Marco Vieri

Highlights and preliminary results for autonomous crop protection

Intelligent pest control remains a mayor challenge to agriculture.The autonomous tractor used in this work was able to track each straight line with high degree of accuracy.The new design concept was able to autonomously adjust spray application according tree sizes and orchard structure.The intelligent spray boom responded satisfactorily to variation in the level of weed infestation in the field. New technologies are required for safe, site-specific and efficient control of weeds, pathogens and insects in agricultural crops and in forestry. The development and use of autonomous tractors equipped with innovative sensor systems, data processing techniques and actuation tools can be highly beneficial because this technology allows pest control measures to be applied only if, when, and where they are genuinely needed, thus reducing costs, environmental damage and risks to farmers. RHEA (Robotics and associated High-technologies and Equipment for Agriculture) is an EC-funded research project conducted by a consortium composed of 15 research partners from eight European countries. The focus of the project is the design, development and testing of a new generation of automatic and robotic systems for both chemical and physical pest management. A heterogeneous fleet of small, cooperative ground and aerial robots equipped with advanced sensors, enhanced end effectors and improved decision control algorithms will be used. Initially, we are investigating three major scenarios: (a) chemical weed control in winter wheat, (b) thermal weed control (i.e., flaming) in maize and (c) variable applications of pesticides in olive crops. A preliminary system evaluation demonstrated that the intelligent sprayer boom applied the control agent to over 95% of the target area and that the response time, 10s, of the direct-injection system was anticipated in the sprayer system to ensure the accuracy of herbicide spraying. Field trial results showed that the estimated cost for site-specific flame weeding was approximately 24?ha-1, whereas approximately 52?ha-1 was needed to perform a conventional broadcast treatment. Thus, the use of VRA (Variable Rate Application) flaming reduces the use of liquid petroleum gas (cost savings of 28?ha-1). The results also indicated that the control system, mounted on a prototype, air-blast sprayer design, produced a precise system response to variation in the target features, an approximate accuracy of 0.1m in horizontal resolution and a rapid actuation response of approximately 100ms. Workshop and field experiments provide convincing evidence that autonomous agricultural vehicles equipped with intelligent implements represent an important step forward for optimizing pest control applications in sustainable row crop, orchard and cereal crop production systems.

Fleets of robots for environmentally-safe pest control in agriculture

Abstract Feeding the growing global population requires an annual increase in food production. This requirement suggests an increase in the use of pesticides, which represents an unsustainable chemical load for the environment. To reduce pesticide input and preserve the environment while maintaining the necessary level of food production, the efficiency of relevant processes must be drastically improved. Within this context, this research strived to design, develop, test and assess a new generation of automatic and robotic systems for effective weed and pest control aimed at diminishing the use of agricultural chemical inputs, increasing crop quality and improving the health and safety of production operators. To achieve this overall objective, a fleet of heterogeneous ground and aerial robots was developed and equipped with innovative sensors, enhanced end-effectors and improved decision control algorithms to cover a large variety of agricultural situations. This article describes the scientific and technical objectives, challenges and outcomes achieved in three common crops.

Olive Oil Production Chain

In this chapter, Multicriteria Analysis (MCA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies are applied to investigate a number of aspects of the extra-virgin olive oil production chain. The analysis starts from the definition of a number of possible scenarios concerning all phases of the chain: olive grove characteristics, management and productivity; olive harvesting and transport to the extraction plant (logistics); extraction plant configuration and management. Scenarios are arranged in order to define different configurations of the whole chain. The MCA methodology is then applied to select the most suitable scenario arrangements, according to a number of requirements which are set in advance: main goals to be accomplished, main benefits and drawbacks, a number of evaluation criteria for scenario selection, outcomes and/or scores associated with each scenario for each evaluation criterion. Chain configurations which achieve higher scores are subsequently considered for further evaluation by means of LCA, exploiting the GEMIS software. Results in terms of CO2eq emissions and CER associated with each chain are eventually reported and discussed.

Development of a prototype of telemetry system for monitoring the spraying operation in vineyards

Abstract Modern technology and telecommunication systems enable precision field data to be acquired which improves agricultural operations management. The aim of this work was to develop and operate a prototype telemetry system suitable for winemakers to monitor the performance of their spraying operations in real-time, and to acquire useful data. The prototype telemetry system was composed of a tracking module for data acquisition, a server for remote monitoring and data storing, a GSM/GPRS/GPS module for data transmission and a GNSS for sprayer localization. Data that could be acquired were the latitude, the longitude, the speed of the sprayer, the status of the lift, the PTO, the functioning side of the sprayhead (left and right), the presence of the operator, the values of pressure at the centrifugal pump and in the sprayhead, and the flow rate. This telemetry system was tested in different vineyards to evaluate the proper functioning of all the components. Results showed that the spray pressure and the flow rate measured by the sensors of the telemetry system were similar to the theoretical values defined for the regulation of the sprayer. The estimated value of application rate, which was a number derived from the provided forward speed, was also similar to the theoretical value, indicating that the forward speed recorded by the telemetry system was accurate. The telemetry system was also useful to detect a weak point in the spraying operation management, consisting of a different application rate when the forward direction of the tractor was uphill compared with downhill.

Agricultural and Forestry Mechanization

Wood biomass for energy production, used by 50% of the world’s population, represents an important alternative to other non-renewable energy sources even in industrialized countries. The correctly planned management of wood biomass production could make it a valid alternative energy solution to traditional fossil fuels, since it is a local and widely available resource, it has an almost carbon neutral production balance and its exploitation could trigger processes of environmental and social improvement. However, efficient energy transformation that is environmentally and economically sustainable requires the realization of optimized chains in which each phase is rationally planned. This study was carried out using multicriteria analysis methodology in order to assess the suitability of using this renewable source of energy, taking into account the energy, emissions and economic factors as well as the technologies used. The study took into account the costs of cultivation, harvesting, transportation and transformation of the biomass obtained from short to medium rotation coppice, as well as from salvaged biomass chains. The methodology was applied referring to Italy, making the relevant adjustments.

Oil Palm Farming Chain

This chapter presents an example of Multicriteria analysis (MCA) application and consequent life cycle assessment (LCA). The methodologies are applied to a case in which a number of possibilities must be evaluated for installing an oil palm plantation. The example is not based on a real case but on a hypothetical one in order to show a wider range of variables. The subsequent steps are presented and discussed throughout following some realistic assumptions and a framework is suggested to the reader in order to allow him to adapt it to specific cases and needs. MCA and LCA results are discussed and compared on a methodological point of view.

Energetic Use of Biomass and Biofuels

Olive oil production is one of the most important activities of the agricultural sector in the Mediterranean region. Considering that olive-groves significantly characterise the landscape and that olive pruning requires large labour input and costs, farmers have to organize the pruning operation assuring economical sustainability. For this reason the energetic use of olive pruning has been adopted in many farms, even if the collection and treatment of the residues could imply additional costs in field operations. Therefore, in order to analyze the pros and cons of different alternatives for olive pruning management, a methodological approach able to take into account both the economical and environmental aspects must be implemented. In this chapter, 35 possible scenarios are illustrated and evaluated: based on the chosen criteria, solutions which present limited fuel consumptions, reduced transports and the biomass use in small- or medium-sized combustion plants, are preferred.

A prototype for the fully mechanized winter pruning of grape vines.

This paper, based on a short critical analysis of agricultural mechanization in wine-producing countries, focuses on the current need for precise, thorough and high-quality systems for mechanical winter grape vine pruning, which are also economically feasible for growers. To this end, a simple pruning mechanism is proposed that selects the canes to be cut according to their diameter and operates in the immediate vicinity of the obstacles along the vine rows (vine trunks and support stakes). A description of the machine is accompanied by a discussion of the main criteria adopted for its design and by a presentation of the first results of testing in the field. Also presented, is a photographic technique which was developed to enable measurements to be made in the field to determine cane-size parameters for selective cutting. The tests performed on the prototype presented here have fully confirmed the expectations: at a speed of about 1·8–2·0 km/h the cutting efficiency of the machine reaches 99% in Tuscan spur cordon, requiring only minimal supplementary manual labour.

Applications of the precision viticulture techniques in the Chianti district

The diffusion of precision viticulture approach in the last decade thanks to the new achievements and developed tools, have enabled new site-specific management possibilities. The aim of this study was the evaluation of proximal surveying for monitoring and to highlight the variability within vineyards. Specifically the study shows some results of ongoing trials that are aimed to define simplified tools and protocols reliable on farms in order to exploit grape variability and reduce the cost related to pest control. In this regard, the technological innovations comparable with precision agriculture are able to provide optimal solutions in order to achieve agricultural sustainable practices. To this end in order to evaluate the usefulness of proximal sensing a ground monitoring system equipped with two types of sensors to define vineyard features i.e. the plant vegetative vigour indexes (NDVI vigor index) and the canopy volumetry was implemented. This work was conducted in three experimental Sangiovese vineyards selected in the Chianti Classico DOCG area. Results obtained through the optical and ultrasonic sensors showed the utility of such systems as tools to improve grape knowledge and vine quality achievable by selective harvest and also through the pesticide calibration on the canopy features.

General Theory of Multicriteria Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

The agro-industrial sector presents relevant environmental pressures in terms of both consumption of non-renewable resources, emissions of greenhouse gases, by-product reuse and waste disposal. Moreover, these environmental aspects must be evaluated assuring the technical feasibility and the economical sustainability of the alternative chains. Therefore, the multicriteria analysis (MCA) implementation is useful to detect all the possible technical solutions and identify the most suitable ones in order to limit the production costs and minimise the environmental pressures. On the other hand the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is one of the most effective tools for carrying out the environmental analysis, even if the large variability and complexity of possible scenarios often determine a huge amount of configurations to be investigated, which require considerable computational time and resources. For this reason the methodological approach proposed in this book adopts the MCA at the very first stage as a sort of pre−filtering which should be capable of selecting the most relevant cases to be investigated by means of LCA.