Information processing device, information processing method, information processing system, and program

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing system, and a program that enable appropriate control of irrigation of a field. A plurality of test ridges in which plants are planted in a field are each irrigated under different irrigation conditions, sensing results of growth conditions of the plants of the plurality of test ridges irrigated under different irrigation conditions are acquired, the sensing results of the growth conditions of the plants of the plurality of test ridges that are detected are presented, and irrigation conditions of non-test ridges of the entire field are determined on the basis of evaluation by a user with respect to the sensing results that are presented. This can be applied to a field management system.

Description

Information processing device, information processing method, information processing system, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing system, and a program, and in particular to an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing system, and a program that enable appropriate control of irrigation in a farm field.

[0002] Controlling irrigation is essential for the proper growth of plants cultivated in fields with little rainfall during the cultivation period. If the plants are irrigated too much, they may develop root rot, while if they are not irrigated enough, they may wither due to lack of moisture.

[0003] Furthermore, particularly when managing large farm fields, even if the amount of irrigation water wasted per unit area is small, the amount of irrigation water wasted over the entire field can become enormous, which can lead to unnecessary increases in costs, increases in the cost of maintaining irrigation channels, and environmental problems such as land subsidence due to the pumping of groundwater for irrigation.

[0004] Various proposals have been made for field management technologies, such as a technology (see Patent Document 1) in which a field is divided into multiple areas, and the water stress in an area where water is irrigated abundantly and water stress does not generally occur is used as a standard to determine the difference in water stress between that area and other areas where the amount of irrigation is varied in various ways.

[0005] Therefore, it is conceivable to apply the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 and control irrigation based on the difference from the water stress standard.

[0006] International Publication No. 2018 / 150691

[0007] However, when it comes to plants grown in fields, if the focus of cultivation is to increase yield, irrigation control is required to increase the amount of water just before harvest, thereby increasing yield.Also, if the focus of cultivation is to improve quality, such as the sourness or sweetness of the taste, irrigation control is required to increase the sourness or sweetness by deliberately reducing the amount of water according to the cultivation stage, thereby increasing water stress during specific periods.

[0008] For this reason, whether the growth conditions of plants grown in a field are in line with the main objectives of cultivation cannot be determined solely by water stress, and irrigation cannot be appropriately controlled solely by the difference from a reference water stress.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and in particular, aims to enable appropriate control of irrigation in farm fields.

[0010] An information processing device, information processing system, and program according to one aspect of the present disclosure are an information processing device, information processing system, and program that include an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

[0011] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method including an irrigation control process for irrigating a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition process for acquiring sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation process for presenting the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of detected test rows.

[0012] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field are irrigated under different irrigation conditions, sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions are obtained, and the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows are presented.

[0013] 1 is a diagram illustrating a basic method for determining an amount of irrigation water. It is a diagram illustrating that plants cultivated in a field can grow or cannot grow depending on the amount of irrigation water. It is a diagram illustrating an overview of the present disclosure. It is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a field management system of the present disclosure. It is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of the control device of FIG. 4. It is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of the user terminal of FIG. 4. It is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a field. It is a diagram illustrating imaging a field and evaluating test ridges. It is a diagram illustrating an example of determining an amount of irrigation water from a growth index. It is a flowchart illustrating a field registration process. It is a diagram illustrating a field registration image. It is a flowchart illustrating test ridge position display registration process. It is a diagram illustrating a test ridge position display image. It is a flowchart illustrating test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process. It is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial irrigation condition registration image. It is a diagram illustrating another example of an initial irrigation condition registration image. It is a flowchart illustrating an initial irrigation control process. It is a flowchart illustrating a non-test ridge irrigation process. It is a diagram illustrating a growth status presentation image. It is a diagram illustrating an example display of an evaluation input pop-up. It is a diagram illustrating a contribution degree setting display image. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the evaluation input popup.FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a general-purpose computer.FIG.

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described in the following order.

[0016] 1. Overview of the present disclosure 2. Preferred embodiment 3. Modifications 4. Examples of implementation by software

[0017] <<1. Overview of the Present Disclosure>> The present disclosure is directed to, in particular, enabling appropriate control of irrigation in a farm field. Therefore, as an overview of the present disclosure, first, a basic method for determining the amount of irrigation water will be described.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, in field plants, water evaporates into the atmosphere mainly through the stomata in the leaves, and roots absorb water from the soil, creating an imbalance in water potential between the leaves and roots, which acts as the driving force behind the movement of water through the xylem.

[0019] For example, if the sun shines and the temperature rises during the day, evapotranspiration increases, causing a greater imbalance, resulting in an increase in the amount of water absorbed by the soil. On the other hand, if the stomata close at night, evapotranspiration decreases, and the water potential within the plant returns to equilibrium, resulting in a decrease in the amount of water absorbed by the soil. In this way, plants repeat evapotranspiration between day and night, and the equilibrium state of water potential also changes.

[0020] Imbalances in water potential within a plant can be determined by measuring tree water tension (leaf water potential). Knowing this tree water tension allows the timing of irrigation to be determined. However, tree water tension must be measured in advance by covering the leaves with a bag and leaving them for a certain period of time, then cutting the leaves, applying pressure, and measuring in the daytime when fluctuations in tree water tension have settled. Furthermore, the measurement is often performed outdoors to minimize the time between cutting the leaves and measuring, which places a significant burden on the measurement process.

[0021] Tree water tension can be estimated from the soil moisture content, which is related to the water potential between the soil and roots, and the evapotranspiration rate, which is related to the water potential between the stomata and the atmosphere.

[0022] Here, the soil moisture content can be detected by a soil moisture sensor, etc. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation can be measured by a weather station equipped with the respective sensors, so the evapotranspiration rate can be estimated based on the Penman-Monteith equation.

[0023] Therefore, the timing of irrigation in a field can basically be determined based on the tree water tension estimated based on the soil moisture content detected by a soil moisture sensor, etc., and the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation detected by a weather station.

[0024] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, if the amount of irrigation is insufficient, the plants in the field will wither due to a lack of soil moisture. On the other hand, if the amount of irrigation is too much, the plants in the field will be unable to grow properly due to diseases caused by high humidity. In other words, if the amount of irrigation is either insufficient or too much, the plants in the field may become unable to grow.

[0025] In other words, by setting the amount of irrigation water appropriately, neither too much nor too little, the plants in the field can be maintained in an appropriate state of growth.

[0026] However, even for the same plant, the amount and timing of irrigation required to maintain an appropriate growth condition differs depending on the target quality and yield of the plant. In other words, there is a certain degree of variation within the range in which growth is possible. Therefore, when setting an appropriate amount of irrigation, adjustments must be made according to the target quality and yield of the plant being grown in the field.

[0027] Therefore, in the present disclosure, as shown in Figure 3, some of the ridges in which plants are planted within the field F are set as test ridge groups, and initial irrigation is actually carried out under different irrigation conditions for each of the multiple test ridges that make up the test ridge group to grow the plants.

[0028] Next, after a predetermined time has passed during which the growth status of the plants due to the initial irrigation can be confirmed to a certain extent, the field F is photographed from the air using a drone D or a satellite, and based on the aerial images, a plant growth index map for each test row is generated and presented to the user, the producer.

[0029] The user, the producer, then evaluates the growth conditions for each irrigation condition of the test ridge group from aerial images and growth index maps, and sets the irrigation conditions for the entire field from the initial irrigation onwards based on the evaluation results and the irrigation conditions for each test ridge set for the initial irrigation.

[0030] In this case, there is no evaluation based on growth indices by the user (producer), and when, for example, irrigation control that minimizes the amount of irrigation is simply desired, the irrigation conditions for the entire field are set to the irrigation conditions that minimize the amount of irrigation among the irrigation conditions for test rows with growth conditions higher than a predetermined threshold based on the growth index map, and the irrigation amount and timing are controlled semi-automatically.

[0031] In FIG. 3, test ridges Ft1 to Ft4 are set in the field F, and initial irrigation is performed on each of them under the first to fourth irrigation conditions.

[0032] Furthermore, for ridges other than the test ridges Ft1 to Ft4, the irrigation conditions may not be optimal, for example, using conventional irrigation condition determination methods, but it is assumed that they are normally irrigated under conditions that allow growth.

[0033] Figure 3 shows that after a predetermined time has passed during which the growth status of the plants due to the initial irrigation can be confirmed to a certain extent, the entire field F is photographed from the air using a drone D or a satellite, and a growth index map is generated from the aerial image and presented.

[0034] The field F in Figure 3 is shown as a growth index map created after being photographed from the air by drone D. Furthermore, Figure 3 shows that, among the test ridges Ft1 to Ft4, the growth index is high in the region of test ridge Ft3. For this reason, in Figure 3, for example, the third irrigation condition set for test ridge Ft3 may be set as the irrigation condition for the entire field.

[0035] Furthermore, the growth index maps presented to the user may be configured to select and present a growth index map suitable for checking the growth status of a target plant, such as the quality (acidity, sugar content, etc.) and yield of the plant grown in the field. In this way, it becomes possible to set irrigation conditions appropriate for the quality and yield of the target plant, such as the quality (acidity, sugar content, etc.) and yield of the plant grown in the field, based on the various growth index maps presented.

[0036] Furthermore, the aerial image of the field F taken by the drone D (or a satellite) may be, for example, a high-resolution RGB image, and based on such a high-resolution RGB aerial image, the irrigation conditions for the test rows preferred by the producer may be set as the irrigation conditions for the entire field F based on the size and color of the leaves and flowers.

[0037] In addition, when the producer's evaluation of the growth indexes in multiple test rows is superior or inferior, the weighted average of the irrigation conditions of the multiple test rows according to the superior or inferior may be set as the irrigation conditions for the entire field F.

[0038] In this manner, in the present disclosure, a group of test ridges consisting of multiple test ridges is set out from the ridges in the entire field, and each test ridge is irrigated under different irrigation conditions. After growing for a predetermined period of time, the ridges are photographed from the air using a drone or similar device, and a growth index map can be generated and presented from the aerial images.

[0039] As a result, it becomes possible to automatically or manually set appropriate irrigation conditions according to the target quality and yield of plants grown in the field based on a growth index map of plants in test rows irrigated under multiple irrigation conditions.

[0040] <<2. Preferred Embodiment>> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, an example configuration of a farm land management system according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0041] The farm field management system 11 in FIG. 4 is composed of a farm field 31, a control device 32, a network 33, a weather database 34, and a user terminal 35.

[0042] The field 31 is a place where agricultural products (plants) are cultivated by producers. The field 31 is provided with an irrigation device 41 that waters the cultivated plants, and a sensor unit 42 that detects various conditions to set the amount and timing of irrigation performed by the irrigation device 41.

[0043] The irrigation device 41 is controlled by the control device 32, and controls the amount and timing of irrigation for each furrow, and irrigates through irrigation tubes 203 (Figure 7) buried as underdrains.

[0044] The sensor unit 42 is made up of a group of various sensors for controlling the amount of irrigation water to the field 31 , and is made up of a growth condition sensor 51 , a weather station 52 , and a soil sensor 53 .

[0045] The growth status sensor 51 is an image sensor mounted on a drone, satellite, or the like that captures images of the entire farm field 31 in various wavelength bands, and transmits the image that serves as the sensing result captured (aerial photography) by the imaging device mounted on the drone, satellite, or the like to the control device 32. Note that the growth status sensor 51 only needs to be able to sense the growth status, so it may not only be an image sensor mounted on a drone, satellite, or the like, but may also be mounted on a patrol robot that moves autonomously within the farm field.

[0046] The growth status sensor 51 captures visible light images such as general RGB images, as well as near-infrared light images and red light images required for generating growth index maps such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), and also captures images in multiple wavelength bands required for generating other growth index maps.

[0047] In addition, the growth index may be other than NDVI, and may be, for example, at least one of PRI (Photochemical Reflectance Index), SIF (Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence), NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge Index), VARI (Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index), TGI (Triangular Greenness Index), SIPI2 (Structure Intensive Pigment Index 2), LCI (Leaf Chlorophyll Index), BNDVI (Blue Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), GNDVI (Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), and MCARI (Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflective Index).

[0048] The weather station 52 detects various weather-related data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation in the field 31, and transmits the detected weather information consisting of the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation in the field 31 to the control device 32.

[0049] The soil sensor 53 is made up of a group of sensors that detect various types of information related to the soil of the field 31, including, for example, a moisture sensor that detects soil moisture, an EC sensor that detects porewater conductivity (EC), and a soil temperature sensor that detects soil temperature. The soil sensor 53 supplies the control device 32 with soil information consisting of the detected moisture, porewater conductivity (EC), soil temperature, etc.

[0050] The control device 32 manages field information registered by a user operating the user terminal 35. The field information includes the location of each field 31, the type of plant (crop species name) cultivated in each field 31, the amount and timing of irrigation for each plant, and the location of test ridge groups set within each field 31, and the amount and timing of irrigation for each test ridge.

[0051] The control device 32 calculates the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) for each type of plant under standard conditions in which there is no water stress or pests, using weather data from a weather database 34 that can be obtained via a network 33 and sensor data from the sensor unit 42, and determines the standard irrigation amount, which is the standard irrigation amount, based on the standard evapotranspiration (ETc).

[0052] The control device 32 determines a test irrigation amount, which is a different test irrigation amount for each of the multiple test ridges in the test ridge group, based on the standard irrigation amount, and controls the irrigation device 41 to irrigate the test ridges with the test irrigation amount.

[0053] The control device 32 controls the irrigation device 41 to initially irrigate ridges that are not test ridges (non-test ridges) with the standard irrigation volume. Hereinafter, the irrigation based on the standard irrigation volume that is performed on these initial non-test ridges will also be referred to as initial irrigation.

[0054] After initial irrigation for a predetermined period, the control device 32 acquires image information (aerial images) of the entire field 31, which serves as sensor data supplied from the growth status sensor 51, and supplies and displays the image information to the user terminal 35. At this time, if the images captured by the growth status sensor 51 are visible light images, the control device 32 divides the visible light images into test rows and supplies them to and displays them on the user terminal 35. Furthermore, if the image information serving as sensor data supplied from the growth status sensor 51 is, for example, a near-infrared light image and a red light image, the control device 32 generates a growth index map made up of NDVI, divides the image information into test rows, and supplies the result to the user terminal 35.

[0055] The user terminal 35 presents the aerial photograph images and growth index maps divided for each test row after initial irrigation, which are supplied from the control device 32, to the user (producer). Furthermore, when the user (producer) operates the user terminal 35, the user terminal 35 accepts input of an evaluation of the growth status of each test row based on the presented aerial photograph images and growth index maps divided for each test row, and supplies the evaluation to the control device 32.

[0056] Here, the evaluation of the growth conditions for each test ridge may be, for example, a three-level evaluation selected by the user, such as "good," "average," or "poor," or a score may be assigned according to the evaluation, or a circle, triangle, or cross may be selected.

[0057] In addition, the evaluation of the growth conditions for each test ridge may be, for example, such that the amount of irrigation for the entire field is the same as that for test ridge A, or somewhere between test ridges A and B, or test ridges A, B, and C are all equally good so it is left to the discretion of the rigor, or it is desirable to avoid a situation like test ridge C.

[0058] The control device 32 determines the amount of irrigation water to be applied to the entire field based on the evaluation of the test ridges, and controls the irrigation device 41 to irrigate the entire field 31.

[0059] In this case, if the irrigation conditions for the test ridges A, B, and C are such that the amount of irrigation is greatest for A, B, and C in that order, and the evaluation of the test ridges is such that test ridges A and B are "good" and test ridge C is "bad," the control device 32 may control the irrigation of the entire field 31 using the irrigation conditions of test ridge B, which has the lowest amount of irrigation, among test ridges A and B with the highest evaluation.

[0060] That is, the control device 32 may determine the amount of irrigation water for the entire field 31 based on the producer's evaluation of each test row, the growth index, and the amount of irrigation water. In this case, the amount and timing of irrigation water for the entire field 31 strongly reflects the evaluation of the growth index manually input by the user, and is determined almost entirely by manual operation (manually) by the user.

[0061] Furthermore, if the user's evaluation does not include information specifying the irrigation amount, such as when the user thinks that test ridges A, B, and C are all comparable and wants to leave it up to the irrigation system, the control device 32 may set the irrigation amount to the test ridge with the smallest irrigation amount among those test ridges with a growth index higher than a predetermined value. Similarly, if the user wants to avoid test ridges being evaluated like test ridge C, the control device 32 may set the irrigation amount for the entire field 31 to the test ridge with the smallest irrigation amount among those test ridges with a growth index higher than the irrigation amount for test ridge C.

[0062] That is, as in the two cases described above, the control device 32 may determine the amount of irrigation water for the entire field 31 based on the growth index and irrigation amount for each test row, rather than on the producer's evaluation of the test row. In this case, the amount and timing of irrigation water for the entire field 31 are determined semi-automatically (automatically), with the growth index itself taking a stronger influence than an evaluation manually input by the user.

[0063] The user terminal 35 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet, which is owned by the producer who is the user.

[0064] An application program (field management application 171 (Figure 6)) for controlling the field management system is installed on the user terminal 35, and by executing the application program on the user terminal 35, the user communicates with the control device 32 and edits field information for managing the field, such as the location within the field 31, the type of plant, and the location and irrigation amount of the test furrow group.

[0065] In addition, the user terminal 35 acquires and presents sensor data supplied from the control device 32 via the field management application 171 (Figure 6), and also accepts input of evaluation of the presented sensor data and transmits it to the control device 32.

[0066] <Example of Hardware Configuration of Control Device> Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the control device 32 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0067] The control device 32 is composed of a control unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a memory unit 104, a communication unit 105, a drive 106, and a removable storage medium 107, which are connected to each other via a bus 108 and can send and receive data and programs.

[0068] The control unit 101 is composed of a processor and a memory, and controls the overall operation of the control device 32. The control unit 101 also includes a weather information acquisition unit 131, a soil information acquisition unit 132, a growth condition acquisition unit 133, a farm field information management unit 134, and an irrigation control unit 135.

[0069] The weather information acquisition unit 131 acquires weather information such as the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and amount of solar radiation of the field 31 supplied from the weather station 52 .

[0070] The soil information acquisition unit 132 acquires soil information including soil moisture, pore water conductivity (EC), and soil temperature supplied from the soil sensor 53 .

[0071] The growth status acquisition unit 133 acquires, for example, RGB images captured by a drone or a satellite, images of various wavelength bands used to generate a growth index map, and generates a growth index map using the images of various wavelength bands as needed. When a near-infrared image and a red light image are supplied, the growth status acquisition unit 133 uses the near-infrared image and the red light image to generate a growth index map consisting of NDVI (= (NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED): NIR is a near-infrared image, RED is a red light image).

[0072] In addition, the aerial images consisting of RGB images acquired by the growth status acquisition unit 133 and images of various wavelength bands used to generate other growth indices are captured in chronological order at predetermined intervals by drones or satellites, and the images are stored in chronological order as they are supplied sequentially.In response to a request from the control unit 101, multiple aerial images captured at predetermined time intervals and multiple images of various wavelength bands are output together.

[0073] The field information management unit 134 stores and manages in the memory unit 104 as field information 141 the location of each field in multiple fields, the type of plant (crop species name) cultivated in each field, the amount of irrigation water for non-test ridges in each field, as well as the location of each test ridge that makes up the test ridge group in each field and the amount of irrigation water for each test ridge, etc., which are edited by operating the user terminal 35.

[0074] The irrigation amount information contained in the field information 141 managed by the field information management unit 134 is the irrigation amount determined by the irrigation control unit 135 based on information edited by operating the user terminal 35.

[0075] For the initial irrigation of non-test rows, the irrigation control unit 135 sets a standard irrigation amount based on the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) for each type of plant, and after the initial irrigation, sets the irrigation amount based on the evaluation by the producer user.

[0076] More specifically, the irrigation control unit 135 calculates a standard irrigation amount based on the soil moisture content in the soil information and the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation amount in the weather information, calculates the irrigation amount for non-test rows based on the standard irrigation amount, and updates the irrigation amount in the field information 141.

[0077] On the other hand, with regard to the amount of irrigation water for each test furrow, the irrigation control unit 135 estimates the tree water tension based on the soil moisture content in the soil information and the temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, etc. in the meteorological information, and sets, for each test furrow, a threshold value that determines when to start irrigation and a threshold value that determines when to stop irrigation, relative to the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension. Note that, hereinafter, the threshold value that determines when to start irrigation is also referred to as the irrigation start threshold, and the threshold value that determines when to stop irrigation is also referred to as the irrigation stop threshold.

[0078] The watering start threshold may be set to the same value for all test rows, for example, as a threshold for water stress determined from the tree water tension at which the plant will not wither.

[0079] In this case, the irrigation stop threshold is set to a different value for each test furrow, which changes the threshold for the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension, making it possible to set different irrigation amounts for each test furrow.

[0080] Therefore, when the water irrigation stop threshold becomes low, water irrigation will continue until the value of water stress calculated from the tree water tension becomes low, and the amount of water irrigation will be set high.

[0081] On the other hand, if the water irrigation stop threshold is set high, water irrigation will be stopped even when the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension is high, so the amount of water irrigation will be set low.

[0082] Furthermore, the watering start threshold may be set to any value within a range that does not cause root rot due to excessive humidity, as long as it is lower than the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension at a level that will not cause the plant to wither.

[0083] Therefore, the lower the watering start threshold is set to a value below the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension at which the plant will not die, the more watering will begin even when there is no water stress, and the larger the overall amount of watering will be set.

[0084] Conversely, the closer the watering start threshold is set to a value that is close to the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension at which the plant will not wither, the lower the overall amount of watering will be set, since watering will not begin unless the plant is subjected to water stress close to withering.

[0085] Therefore, by setting the irrigation stop threshold for each test furrow to a constant value and setting the irrigation start threshold to a different value for each test furrow, the threshold for the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension changes, making it possible to set different irrigation amounts for each test furrow.

[0086] The irrigation control unit 135 sets an irrigation start threshold and an irrigation stop threshold so that at least four or more types of irrigation amounts can be set for each test furrow.

[0087] In this embodiment, the irrigation control unit 135 sets the irrigation start threshold for each test furrow to a constant value equal to the maximum water stress that minimizes the amount of irrigation. The irrigation control unit 135 also sets at least four or more irrigation stop thresholds for each test furrow between the maximum water stress that becomes the irrigation start threshold and the minimum water stress that is considered sufficient for plant growth.

[0088] Furthermore, the irrigation control unit 135 calculates the amount of irrigation for each test ridge for initial irrigation during the initial irrigation period as a percentage (e.g., %) of the standard irrigation amount based on the standard evapotranspiration (ETc), which is commonly used among users such as producers and experts.

[0089] However, the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold for each test ridge may be set differently as long as the irrigation amount for each test ridge is changed as described above. Alternatively, an irrigation stop threshold may be set so that the irrigation amount is greater than the standard irrigation amount, without causing root rot, etc., so that the growth conditions at an irrigation amount that is excessive relative to the standard irrigation amount can be compared with the growth conditions when plants are grown at the standard irrigation amount or less. This makes it possible to check the growth conditions when plants are intentionally blistered to increase yield, or when the irrigation amount is compensated for insufficient water in anticipation of a possible undershoot of the standard evapotranspiration (ETc).

[0090] The irrigation control unit 135 estimates tree water tension based on the soil moisture content in the soil information and the temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, etc. in the meteorological information, and controls the irrigation device 41 based on the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension and the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold in the field information 141 to control the start and stop timing of irrigation supplied to each irrigation tube 203 ( FIG. 7 ) for each test furrow for only the period set as initial irrigation, thereby controlling the irrigation amount. The irrigation control unit 135 also controls the irrigation device 41 to calculate the irrigation amount for initial irrigation for each test furrow by multiplying the irrigation amount per unit time by the time from the irrigation start timing to the irrigation stop timing.

[0091] For non-test rows, during the period set as initial irrigation, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the amount of irrigation at a standard amount based on the soil moisture content in the soil information and the temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, etc. in the meteorological information. Hereinafter, the period during which initial irrigation is carried out will also be simply referred to as the initial irrigation period.

[0092] Based on the initial irrigation, after a predetermined time (initial irrigation period) has passed during which the plants cultivated in the field 31 have grown to a predetermined level, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the growth status acquisition unit 133 to acquire RGB images and growth index maps showing the growth status of the plants for each test row in the field 31.

[0093] The irrigation control unit 135 supplies RGB images and growth index maps showing the growth status of each test furrow to the user terminal 35, which then presents the images to the producer user and obtains the user's evaluation of the images.

[0094] The irrigation control unit 135 determines the amount of irrigation water to be applied to the non-test rows in the entire field 31 based on the user's evaluation of the RGB image and growth index map showing the growth status of each test row, and controls the irrigation device 41 to irrigate.

[0095] The input unit 102 is made up of input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel for inputting various types of information, and supplies the control unit 101 with various signals corresponding to the input information.

[0096] The output unit 103 is controlled by the control unit 101 and includes a display (not shown) and an audio output unit (not shown). The display displays various processing results.

[0097] The audio output unit is made up of an audio output device such as a speaker, and outputs various types of voice, music, sound effects, and the like as audio.

[0098] The storage unit 104 is composed of a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a semiconductor memory, and is controlled by the control unit 101 to write or read various data and programs.

[0099] The communication unit 105 is controlled by the control unit 101 and realizes wired or wireless communication such as that represented by LAN (Local Area Network) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and transmits and receives various data and programs to and from other information processing devices via the network as necessary.

[0100] The drive 106 reads and writes data from and to a removable storage medium 107 such as a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk), an optical disk (including a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), a magneto-optical disk (including an MD (Mini Disc)), or a semiconductor memory.

[0101] Note that the control device 32 in Figure 5 shows an example of a configuration realized by an information processing device such as a personal computer, but as long as it has the same functions, it may have other configurations, for example, a configuration realized by multiple servers on a network, or may be realized by cloud computing.

[0102] <Example of Hardware Configuration of User Terminal> Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the user terminal 35 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0103] The user terminal 35 is composed of a control unit 151, an input unit 152, an output unit 153, a memory unit 154, a communication unit 155, a drive 156, a removable storage medium 157, and a GPS 159, which are connected to each other via a bus 158 and can send and receive data and programs.

[0104] In addition, the control unit 81, the control unit 151, the input unit 152, the output unit 153, the memory unit 154, the communication unit 155, the drive 156, the removable storage medium 157, and the bus 158 correspond to the input unit 102, the output unit 103, the memory unit 104, the communication unit 105, the drive 106, the removable storage medium 107, and the bus 108, respectively, and therefore explanations thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0105] The input unit 152 and the output unit 153 function as a user interface 181 that is a touch panel having both functions.

[0106] The control unit 151 includes a farm field management application (application program) 171 .

[0107] The field management application 171 is installed by the user, and based on information input by the user operating the user interface 181, registers the location of the field, information on the type of crop being cultivated, the location of the test furrows, and the amount of irrigation water as field information 141.

[0108] When the field management application 171 acquires RGB images and growth index maps for each test row of the field 31 sent from the control device 32, it presents them on the user interface 181 and also accepts evaluation input for each test row based on operation input by the producer user on the user interface 181 and supplies it to the control device 32.

[0109] The GPS (Global Positioning System) 159 acquires information on the location of the user terminal 35 on the earth based on radio waves from a satellite (not shown), and outputs the information to the control unit 151 .

[0110] <Example of Arrangement of Test Ridges and Non-Test Ridges in a Farm Field> Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of arrangement of test ridges and non-test ridges in a farm field will be described.

[0111] As shown in Figure 7, the field 31 has ridges on which crops are planted at predetermined intervals to form horizontal rows, and irrigation tubes 203 that function as irrigation channels are provided below each ridge (at the back of this paper).

[0112] In Figure 7, the irrigation tubes 203 are represented by multiple rectangular frames extending horizontally with dotted lines, each connected to an irrigation device 41 and buried as a culvert at the bottom of the ridges.

[0113] The irrigation tube 203 has holes at predetermined intervals that drain water into the soil, and is configured as an underdrain, so that irrigation water supplied from the irrigation device 41 is supplied to the soil through the holes in units of ridges.

[0114] The irrigation tubes 203 are arranged in units of ridges, and the irrigation device 41 is configured to adjust the amount of irrigation water supplied to the irrigation tubes 203, thereby making it possible to adjust the amount of irrigation water on a ridge-by-ridge basis.

[0115] The ridges are divided into test ridges 201 and non-test ridges 202, and in Figure 7, for the purpose of explanation, test ridge 201-1, non-test ridge 202-1, test ridge 201-2, non-test ridge 202-2, test ridge 201-3, non-test ridge 202-3, test ridge 201-4, and non-test ridge 202-4 are set from top to bottom.

[0116] When there is no need to particularly distinguish between the test ridges 201-1 to 201-4 and the non-test ridges 202-1 to 202-4, they will simply be referred to as test ridges 201 and non-test ridges 202, and the same will be used for other configurations.

[0117] 7, each test ridge 201 is made up of one row of ridges, and each non-test ridge 202 is made up of two rows of ridges, but this is not limited to this. That is, the test ridges 201 may be made up of several rows of test ridges arranged in a portion of every predetermined number of non-test ridges 202.

[0118] In addition, the number of ridges that make up the non-test ridges relative to the number of ridges that make up the test ridge 201 is generally set to be greater than that shown in Figure 7, but here, to simplify the explanation, the number of ridges in the test ridge 201 and the non-test ridge 202 will be assumed to be one row and two rows, respectively.

[0119] Test trees 201a-1 to 201a-4 are provided at the left end of each of the test ridges 201-1 to 201-4 in the figure, and soil sensors 53-1 to 53-4 are provided below the test trees 201a-1 to 201a-4, respectively.

[0120] In other words, in reality, the soil information detected by the soil sensor 53 is only information about the test tree 201a of the test ridge 201, but the soil of the same ridge can be considered to have almost the same soil information, and the same irrigation control can be performed using the same irrigation tube 203.In addition, to take into account the effects of individual differences in the plants being cultivated, the soil information detected by the soil sensor 53 in the test tree 201a is applied to the same ridge.

[0121] Therefore, the soil information detected by the soil sensor 53 in the test tree 201a of the test furrow 201 is treated as a representative value for the test furrow 201, and multiple plants planted in the same test furrow 201 are managed in the same manner.

[0122] The irrigation control unit 135 calculates the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) under standard conditions in which there is no water stress or pests, etc., from the soil moisture information detected by the soil sensor 53, the weather information supplied from the weather station 52, the weather data from the weather database 34 obtainable via the network 33, and the sensor data from the sensor unit 42, and determines the amount of irrigation water for initial irrigation based on the standard evapotranspiration (ETc).

[0123] Furthermore, the irrigation control unit 135 determines the amount of irrigation water to be applied to each test ridge in accordance with the allocation of irrigation water amounts set via the field management application 171 by the producer operating the user interface 181 on the user terminal 35. The allocation of irrigation water amounts set via the field management application 171 means, for example, setting four or more different irrigation stop thresholds for each test ridge. In the case where the irrigation start threshold is the same for all test ridges, as in this embodiment, four different irrigation stop thresholds are set for the four irrigation ridges, resulting in four different irrigation amounts being set for each test ridge during the initial irrigation.

[0124] For example, as shown in Figure 7, for the test ridge 201-1, the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold are set to the irrigation amount when the evapotranspiration rate is 100% of the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc), for the test ridge 201-2, the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold are set to the irrigation amount when the evapotranspiration rate is 83% of the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc), for the test ridge 201-3, the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold are set to the irrigation amount when the evapotranspiration rate is 66% of the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc), and for the test ridge 201-4, the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold are set to the irrigation amount when the evapotranspiration rate is 50% of the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc).

[0125] The irrigation control unit 135 supplies the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold for the test ridges 201-2 to 202-4 for initial irrigation thus determined to the field information management unit 134. The field information management unit 134 registers the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold for the initial irrigation of the test ridges 201-2 to 202-4. The field information management unit 134 also regards the amount of irrigation water for the non-test ridges 202-1 to 202-4 for initial irrigation as the amount of irrigation water when the amount is 100% of the reference evapotranspiration (ETc).

[0126] Based on this field information 141, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the irrigation device 41 so that, during the initial irrigation, irrigation is performed at the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold set for each of the test ridges 201-1 to 201-4.

[0127] In this embodiment, the irrigation start threshold is the same for all test rows, so the irrigation rate is essentially set by the irrigation stop threshold. Furthermore, although the above description explains that the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold are set so that the irrigation rate is a predetermined ratio of the reference irrigation rate, it is difficult to set a specific irrigation rate from the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold, and it is difficult to control a specific irrigation rate from the irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold. However, as will be described in detail later, it is sufficient to set four or more different irrigation rates. Therefore, when the irrigation start threshold is the same for all test rows, four different irrigation stop thresholds are set for the four or more test rows between the minimum and maximum water stress levels at which plants can grow, and the four different actual irrigation rates for each initial irrigation can be measured as a ratio of the reference irrigation rate.

[0128] For example, the threshold for stopping irrigation based on the value of water stress obtained from tree water tension may be set to a value that satisfies four of the five conditions of withering, little, moderate, standard, and much, excluding withering.

[0129] <Setting the Amount of Irrigation Water Based on Initial Irrigation> Next, setting the amount of irrigation water based on initial irrigation will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG.

[0130] As described above, the amount of irrigation water for each test ridge 201 and the amount of irrigation water for the non-test ridges 202 during initial irrigation is set, and after irrigation is applied for a specified period at the set amount of irrigation water, the growth status acquisition unit 133 of the control device 32 controls a growth status sensor 51 consisting of a drone, satellite, etc., as shown in Figure 8, to acquire an RGB image of the field 31 captured by the camera 51a of the growth status sensor 51 and images in a specified wavelength band for generating various growth indices.

[0131] The growth status acquisition unit 133 generates a growth index map P1 as shown in FIG. 8, for example, based on the RGB image or the image of a predetermined wavelength band.

[0132] 8 is a growth index map made up of, for example, NDVI calculated from an infrared image and a red image. When checking the leaf arrangement and color based on an RGB image, the RGB image itself is used in the same way as the growth index map P1.

[0133] The irrigation control unit 135 divides the growth index map P1 thus acquired into ranges Z1 to Z4 corresponding to the test rows 201-1 to 201-4, and sets the amount of irrigation water for normal irrigation after the initial irrigation.

[0134] As a more detailed example, consider a case where the growth conditions of the ranges Z1 to Z4 in the growth index map P1 are distributed as shown in FIG.

[0135] In this case, the growth condition is lowest at the irrigation amount when it is 50% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration (ETc), which is range Z4, followed by the growth condition when it is 66% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration (ETc), and the growth conditions are almost the same and highest at the irrigation amounts when it is 83% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) and 100% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration (ETc).

[0136] In such a case, when determining the amount of irrigation water using only the growth condition as an indicator, the irrigation control unit 135 sets the amount of irrigation water for the entire field 31 to the amount of irrigation water when the growth condition is the highest and the amount of irrigation water is the lowest, which is 83% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc).

[0137] This process makes it possible to set the amount of irrigation water for normal irrigation almost automatically, without requiring evaluation by the producer, who is the user.

[0138] In addition, when both the growth index map P1 and the RGB image are acquired and supplied to the user terminal 35 and presented to the user on the user interface 181 by the field management application 171, if the user gives the highest rating to range Z3 because the leaf color or leaf attachment is good, the irrigation control unit 135 may set the irrigation amount for the entire field 31 to the irrigation amount when it is 66% of the standard irrigation amount at the standard evapotranspiration rate (ETc), which is the irrigation condition set for the test ridge corresponding to range Z3.

[0139] In other words, in this case, the amount of irrigation water for normal irrigation is set manually based on the evaluation of the producer, who is the user.

[0140] Furthermore, if the user inputs an evaluation that they would like to avoid the growth conditions in range Z4, the irrigation control unit 135 may set the irrigation amount for the entire field 31 to be greater than the irrigation amount when the irrigation amount is 50% of the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) in range Z4, and to the irrigation amount when the irrigation amount is 66% of the standard evapotranspiration (ETc), which is the lowest irrigation amount.

[0141] In other words, in this case, it becomes possible to semi-automatically set the amount of irrigation water for normal irrigation based on the evaluation of the producer, who is the user.

[0142] <Field Information Registration Processing> Next, the field information registration processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0143] In step S31, the farm field management application 171 controlled by the control unit 151 of the user terminal 35 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct farm field information registration processing.

[0144] If it is determined in step S31 that the farm field information registration process has been instructed, the process proceeds to step S32.

[0145] In step S32, the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to request the control device 32 for farm field information.

[0146] In step S51, the farm field information management unit 134 controlled by the control unit 101 of the control device 32 controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether or not farm field information has been requested by the user terminal 35.

[0147] If a request for farm field information is made in step S51, the process proceeds to step S52.

[0148] In step S52, the field information management unit 134 reads the field information 141 registered in the storage unit 104 and controls the communication unit 105 to transmit the read field information 141 to the user terminal 35. If no field information is registered, empty field information may be transmitted to the user terminal 35.

[0149] If no request for farm field information is made in step S51, the process of step S52 is skipped.

[0150] In step S33 , the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to acquire the farm field information transmitted from the control device 32 .

[0151] In step S34, the farm field management application 171 displays a farm field information registration image on the user interface 181 based on the farm field information.

[0152] The field information registration image is, for example, a display image such as that shown in the user interface 181 of Fig. 11. In the field information registration image of Fig. 11, fields are set in areas Z1 to Z3, each surrounded by a dashed line, and field information display columns 251-1 to 251-3 are provided and displayed in each area.

[0153] That is, in Figure 11, area Z1 is written as "Field A," "XXX," and "Soybean" from top to bottom as shown in the field information display column 251-1, indicating that the field name is "Field A," the soil type is "XXX," and the crop species name is "Soybean."

[0154] Furthermore, as shown in the field information display column 251-2, area Z2 is written as "Field B," "XXX," and "Soybean" from top to bottom, indicating that the field name is "Field B," the soil type is "XXX," and the crop species name is "Soybean."

[0155] Furthermore, as shown in the field information display column 251-3, area Z3 is written as "Field C," "YYY," and "Corn" from top to bottom, indicating that the field name is "Field C," the soil type is "YYY," and the crop species name is "Corn."

[0156] If there is a new field that the user wants to register, the user operates the user interface 181 to set the area on the map that the user wants to register, similar to the areas Z1 to Z3 surrounded by dashed lines, and then edits and registers the field name, soil type, and crop species name displayed in the field information display area 251.

[0157] Furthermore, when the user wishes to update existing field information or change the position on the map, the user updates the map displayed on the user interface 181 by editing the shape of the modified dashed line in areas Z1 to Z3. When the user wishes to change the field name, soil type, or crop species name, the user updates the field name, soil type, and crop species name displayed in the field information display column 251 by editing them.

[0158] In addition, the information displayed in the field information display field 251 in FIG. 11 is the field name, soil type, and crop species name, but other information may also be displayed and registered.

[0159] Now, let us return to the description of the flowchart in FIG.

[0160] In step S35, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the farm field information has been edited.

[0161] If the field information has been edited in step S35, the process proceeds to step S36.

[0162] In step S36 , the farm field management application 171 accepts the edited input of the farm field information and temporarily stores it in the storage unit 154 .

[0163] If it is determined in step S35 that the field information is not to be edited, the process of step S36 is skipped.

[0164] Furthermore, if the farm field information registration process is not instructed in step S31, the processes in steps S32 to S36 are skipped.

[0165] In step S37, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct the end of the farm field information registration process.

[0166] If an instruction to end the field information registration process is not given in step S37, the process returns to step S31, and the subsequent steps are repeated.

[0167] If an instruction to end the field information registration process is given in step S37, the process proceeds to step S38.

[0168] In step S38, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the farm field information has been edited.

[0169] If it is determined in step S38 that the field information has been edited, the process proceeds to step S39.

[0170] In step S39 , the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to transmit the edited farm field information, which is temporarily stored in the storage unit 154 , to the control device 32 .

[0171] In step S53 , the farm field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether the edited farm field information has been transmitted from the user terminal 35 .

[0172] If it is determined in step S53 that the edited farm field information has been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the process proceeds to step S54.

[0173] In step S54, the field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to acquire the edited field information that has been transmitted, and then updates and registers the pre-update field information 141 stored in the memory unit 104 with the acquired field information.

[0174] If it is not determined in step S53 that the edited farm field information has been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the process of step S54 is skipped.

[0175] In step S55, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the process has been given. If an instruction to end the process has not been given, the process returns to step S51, and the subsequent steps are carried out.

[0176] Then, in step S55, if an instruction to end the process is given, the process ends.

[0177] Through the above process, the user (producer) can register new field information or edit already registered field information by operating the user interface 181 of the user terminal 35.

[0178] <Test Ridge Position Display and Registration Processing> Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 12, a test ridge position display and registration processing for displaying the test ridge positions or registering or editing the test ridge positions will be described.

[0179] In step S71, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct the inspection ridge position display and registration process.

[0180] If it is determined in step S71 that the inspection furrow position display and registration process has been instructed, the process proceeds to step S72.

[0181] In step S72, the farm field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to present an image requesting the user to specify the name of the crop species to be subject to the inspection furrow position display and registration process, and accepts the input of the crop species name.

[0182] In step S73, the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to notify the control device 32 of the name of the crop species that is the target of the inspection furrow position display and registration process.

[0183] In step S91, the field information management unit 134, which is controlled by the control unit 101 of the control device 32, controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether the name of the crop species to be subject to the test row position display and registration process has been specified from the user terminal 35.

[0184] In step S91, when the name of the crop species to be subjected to the inspection furrow position display and registration process is designated, the process proceeds to step S92.

[0185] In step S92, the field information management unit 134 reads out the field information 141 registered in the storage unit 104, of the field information of the crop species that is the target of the specified inspection furrow position display registration process.

[0186] In step S93, the field information management unit 134 determines whether or not a test ridge has not been set in the field information for the specified crop species name.

[0187] If it is determined in step S93 that the test furrow has not been set, the process proceeds to step S94.

[0188] In step S94, the field information management unit 134 sets a recommended layout for the test ridge, using the ridge in which the test tree on which the soil sensor 53 is placed as a reference, and then places (re-places) the test ridge.

[0189] The recommended layout here refers to a layout in which a minimum number of ridges (for example, four) on which soil sensors 53 are placed are randomly selected from among the ridges in the field 31 of the specified crop species. The reason why the minimum number is four is because, as explained with reference to FIG. 9 , it is difficult to select appropriate conditions unless there are four or more types of test ridge conditions. That is, for example, if there are three types of test ridges, it is difficult to select appropriate conditions if any one of them has an outlier. However, the minimum number of test ridges is not limited to four, as long as it is four or more.

[0190] Furthermore, when the test ridge position display and registration process is repeated when the position of the test ridge has not yet been set, a different ridge may be set as the recommended placement of the test ridge as long as a ridge on which another soil sensor 53 exists can be selected.

[0191] In step S95, the field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to transmit to the user terminal 35 the layout information of the test ridges in which the specified crop species name is registered and the position of the ridges in which the soil sensor 53 is set to identify the position of ridges that can be selected as test ridges.

[0192] If the test ridge has not been set, the information on the recommended layout set by the processing in step S94 is sent as the position of the test ridge to the user terminal 35. If the layout information of the test ridge has been set, the layout information of the registered test ridge is sent.

[0193] In step S91, if the name of the crop species to be subjected to the test ridge position display and registration process is not specified, steps S92 to S95 are skipped. In step S93, if the test ridge position information is registered, step S94 is skipped.

[0194] In step S74, the field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to acquire the placement information of the test ridges for the specified crop species name sent from the control device 32 and the position of the ridge where the soil sensor 53 is set to identify the position of the ridge that can be selected as the test ridge.

[0195] In step S34, the field management application 171 generates a test ridge position display image showing the registered test ridge placement information or the recommended test ridge placement based on the test ridge placement information of the acquired crop species name, and displays it on the user interface 181.

[0196] The test ridge position display image is, for example, a display image such as that shown in the user interface 181 of Fig. 13. In the test ridge position display image of Fig. 13, fields are set in areas Z1 and Z2 surrounded by dashed lines, and test ridges are set in areas Z11 and Z12 surrounded by dashed lines within each field, and test ridge registration information display fields 261-1 and 261-2 are provided and displayed for each.

[0197] As mentioned above, it is assumed that four or more test ridges are set for each field 31, but for simplicity's sake, the notation in Figure 13 shows an example in which only one test ridge is displayed in each of the ranges Z1 and Z2 representing the field 31. In reality, therefore, four or more test ridges are set in each of the ranges Z1 and Z2 representing the field 31, and four or more areas similar to the areas Z11 and Z12 surrounded by dashed lines are set in each of the ranges Z1 and Z2 representing one field 31.

[0198] 13, area Z11 is labeled "Test Ridge P" and "Irrigation Amount Lv1 / 4" from top to bottom as shown in the test ridge registration information display field 261-1, indicating that the test ridge name is "Test Ridge P" and that the irrigation stop threshold is set to "Irrigation Amount Lv1 / 4" so that the irrigation amount is the smallest of the four irrigation amounts. In other words, the "x / 4" in "Irrigation Amount Lvx / 4" is the irrigation stop threshold that sets the xth smallest irrigation amount of the four irrigation stop thresholds for setting the four irrigation amounts; in other words, the (5-x)th largest irrigation stop threshold.

[0199] As shown in the test ridge registration information display field 261-2, area Z12 is written as ``Test ridge Q'' and ``Irrigation amount Lv3 / 4'' from top to bottom, indicating that the test ridge name is ``Test ridge Q'' and that the irrigation stop threshold is set to ``Irrigation amount Lv3 / 4'', which is the third smallest irrigation amount among the four types of irrigation amounts.

[0200] Further below that, buttons 271 to 273 are displayed, each labeled "Display," "Confirm," and "Rearrange."

[0201] The button 271 labeled "Display" is a button that is pressed (tapped) by the user to display the placement information of registered test ridges or the recommended placement when test ridges are not registered.

[0202] The button 272 labeled "Decide" is a button that is pressed (tapped) by the user when editing of the placement information of the test ridge is completed and the placement information of the test ridge is decided based on the editing results.

[0203] The button 273 labeled "Re-arrange" is a button that the user presses (tap) when the test ridge has not been set and other recommended layouts are to be displayed. That is, in this case, the farm field management application 171 randomly selects the positions of the other four ridges where the soil sensors 53 are shown to be installed and displays them as recommended layouts.

[0204] Furthermore, when deciding on the placement of a test ridge among the test ridges indicated as recommended placements, such as areas Z11 and Z12 in Figure 13, by pressing within the dotted line area, it may be possible to, for example, gray out the area and indicate that it has been provisionally decided as a test ridge.

[0205] Furthermore, when the positions of some of the test ridges have been provisionally determined and the remaining test ridges are to be set, if the button 273 labeled "rearrange" is pressed, the field management app 171 may treat the grayed-out provisionally determined ridges as having been set as test ridges, and may randomly change the positions of the remaining test ridges that have not been provisionally determined to other ridge positions where soil sensors 53 are indicated to be located, and display them as recommended placements.

[0206] In addition, the ridges on which soil sensors 53 are located that can be selected as test ridges may be displayed as candidate test ridges, for example, all in white, and the user may operate the user interface 181 to select four of these as test ridges, with the selected ridges being displayed in gray as provisionally determined test ridges.

[0207] Now, let us return to the description of the flowchart in FIG.

[0208] In step S75, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the layout of the test ridges has been set.

[0209] In step S75, when the layout is set by performing a provisional determination operation of the test ridges, the process proceeds to step S76.

[0210] In step S76, the farm field management application 171 registers the layout information of the test ridges whose layout has been set, for example, by performing a provisional determination operation for the test ridges, and temporarily stores the information in the memory unit 154.

[0211] In step S77, the field management application 171 determines whether a decision operation has been performed by operating the user interface 181, for example, by operating the button 272 labeled "Decide" as described above.

[0212] If it is determined in step S77 that the confirmation operation has not been performed, the process returns to step S75, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

[0213] If it is determined in step S77 that a confirmation operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S78.

[0214] In step S78, the farm field management application 171 reads out the layout information of the test ridges for which the layout setting has been made from the memory unit 154, and controls the communication unit 105 to send it to the control device 32.

[0215] If the placement of the test ridges is not set, the processing of step S78 may be skipped.

[0216] Furthermore, if the inspection furrow position display and registration process is not instructed in step S71, the processes in steps S72 to S78 are skipped.

[0217] In step S79, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct the end of the inspection ridge position display and registration process.

[0218] In step S79, if an instruction to end the inspection furrow position display and registration process is not given, the process returns to step S71.

[0219] In step S79, if an instruction to end the inspection furrow position display and registration process is given, the process ends.

[0220] In step S96, the farm field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether or not the layout information of the test ridges has been transmitted from the user terminal 35.

[0221] If it is determined in step S96 that the arrangement information of the test ridges has been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the process proceeds to step S97.

[0222] In step S97, the field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to acquire the transmitted test ridge placement information, and then updates and registers it with the test ridge placement information before the update stored in the memory unit 104.

[0223] If it is not determined in step S96 that the arrangement information of the test ridges has been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the processing of step S97 is skipped.

[0224] In step S98, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the process has been given. If an instruction to end the process has not been given, the process returns to step S91, and the subsequent steps are carried out.

[0225] Then, in step S98, if an instruction to end the process is given, the process ends.

[0226] Through the above process, the user (producer) can display and check or edit the placement information of the test ridges by operating the user interface 181 of the user terminal 35, and can also register the placement of unset test ridges. Furthermore, when registering the placement information of the test ridges, if there are unset test ridges, a recommended placement is presented, so the user (producer) can set the placement without having to set the placement of each test ridge individually, which can reduce the burden on the user associated with setting the test ridges.

[0227] In the above, we have explained an example in which one test ridge group is set up in a part of the field 31. However, this is based on the assumption that even if the field 31 is large, there are no changes in soil characteristics, geology, topography, climate, etc. depending on the location. Therefore, the irrigation of the entire field 31 can be determined based on the growth index under the initial irrigation conditions of one test ridge group.

[0228] However, if the field is large and the soil characteristics, geology, topography, and weather conditions vary depending on the location, the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) and soil moisture content will differ, so it is necessary to set up individual test ridge groups for each and set initial irrigation conditions for each test ridge group.

[0229] Therefore, if the field 31 is large and there are areas with different soil characteristics, geology, topography, weather conditions, etc., the areas within the field 31 with different soil characteristics, geology, topography, weather conditions, etc. can be divided in advance, and a recommended placement of test furrow groups can be presented for each divided area.

[0230] In this case, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the irrigation of the test ridges for each area under the initial irrigation conditions set by the test ridge group set for each area.The irrigation control unit 135 then sets normal irrigation conditions based on the growth index obtained by irrigating under the initial irrigation conditions for each area, and controls the irrigation of the non-test ridges.

[0231] <Test Ridge Initial Irrigation Condition Registration Process> Next, the test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0232] In step S111, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct the test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process.

[0233] If it is determined in step S111 that the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process has been instructed, the process proceeds to step S112.

[0234] In step S112, the field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to present an image requesting the user to specify the name of the crop species to be subject to the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process, and accepts the input of the crop species name.

[0235] In step S113, the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to notify the control device 32 of the name of the crop species that is the target of the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process.

[0236] In step S131, the field information management unit 134, which is controlled by the control unit 101 of the control device 32, controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether the name of the crop species to be subject to the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process has been specified from the user terminal 35.

[0237] In step S131, if the name of the crop species to be subjected to the inspection furrow position display and registration process is designated, the process proceeds to step S132.

[0238] In step S132, the field information management unit 134 reads out the field information 141 registered in the storage unit 104, of the field information of the crop species that is the target of the specified test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process.

[0239] In step S133, the field information management unit 134 determines whether the initial irrigation conditions for the test ridge in the field information for the specified crop species name that is the target of the test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process are not yet registered.

[0240] If it is determined in step S133 that the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow are not registered, the process proceeds to step S134.

[0241] In step S134, the farm field information management unit 134 sets recommended initial irrigation conditions for the layout information of the test ridges.

[0242] The recommended initial irrigation conditions referred to here are irrigation conditions that are randomly set so that each of the irrigation conditions for a plurality of test ridges set in the field 31 of the specified crop species is different.

[0243] In addition, when the test ridge position display and registration process is repeated when the initial irrigation conditions for the test ridges have not been registered, the irrigation conditions set for the multiple test ridges may basically be changed and set randomly.

[0244] In step S135, the field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to transmit the registered initial irrigation conditions to the user terminal 35 if the initial irrigation conditions are registered for the specified crop species name, or if the initial irrigation conditions are not registered, the initial irrigation conditions set as recommended conditions.

[0245] In step S131, if the name of the crop species to be subjected to the test furrow position display and registration process is not specified, steps S132 to S135 are skipped. In step S133, if the initial irrigation conditions are not unregistered, step S134 is skipped.

[0246] In step S134, the field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to acquire the registered initial irrigation conditions or the initial irrigation conditions consisting of recommended conditions for the test rows of the specified crop species name sent from the control device 32, and generates an initial irrigation condition registration image and displays it on the user interface 181.

[0247] The initial irrigation condition registration image is, for example, a display image such as that shown in the user interface 181 of Fig. 15. In the initial irrigation condition registration image of Fig. 15, fields are set in areas Z1 and Z2, each surrounded by a dashed line, and test ridges are set in areas Z11 and Z12, each surrounded by a dashed line, with test ridge registration information display fields 281-1 and 281-2 provided and displayed for each. Note that the test ridge registration information display fields 281-1 and 281-2 are basically the same as the test ridge registration information display fields 261-1 and 261-2 of Fig. 13.

[0248] That is, in Figure 15, area Z11 is written as ``Test Ridge P'' and ``Irrigation Amount Lv1 / 4'' from top to bottom, as shown in the test ridge registration information display column 281-1, indicating that the test ridge name is ``Test Ridge P'' and that the initial irrigation condition is set to the smallest irrigation amount of the four types of irrigation amounts.

[0249] As shown in the test ridge registration information display field 281-2, area Z12 is written as ``Test ridge Q'' and ``ETc 75%'' from top to bottom, indicating that the test ridge name is ``Test ridge Q'' and that the initial irrigation conditions are set to the third smallest irrigation amount out of the four types of irrigation amounts.

[0250] Further below that, buttons 291 to 293 are displayed, each labeled "Display," "Confirm," and "Re-set conditions."

[0251] The button 291 labeled "Display" is a button that is pressed (tapped) by the user when displaying the initial irrigation conditions for the registered test furrows or the initial irrigation conditions as recommended conditions.

[0252] The button 272 labeled "Decide" is pressed (tapped) by the user when editing of the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow is completed and the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow are decided based on the editing results.

[0253] The button 273 labeled "Re-set conditions" is pressed (tapped) by the user when the initial irrigation conditions for the test ridges have not been registered and other recommended conditions are to be displayed. In other words, in this case, the farm field management application 171 randomly selects different initial irrigation conditions from those set for the multiple test ridges and displays the initial irrigation conditions as recommended conditions.

[0254] Furthermore, when provisionally deciding on one of the initial irrigation conditions for the indicated test ridges, such as areas Z11 and Z12 in Figure 15, by pressing within the area indicated by the dotted line, it may be possible to, for example, gray out the area and indicate that the initial irrigation conditions for the selected test ridge have been provisionally decided.

[0255] Furthermore, when there are test ridges for which initial irrigation conditions have been provisionally determined and the button 293 labeled "Re-set conditions" is pressed when setting the initial irrigation conditions for the remaining test ridges, the field management app 171 may treat the grayed-out ridges for which initial irrigation conditions have been provisionally determined as having the initial irrigation conditions registered, and may randomly change the initial irrigation conditions of the remaining test ridges so that they are different, and display them as recommended conditions that have been re-set.

[0256] In addition, for test ridges for which the initial irrigation conditions have not been registered, for example, all may be displayed in white, allowing the user to select the test ridge for which the initial irrigation conditions are to be provisionally determined, and the selected ridge may be displayed in gray as a provisionally determined test ridge.

[0257] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 16, when the irrigation amount display section 281a in the test ridge registration information display field 281'-1 is pressed (tapped), a pull-down menu 281b is displayed, and the user can set the irrigation amount by selecting a value in the pull-down menu 281b.

[0258] 16, the pull-down menu 281b lists, from top to bottom, "Irrigation Amount Level 1 / 4," "Irrigation Amount Level 2 / 4," "Irrigation Amount Level 3 / 4," and "Irrigation Amount Level 4 / 4," with "Irrigation Amount Level 1 / 4" selected and displayed in gray. Also, in FIG. 16, the irrigation amount can be directly selected, so the button 291 labeled "Re-set conditions" is omitted.

[0259] Now, let us return to the description of the flowchart in FIG.

[0260] In step S115, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow have been set.

[0261] In step S115, when the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow are set, the process proceeds to step S116.

[0262] In step S116, the farm field management application 171 registers the set initial irrigation conditions and temporarily stores them in the storage unit 154.

[0263] In step S117, the farm field management application 171 determines whether a decision operation has been performed by operating the user interface 181, for example, by operating the button 292 labeled "Decide" as described above.

[0264] If it is determined in step S117 that the confirmation operation has not been performed, the process returns to step S115, and the processes of steps S115 to S117 are repeated.

[0265] If it is determined in step S117 that a confirmation operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S118.

[0266] In step S118 , the farm field management application 171 reads out the registered initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow from the memory unit 154 and controls the communication unit 105 to transmit them to the control device 32 .

[0267] In addition, if the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow are not registered or the registered initial irrigation conditions are not edited, the processing of step S118 may be skipped.

[0268] Furthermore, if the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process is not instructed in step S111, the processes of steps S112 to S118 are skipped.

[0269] In step S119, the farm field management application 171 determines whether the user interface 181 has been operated to instruct the end of the test ridge initial irrigation condition registration process.

[0270] In step S119, if an instruction to end the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process is not given, the process returns to step S111, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

[0271] In step S119, if an instruction to end the test furrow initial irrigation condition registration process is given, the process ends.

[0272] In step S136 , the farm field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to determine whether the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow have been transmitted from the user terminal 35 .

[0273] If it is determined in step S136 that the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow have been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the process proceeds to step S137.

[0274] In step S137, the field information management unit 134 controls the communication unit 105 to acquire the initial irrigation conditions for the test ridge that have been transmitted, and then updates and registers the initial irrigation conditions for the test ridge in the field information 141 before the update that is stored in the memory unit 104.

[0275] In addition, if it is not determined in step S136 that the initial irrigation conditions for the test furrow have been transmitted from the user terminal 35, the processing of step S137 is skipped.

[0276] In step S138, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the process has been given. If an instruction to end the process has not been given, the process returns to step S131, and the subsequent steps are carried out.

[0277] Then, in step S138, if an instruction to end the process is given, the process ends.

[0278] Through the above processing, the producer user can display, check, or edit the initial irrigation conditions of the test rows by operating the user interface 181 of the user terminal 35, and can also register the initial irrigation conditions of unregistered test rows.

[0279] Furthermore, when registering the initial irrigation conditions for test ridges, if there are any test ridges that have not been set, recommended conditions will be presented, allowing the user (producer) to set the initial irrigation conditions without having to set the initial irrigation conditions for each test ridge, thereby reducing the burden on the user in setting the initial irrigation conditions.

[0280] Furthermore, the initial irrigation conditions that must be set are not specific irrigation amounts, which would be impossible to know without knowledge and experience, but rather the user simply selects one of four irrigation amounts from Level 1 / 4 to Level 4 / 4 to set four irrigation stop thresholds based on the water stress value obtained from the tree water tension.This makes it possible to set four different initial irrigation conditions within a safe range that will not cause the plants to wither, regardless of the knowledge or experience of the user (the producer).

[0281] <Initial Irrigation Control Processing> Next, the initial irrigation control processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0282] In step S151, the irrigation control unit 135 reads out the farm field information 141 registered in the storage unit 104, and reads out the initial irrigation conditions.

[0283] In step S152, the irrigation control unit 135 sets the unprocessed test ridge as the ridge to be processed.

[0284] In step S153, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the soil information acquisition unit 132 to measure the soil moisture content using the soil sensor 53 of the test tree in the treatment target ridge.

[0285] In step S154, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the weather information acquisition unit 131 to detect and acquire various weather-related data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation in the field 31 from the weather station 52.

[0286] In step S155, the irrigation control unit 135 estimates the tree water tension of the test tree based on various meteorological data such as soil moisture content, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation.

[0287] In step S156, the irrigation control unit 135 determines the amount and timing of irrigation for the test tree in the processing target ridge based on the tree water tension and the weather database 34. That is, if irrigation has not yet started, the irrigation control unit 135 compares the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension with the irrigation start threshold to determine whether it is higher than the irrigation start threshold, and if it is higher than the irrigation start threshold, determines that it is time to start irrigation. Also, if irrigation has started, the irrigation control unit 135 compares the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension with the irrigation stop threshold to determine whether it is lower than the irrigation stop threshold, and if it is lower than the irrigation stop threshold, determines that it is time to stop irrigation.

[0288] In step S157, the irrigation control unit 135 adjusts various parameters of the irrigation device 41 to adjust the irrigation amount and irrigation timing of the entire treatment target ridge based on the irrigation amount and irrigation timing of the test tree in the treatment target ridge.

[0289] In step S158, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the irrigation device 41 with the adjusted parameters to start or stop irrigating the test ridge that is the target ridge. When starting irrigation, the start time is stored, and when stopping irrigation, the irrigation time is calculated from the elapsed time from the stop time to the start time, and the irrigation amount for each test ridge is integrated based on the irrigation amount per unit time.

[0290] In step S159, the irrigation control unit 135 determines whether or not there are any unprocessed test rows. If there are any unprocessed test rows, the process returns to step S151 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

[0291] If it is determined in step S159 that there are no unprocessed test rows and that all test rows have been watered, the process proceeds to step S160.

[0292] In step S160, the irrigation control unit 135 sets all non-test ridges, which are ridges other than the test ridge, to a standard irrigation amount based on, for example, the maximum value of the standard evapotranspiration (ETc) of all the test ridges, and controls the irrigation device 41 to irrigate.

[0293] In step S161, the irrigation control unit 135 determines whether the initial irrigation period, during which initial irrigation is performed for a predetermined time, has ended. If the initial irrigation period has not ended, the process returns to step S152. That is, steps S152 to S161 are repeated until the initial irrigation period ends, and irrigation control is repeated for each test furrow based on a comparison of the water stress value calculated from the tree water tension with the set irrigation start threshold and irrigation stop threshold, and the irrigation amount according to the irrigation time is accumulated. If it is determined in step S161 that the initial irrigation period has ended, the process proceeds to step S162.

[0294] In step S162, the irrigation control unit 135 calculates the ratio of the irrigation amount to the standard irrigation amount from the integrated value of the irrigation amount in the initial irrigation period for each test ridge. In other words, the irrigation amount for each test ridge in the initial irrigation period is calculated as a ratio to the standard irrigation amount.

[0295] Through the above process, irrigation treatment is carried out based on the initial irrigation conditions set for each test furrow.

[0296] Furthermore, tree water tension is affected not only by soil moisture but also by weather. For example, if the temperature is high and the sunlight is strong, more soil moisture is required to maintain tree water tension. Conversely, if the temperature is low and the sunlight is weak, less soil moisture is required to maintain tree water tension. The actual amount of water irrigation depends on weather conditions, so the amount of water irrigation will not be the same every year.

[0297] In contrast, in the above initial irrigation control process, practical irrigation control is performed using four types of irrigation stop thresholds for water stress values ​​calculated from tree water tension, which are set in correspondence with the four types of irrigation amounts Lv1 / 4 to Lv4 / 4 selected as initial irrigation conditions, making it possible to appropriately determine the irrigation amount in a realistic plant cultivation environment.

[0298] As a result, even in the same field where plants are grown, it will be possible to carry out initial irrigation treatment with an appropriate amount of water in accordance with actual weather conditions, such as years with prolonged drought or heavy rain.

[0299] <Non-test ridge irrigation process> Next, the non-test ridge irrigation process will be described with reference to the flowchart in Figure 18. This process is a normal irrigation process that is performed after the initial irrigation control process has been performed and irrigation has been performed under the initial irrigation conditions set for each test ridge.

[0300] In step S171, the irrigation control unit 135 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous process. Initially, the predetermined time is the period from when irrigation control under the initial irrigation conditions is started until the plants cultivated in the field 31 grow to a predetermined level.

[0301] If it is determined in step S171 that a predetermined time has elapsed since the immediately preceding process, the process proceeds to step S172.

[0302] In step S172, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the growth status acquisition unit 133 to acquire a growth index based on images of various wavelength bands, including RGB images, captured by a drone or satellite, and information obtained from the images. At this time, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the growth status acquisition unit 133 to generate and acquire a growth index map, such as an NDVI image, from the near-infrared image and the red image. In addition, it is assumed that the images captured by the drone or satellite are repeatedly captured at predetermined time intervals, separate from this processing. The images acquired here are multiple image results captured repeatedly at predetermined time intervals from the previous processing up to the present.

[0303] In step S173, the irrigation control unit 135 registers the acquired growth index together with previously acquired growth indexes, etc., in chronological order as necessary.

[0304] In step S174, the irrigation control unit 135 divides the detection results of the growth index for each position of the test furrow.

[0305] In step S175, the irrigation control unit 135 sets a default irrigation amount based on the growth index, for example, as described with reference to Fig. 9. That is, as in the case of Fig. 9, for example, the irrigation amount for the initial irrigation condition in which the growth state is higher than a predetermined value and the irrigation amount is the smallest may be set as the default irrigation amount.

[0306] Regarding the method for setting the default amount of irrigation water, it is possible to set other amounts of irrigation water by setting in advance how to use the growth index to determine the amount of irrigation water.

[0307] For example, if the target for plants grown in field 31 is yield, the default irrigation amount may be the irrigation condition with the lowest irrigation amount among the irrigation conditions that result in a yield greater than a specified yield based on a specified growth index.

[0308] Also, for example, if the target for plants grown in field 31 is the intensity of sweetness or sourness, the default irrigation amount may be the irrigation condition with the lowest irrigation amount among the irrigation conditions that result in a sweetness or sourness that is stronger than a specified value, based on a specified growth index.

[0309] In step S176, the irrigation control unit 135 generates presentation information on the growth status of each test furrow based on the growth index.

[0310] In step S177, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the communication unit 105 to transmit the presented information on the growth status of each test furrow to the user terminal 35.

[0311] In step S201, the farm field management application 171 of the user terminal 35 controls the communication unit 155 to determine whether or not the presented information on the growth status of each test furrow has been transmitted.

[0312] In step S201, if the presentation information on the growth status for each test furrow is transmitted, the process proceeds to step S202.

[0313] In step S202, the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to receive the transmitted presentation information on the growth status of each test furrow.

[0314] In step S203, the farm field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to generate and present a growth status presentation image based on the transmitted presentation information on the growth status of each test furrow.

[0315] The growth status presentation image is, for example, as shown in Fig. 19. In the growth status presentation image in Fig. 19, test furrow presentation columns 301-1 to 301-4 are set from the top, and the test furrow name is written on the left side of each column, and growth index representative value columns 311-1 to 311-4 and growth index map columns 312-1 to 312-4 are provided on the right side.

[0316] More specifically, in the test ridge presentation column 301-1, the test ridge name is written as "Test ridge P," and to the right of that, in the growth index representative value column 311-1, "23" is written, indicating that the growth index representative value of "Test ridge P" is 23, and further to the right of that is the growth index map column 312-1, where the growth status of "Test ridge P" is presented using a growth index map.

[0317] In the test ridge presentation column 301-2, the test ridge name is written as "Test ridge Q," and to the right of that, in the growth index representative value column 311-2, "70" is written, indicating that the growth index representative value of "Test ridge Q" is 70.Further to the right of that, there is a growth index map column 312-2, in which the growth status of "Test ridge Q" is presented using a growth index map.

[0318] In the test ridge presentation column 301-3, the test ridge name is written as "Test ridge R," and to the right of that, in the growth index representative value column 311-3, "50" is written, indicating that the growth index representative value of "Test ridge R" is 50.Further to the right of that, there is a growth index map column 312-3, in which the growth status of "Test ridge R" is presented as a growth index map.

[0319] In the test ridge presentation column 301-4, the test ridge name is written as "Test ridge S," and to the right of that, in the growth index representative value column 311-4, "45" is written, indicating that the growth index representative value of "Test ridge S" is 45.Further to the right of that, there is a growth index map column 312-4, in which the growth status of "Test ridge S" is presented as a growth index map.

[0320] Furthermore, when an evaluation is to be input for any of the test row presentation fields 301-1 to 301-4, an evaluation input pop-up can be displayed by pressing (tapping) the test row display field 301 where the evaluation is to be input.

[0321] For example, when the inspection ridge presentation field 301-1 is pressed (tapped), the inspection ridge presentation field 301-1 is grayed out as shown in the left part of Fig. 20, and further, evaluation input popups 331-1 to 331-3 are displayed as shown in the right part of Fig. 20. The evaluation input popups 331-1 to 331-3 can be used to input a desired evaluation from one of three levels, "Good ★★★," "Average ★★," and "Bad ★," from the top to the bottom, by pressing (tapping) the desired evaluation.

[0322] That is, for example, if the user wants to input an evaluation of "average" for the test ridge P in the test ridge presentation field 301-1, the user can input the corresponding evaluation by pressing (tapping) the evaluation input popup 331-2.

[0323] Furthermore, a time series slider 302 is provided below the test furrow presentation columns 301-1 to 301-4, and by moving the slider left and right in the figure, the representative growth index values ​​and growth index maps can be displayed in a time series manner.

[0324] It should be noted that the time series of the evaluation input popups 331-1 to 331-3 may also be changed using the time series slider 302, so that different evaluations can be input in the respective time series.

[0325] In addition, on the right side of the time series slider 302, the top row is labeled "Map" and the bottom row is labeled "Aerial Photo," and switch radio buttons 303-1 and 303-2 are provided on the right side of each, making it possible to switch the display of growth index map fields 312-1 to 312-4 between an aerial photo image consisting of an RGB image and a growth index map.

[0326] In FIG. 19, the switching radio button 303-1 is turned on, the switching radio button 303-2 is turned off, and the display of the growth index map fields 312-1 to 312-4 is switched to the growth index map.

[0327] Below the time series slider 302, a contribution setting display switching button 304 is provided, which is operated to switch to a contribution setting display for setting the contribution degree.

[0328] When the contribution setting display switching button 304 is operated, a contribution setting display image such as that shown in the user interface 181 of FIG. 21 is displayed.

[0329] The contribution setting display image in Figure 21 is a display image for setting the contribution to the evaluation for each test ridge, and sliders 351-1 to 351-4 for setting the contribution are provided next to the columns labeled test ridges P to S from top to bottom.If you want to increase the contribution, move the slider up, and if you want to decrease it, move it down.

[0330] At the bottom of FIG. 21, a button 352 labeled "Back" is provided, which is operated when the user wishes to return to the growth status presentation images of FIGS.

[0331] Now, let us return to the description of the flowchart in FIG.

[0332] In step S204, the farm field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to determine whether an evaluation of any test ridge has been input.

[0333] In step S204, for example, as described with reference to Figure 20, if any of the test ridge presentation fields 301-1 to 301-4 is tapped, evaluation input pop-ups 331-1 to 331-3 are displayed, and any of them is pressed (tapped) and it is determined that an evaluation of the test ridge has been entered, processing proceeds to step S205.

[0334] In step S205, the farm field management application 171 registers the evaluation input corresponding to the selected evaluation input popup 331-1 to 331-3 as the evaluation of the corresponding test ridge.

[0335] If no evaluation of any test ridge is input in step S204, the processing of step S205 is skipped.

[0336] In step S206, the farm field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to determine whether the contribution of any test ridge has been input.

[0337] In step S206, if the contribution is set, for example, by operating sliders 351-1 to 351-4 in the contribution setting display image described with reference to Figure 21, it is determined that the contribution of the test furrow has been input, and processing proceeds to step S207.

[0338] In step S207, the farm field management application 171 registers the contribution degree input for each test ridge as the contribution degree of the corresponding test ridge.

[0339] If the contribution of any test furrow is not input in step S206, the process of step S207 is skipped.

[0340] In step S208, the farm field management application 171 controls the user interface 181 to determine whether the evaluation and contribution rate for each test furrow have been determined.

[0341] If it is determined in step S208 that the evaluation and contribution rate for each test furrow have not been determined, the process returns to step S203, and the subsequent steps are repeated. That is, steps S203 to S208 are repeated until the evaluation and contribution rate for each test furrow are determined.

[0342] If it is determined in step S208 that the evaluation and contribution rate for each test furrow have been determined, the process proceeds to step S209.

[0343] In step S209, the farm field management application 171 controls the communication unit 155 to transmit information on the evaluation and contribution rate for each test ridge that has been determined to the control device 32.

[0344] In step S178, the irrigation control unit 135 of the control device 32 controls the communication unit 105 to acquire information on the evaluation and contribution rate for each test furrow from the user terminal 35.

[0345] In step S179, the irrigation control unit 135 determines the amount and timing of irrigation for non-test rows throughout the field 31 based on the evaluation and contribution of each test row from the user terminal 35 and the initial irrigation conditions for each test row.

[0346] For example, the initial irrigation conditions for test ridges P, Q, R, and S are set in order of decreasing irrigation amount, and when the evaluations are "good," "good," "good," and "bad," respectively, and the contribution levels are all the same, all non-test ridges in field 31 may be irrigated with the irrigation amount and timing of test ridge R, which has a good evaluation and the lowest irrigation amount.

[0347] Also, when all the evaluations are "normal" but the contribution of the test ridge Q is the highest, all non-test ridges in the field 31 may be irrigated with the same amount and timing as the test ridge Q.

[0348] Furthermore, if neither evaluation nor contribution level is set, the default irrigation amount and timing may be used to irrigate all non-test ridges in the field 31. If the user does not set an evaluation or contribution level on the user terminal 35 for a predetermined period of time or longer, the processing of step S178 may be skipped.

[0349] Furthermore, by setting weights for the evaluation and contribution rate of each test ridge and calculating the sum of the respective irrigation amounts, all non-test ridges in the field 31 can be irrigated with an irrigation amount that is a weighted average using the evaluation and contribution rate as weights.

[0350] In step S180, the irrigation control unit 135 controls the irrigation device 41 to irrigate all of the non-test furrows in the field 31 at the irrigation amount and timing set in step S179.

[0351] In steps S181 and S210, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the process has been given. If an instruction to end the process has not been given, the process returns to steps S171 and S201, respectively, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

[0352] Then, in steps S181 and S210, if an instruction to end the process is given, the process ends.

[0353] Through the above processing, growth indices of plants growing in the field 31 are acquired sequentially at predetermined time intervals, and maps and images relating to the growth indices for each test row can be presented to the user on the user terminal 35.

[0354] In addition, it is possible to accept user evaluations and contribution settings for each presented test ridge, and based on the evaluations and contribution settings for each test ridge, it is possible to set the amount and timing of irrigation for non-test ridges other than the test ridges throughout the field 31.

[0355] This allows the user to manually set the appropriate amount and timing of watering to grow plants to achieve the desired results.

[0356] Furthermore, even if the user does not set the evaluation or contribution rate for each test furrow, it is possible to automatically set an appropriate amount of irrigation water based on the growth index.

[0357] Furthermore, in the above series of processes, when determining the irrigation amount for the entire field, whether it is setting the initial irrigation conditions or evaluating and setting the contribution based on growth index maps and aerial images for each test row, producers can appropriately set the irrigation amount to achieve the target results without having to set a specific irrigation amount that they would not know without knowledge or experience of irrigation.

[0358] Therefore, even if the user is a beginner producer with little knowledge or experience, particularly regarding irrigation, he or she can appropriately control the amount of irrigation according to the target performance simply by setting an evaluation and contribution level based on a growth index map and aerial images for each test row.

[0359] Furthermore, as explained in the initial irrigation control process, actual irrigation control is performed using four types of irrigation stop thresholds for water stress values ​​calculated from tree water tension, which are set in correspondence with the four types of irrigation amounts Lv1 / 4 to Lv4 / 4 selected as initial irrigation conditions, thereby realizing initial irrigation processing with an appropriate irrigation amount that is in line with actual weather conditions, which change every year.

[0360] Therefore, even in the irrigation treatment of non-test furrows, irrigation control is performed based on the amount of irrigation water required in the initial irrigation treatment, making it possible to achieve appropriate irrigation control throughout the field in accordance with actual weather conditions.

[0361] Furthermore, after the initial irrigation, the test rows may also be watered with the same amount and timing as the non-test rows, so that the test rows may also be watered with an appropriate amount and timing.

[0362] As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately control irrigation of a field according to targets such as the quality and yield of plants cultivated in the field.

[0363] <<3. Modified Examples>> In the above, we have explained an example in which a user evaluates test rows based on images taken by drones or satellites and growth index maps, and sets the irrigation amount and timing for the entire field 31 based on the evaluation results. However, a producer may also carry a user terminal 35, go to the field 31, directly visually inspect the test rows, and then input their evaluation.

[0364] In this case, the user's location information is acquired by the GPS 159 built into the user terminal 35, and when the acquired location information is transmitted to the control device 32, the control device 32 identifies the location of the nearest test ridge from the location information of the user terminal 35 and may display, for example, an evaluation display image consisting of evaluation input pop-ups 371-1 to 371-3 as shown in Figure 22.

[0365] In the evaluation display image of Figure 22, from the top of the figure, it is written as "current location estimated from GPS" and "test ridge Q," indicating that the user is visually confirming the test ridge Q based on the location information obtained by the GPS 159 of the user terminal 35.

[0366] Below that, "Above rating" is written, and below that, rating input popups 371-1 to 371-3 are displayed. Rating input popups 371-1 to 371-3 have configurations corresponding to rating input popups 331-1 to 331-3 in Fig. 20, respectively, and users can input a rating by tapping one of the three levels of rating from top to bottom: "Good ★★★," "Average ★★," and "Bad ★."

[0367] This type of processing allows the user to visually check the actual growth conditions in the test ridges and then input an evaluation, making it possible to achieve a more accurate evaluation of the test ridges.

[0368] <<4. Example of Execution by Software>> The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When the series of processes is executed by software, the program that constitutes the software is installed from a recording medium into a computer that is built into dedicated hardware, or into, for example, a general-purpose computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs.

[0369] 23 shows an example of the configuration of a general-purpose computer. This computer has a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001. An input / output interface 1005 is connected to the CPU 1001 via a bus 1004. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 1002 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1003 are connected to the bus 1004.

[0370] The input / output interface 1005 is connected to an input unit 1006 including input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse through which a user inputs operation commands, an output unit 1007 that outputs a processing operation screen and images of processing results to a display device, a storage unit 1008 including a hard disk drive or the like that stores programs and various data, and a communication unit 1009 including a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter or the like that executes communication processing via a network typified by the Internet. Also connected is a drive 1010 that reads and writes data from / to a removable storage medium 1011 such as a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk), an optical disk (including a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), a magneto-optical disk (including an MD (Mini Disc)), or a semiconductor memory.

[0371] The CPU 1001 executes various processes in accordance with a program stored in a ROM 1002 or a program read from a removable storage medium 1011 such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory, installed in a storage unit 1008, and loaded from the storage unit 1008 into a RAM 1003. The RAM 1003 also stores data necessary for the CPU 1001 to execute various processes as appropriate.

[0372] In a computer configured as described above, the CPU 1001 performs the above-described series of processes by, for example, loading a program stored in the memory unit 1008 into the RAM 1003 via the input / output interface 1005 and the bus 1004 and executing it.

[0373] The program executed by the computer (CPU 1001) can be provided by being recorded on a removable storage medium 1011 such as a package medium, for example. The program can also be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

[0374] In a computer, a program can be installed in the storage unit 1008 via the input / output interface 1005 by inserting a removable storage medium 1011 into the drive 1010. The program can also be received by the communication unit 1009 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit 1008. Alternatively, the program can be installed in advance in the ROM 1002 or the storage unit 1008.

[0375] The program executed by the computer may be a program that processes in chronological order according to the order described in this specification, or may be a program that processes in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called.

[0376] 23 realizes the functions of the control unit 101 in FIG. 5 and the control unit 151 in FIG.

[0377] In this specification, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), regardless of whether all of the components are contained in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device with multiple modules housed in a single housing, are both systems.

[0378] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0379] For example, the present disclosure can be configured as a cloud computing system in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by multiple devices via a network.

[0380] Furthermore, each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device, or can be shared and executed by a plurality of devices.

[0381] Furthermore, when one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0382] The present disclosure may also be configured as follows: <1> An information processing device comprising: an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test ridges in a field, in which plants are planted, under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test ridges. <2> The information processing device described in <1>, in which the irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for non-test ridges, which are ridges other than the test ridges, throughout the field based on the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions. <3> The information processing device described in <2>, wherein the irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges other than the test ridge based on an evaluation set by the user of the sensing results of the growth conditions of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions presented by the presentation unit, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions. <4> The irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges other than the test ridge based on an evaluation set by the user of the sensing results of the growth conditions of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under different irrigation conditions presented by the presentation unit and a contribution set by the user for each irrigation condition of the plurality of test ridges, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions. <5> The information processing device described in <4>, wherein the irrigation control unit sets a weight according to the user's evaluation for each of the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions and a weight according to the degree of contribution, and irrigates the non-test rows with an irrigation amount that is a weighted average of the irrigation amounts under the irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test rows. <6> The information processing device described in <1>, wherein the different irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test rows are threshold values ​​of a water stress value calculated from tree water tension of the plant that controls irrigation start timing and irrigation stop timing.<7> The irrigation water amount under different irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test ridges is an irrigation water amount actually measured during irrigation in which the irrigation start timing and the irrigation stop timing are controlled by different threshold values ​​of the water stress value for each of the plurality of test ridges. <8> The information processing device described in <6>, wherein the plurality of test ridges is at least four. <9> The information processing device described in <1>, wherein the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under different irrigation conditions are based on images captured by an image sensor mounted on a device that images the entire field. <10> The information processing device described in <9>, wherein the images are RGB images and images in multiple wavelength bands. <11> The information processing device described in <10>, wherein the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test ridges irrigated under different irrigation conditions are a growth index map in which growth indices are mapped and generated based on the images in multiple wavelength bands. <12> The information processing device according to <11>, wherein the presentation unit presents the RGB image and the growth index map as sensing results of the growth condition. <13> The information processing device according to <11>, wherein the growth indexes include NDVI, PRI, SIF, NDRE, VARI, TGI, SIPI2, LCI, BNDVI, GNDVI, and MCARI. <14> The information processing device according to <11>, wherein the device that images the entire field is a drone, a satellite, or a patrol robot that moves autonomously within the field. <15> The information processing device described in <2>, wherein the plurality of test ridges form a test ridge group for setting one irrigation condition for the non-test ridges, the test ridge group being set for each area in the field with different soil properties, geology, topography, and weather conditions, and the irrigation control unit determines the irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges for each area based on the sensing results of the growth status obtained by initial irrigation of the test ridge group set for each area, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the irrigation conditions determined for each area. <16> The information processing device described in <1>, wherein the plurality of test ridges are a portion of the ridges set in the field and are fewer than the non-test ridges that are not the test ridges.<17> An information processing method including: an irrigation control process for irrigating a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field, each under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition process for acquiring sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation process for presenting the detected sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows. <18> An information processing system including: an irrigation control unit for irrigating a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field, each under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition unit for acquiring sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation unit for presenting the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows. <19> A program that causes a computer to function as an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

[0383] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 Field management system, 31 Field, 32 Control device, 35 User terminal, 41 Irrigation device, 42 Sensor unit, 51 Growth status sensor, 52 Weather station, 53 Soil sensor, 131 Weather information acquisition unit, 132 Soil information acquisition unit, 133 Growth status acquisition unit, 134 Field information management unit, 135 Irrigation control unit, 159 GPS, 171 Field management application, 181 User interface, 201, 201-1 to 201-4 Test ridges, 201a, 201a-1 to 201a-4 Test trees, 202, 202-1 to 202-4 Non-test ridges, 203 Irrigation tube

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions; a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions; and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

2. The information processing device described in claim 1, wherein the irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for non-test ridges, which are ridges other than the test ridges in the entire field, based on the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the multiple test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions.

3. The information processing device described in claim 2, wherein the irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges, which are ridges other than the test ridges, based on an evaluation set by the user of the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the multiple test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions presented by the presentation unit, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions.

4. The information processing device described in claim 3, wherein the irrigation control unit determines irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges, which are ridges other than the test ridges, based on an evaluation set by the user of the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the multiple test ridges irrigated under the different irrigation conditions presented by the presentation unit and a contribution set by the user for each irrigation condition of the multiple test ridges, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the determined irrigation conditions.

5. The information processing device described in claim 4, wherein the irrigation control unit sets a weight according to the user's evaluation for each of the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions and a weight according to the degree of contribution, and irrigates the non-test rows with an irrigation amount that is a weighted average of the irrigation amounts under the irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test rows.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the different irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test rows are threshold values ​​of water stress values ​​calculated from the tree water tension of the plant, which control the timing of starting and stopping irrigation.

7. An information processing device as described in claim 6, wherein the amount of irrigation water under different irrigation conditions for each of the plurality of test furrows is the amount of irrigation water actually measured in irrigation in which the irrigation start timing and the irrigation stop timing are controlled by different threshold values ​​of the water stress value for each of the plurality of test furrows.

8. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of test furrows is at least four or more.

9. An information processing device as described in claim 1, wherein the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions are based on images captured by an image sensor mounted on a device that captures images of the entire field.

10. The information processing device according to claim 9, wherein the image is an RGB image and a multi-wavelength image.

11. The information processing device described in claim 10, wherein the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the multiple test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions are a growth index map in which growth indices are mapped based on the multiple wavelength band images.

12. The information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the presentation unit presents the RGB image and the growth index map as the sensing results of the growth condition.

13. The information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the growth indices include NDVI, PRI, SIF, NDRE, VARI, TGI, SIPI2, LCI, BNDVI, GNDVI, and MCARI.

14. The information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the device that captures images of the entire farm field is a drone, a satellite, or a patrol robot that moves autonomously within the farm field.

15. The information processing device described in claim 2, wherein the plurality of test ridges form a test ridge group for setting one irrigation condition for the non-test ridges, the test ridge group is set for each area in the field with different soil characteristics, geology, topography, and weather conditions, and the irrigation control unit determines the irrigation conditions for the non-test ridges for each area based on the sensing results of the growth status obtained by initial irrigation of the test ridge group set for each area, and irrigates the non-test ridges under the irrigation conditions determined for each area.

16. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of test ridges are a portion of the ridges set in the field, and are fewer than the non-test ridges that are not the test ridges.

17. An information processing method including: an irrigation control process for irrigating a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions; a sensing result acquisition process for acquiring sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions; and a presentation process for presenting the detected sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

18. An information processing system including: an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions; a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions; and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

19. A program that causes a computer to function as an irrigation control unit that irrigates a plurality of test rows in which plants are planted in a field under different irrigation conditions, a sensing result acquisition unit that acquires sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows irrigated under the different irrigation conditions, and a presentation unit that presents the sensing results of the growth status of the plants in the plurality of test rows.

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