irrigation water inlet (WI) and outlet (DO) of irrigation water provided in the field (F) that contains irrigation water, and an information output unit (140) that outputs output information relating to the area input information (D4) generated by the generation unit (130).

[0011] The programs (P1, P2) of the embodiments cause a computer (14, 24) to generate area input information (D4) indicating the amount of input materials to multiple areas (A) of a field (F) based on inlet / outlet position information (D2a) regarding the positions of an irrigation water inlet (WI) and outlet (DO) of the irrigation water provided in the field (F) that holds irrigation water, and to output output information regarding the generated area input information (D4). Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the embodiment, when determining the amount of input material to be applied to a field, it is possible to reflect differences in crop growing conditions between fields and between multiple areas within a field. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a farming support system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining regions in a farm field according to an embodiment. [Figure 3A] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of first region input information according to the embodiment. [Figure 3B] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of region setting information according to the embodiment. [Figure 3C] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of second region input information according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a farming support device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the farming support system according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of farm field information according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of correction setting information according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the farm management support system according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the farm management support system according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] (First embodiment) A farming support system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the farming support system 1 includes a farming support device 10 and a terminal device 20. The farming support system 1 manages information on the amount of input materials to multiple areas in one or more fields F in which target crops are to be cultivated (for example, first area input information D1a in FIG. 3A and second area input information D4 in FIG. 3C). The input materials may be, for example, fertilizer or pesticide. The farming support device 10 and the terminal device 20 can communicate with each other via a network NT. The network NT is, for example, the Internet.

[0015] The farming support device 10 can communicate with a server device S external to the farming support system 1 via a network NT. The server device S is, for example, a computer with server functions managed by a company or organization that provides farming services. The server device S may provide the farming support device 10 with information regarding the amount of input materials in multiple areas A within the field F for each of multiple fields F. The functions of the server device S may be provided on the network NT as a cloud service.

[0016] In this embodiment, the field F is a paddy field filled with irrigation water. Each of the one or more fields F includes a plurality of areas with different growing conditions for the target crops to be cultivated, as shown in Fig. 2. In the example of Fig. 2, the field F includes a total of 16 areas A_1 to A_16 divided into a 4-row, 4-column grid. When the plurality of areas included in the field F are not to be distinguished from one another, they may be simply referred to as areas A.

[0017] Inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides may be input to each area A of a field F. In this embodiment, a case where the input is fertilizer will be described. In this specification, the term "input amount" of an input may refer to any of the input amount per unit area, the total amount of the input to an entire specific field F, and the total amount of the input to a specific area A of a certain field F.

[0018] The field F of this embodiment includes a water inlet WI provided with equipment (e.g., an intake) for taking in irrigation water, and a water outlet DO provided with equipment (e.g., an outlet) for discharging irrigation water from the field F. Irrigation water may move downstream in the water flow direction from the water inlet WI to the water outlet DO. Therefore, inputs inputted into an area A (e.g., areas A_1 to A_4) located further upstream in the water flow direction among the multiple areas A may move toward an area A (e.g., areas A_5 to A_16) located further downstream due to the flow of irrigation water. The actual effect of the input is determined according to the amount of inputs retained in that area A. Therefore, when the same amount of input is inputted into the area A located upstream and the area A located downstream, the effect of the input may be smaller in the area A located upstream and larger in the area A located downstream.

[0019] In Figure 2, each area A in field F is shown as a square, with area A_1, which has the worst growing conditions, being filled in black, and area A_2, which has the second worst growing conditions, being shaded diagonally. Area A_16, which has the best growing conditions, is lined vertically, and area A_15, which has the second best growing conditions, is lined horizontally. Other areas A in field F, which have standard growing conditions, are shown as white squares.

[0020] The growing conditions of the crops in each field F and each area A may be indicated by index values ​​indicating, for example, the components of the soil, the measurement results of the amount of sunlight, the actual growing conditions of the crops, and past harvest results. In this embodiment, the server device S uses the NDVI, which indicates the presence or absence of vegetation at each position on the ground surface and the activity of the vegetation, calculated based on a satellite photo of multiple spectra, as an index value of the growing conditions. For example, the server device S acquires a multispectral image of the ground surface including the multiple fields F, which is taken by an artificial satellite. The server device S generates a growth map (for example, an NDVI map) of the multiple fields F based on this multispectral image. The NDVI map is a growth map indicating the growth degree of the plants at each point, which is generated by applying the NDVI value determined for each point in the field F to a map. For each of multiple fields F, the server device S defines multiple areas A within the field F where crop growing conditions are different based on the NDVI map, and generates information regarding the recommended input amount of inputs for each area A (for example, the first area input information D1a in Figure 3A).

[0021] As an example, the server device S divides the geographical range of the field F into a plurality of regions A. The server device S then ranks the crop growth conditions for each region A based on the NDVI map of the field F at a certain time (for example, a predetermined day before the day of inputting the input material to the field F). The rank of the growth conditions for each region A set by the server device S is also called the region rank. It can be estimated that the region A in the field F where the crop growth rate is high has better crop growth conditions than the region A where the crop growth rate is not high. Therefore, the region A with a region rank of high growth rate has a smaller recommended input amount of the input material (in this embodiment, fertilizer), while the region A with a region rank of low growth rate has a larger input amount of the input material. The server device S may transmit the first region input information D1a to the farm management support device 10.

[0022] The first area input information D1a transmitted by the server device S to the farm management support device 10 stores, as shown in FIG. 3A for example, an "area ID" indicating an identifier of each area A included in the field F, "geographical information" indicating the geographical range of each area A, and an "area rank" indicating the rank of the area A, in association with each other. When the shape of the area A is a polygon, the "geographical information" includes information indicating the geographical coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the vertices of the boundary line of the area A. In addition, the "area rank" indicates one of five ranks ranging from rank 1 indicating the worst growing conditions to rank 5 indicating the best growing conditions as a rank of the growing conditions of the area A.

[0023] In the first region input information D1a of Figure 3A, rank 3, indicating that the growth conditions are standard, is set for regions A_3 to A_14, among regions A_1 to A_16 of field F in Figure 2, whose growth conditions meet the standard criteria (for example, the difference between the average NDVI value within region A and the average NDVI value for the entire field F is less than or equal to a first threshold value).

[0024] On the other hand, in the first region input information D1a, the lowest rank 1 is set for region A_1 whose growing conditions meet the criteria for rank 1 (for example, the average NDVI value in region A is lower than the average for the entire field F by more than the second threshold). Furthermore, rank 2 is set for region A_2 whose growing conditions meet the criteria for rank 2 in the first region input information D1a. The criterion for rank 2 is, for example, that the average NDVI value in region A is lower than the average for the entire field F, and the difference is greater than the above-mentioned first threshold but less than the second threshold.

[0025] In the first region input information D1a of Fig. 3A, the highest rank 5 is set for region A_16 whose growing conditions meet the criteria for rank 5 (for example, the average NDVI value within region A is higher than the average for the entire field F by more than the third threshold). Furthermore, rank 4 is set for region A_15 whose growing conditions meet the criteria for rank 4 in the first region input information D1a. The criterion for rank 4 is, for example, that the average NDVI value within region A is higher than the average for the entire field F, and the difference is greater than the above-mentioned first threshold but less than the third threshold.

[0026] The server device S may provide the farming support device 10 with information (for example, area setting information D1b shown in FIG. 3B) regarding the amount of input recommended for the area A to which each of a plurality of area ranks is set. The area setting information D1b in FIG. 3B stores an "area rank" indicating a plurality of area ranks that can be set for the area A, and an "input coefficient" indicating the amount of input for the area A corresponding to the area rank.

[0027] The "input coefficient" in FIG. 3B indicates, for example, the ratio between the input amount per unit area of ​​the input recommended for the region A of the region rank and the first standard input amount per unit area for the field F. The first standard input amount is, for example, a standard mass to be input per are recommended by the input manufacturer. Alternatively, the first standard input amount may be an input amount per unit area desired by the user for each field F, set by user input. For example, for rank 3 indicating standard growing conditions, the "input coefficient" of the region setting information D1b is set to 1. Therefore, when the input process is performed using the first region input information D1a and the region setting information D1b as is, the first standard input amount is input to the region A whose region rank is rank 3. The input coefficient can also be defined as a coefficient indicating the relative amount of input to be input for each region rank when the reference region rank (rank 3 in the above example) is set to 1.

[0028] In the area setting information D1b, the "input coefficient" is set so that the numerical value is larger for area ranks corresponding to worse growth conditions. Therefore, when the first area input information D1 and the area setting information D1b are used as is to perform input work, a larger amount of fertilizer is input to the area A as the growth conditions become worse than the standard, and a smaller amount of fertilizer is input to the area A as the growth conditions become better than the standard. This can reduce fluctuations in crop yield and quality caused by differences in growth conditions in the area A in the field F. However, in the field F, fertilizer may move due to irrigation water flowing in the direction from the water inlet WI to the water outlet DO. For example, a part of the fertilizer input to the area A may not remain in the area A but move to another area A (for example, an area A located downstream of the flow of irrigation water).

[0029] In response to this, the farming support system 1 generates second area input information D4 for each of one or more fields F based on not only the first area input information D1a and area setting information D1b but also information indicating the positions of the water inlet WI and water outlet DO of the field F (for example, the field information D2 in FIG. 7). At least a part of the input amount to each area A indicated by the second area input information D4 may be corrected from the first area input information D1a according to the flow direction of the irrigation water indicated by the positions of the water inlet WI and water outlet DO. The first area input information D1a is also referred to as pre-correction input information. In addition, since the farming support system 1 corrects the input amount to each area A indicated by the first area input information D1a taking into account the flow of the irrigation water, the input amount of the first area input information D1a is also referred to as the second reference input amount.

[0030] The second area input information D4 in FIG. 3C stores, in the same manner as the first area input information D1a in FIG. 3A, an "area ID" indicating an identifier of each area A included in the field F, "geographical information" indicating the geographical range of each area A, and an "area rank" indicating the rank of the area A, in association with each other. In addition, the second area input information D4 further stores an "input amount" indicating the input amount of an input recommended for each area A. For example, the "input amount" indicates the input amount per unit area (mass per square meter) of an input recommended for the area A corresponding to the row. The specific numerical value of the recommended input amount indicated by the "input amount" is determined by a process described later according to the growth conditions of the area A and the relative position of the area A from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO. The second area input information D4 is also called determined input information.

[0031] 3C , the farming support system 1 can generate second area input information D4 that reflects the differences in crop growth conditions among multiple areas A in a field F and the flow of irrigation water according to the positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO. This allows the farming support system 1 to provide information that can be used to input an amount of input that is adjusted to reduce variations in crop growth due to differences in growth conditions among multiple areas A in the field F, taking into account the movement of inputs by irrigation water for each area A in one or more fields F.

[0032] The configuration of the farming support system 1 will be described. As shown in Fig. 4, the farming support device 10 included in the farming support system 1 includes an input / output device 12, a calculation device 14, a communication device 16, and a storage device 18. The farming support device 10 is, for example, a computer having a server function. Note that some or all of the functions of the farming support device 10 may be provided as a cloud service on the network NT.

[0033] Information for the arithmetic device 14 to execute processing is input to the input / output device 12. In addition, the input / output device 12 outputs a result of the processing executed by the arithmetic device 14. The input / output device 12 includes various input devices and output devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a display, a speaker, a touch panel, etc. The input / output device 12 may be omitted.

[0034] The communication device 16 is communicatively connected to the network NT and communicates with devices external to the farming support device 10 (e.g., a terminal device 20 and a server device S) via the network NT. The communication device 16 may transfer information acquired from one or more terminal devices 20 and the server device S to the calculation device 14. The communication device 16 may also transfer information generated by the calculation device 14 to the terminal device 20 and the server device S. The communication device 16 includes various interfaces, such as a network interface card (NIC) and a universal serial bus (USB).

[0035] The storage device 18 stores a program P1 and the like including various data and instructions for the farm management support device 10 of this embodiment to execute the processes described below. For example, the storage device 18 may store information indicating the planned date for inputting input materials in each farm field F. The storage device 18 is used as a non-transitory tangible storage medium for storing these data and instructions. The program P1 may be provided as a computer program product recorded on a computer-readable storage medium M1. Alternatively, the storage medium M1 may be a storage device of an external server that stores the program P1. In this case, the program P1 may be provided as a computer program product that can be downloaded from the server.

[0036] The arithmetic device 14 reads and executes a program P1 including instructions and data for executing at least a part of the processes described below from the storage device 18. For example, the arithmetic device 14 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and the like.

[0037] The arithmetic device 14 realizes functional units of the farming support device 10, which will be described later, by reading and executing the program P1.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 5, the terminal device 20 included in the farming support system 1 includes an input / output device 22, a calculation device 24, a communication device 26, and a storage device 28. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a mobile device such as a tablet or a smartphone. The terminal device 20 may be a stationary personal computer or a notebook computer. Alternatively, the terminal device 20 may be a computer device (for example, a car navigation system) installed in a work device that inputs input materials in the field F.

[0039] Information for the arithmetic unit 24 to execute processing is input to the input / output device 22. In addition, the input / output device 22 outputs a result of the processing executed by the arithmetic unit 24. The input / output device 22 includes various input devices and output devices, such as a speaker and a touch panel. In addition, the input / output device 22 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a display, and the like.

[0040] The communication device 26 is communicatively connected to the network NT and communicates with devices external to the terminal device 20 (e.g., the farming support device 10) via the network NT. The communication device 26 transfers information acquired from the farming support device 10 to the calculation device 24. The communication device 26 may also transfer information generated by the calculation device 24 to the farming support device 10. The communication device 26 includes various interfaces such as a transceiver, a NIC, and a USB used for wireless communication such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a cellular network.

[0041] The storage device 28 stores a program P2 and the like including various data and instructions for the farm management support system 1 of this embodiment to execute the processes described below. The storage device 28 is used as a non-transitory storage medium for storing these data and instructions. The program P2 may be provided as a computer program product recorded on a computer-readable storage medium M2. Alternatively, the storage medium M2 may be a storage device of an external server that stores the program P2. In this case, the program P2 may be provided as a computer program product that can be downloaded from the server.

[0042] The arithmetic unit 24 reads and executes a program P2, which includes instructions and data for executing at least a part of the processes described below, from the storage device 28. For example, the arithmetic unit 24 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and the like.

[0043] The arithmetic device 24 implements functional units of the terminal device 20, which will be described later, by reading and executing the program P2.

[0044] With the physical configurations as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the farming support device 10 and the terminal device 20 realize the functional units shown in Figure 6. As an example, the arithmetic device 14 of the farming support device 10 realizes the functions of an information acquisition unit 110, a decision unit 120, a generation unit 130, an information output unit 140, and an information storage unit 150 by executing a program P1.

[0045] The information storage unit 150 stores, for example, information input by a user using the input / output device 12 and information acquired from an external device (for example, the server device S or an external server). Furthermore, the information storage unit 150 temporarily stores information generated or updated by the determination unit 120 and the generation unit 130. The information storage unit 150 may provide the stored information to the information acquisition unit 110, the determination unit 120, the generation unit 130, and the information output unit 140. The information storage unit 150 previously stores, for example, farm field information D2 and correction setting information D3 before the start of processing described below.

[0046] The field information D2 stores information indicating one or more fields F to be processed, such as fields F owned by a user of the farm management support system 1. As shown in FIG. 7 as an example, the field information D2 includes a "field ID" that is an identifier that uniquely identifies each field F, a "geographical range" that indicates the geographical range of the field F, an "entrance / exit" that indicates the positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO, an "elevation" that indicates the elevation (e.g., altitude) of multiple points in the field F, and "soil" that indicates the soil quality of each area A. In the field information D2, the "entrance / exit" portion is also referred to as entrance / exit information D2a, the "elevation" portion is also referred to as elevation information D2b, and the "soil" portion is also referred to as soil information D2c. Among these, the "geographical range" indicates the geographical positions (e.g., latitude and longitude) of each vertex when each field F is a polygon. In this embodiment, the "geographical range" includes a map image of the area including each field F. The field information D2 may further store the work date of the input to each field F.

[0047] The inlet / outlet information D2a in FIG. 7 indicates, for example, the positions (for example, latitude and longitude) of a water inlet WI and a water outlet DO provided in the field F.

[0048] The elevation information D2b includes, for example, elevation map information indicating the position and elevation of each point included in each of the multiple areas A. The direction and amount of irrigation water flow are determined according to the elevation of the area A relative to the adjacent areas A. Therefore, the lower the area A is relative to the adjacent areas A, the greater the amount of input material input into the area A that remains in the area A and the greater the amount of input material flowing in from the adjacent areas A. Therefore, the farming support system 1 of this embodiment corrects the first area input information D1a based on the elevation information D2b for an area A that is higher than the adjacent areas A by more than a predetermined elevation standard so that the amount of input material input is greater than in other cases.

[0049] The soil information D2c includes, for example, the position of each point included in each of the multiple areas A and information on the viscosity of the soil at the point. In this embodiment, the information on the viscosity of the soil indicated by the soil information D2c indicates which of multiple types of soil (e.g., clay soil, sandy soil) the soil at each point of the field F is, which has different easiness of flow of input materials depending on the flow of irrigation water. The lower the viscosity of the soil, the easier it may be for the input materials to move with the flow of irrigation water. Therefore, in correcting the input amount to the area A indicated by the first area input information D1a, the farming support system 1 of this embodiment corrects the first area input information D1a so that the input amount to the area A where the viscosity of the soil indicated by the soil information D2c is lower than a predetermined viscosity standard is increased compared to the case where the viscosity is not lower.

[0050] The correction setting information D3 stores setting information indicating a standard for generating second area input information D4 according to the positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO, for example, as shown in Fig. 8. In this embodiment, the farming support system 1 ranks each area A included in a certain field F according to the relative position of the area A as viewed from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO. Therefore, in the example of Fig. 8, the correction setting information D3 stores a "position rank" that ranks the extent to which each area A is located upstream, a "relative position" that indicates the range of the position of the area A corresponding to that position rank, and a "coefficient" that indicates a coefficient for determining the input amount for the area A corresponding to that position rank.

[0051] The "position rank" in Fig. 8 indicates one of four stages, from position rank 1 located on the most upstream side to position rank 4 located on the most downstream side, as a correction rank that can be assigned to each area A in the field F. In this embodiment, the "relative position" indicates the range of evaluation values ​​included in the area A of that position rank, using the ratio of the distance from a representative position (e.g., the center) of the area A to the water inlet WI and the distance from the representative position to the water outlet DO as the evaluation value. In the example of Fig. 8, the value taken is the distance between the representative position of the "relative position" and the water inlet WI as the numerator, and the distance from the representative position to the water outlet DO as the denominator.

[0052] In this embodiment, the "coefficient" stores a correction coefficient for correcting the amount of input to each area A of the field F of each rank according to the influence of water flow when generating the second area input information D4. This coefficient can be said to be an index value indicating whether the amount of input material remaining in the area A due to the water flow from the water inlet WI to the water outlet DO will be increased or decreased compared to the amount input to the area A of the position rank. The specific method of using the correction coefficient to generate the second area input information D4 will be described later. In the "coefficient" of FIG. 8, the correction coefficient is set so that the amount of input material input to the area A becomes larger relative to the second reference input amount indicated by the first area input information D1a as the relative position of the area A is located upstream of the irrigation water flow.

[0053] 6 acquires information necessary for the farm management support device 10 to execute the processing described below from the information storage unit 150, the terminal device 20, or the server device S. The information acquisition unit 110 provides the acquired information to the determination unit 120, the generation unit 130, the information output unit 140, or the information storage unit 150.

[0054] As described below, the determination unit 120 determines a correction coefficient for determining the input amount for multiple areas A included in one or more fields F, taking into account the influence of irrigation water flow, based on the input amount in the first area input information D1a.

[0055] The generating unit 130 generates the second region input information D4 based on the correction coefficient determined by the determining unit 120, as described later.

[0056] The information output unit 140 outputs the output information related to the second domain input information D4 generated by the generation unit .

[0057] As shown in FIG. 6, the arithmetic device 24 of the terminal device 20 realizes the functions of the display unit 210 by executing a program P2.

[0058] As described below, the display unit 210 uses the input / output device 22 to display information indicating the amount of input to area A of each field F indicated by the second area input information D4 in a manner that can be viewed by the user, based on the output information output by the information output unit 140.

[0059] (Operation of the farming support system) The farming support system 1, using the functional configuration described above, executes the process shown in Fig. 9 to generate second area input information D4 indicating the amount of input of an input to an area A in one or more fields F, and displays the generated second area input information D4. For example, the farming support device 10 of the farming support system 1 starts the process shown in Fig. 9 a predetermined day (e.g., one week before) the planned input date of the input to the field F indicated by the field information D2.

[0060] In the process of Fig. 9, first, in step S1002, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires the field information D2. For example, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires the field information D2 from the information storage unit 150. Alternatively, the information acquisition unit 110 may acquire the field information D2 from an external server (for example, a server provided by a manufacturer of a work tool used in the field F). The field information D2 acquired by the information acquisition unit 110 may include an image of a map of a geographical area that includes each field F.

[0061] Next, in step S1004, the information acquiring unit 110 acquires first region input information D1a indicating the amount of input material to the region A included in each of the one or more fields F indicated by the field information D2. For example, the information acquiring unit 110 acquires the first region input information D1a for each field F by using the communication device 16 to transmit information to the server device S requesting the first region input information D1a for the one or more fields F. In addition, in step S1004, the information acquiring unit 110 further acquires region setting information D1b from the server device S.

[0062] Next, in step S1006, the determination unit 120 determines a correction coefficient for the area A. First, the determination unit 120 determines a correction coefficient according to the relative position of each area A as viewed from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO, based on the inlet / outlet information D2a in the field information D2 of FIG. 7. As an example, the determination unit 120 calculates the ratio of the distance from the representative position (e.g., center) of each area A to the water inlet WI and the distance from the representative position to the water outlet DO. Then, the determination unit 120 compares the calculated ratio with the numerical range of each position rank indicated by the "relative position" in the correction setting information D3 of FIG. 8, to determine the position rank of each area A. For the area A whose evaluation value coincides with the lower limit threshold of a specific position rank and the upper limit threshold of the field rank one level below, the determination unit 120 may select either the upper or lower position rank, but in this case, the lower position rank is selected. The determination unit 120 determines the value stored in the “coefficient” of the row corresponding to the determined position rank in the correction setting information D3 as the correction coefficient (also called the first correction coefficient) corresponding to the relative position of each area A from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO.

[0063] In this embodiment, the determination unit 120 determines the correction coefficient for each area A based on the height of the soil surface of each area A. For example, the determination unit 120 corrects the first correction coefficient determined for the area A in which the soil surface is higher than a predetermined height standard compared to the adjacent area A based on the elevation information D2b of the field information D2 in FIG. 7 so as to increase the input amount. As an example, the determination unit 120 classifies the elevation information of the points included in each area A among the elevations of the points of the field F indicated by the elevation information D2b. Then, when the elevation information of one point is included in each area A, the elevation is determined as the height of the area A, and when information of multiple points is present, a representative value (for example, a median or average value) of the elevations is determined as the height of the area A, and the elevation difference of each area A is determined. When each area A is a square as shown in FIG. 2, the determination unit 120 may perform the above-mentioned correction for each area A when an area A with a soil surface lower than the elevation standard exists with respect to the area A among the four adjacent areas A.

[0064] The determination unit 120 may correct the first correction coefficient determined for the area A where the soil surface is lower than a predetermined elevation standard compared to the adjacent area A so as to reduce the input amount. As an example, the determination unit 120 may increase the first correction coefficient determined for the area A where the soil surface is higher than a predetermined elevation standard compared to the adjacent area A by a ratio or absolute value determined by settings, and may decrease the first correction coefficient determined for the lower area A by a ratio or absolute value determined by settings. The correction coefficient corrected based on the elevation difference is also called the second correction coefficient.

[0065] In this embodiment, the determination unit 120 determines the correction coefficient for each region A based on the quality of the soil in each region A. For example, the determination unit 120 corrects the second correction coefficient determined for the region A where the viscosity of the soil is lower than a predetermined viscosity standard based on the soil information D2c in the field information D2 so that the input amount is increased. As an example, the determination unit 120 extracts information on the viscosity of the soil at the points included in each region A from the viscosity of the soil at each point of the field F indicated by the soil information D2c. Then, when information on the viscosity of the soil for one point is included in each region A, the determination unit 120 determines the viscosity as the viscosity of the region A, and when information on multiple points is present, determines the representative value (e.g., median or average value) of the information as the viscosity of the region A. Then, the determination unit 120 may increase the second correction coefficient determined for the region A where the viscosity of the soil is lower than a predetermined viscosity standard by a ratio or absolute value determined by settings. The correction coefficient obtained by correcting the second correction coefficient based on the quality of the soil is also called the third correction coefficient. The determination unit 120 determines the third correction coefficient as a correction coefficient (also referred to as a determined correction coefficient) for correcting the first-region input information D1a to generate the second-region input information D4.

[0066] Next, in step S1008 of FIG. 9, the generation unit 130 determines, for the multiple fields F, the pre-correction input amount of the input for each area A of the field F. The pre-correction input amount indicates the input amount per unit area for each area A before correction that takes into account the influence of the water flow of irrigation water, which is determined based on the first area input information D1a and the area setting information D1b. For example, for each of the multiple area ranks, the generation unit 130 calculates a value obtained by multiplying the second reference input amount set for the field F by the coefficient indicated by the "input coefficient" in the area setting information D1b of FIG. 3B as the pre-correction input amount per unit area for the area A of that area rank. Then, for each area A indicated by the "area ID" in the first area input information D1a, the pre-correction input amount calculated for the area rank defined by the "area rank" is determined as the pre-correction input amount for that area A.

[0067] Next, in step S1010 of FIG. 9, the generating unit 130 generates second region input information D4 for each of one or more fields F. For example, the generating unit 130 calculates an input amount obtained by correcting the pre-correction input amount (second reference input amount) for each region A of each field F determined in step S1008 using the determined correction coefficient determined in step S1006. For example, the generating unit 130 determines, for each field F, a value obtained by multiplying the pre-correction input amount determined for that field F by the determined correction coefficient determined for that region A in step S1006 as the corrected input amount. Then, the generating unit 130 generates the second region input information D4 by storing the value of the corrected input amount determined for that region A in the "input amount" column in the row corresponding to that region A in the second region input information D4 shown in FIG. 3C. The generating unit 130 may store information corresponding to the first area input information D1a in the "area ID", "geographical information", and "area rank" portions of the second area input information D4 shown in FIG. 3C.

[0068] Next, in step S1012, the information output unit 140 outputs output information. For example, the information output unit 140 outputs, to the terminal device 20, output information including the second region input information D4 generated in step S1010 and an image of a map of the geographical range including the field F acquired in step S1002, using the communication device 16.

[0069] Next, in step S1014, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 20 displays the output information output in step S1012. For example, the display unit 210 may display, on the screen of the display device of the input / output device 22 of the terminal device 20, information indicating each area A and information indicating the input amount set for that area A in the second area input information D4, superimposed on an image showing a map of each field F.

[0070] The farming support system 1 of this embodiment can provide second area input information D4 that indicates the input amount of an input taking into consideration the growth conditions of the area A and the flow of irrigation water in the field F, for multiple areas A in the field F. Therefore, the farming support system 1 can easily reduce the variation in quality of crops cultivated in the field F.

[0071] (Modification) The configuration described in the embodiment is an example, and the configuration can be changed within a range that does not impair the function. For example, instead of generating the second area input information D4 in which the second reference input amount indicating the input amount according to the growth conditions for each area A is corrected, the farming support system 1 may generate the third area input information in which the above-mentioned first reference input amount is corrected based on the determination correction coefficient. In this case, the third area input information is set so that the input amount for each area A increases as the determination correction coefficient increases in accordance with the degree to which the input inputted into each area A remains in that area A.

[0072] For example, the farm management support device 10 of the farm management support system 1 according to this modified example starts the process shown in FIG. 10 a predetermined day (for example, one week) before the planned input date of inputs to one or more farm fields F.

[0073] In the process of FIG. 10, first, in step S2002, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires the farm field information D2 in the same manner as in step S1002 of FIG.

[0074] Next, in step S2004, the determination unit 120 divides one or more fields F into a plurality of regions A. As one example, the determination unit 120 may divide the geographical range of one or more fields F indicated by the field information D2 acquired in step S2002 into meshes with intervals determined by settings. Alternatively, the determination unit 120 may receive a user input to divide the field F into a plurality of regions A using the input / output device 12, and determine the plurality of regions A based on this user input.

[0075] Next, in step S2006, the determination unit 120 determines the correction coefficient for each region A in the same manner as in step S1006 of FIG.

[0076] Next, in step S2008, the generating unit 130 determines the pre-correction input amount for each region A. For example, the generating unit 130 may determine the standard input amount per unit area (first standard input amount) indicated by the manufacturer of the input as the pre-correction input amount for each region A. Alternatively, the generating unit 130 may receive a user input indicating a desired total input amount for the field F using the input / output device 12, and determine the pre-correction input amount based on this user input. In this case, the generating unit 130 may determine the pre-correction input amount per unit area as the value obtained by dividing the total input amount indicated by the received user input by the area of ​​the field F.

[0077] Next, in step S2010, the generating unit 130 generates third area input information. For example, the generating unit 130 may determine the input amount to each area A indicated by the third area input information as the input amount to be input to the area A indicated by the third area input information, by multiplying the input amount before correction determined in step S2008 as a reference amount by the correction coefficient determined in step S2006. The third area input information may be information including the "area ID" column, the "geographical information" column, and the "input amount" column of the second area input information D4 in FIG. 3C.

[0078] Next, in step S2012 in FIG. 10, the information output unit 140 outputs the output information in the same manner as in step S2010 in FIG.

[0079] Next, in step S2014 of FIG. 10, similarly to step S1014 of FIG. 9, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 20 displays the output information output in step S2010.

[0080] The farming support system 1 of this modified example can provide third region input information that indicates the amount of input that takes into account the impact of irrigation water flow, even if the basic first region input information D1a cannot be obtained.

[0081] Furthermore, the farming support system 1 may have a different device configuration from the above example. For example, in the above embodiment, the farming support device 10 and the terminal device 20 shared the processing of FIG. 9 or FIG. 10. However, this is not limited to the above, and the processing of FIG. 9 or FIG. 10 may be performed by one device (for example, the farming support device 10). In this case, the farming support device 10 may have a functional unit corresponding to the display unit 210. In this case, the farming support system 1 outputs the output information to the outside by displaying the output information to the user via the display unit 210.

[0082] Alternatively, the farming support device 10 of the farming support system 1 of the first embodiment may have the function of the server device S. For example, when information indicating an NDVI map is obtained from an external server, in step S1004 of Fig. 9, the farming support device 10 may generate the first region input information D1a based on the growth map by the method described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3A.

[0083] In addition, in the first area input information D1a, one of five area ranks is set for each area A. However, the number of area ranks may be more or less than five. Alternatively, the first area input information D1a may store an area index value indicating the growth condition of the area A instead of the area rank. In this case, in step S1008 of FIG. 9, the generation unit 130 may calculate the input amount before correction for each area A by a function f(x)=ax+b using experimentally determined constants (a, b) with the area index value as x. The function f(x) is not limited to a linear function, but may be a quadratic function or another type of function such as f(x)=a / x+b. In this case, the input amount for each area A may take a continuous value.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the determination unit 120 determines a four-level position rank for each area A in step S1008 of FIG. 9, and the generation unit 130 generates the second area input information D4 using one of five levels of correction coefficients according to the position rank in step S1010. However, the number of position ranks may be more or less than four. Alternatively, the correction coefficient may be determined using a function that uses an index value indicating the relative position of the area A (for example, the ratio of the distance from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO) as a variable, regardless of the position rank. For example, in step S1010, the determination unit 120 may calculate the correction coefficient by a function f(x)=ax+b using constants (a, b) obtained by experiment, with the index value indicating the relative position of the area A as x. The function f(x) is not limited to a linear function, but may be a quadratic function or another type of function such as f(x)=a / x+b. In this case, the correction coefficient for each area A may take a continuous value.

[0085] 9, the determination unit 120 determined the correction coefficient based on the relative positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO of each area A, and the height of the soil surface and the soil quality of each area A. However, the determination unit 120 may determine the correction coefficient based only on the relative positions of each area A as viewed from the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO. Alternatively, the determination unit 120 may determine the correction coefficient based on the relative positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO of each area A, and one of the height of the soil surface and the soil quality of each area A.

[0086] When the quality of the soil in a certain field F is uniform, the determination unit 120 may correct the first correction coefficient or the second correction coefficient based on the viscosity of the soil in the entire field F in step S1006 of FIG. 9. For example, even if the same water flow exists, it is considered that the higher the viscosity of the soil in the entire field F, the lower the rate at which the input input into each area A moves. Therefore, when the viscosity of the soil in the entire field F is higher than a predetermined standard, the correction amount by the correction coefficient of the first correction coefficient (or the second correction coefficient) may be changed to be lower. As an example, the determination unit 120 may reduce the numerical value of the first correction coefficient (or the second correction coefficient) that is larger than a standard value (for example, 1) so as to be closer to 1, and increase the numerical value that is smaller than the standard value so as to be closer to 1, for each area A of the field F in which the viscosity of the soil is higher than a predetermined standard.

[0087] Furthermore, in step S1006, the determination unit 120 may calculate the extent to which the input material will accumulate in each area A by physical simulation based on the positions of the water inlet WI and the water outlet DO indicated by the inlet / outlet information D2a, the slope of the soil surface of the field F indicated by the elevation information D2b, the soil quality indicated by the soil information D2c, and information indicating the physical properties of the input material. The determination unit 120 may then determine a correction coefficient for each area A so that the amount of input material per unit area accumulated in each area A is uniform. Alternatively, the determination unit 120 may determine a correction coefficient for each area A so that the amount of input material indicated by the first area input information D1a accumulates in each area A.

[0088] 9, the information output unit 140 outputs the output information to the terminal device 20. However, the information output unit 140 may output the output information including the second region input information D4 to other devices, such as a work device working in the field F or an external server that manages the details of the agricultural work. For example, a case will be described in which a work device having a positioning function using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and a function of inputting an input while automatically controlling the input amount is available. In this case, the information output unit 140 may output the output information including the second region input information D4 corresponding to a specific field F to a work device working in that field F.

[0089] Furthermore, in the case where the farm management support system 1 includes a work device, when the work device receives the second area input information D4 and determines by GNSS positioning that it is located within each area A indicated by the second area input information D4, the work device may input an input amount specified by the second area input information D4 onto the ground surface of the area A. Note that the work device may measure its own position by self-location estimation using a quantum compass instead of positioning by the GNSS.

[0090] Furthermore, if the farming support system 1 includes a working device having a function of measuring the altitude (e.g., elevation) during work by GNSS positioning or the like and outputting positioning information indicating this altitude, the information acquisition unit 110 may generate elevation information D2b for each area A of the field F based on the positioning information indicating the altitude. As an example, in step S1002 of Fig. 9, the information acquisition unit 110 may acquire positioning information for one or more points in each area A from the working device working in the field F. Then, the information acquisition unit 110 may determine a statistic (e.g., median or average) of the altitude in each area A as the height of the soil surface in that area A.

[0091] (Additional Note) The farming support method, farming support system, and program described in each embodiment can be described as follows.

[0092] The farming support method according to the first aspect includes: generating area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field containing the irrigation water; outputting output information relating to the generated area input information; Includes.

[0093] The farming support method according to the second aspect is the farming support method according to the first aspect, generating the domain input information, determining a correction coefficient for each of the plurality of regions, based on a relative position of the region from the water inlet and the water outlet indicated by the inlet / outlet position information, which corresponds to whether the amount of input material remaining in the region is greater or less than the amount of input material input into the region; determining an input amount of the input material for the plurality of regions based on the correction coefficient and a reference input amount of the input material for the plurality of regions; Further includes.

[0094] The farming support method according to the third aspect is the farming support method according to the second aspect, determining the correction coefficients includes determining a first correction coefficient for a first region and a second correction coefficient for a second region located downstream of the first region in a flow direction of the irrigation water based on positions of the water inlet and the water outlet; Including, When the same standard input amount is corrected, if the input amount of the input item is determined using the first correction coefficient, the input amount determined will be greater than if the second correction coefficient is used.

[0095] The farming support method according to the fourth aspect is the farming support method according to the second or third aspect, Determining the correction coefficient further includes determining the correction coefficient further based on elevation information indicating elevations of soil surfaces in the plurality of regions.

[0096] A farm management support method according to a fifth aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, Determining the correction coefficient includes determining the correction coefficient for a third area among the multiple areas in which the soil level indicated by the elevation information is lower than an adjacent area by more than a predetermined elevation standard, so that the amount of the input material indicated by the area input information is greater than if the soil level was not lower than the elevation standard.

[0097] A farming support method according to a sixth aspect is a farming support method according to the fourth or fifth aspect, The method further includes generating the elevation information based on positioning information indicating an altitude of a work implement outputted by the work implement working in the field.

[0098] A farm management support method according to a seventh aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the second to sixth aspects, Determining the correction factor further includes determining the correction factor further based on soil information related to viscosity of soil in the plurality of regions.

[0099] The farm management support method according to the eighth aspect is the farm management support method according to the seventh aspect, The correction coefficient is determined so that for a fourth region among the multiple regions in which the soil viscosity indicated by the soil information is lower than a predetermined viscosity standard, the correction coefficient is determined so that the amount of the input material indicated by the region input information is greater than if the viscosity was not lower than the viscosity standard.

[0100] A farm management support method according to a ninth aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the second to eighth aspects, The reference input amount for the plurality of areas is determined based on pre-correction area input information indicating the input amount for the plurality of areas before being corrected due to the influence of the irrigation water flow.

[0101] A farm management support method according to a tenth aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the second to eighth aspects, The reference input amounts for the multiple regions indicate the input amount of the input per unit area for the entire farm field.

[0102] A farm management support method according to an eleventh aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, The method further includes displaying input amounts for the plurality of regions based on the output information.

[0103] A farm management support method according to a twelfth aspect is a farm management support method according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, The method further includes injecting the input into the plurality of regions based on the output information.

[0104] The farming support system according to the thirteenth aspect is a generating unit that generates area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to the positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field that contains the irrigation water; an information output unit that outputs output information related to the region input information generated by the generation unit; Equipped with.

[0105] A program according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention includes: generating area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field containing the irrigation water; outputting output information relating to the generated area input information; Execute the command. [Explanation of symbols]

[0106] 1. Agricultural management support system 10. Farming support equipment 12 Input / Output Devices 14 Arithmetic unit 16 Communication Equipment 18 Storage device 110 Information Acquisition Department 120 Decision Section 130 Generation part 140 Information output section 150 Information storage section 20 Terminal Equipment 22 Input / Output Devices 24 Arithmetic unit 26 Communication Equipment 28 Storage device 210 Display section NT Network S Server device F Field A_1~A_16 area WI Mizuguchi DO Mizushiri P1, P2 Program M1, M2 storage medium D1a 1st area input information D1b Area setting information D2 Field information D2a entry / exit information D2b height information D2c Soil Information D3 Correction Settings Information D4 2nd area input information

Claims

1. generating area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field containing the irrigation water; outputting output information relating to the generated area input information; Including, Farming support methods.

2. generating the domain input information, determining a correction coefficient for each of the plurality of regions, based on a relative position of the region from the water inlet and the water outlet indicated by the inlet / outlet position information, which corresponds to whether the amount of input material remaining in the region is greater or less than the amount of input material input into the region; determining an input amount of the input material for the plurality of regions based on the correction coefficient and a reference input amount of the input material for the plurality of regions; Further comprising: The agricultural support method according to claim 1.

3. determining the correction coefficients includes determining a first correction coefficient for a first region and a second correction coefficient for a second region located downstream of the first region in a flow direction of the irrigation water based on positions of the water inlet and the water outlet; Including, When the same reference input amount is corrected, if the input amount of the input material is determined using the first correction coefficient, the input amount determined is larger than that determined using the second correction coefficient. The agricultural management support method according to claim 2.

4. Determining the correction coefficient further includes determining the correction coefficient based on elevation information indicating elevations of soil surfaces in the plurality of regions. The agricultural management support method according to claim 2 or 3.

5. Determining the correction coefficient includes determining the correction coefficient for a third region among the plurality of regions in which the soil surface indicated by the elevation information is lower than an adjacent region by more than a predetermined elevation standard, so that the amount of the input material indicated by the region input information is greater than when the soil surface is not lower than the elevation standard. The agricultural management support method according to claim 4.

6. generating the elevation information based on positioning information indicating an altitude of the work implement outputted by the work implement working in the field; The agricultural management support method according to claim 4.

7. determining the correction factor further comprises determining the correction factor further based on soil information related to viscosity of soil in the plurality of regions. The agricultural management support method according to claim 2.

8. determining the correction coefficient, for a fourth region among the plurality of regions in which the viscosity of the soil indicated by the soil information is lower than a predetermined viscosity standard, the correction coefficient is determined so that the input amount of the input material indicated by the region input information is greater than that in a case in which the viscosity of the soil is not lower than the viscosity standard. The agricultural management support method according to claim 7.

9. determining the reference input amount for the plurality of areas based on pre-correction area input information indicating the input amount for the plurality of areas before being corrected due to the influence of the water flow of the irrigation water; The agricultural management support method according to claim 2.

10. The reference input amount for the plurality of regions indicates an input amount of the input per unit area for the entire farm field. The agricultural management support method according to claim 2.

11. and displaying input amounts for the plurality of regions based on the output information. The agricultural support method according to claim 1.

12. and further comprising: injecting the input material into the plurality of regions based on the output information. The agricultural support method according to claim 1.

13. a generating unit that generates area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to the positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field that contains the irrigation water; an information output unit that outputs output information related to the region input information generated by the generation unit; Equipped with Agricultural support system.

14. On the computer, generating area input information indicating input amounts of input materials to a plurality of areas of the field based on inlet / outlet position information relating to positions of an irrigation water inlet and outlet provided in the field containing the irrigation water; outputting output information relating to the generated area input information; A program for executing the above.

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