OpenFields

1235: Biosystems Engineering

This paper is the taken from the 2009 Frank Arden Memorial Award Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust report, ‘Science and Technology for Farming and Food’ by Lindsay Hargreaves. Other papers cover other aspects of the report.

Year of Publication2011

Accurate global positioning and mobile telephone technology are too expensive and not sufficiently reliable. It is likely that big machines are approaching an upper limit. Emerging technologies based on a micro-scale could transform crop production. Micro-robots could disturb only that area of soil needed to take the seed, plant it and map its position. Later they could assess weed populations and harmful weeds could be removed mechanically or by a precisely placed micro-droplet of a nano-herbicide. Plant health monitors could assess the nutrient status of each plant by reading nano-sensors in the leaves and apply nano-nutrients and pesticides.

This item is categorised as follows

• Subject Collection > Information technologies
• Subject Collection > Business
• Subject Collection > Arable & industrial crops
• Subject Collection > Business > Farm management

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