COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR PROVIDING TEST DESIGN AND TEST INSTRUCTION DATA FOR COMPARATIVE TESTS ON YIELD, GROSS MARGIN, EFFICACY OR VEGETATION INDICES FOR AT LEAST TWO PRODUCTS OR DIFFERENT APPLICATION TIMINGS OF THE SAME PRODUCT

Abstract

Computer implemented method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for at least a first product and a second product having a similar area of use.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for at least a first product and a second product having a similar area of use, the method comprising: providing field data (S10) comprising at least biomass distribution data and geographic data about the field on which the comparative tests are to be performed; providing test data (S20) product use rate data about constant product use rates of said first product and said second product, and/or variable product use rates of said first product and said second products, and/or application timings of said first product and said second products whose effect are to be compared by the comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices; generating test design data (S30) based on the provided geographic data by segmenting the field in plots and/or strips; and generating test instruction data (S40) by specifying at least two plots and/or at least two strips having comparable biomass data and assigning use rates and/or application timings of said products to the at least two plots and/or at least two strips having a comparable biomass data.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: providing a product database in which at least information about products having a similar area of use are included; performing a database search in the product database determining a first product and a second product based on information about the area of use and/or determining a second product having a similar area of use in view of a specified first product; and providing first product data and second product data as test data.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the product database comprises information about use rates of the products provided by the manufacturer; and the method further comprises: performing a database search in the product database determining a product use rate of said first product and/or a product use rate of said second product; providing product use rate data for said first product and/or product use rate data for said second product; and providing use rate data for said first product and/or use rate data for said second product as test data.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating constant product use rates and/or different variable product use rates for said first product and/or said second product based on the biomass distribution data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the test instruction data is generated by specifying different groups of plots and/or different groups of strips having comparable actual absolute LAI biomass or multiyear absolute LAI biomass data and assigning use rates and/or application timings of said products to the these groups of plots and/or groups of strips having a comparable biomass data.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the product is a seed product, a fertilizers product and/or a crop protection product.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biomass distribution data is based on the absolute LAI-based actual biomass data, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Data and/or actual or multiyear Leaf Area Index (LAI) Data and/or any other vegetation based indices data, wherein the biomass distribution data is obtained by using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) via satellites, unmanned vehicles or vehicle mounted sensors.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biomass data is based on current data obtained within a time frame of two weeks prior to the start of the comparative tests and/or historical data obtained over a period of time showing the mid to long term productivity zones of a field.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biomass data comprises information in form of biomass zone categories, indicating whether the biomass in a zone is above-average, average or below average, wherein the biomass data is provided in 3, 5 and/or 7 categories.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the field data further comprises electrical conductivity data, soil type data, soil texture data, topography data, organic matter data, nitrogen content data, potassium content data and/or pH value data and wherein when generating the test instruction data at least two plots and/or strips are specified having the comparable biomass data and electrical conductivity data, soil type data, soil texture data, topography data, organic matter data, nitrogen content data, potassium content data and/or pH value data; and/or when generating the test instruction data different data are weighted differently such that the biomass data is weighted with 50%, the electric conductivity data and topography data are weighted with 25% each.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the test data further comprise repetition data comprising information about the intended treatment repetitions with said products and wherein when generating the test instruction data application time data corresponding to the treatment repetitions are assigned to the specified plots and/or strips.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of generating sampling instruction data (S50) comprising information about sampling locations and/or sampling periods for taking samples or performing measurements in a respective plot and/or strip, wherein the locations are provided in form of geographic coordinates, wherein the sampling locations are automatically placed away from the border of adjacent plots/strips and from tractor tramlines to avoid bordering effects, wherein the sampling locations are generated distanced from the border of adjacent plots/strips and from tractor tramlines, wherein the distance is between 2.5% and 20% of the plot/strip width and/or length.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating tank mix data and/or seed amount or fertilizer amount based on the generated test instruction data and the geographic data, wherein the tank mix is calculated with a product buffer of less than 5%.

14. Use of field data comprising at least biomass data in a method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for products according to the method of claim 1, wherein based on the biomass data test instruction data is generated.

15. Use of a method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for products according to the method of claim 1 for performing a comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices and for providing comparative test result data, e.g. yield test result data; and wherein the comparative test result data is used in a plant growth simulation and/or in a disease simulation model; and wherein the comparative test result data is used for calculating product use rate data for “Variable Rate Applications” (VRA) and/or “Variable Rate Seeding” (VRS) and/or Multiple Rate Variation (MRV).

16. A system for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests on a field for at least a first product and a second product, the system comprising: at least one data input interface configured to receive field data comprising at least biomass data and geographic data about the field on which the comparative tests are to be performed; at least one data input interface configured to receive/capture test data comprising product use rate data about constant product use rates of said first product and said second product, and/or variable product use rates of said first product and said second products, and/or application timings of said first product and said second products whose effect, e.g. on yield, are to be compared by the comparative tests; at least one processing unit configured to generate test design data based on the provided geographic data by segmenting the field in plots and/or strips; and at least one processing unit configured to generate test instruction data by specifying at least two plots and/or at least two strips having comparable biomass data and assigning use rates and/or application timings of said products to the at least two plots and/or at least two strips having a comparable biomass data.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] In the following, the invention is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figure, in which

[0046] FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for two or more products according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the biomass distribution of a field;

[0048] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plot design for the field shown in FIG. 2;

[0049] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the provided sampling locations for the plot design of the field shown in FIG. 2;

[0050] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a strip design for the field shown in FIG. 2; and

[0051] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the provided sampling locations for the strip design of the field shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

[0052] FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a method for providing test design and test instruction data for comparative tests for yield and/or gross margin, efficacy and/or effects on certain vegetation indices on a field for at least two products according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following, an exemplary order of the steps according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained.

[0053] In a step S10, “field data” are provided. The field data comprises at least the biomass distribution and the geographical information of a field, as shown in FIG. 2. The field data can be provided, for example, as so called shape file and field metadata, of the field. In this respect, it is preferred that the “field data” further comprises electrical conductivity data, soil type data, soil texture data and/or topography data and wherein when generating the test instruction data at least two plots and/or strips are specified having comparable biomass data and preferably comparable electrical conductivity, soil type, soil texture and/or topography.

[0054] The biomass distribution data are preferably based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (N DVI) Data and/or Leaf Area Index (LAI) Data and/or any other vegetation based indices data. In this respect, it is further preferred that the biomass distribution data is obtained by using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), satellite, unmanned vehicles or vehicle mounted sensors.

[0055] Preferably, the biomass data is based on current data obtained preferably within a time frame of one or two weeks prior to the start of the respective comparative tests and/or historical data obtained over a period of time, preferably over a period of more than 5 or 10 years showing the mid to long term productivity zones of a field across crop rotations. The biomass data preferably comprises information in form of biomass zone categories, preferably indicating whether the biomass in a zone is above-average, average or below average, wherein it is preferred that the biomass data is provided in 3, 5 and/or 7 categories.

[0056] In a step 20, “test data” are provided. The test data comprises at least product use rate data about the at least two products to be compared, e.g. constant product use rates of said products, and/or variable product use rates of said products, and/or different application timings of said products whose effect (e.g. on yield) are to be compared by the comparative test. In this respect, the “test data” may further comprise repetition data comprising information about the intended treatment repetitions of said products and wherein when generating the test instruction data application time data corresponding to the treatment repetitions is assigned to the specified plots and/or strips. Moreover, plot and/or a strip dimensions are preferably provided as basis for generating the test design data. Test data can, for example, be provided manually by an agronomist using corresponding input devices, such as the keyboard and mouse of a computer unit, and/or as a predefined standard test pattern. For example, the agronomist can be provided with a standard test pattern that he can adapt to his own needs. In this context, the agronomist can also be offered access to different databases from which he can select said products to be tested and from which he can take the standard use rates specified by the manufacturer. In this respect, it is further preferred that the method further comprises the step of generating the product use rates and/or variable product use rates based on the biomass distribution data. The product use rates of the products to be compared can, for example, be adjusted as a function of the biomass distribution to be found in a field. Thereby, the product use rates proposed by the manufacturer can be adjusted to the biomass value of the strips/plots in which the products to be compared are applied. This adjustment is based on the finding that for increasing the yield in a specific field, a higher product use rate should be used with higher biomass and a lower product use rate should be used with lower biomass.

[0057] In a step 30, the “test design data” are generated, i.e. the field is segmented into “plots” as shown in FIG. 3 and/or in “strips” as shown in FIG. 5. In this context it should be noted that the segmentation of the field into plots and/or strips is automated or partially automated and does not depend on the biomass distribution, i.e. the determination of comparable plots and/or strips only takes place in a subsequent step when the plots and/or strips have been generated. By means of the present invention, a farmer may choose between a plot and/or a strip design. A strip design can be more easily implemented by farmers even without too sophisticated equipment, wherein a plot design make better use of the given field area and multiple different plots may be provided having comparable biomass values. The plots and/or strips are provided/calculated based on the field boundaries, which are provided by means of the field data. Subsequently, a tramline entry point and a tramline degree can be chosen, usually based on the longest natural axis of the field, i.e. the tramline direction. Then, a strip design/pattern can be placed over the field based on the tramline entry point and the tramline direction, wherein the strip width is either preset or entered manually by a farmer as part of the test data. For the plot design, the strips are further divided, usually in regular plots. The tramline entry point is a point within the field, where the tramline (working line, driving lane) of the field equipment is identify. This should coincide with the center of the application machinery, such as the center of gravity point of an agricultural machine, e.g. a seeder, sprayer, etc. Notably, whether or not this marks the top, center or bottom in driving direction is not immensely important, since the full-field is traced out. The tramline enter degree is the driving orientation of the agricultural machine through the field. In practice, this typically coincides with the longest natural straight direction within the field. This provided strip or plot design can be reused and the exact same positions can be used at different times for different tests.

[0058] In a step 40, “test instruction data” are generated allocating the respective application quantity to “plots” and/or “strips” with a comparable biomass value, i.e. assigning the products, their use rates and/or their application timings to these at least two plots and/or at least two strips. In other words a first product is assign to a first plot/strip and a second product is assigned to a second plot/strip, wherein both plots/strips have comparable biomass values. In this context, it should be noted that comparable biomass values are not limited to identical biomass values, as such an identity of biomass values will be comparatively rare in practice. The term comparable biomass values therefore refers to biomass values for which it is not to be expected that their difference will lead to a noticeable change in the test results, i.e. comparable biomass values are present if more or less identical results can be expected on two plots and/or strips under identical handling. Preferably, the test instruction data is generated by specifying different groups of plots and/or different groups of strips having comparable biomass data and assigning different product use rates and/or application timing to these groups of plots and/or groups of strips. It is further preferred that the product is a seed product, a fertilizers product and/or a crop protection product.

[0059] It is preferred that the method further comprises a step S50 generating “sampling instruction data” comprising information about sampling locations, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, and/or sampling periods for taking samples or performing measurements in a respective plot and/or strip, wherein the locations are preferably provided in form of geographic coordinates. In this respect, it is further preferred that the sampling locations are automatically placed away from the border of adjacent plots/strips and from tractor tramlines to avoid bordering effects. Moreover, in this respect, it is further preferred that the sampling locations are generated distanced from the border of adjacent plots/strips and from tractor tramlines, wherein the distance is between 2.5% and 20% of the plot/strip width and/or length, preferably 5% of the plot/strip width and/or length.

[0060] The method further preferably comprises the step of calculating tank mix data and/or seed amount or fertilizer amount data S60 based on the generated test instruction data and the geographic data, wherein the tank mix is preferably calculated with a product buffer of less than 5% and most preferably with a product buffer of less than 2.5%. The aim of the tank mix calculation is to achieve a tank filling with which no or almost no tank mix remains in the tank after application, since such a mix is often diluted and destroyed by the farmer.

[0061] The present invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment as examples as well. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed invention, from the studies of the drawings, this disclosure and the claims. In the claims as well as in the description the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation.