Crop Damage Risk Computation Using Weather Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Field managers face challenges in predicting the onset and impact of crop damage from insects or diseases, leading to inefficient use of pesticides and potential yield loss.
Innovation Solution
A computer system that receives weather data and uses it to identify risk hours based on temperature and humidity ranges, allowing for the determination of crop damage risk and recommendation of mitigation measures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If field managers apply insecticide or fungicide to prevent crop damage, then crop protection is improved, but costs increase due to unnecessary applications
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of risk hours by analyzing weather data (temperature and humidity ranges) before crop damage occurs. This allows field managers to take preventive action only when conditions indicate potential disease or insect pressure, avoiding unnecessary pesticide applications and reducing costs while maintaining crop protection reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors weather conditions and provides feedback on current risk levels to field managers. This real-time feedback enables dynamic decision-making about pesticide application timing, ensuring chemicals are applied only when environmental conditions suggest actual or impending crop damage threats
2Measurement precision
If field managers manually check each location for signs of damage, then detection accuracy is improved, but labor resources are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated computer-based system that processes weather data to identify risk hours. This substitution maintains detection accuracy by using scientific weather parameters correlated with disease and insect pressure, while dramatically increasing productivity by enabling monitoring of hundreds of acres simultaneously without additional labor
3Reliability
If field managers apply pesticides frequently to ensure protection, then crop protection reliability is improved, but environmental harm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system identifies risk hours in advance by analyzing weather conditions that predispose crops to disease or insect damage. This preliminary identification allows for targeted, minimal pesticide applications only when necessary, reducing environmental pollution while maintaining crop protection reliability through scientifically-timed interventions
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining a risk of damage to a crop on a field are described. In an example embodiment, a method for limiting such damage to a crop includes receiving, for multiple hours, weather data identifying temperature values and humidity values for a geographic location of the field, determining, for the multiple hours, that a temperature value is within a first range of values and a humidity value is within a second range of values and, identifying each of the multiple hours as a risk hour for a disease. The method also includes computing a risk value for the field based on the identified risk hours, determining that the risk value is above a threshold, and determining that the crop on the field is at risk for the disease. The method then includes spraying the crop on the field with a damage mitigating chemical specific to the disease.