Ground and Aerial Robots for Agricultural Production: Opportunities and Challenges

Crop and animal production techniques have changed significantly over the last century. In the early 1900s, animal power was replaced by tractor power that resulted in tremendous improvements in field productivity, which subsequently laid foundation for mechanized agriculture. While precision agriculture has enabled site-specific management of crop inputs for improved yields and quality, precision livestock farming has boosted efficiencies in animal and dairy industries. By 2020, highly automated systems are employed in crop and animal agriculture to increase input efficiency and agricultural output with reduced adverse impact on the environment. Ground and aerial robots combined with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have potential to tackle the rising food, fiber, and fuel demands of the rapidly growing population that is slated to be around 10 billion by the year 2050. This Issue Paper presents opportunities provided by ground and aerial robots for improved crop and animal production, and the challenges that could potentially limit their progress and adoption. A summary of enabling factors that could drive the deployment and adoption of robots in agriculture is also presented along with some insights into the training needs of the workforce who will be involved in the next-generation agriculture

Assessing Cultural and Ecological Variation in Ethnobiological Research: The Importance of Gender

Contending that a significant portion of current ethnobiological research continues to overlook cultural variation in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and practice, this paper explores the potential impacts of gender-imbalanced research on data collection, hypothesis testing, and the formulation and application of ethnobiological inventories and theories. A multidisciplinary review of over 220 studies addresses commonly held stereotypes underlying gender-imbalanced field research and demonstrates the need for more inclusive, finely-tuned studies which disaggregate indigenous knowledge and practice by gender. The paper outlines factors underlying gender-based spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem exposure and traditional ecological knowledge in rural societies worldwide, and discusses how these factors contribute to gender differences in wild food harvesting, biodiversity and agrobiodiversity maintenance, natural resource management, and the transmission and conservation of sacred and secular customs. The review concludes with suggestions for designing and implementing more inclusive research

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Eggplant

The eggplant is a member of the Solanaceae family, also known as the Nightshade family, which includes crops such as the Irish potato, tomato, tomatillo and pepper. The eggplant is thought to have originated in Asia (mainly parts of India and Burma/Myanmar), and the first record of this vegetable was from a 5th century Chinese book. The original eggplant was a wild plant with orange, pea-sized, spiny fruit — very different than the present-day eggplant!https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1003/thumbnail.jp

Extending the Season for Sustainability in Utah

The importance of providing fresh produce on a local level is becoming a widespread consideration among people concerned with the character of their food. For regions without an opportune growing climate, extending the growing season can drastically advance productivity. High tunnels are one way to effectively and profitably extend the growing season in cold climates. The benefits of growing in a high tunnel go beyond raising the temperature. High tunnels contribute to higher quality small fruits and vegetables. The benefits of growing in high tunnels have been explored in other states and could be exploited by Utah growers. Utah\u27s climate could be advantageous to high tunnel production, and further research will provide a foundation for advancement. This article will discuss previous research findings and considerations for the future of high tunnel production in Utah. High value crops under consideration include: Raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, tomato, specialty greens, and cut flowers

Preliminary study on the potential use of RPA images to quantify the influence of the defoliation after coffee harvesting to its yield

Received: January 24th, 2023 ; Accepted: May 22nd, 2023 ; Published: September 18th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is an agricultural commodity with global commercial importance capable of impacting the production chain. The quantification of defoliation at harvest is important for monitoring crop yield because defoliation is one of the main types of damage caused by this agricultural operation in coffee crops. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between yield and defoliation obtained in the field and obtained through remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) images. The experiment was conducted in a coffee plantation belonging to the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. An RPA with a rotary wing containing a multispectral camera was used in autonomous flight mode with a height of 30 m, an image overlap of 80%, and a speed of 3 m s-1 . The images were collected before and after the 2020 and 2021 harvest, defoliation data obtained in the field were measured in 2020 and 2021, and the yield was measured from 2019 to 2021. Image processing was performed in the software PhotoScan, postimage processing was performed in QGIS, and statistical analyses were performed using the software R. With the processing of the images in 2020, the crop showed reductions of 17.3% and 18.4% in leaf area and volume, respectively, after harvest. In 2021, the crop showed reductions of 12.8% and 9.8% in leaf area and volume, respectively, after harvest. The leaf area and leaf volume of the coffee plantation after harvest could be quantified by means of images obtained by RPA, which allowed the observation of the loss of area and volume of the coffee plantation. Furthermore, it was possible to analyse the interactions between field data and the yield of the same harvest year, which were directly proportional, and the interaction of image data from one year with the previous yield, which were inversely proportional. In the year 2020, there was a reduction of 17.3% in leaf area after harvest, and a reduction of 18.4% in leaf volume after harvest in the plots under study.In the processing carried out in 2021, there was a 12.8% reduction in leaf area after harvest, and a 9.8% decrease in leaf volume after harvest in the plots under study

Engineering News, Fall 2019

https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/eng_news/1043/thumbnail.jp

Annual Report: 2008

I submit herewith the annual report from the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, for the period ending December 31, 2008. This is done in accordance with an act of Congress, approved March 2, 1887, entitled, “An act to establish agricultural experiment stations, in connection with the agricultural college established in the several states under the provisions of an act approved July 2, 1862, and under the acts supplementary thereto,” and also of the act of the Alaska Territorial Legislature, approved March 12, 1935, accepting the provisions of the act of Congress. The research reports are organized according to our strategic plan, which focuses on high-latitude soils, high-latitude agriculture, natural resources use and allocation, ecosystems management, and geographic information. These areas cross department and unit lines, linking them and unifying the research. We have also included in our financial statement information on the special grants we receive. These special grants allow us to provide research and outreach that is targeted toward economic development in Alaska. Research conducted by our graduate and undergraduate students plays an important role in these grants and the impact they make on Alaska.Financial statement -- Grants -- Students -- Research reports: Partners, Facilities, and Programs; Geographic Information; High-Latitude Agriculture; High-Latitude Soils, Management of Ecosystems; Natural Resources Use and Allocation; Index to Reports -- Publications -- Facult

Adaptation Under the Canopy: Coffee Cooperative and Certification Contributions to Smallholder Livelihood Sustainability in Santa Lucía Teotepec, Oaxaca

The collapse and reorganization of global coffee markets associated with the “coffee crisis” have had profound, negative impacts on smallholder producer livelihoods throughout the world. In Mexico, the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) coincided with withdrawal of government support for agriculture, which devastated producers dependent on coffee for their livelihoods. Smallholders responded by shifting livelihood strategies to diversify income, migrating, and converting primary forest cover to subsistence crops and pasture to support household livelihood security. In some instances, producers also joined or formed cooperative organizations to access specialty certifications that offer higher priced markets, extension information, and other benefits. However, certifications have had limited benefits for producers, particularly where administered through cooperatives. This research applied a livelihoods framework to a smallholder coffee producing community, Santa Lucía Teotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, in order to understand smallholder responses to economic crisis and prolonged stress, benefits derived from cooperative membership, and motivations behind rustic shade- grown coffee management decisions. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain in-depth data about livelihood strategies, household adaptations to crises, producer experiences and opinions regarding opportunities and constraints of cooperative membership and local knowledge, uses and management practices of shade trees in coffee farms. Results suggest that responses to the coffee crisis have been mostly reactive, coping strategies limited in their duration and ability to bolster livelihood security. Membership in the cooperative UNECAFE has resulted in some income, material, and social benefits as compared with non-member producers. However, the benefits are minimal and constrained by factors common to the coffee industry as a whole (i.e., persistent low prices and disease) and particular to community context, notably that the cooperative was not a grassroots organization and had strained relationships with producers. Results indicate that shade tree values and management practices do not vary due to cooperative membership or certification, but rather due to ecological attributes of coffee plots and producers’ access to resources. Producers derive a wide range of benefits from traditional shade coffee systems that reflect cultural traditions and rich local ecological knowledge. This study points to the need to develop locally-based cooperatives and to invest in their institutional and management capacities, to increase local representation in cooperative leadership, and to support and build upon traditional ecological knowledge and management practices in conservation and development initiatives

COFFEE QUALITY, LAND USE, AND PROCESSING IN THE CAJAMARCA REGION OF PERU

Procedures used for defining coffee quality include a variety of activities ranging from physical measurements, hedonic sensory evaluations, and valuation of recognized extrinsic attributes. The physical measurements of coffee quality evaluate intrinsic attributes through a set of formal coffee grading and analysis standards, in addition to human sensory activities which conduct formal cupping protocol standards and formal tasting competitions. Extrinsic qualities include attributes such as branding and aesthetics, in addition to sets of ethical qualities established to further differentiate value beyond intrinsic and hedonic qualities. The promotion and standardization of coffee quality expectations directly impact activities taken by coffee producers. Achieving established quality expectations require coffee producers to adapt certain land-use practices and post-harvest processes activities which significantly impact their livelihoods. This thesis will examine how coffee quality is interpreted, standardized, and implemented within the coffee supply chain and will further investigate environmental and economic trade-offs quality standards impose on land-use and post-harvest processing activities. The thesis will approach defining coffee quality through a collection of three distinct categories; intrinsic, hedonic, and extrinsic quality. This examination aims to demonstrate how these categories of coffee quality impact decisions made in the daily activities of coffee farming communities. A descriptive account will be presented to demonstrate activities relating to land-use and post-harvest processing methods within three separate smallholder coffee farming communities in the Cajamarca Region of Peru. Observations were made to show a variety of economic and environmental tradeoffs for achieving quality standards driven by current market demands. Advisor: Raymond Hame