How GIS is Used in Agriculture
The number of GIS applications in agriculture has exploded in recent years thanks to technological advancements. Let’s discuss some of the most popular current applications.
Precision agriculture GIS software provides detailed vegetation and productivity maps, including crop information, for making reasonable decisions. Agriculture GIS tools can identify vegetation levels in your field or any of its areas. Agriculture machinery can then use this information to adjust each plot’s seed, nutrients, herbicides, and fertilizer amounts.
Soil and crop analysis can be facilitated by satellite sensors, allowing the creation of soil index maps and maps of vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Agriculture GIS mapping aids field monitoring and management for successful crop production. Comparing field vegetation on several dates or using various indices might help you determine how different variables affect yield.
Crop Health Monitoring
Manually checking crops across a large area is the slowest and most labor-intensive method of monitoring crop health. Remote sensing and GIS in agriculture are lifesavers for this.
GIS-based precision agriculture can help you prioritize which crops need extra care. Imagery sensors on satellites and aircraft provide an advanced method for monitoring crop temperatures. An abnormal temperature could indicate disease, pest infestation, or dehydration.
Livestock Monitoring
Agriculture GIS software is essential for tracking animals’ movements in animal husbandry. GIS agro tools help farmers locate livestock on a farm and monitor their health, growth, fertility, and nutrition. Animal trackers and a portable device that can receive and display tracker data enable this application.
Insect and Pest Control
Scouting large fields for pest infestations is wasteful. Deep learning algorithms and satellite data can assist in finding unhealthy spots.
Irrigation Control
Dry spells and extreme precipitation in low-lying areas without adequate drainage can ruin crop output. Through agriculture GIS technology, farmers may assess the degree of water stress experienced by each crop and recognize visual patterns that suggest an oversupply or deficiency of water, which can be used to regulate irrigation.
Nutrient Distribution
Farmers can only decide whether or not to fertilize the soil after knowing what nutrients are already present in a specific field. By analyzing the field’s nutrient status and detecting nutrient deficiency with GIS, agro producers can deliver nutrients from the outside more precisely.
Crop Yield Prediction
Governments and enterprises need reliable yield estimates to secure food supplies and predict profits and budgets. These forecasts are now possible thanks to technological advances that have linked satellites, remote sensing, big data, and artificial intelligence.
