ARS | Publication request: Development of a data acquisition and processing system for precision agriculture

Submitted to: International Agricultural Engineering Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 1, 2008
Publication Date: July 16, 2008
Citation: Zhang, S., Lan, Y., Wu, W., Hoffmann, W.C., Chen, G. 2008. Development of a data acquisition and processing system for precision agriculture. International Agricultural Engineering Journal. X:IT-08011.

Interpretive Summary: Commercial geographic information system (GIS) software often needs to be modified when applied to specific agricultural fields. New software is needed to adapt GIS for precision (site-specific) agriculture. A data acquisition and processing system was designed for variable rate technology (VRT) applications. This system was based on electronic prescription maps for VRT applications provided by an expert system for data management and processing, analysis of thematic data maps, and guidance in sampling. The data acquisition and processing system will provide a useful tool for farmers and researchers who want to apply precision agricultural technologies for enhanced crop protection and production.

Technical Abstract: A data acquisition and processing system for precision agriculture was developed by using MapX5.0 and Visual C6.0. This system can be used easily and quickly for drawing grid maps in-field, making out parameters for grid-reorganization, guiding for in-field data collection, converting data between different formats, managing databases, and drawing thematic maps for VRT(variable rate technology) application in-field. Experiment results have shown that the system works well for data acquisition of variable rate fertilizer application for precision agriculture and for generating output field maps. This paper describes the design and implementation of the software programs using MapX5.0 and Visual C 6.0 for data acquisition and processing for precision agriculture.