Maintaining cotton fiber quality is crucial for the survival of the U.S. cotton industry. Previous studies have indicated that spatial variability of fiber quality parameters exists in cotton fields. If site-specific measurement and prediction of quality is possible, then fiber could be segregated during the harvesting process, thus increasing the overall price a producer would receive for his crop. Because of the importance of fiber micronaire to the textile industry, the fact that micronaire exhibits moderate variation in the field, and the fact that it has been shown to be related to optical properties of cotton fibers, micronaire measurement was considered for quality segregation. Two years? cotton and soil data from two fields in Brooksville, Mississippi were used to investigate how much spatial variation in cotton quality factors could be explained by soil parameters. It was found that spatial variability exists in soil and cotton quality parameters, and micronaire (maturity and fineness) was found to have relatively large variability compared to other quality parameters. About 22 to 35% of the variation in micronaire could be explained by soil parameter variability. Site-specific prediction of micronaire based on only soil seems to be not practical according to the results of this study. Another objective was to develop a methodology for measuring important parameters of cotton crop quality in the field. USDA Micronaire Standard Calibration samples were used in infrared spectral measurements in order to relate their micronaire values to near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelength spectra. Near-infrared reflectance measurements in certain wavelengths ranging from 800 to 2500 nm were found to be closely correlated to micronaire values. Mid-infrared transmittance measurements (ratios) in certain wavelengths ranging from 2.5 to 25 µm were also related to micronaire values. The R2 value of the optimal prediction model was 0.92. This model was validated with HVI measurement of cotton samples from Mississippi and Arizona. Optical sensors based on spectral reflectance and transmittance measurements seem to be a reasonable choice for site-specific harvesting. A practical sensor mounted on cotton picker for measuring cotton micronaire appears to be feasible and a draft design was proposed.

Nutritional management of dairy cattle is of importance to the industry due to its influence on production performance and association with large expenses for producers. Current ration formulation may be improved by predicting feeding recommendations for individual animals, rather than groups of animals, through precision feeding. Automated feeding systems (AFS) designed to deliver individual rations must include response-based models that utilize individual cow production data to make feed recommendations. These models require large data sets of individual cow responses to a variety of nutritional interventions. As a result, an experiment was designed to collect individual response data from 24 Holstein cows fed supplemental top dresses. After analyses, dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield (MY), milk fat yield, milk protein yield, feed efficiency, and activity were significantly affected by top dress (P < 0.001). These results suggest opportunity to use precision feeding to implement economically optimal ration recommendations designed to increase dairy cow production. Therefore, a second experiment was conducted in order to develop and test two algorithms that targeted individualized feeding to increase feed efficiency. Milk protein percentage (P = 0.008) and feed efficiency (P < 0.001) were significantly affected by a 3-way interaction between top dress, algorithm, and week. These results highlight the opportunity for precision feeding to increase the efficiency of individual dairy cows. Although the control group resulted in greater income over feed costs than either of the developed algorithm feeding strategies, algorithm refinement and modification may result in more efficient feeding recommendations that are economically viable. / Master of Science / Nutritional management of cattle is crucial to the dairy industry. The feeding of dairy cattle is the largest expense for producers and directly influences cow production. In particular, precision feeding of dairy cattle may have the ability to lower costs for farmers and increase the productivity of dairy cows. Currently, cattle are fed in group configurations, where cows with similar nutrient requirements are offered the same diet. However, individually feeding dairy cows utilizing precision technologies may have the ability to increase the production performance of cattle. Utilizing precision feeding to individually feed dairy cattle requires automated feeding systems (AFS) designed to decrease the additional labor associated with feeding animals as individuals. However, algorithms designed to predict individual animal nutrient requirements are lacking for use in AFS. As a result, large data sets of individual cow responses to varying diets are necessary to train algorithms designed to predict unique ration formulations for individual animals. Two experiments were developed to collect individual animal production responses that were used to develop two response-based algorithms capable of influencing feed efficiency of individual cows. The results from these experiments highlight the potential for precision feeding of dairy cattle to influence individual animal feed efficiencies and milk production. Future improvements in algorithm development and training are necessary in order for these feeding strategies to be economically worth the investment of AFS on commercial dairy farms.

As the cost of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and their sensing payloads decrease the practical applications for such systems have begun expanding rapidly. Couple the decreased cost of UAS with the need for increased crop yields under minimal applications of agrochemicals, and the immense potential for UAS in commercial agriculture becomes immediately apparent. What the agriculture community needs is a cost effective method for the field-wide monitoring of crops in order to determine the precise application of fertilizers and pesticides to reduce their use and prevent environmental pollution. To that end, this thesis presents an unmanned aerial system aimed at monitoring a crop's status. The system presented uses a Yamaha RMAX unmanned helicopter, operated by Virginia Tech']s Unmanned Systems Lab (USL), as the base platform. Integrated with helicopter is a dual-band multispectral camera that simultaneously captures images in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectrums. The UAS is flown over a quarter acre corn crop undergoing a fertilizer rate study of two hybrids. Images gathered by the camera are post-processed to form a Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) image. The NDVI images are used to detect the most nutrient deficient corn of the study with a 5% margin of error. Average NDVI calculated from the images correlates well to measured grain yield and accurately identifies when one hybrid reaches its yield plateau. A secondary test flight over a late-season tobacco field illustrates the system's capabilities to identify blocks of highly stressed crops. Finally, a method for segmenting bleached tobacco leaves from green leaves is presented, and the segmentation results are able to provide a reasonable estimation of the bleached tobacco content per image. / Master of Science

Current trends in agricultural equipment have led to an increasing degree of autonomy. As the state of the art progresses towards fully autonomous vehicles, it is important to consider assumptions implicit in the design of these vehicles. Current automation in harvesters have led to increased sensing and automation on current combines, but no published research examines the effect of machine size on the viability of the autonomous system. The question this thesis examines is: if a human is no longer required to operate an individual harvester, is it possible to build smaller equipment that is still economically viable? This thesis examines the appropriateness of automating these machines by developing a conceptual model for smaller, fully autonomous harvesters. This model includes the basic mechanical subsystems, a conceptual software design, and an economic model of the total cost of ownership. The result of this conceptual design and analysis is a greater understanding of the role of autonomy in harvest. By comparing machine size, machine function, and the costs to own and operate this equipment, design guidelines for future autonomous systems are better understood. It is possible to build an autonomous harvesting system that can compete with current technologies in both harvest speed and overall cost of ownership. / Master of Science

The world population is projected to rise, and there is a growing concern of future food availability. Precision agriculture technologies are one solution to this problem as they aim to produce more food on less land. This study examines the adoption and intensity of precision agriculture technology usage by producers in North Dakota. Data from a North Dakota State University survey was collected and analyzed using an econometric double-hurdle model. Results of the study describe which producers adopt precision agriculture technologies, which technologies complement each other, and what affects the intensity of technology usage. Several technologies were found to have complementary effects on each other, larger farms are more likely to adopt PATs, and crop choices have varying impacts on the adoption and usage of PATs. Most of these findings agree with previous literature, although new light was shed on some new findings and predictions.

5 pp. / Precision herbicide application is an effective tool for placing soil incorporated herbicides which have a tendency for soil adherence. And while field implementation depends on previous knowledge of soil textural variability (soil test and texture evaluations), site-specific technologies show promise for Arizona vegetable producers in non-uniform soils. Regardless of the method used for textural characterization, growers should keep in mind that textural differences do not change in the short/medium term, so the costs associated with defining texture-based management zones can be spread over many years.

São inúmeras as atividades que fazem uso do sistema Global Navigation Satellite System - GNSS, sendo o Global Positioning System - GPS, desenvolvido pelos Estados Unidos, o mais utilizado. Na área de agricultura de precisão há a necessidade de posicionamento estático e cinemático com demandas de distintos níveis de acurácia e precisão para diferentes aplicações. A deficiência de informações técnicas dos fabricantes causa incertezas nos usuários, quanto à classe de receptor a ser utilizado para determinadas atividades agrícolas. Por esses motivos os objetivos deste trabalho foram: avaliar o uso de correções diferenciais através de ensaio estático, testar o uso do receptor GPS RTK como referência para avaliar o desempenho de receptores de baixo custo em condição cinemática e desenvolver uma plataforma instrumentada para avaliar os receptores de GPS sob condição cinemática representativa para operações agrícolas. No primeiro caso foram realizados ensaios com oito receptores, sobre uma torre livre de impedimentos físicos, na qual foi montada uma plataforma em formato de cruz e nos receptores foram ativadas e desativadas as correções diferenciais WAAS, EGNOS, SF1 e SF2 e também testadas as várias intensidades de filtragem disponíveis em alguns dos receptores. No ensaio cinemático utilizando um receptor GPS RTK como referência foram utilizados dois receptores de navegação, fixados sobre a cabine de um trator e foram coletados dados com diferentes freqüências. Para ensaios cinemáticos foi construída uma plataforma móvel instrumentada com um detector óptico de pulsos (encoder), um sensor foto elétrico e dois coletores de dados responsáveis por realizar o sincronismo entre os pulsos do encoder e as atualizações da sentença do GPS e armazenamento dos dados. Assim foi possível determinar as coordenadas de referência para o cálculo dos erros de precisão e acurácia do receptor GPS submetido à avaliação. Na avaliação dos receptores em ensaio estático os resultados mostraram que as correções WAAS e EGNOS não adicionam qualidade ao posicionamento na região de Piracicaba, SP. Com a ativação dessas correções os erros de precisão e de acurácia aumentaram. As correções diferencias SF1 e SF2 via satélite demonstraram ser mais acuradas que os demais sistemas ensaiados. O ensaio sob condição cinemática, com GPS RTK de referência, permitiu o cálculo de erros somente no sentido perpendicular ao percurso. A plataforma instrumentada funcionou, cumprindo as expectativas e permitindo o cálculo dos erros de precisão e acurácia, porém demonstrou problemas de robustez nos coletores de dados, necessitando de pequenas melhorias. / The activities that use the Global Navigation Satellite System - GNSS, are countless, and the Global Positioning System - GPS, developed by the United States is the most used today. In precision agriculture there is a need of static and cinematic positioning with demands of distinct levels of accuracy and precision for different applications. Technical information deficiencies from the manufacturers causes uncertainties to the users, as the receiver class to be used for certain agricultural activities. For these reasons the objectives of this work were: evaluate the use of differential corrections through static test, to test the use of RTK GPS as reference to evaluate the performance of low cost receivers under cinematic condition and develop an instrumented platform to evaluate GPS receivers under cinematic condition that represents agricultural operations. In the first case were realized tests with eight receivers, in the top of a tower free of physical obstacles, where it was mounted a platform with cross shape. The differential corrections WAAS, EGNOS, SF1 and SF2 were tested and also some intensities of filtering available in some of the receivers. In one of the cinematic tests, using a RTK GPS as reference, we used two navigation receivers, fixed over a tractor cabin and the data were collected with different frequencies. For the second cinematic test it was built a moving platform instrumented with a pulse optical detector (encoder), a photoelectric sensor and two data loggers, responsible for the synchronization between the encoder pulses and the GPS strings, and also log the data. With that it was possible to determine the reference coordinates to calculate the errors of precision and accuracy of the GPS receiver submitted to evaluation. The evaluation in static way showed that the corrections WAAS and EGNOS do not work in the region of Piracicaba, SP. Activating these corrections the precision and accuracy errors increased. The data collected with the satellite differential corrections SF1 and SF2 got closer to the real coordinate than the other evaluated systems. The test under cinematic condition, with the RTK GPS as reference, allowed the errors calculation only in the perpendicular direction of the course. The instrumented platform worked, accomplishing the expectation and allowing the errors calculation of precision and accuracy, however, showed problems of robustness in the data loggers, needing some improvement.

A agricultura de precisão é um conjunto de tecnologias que prevê o manejo espacializado dos fatores de produção, baseado em informações coletadas e georeferenciadas. O mapa de produtividade é uma informação importante, pois materializa a resposta da cultura a todos os fatores. Diversos monitores de produtividade comerciais estão disponíveis no mercado para a coleta de informações de produtividade de forma bastante adensada. Devido à automação e à alta quantidade de informações, diversos erros ocorrem no processo de coleta e a retirada destes erros é um fator de qualidade da informação. A proposta do trabalho é desenvolver uma rotina de filtragem de dados brutos que elimine erros presentes em mapas de produtividade. Como primeira etapa do desenvolvimento do processo de filtragem, foi realizada a análise e caracterização dos erros presentes em seis mapas de produtividade provenientes de seis diferentes monitores de produtividade comerciais. Erros de posicionamento foram encontrados, representados por pontos fora do talhão, sendo que pequenos erros de posicionamento não podem ser detectados pela metodologia desenvolvida. Foram encontrados pontos com produtividade nula, umidade de grãos nula ou ausente e pontos com posição repetida. Pontos coletados com largura de plataforma de corte diferente da total foram considerados erros de medição de área, pois carregam a influência do operador na definição da largura da plataforma de corte efetivamente utilizada. Para a caracterização do erro de intervalo de enchimento foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para identificar o sentido de deslocamento da colhedora, possibilitando assim, a medição do espaço necessário para que o monitor esteja sensível às variações naturais da produtividade. A distância percorrida durante o intervalo de enchimento variou de 0 a 44m. Foram estabelecidos limites estatísticos para discrepância de valores de produtividade, sendo que foram encontrados pontos com valores de produtividade fora dos limites estabelecidos. Com base nas características de cada tipo de erro, foi desenvolvida uma rotina de filtragem de dados brutos. A rotina consistiu de 7 etapas, sendo que cada uma age sobre determinado tipo de erro de acordo com suas características. Na primeira etapa são retirados do conjunto pontos com erro grosseiro de posicionamento, representados por pontos fora dos limites do talhão. As etapas de número 2 a 5 consistem na retirada de pontos com produtividade nula ou ausente, pontos com largura de plataforma de corte diferente da total, pontos com umidade nula ou ausente e com distância nula entre pontos. A sexta, age sobre pontos gravados durante o intervalo de enchimento, tendo por base a distância referente ao erro e o número de pontos gravados durante tal distância. Foi desenvolvido um algoritmo de busca, identificação e eliminação dos pontos gravados durante o intervalo de enchimento. A sétima etapa estabelece limites estatísticos para discrepância de valores de produtividade e elimina pontos fora destes limites. De maneira geral, a filtragem de dados melhorou a modelagem da dependência espacial e elevou a qualidade final dos mapas de produtividade. / Precision farming is a set of technologies that provide the capacity to manage the yield based on spacialized information. Yield map is an important information as it describes the answer of the crop to the inputs and soil conditions. There are several yield monitors in the market to collect yield information automatically. Due to the automation of the collection, some errors may be collected together with good data, and the elimination of those errors from the data set represents information quality. This work proposes the development a filtering routine of raw data to eliminate errors. The first step is the analysis and characterization of the errors present on data from six different commercial yield monitors. The errors found are positioning errors, represented by points outside the field. Small positioning errors cannot be detected by this methodology. It was found points with null or no yield, null or no grain moisture and points with the same position. Points with swath width different from the total swath width were considered as area measuring errors because they take account the interpretation of the operator about the actual swath width. For the characterization of the combine filling time it was developed a methodology to identify the running direction of the machine, allowing the estimation of the distance required to fill the threshing mechanism of the combine. The distance during the filling time was found to be between 0 and 44m. Yield outlier limits were established, and values over and under the limits were found in the data. Based on the characteristics of each error, a filtering routine was developed. The routine has seven steps, each one acting over different errors. At the first step, positioning errors are eliminated from the data set. The steps from 2 to 5 eliminate points with null or no yield, null or no grain moisture, points with swath width different from the total swath width and points with null distance. The sixth step acts over the filling time error, eliminating all points recorded during the space required for filling up the threshing mechanism of the combine. A search algorithm was developed to identify and eliminate these errors. The seventh step state outlier limits and remove from the data set the values outside of the limits. The filtering process improved the semivariance analysis and the final quality of yield maps.

A agricultura de precisão é um conjunto de tecnologias que prevê o manejo espacializado dos fatores de produção, baseado em informações coletadas e georeferenciadas. O mapa de produtividade é uma informação importante, pois materializa a resposta da cultura a todos os fatores. Diversos monitores de produtividade comerciais estão disponíveis no mercado para a coleta de informações de produtividade de forma bastante adensada. Devido à automação e à alta quantidade de informações, diversos erros ocorrem no processo de coleta e a retirada destes erros é um fator de qualidade da informação. A proposta do trabalho é desenvolver uma rotina de filtragem de dados brutos que elimine erros presentes em mapas de produtividade. Como primeira etapa do desenvolvimento do processo de filtragem, foi realizada a análise e caracterização dos erros presentes em seis mapas de produtividade provenientes de seis diferentes monitores de produtividade comerciais. Erros de posicionamento foram encontrados, representados por pontos fora do talhão, sendo que pequenos erros de posicionamento não podem ser detectados pela metodologia desenvolvida. Foram encontrados pontos com produtividade nula, umidade de grãos nula ou ausente e pontos com posição repetida. Pontos coletados com largura de plataforma de corte diferente da total foram considerados erros de medição de área, pois carregam a influência do operador na definição da largura da plataforma de corte efetivamente utilizada. Para a caracterização do erro de intervalo de enchimento foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para identificar o sentido de deslocamento da colhedora, possibilitando assim, a medição do espaço necessário para que o monitor esteja sensível às variações naturais da produtividade. A distância percorrida durante o intervalo de enchimento variou de 0 a 44m. Foram estabelecidos limites estatísticos para discrepância de valores de produtividade, sendo que foram encontrados pontos com valores de produtividade fora dos limites estabelecidos. Com base nas características de cada tipo de erro, foi desenvolvida uma rotina de filtragem de dados brutos. A rotina consistiu de 7 etapas, sendo que cada uma age sobre determinado tipo de erro de acordo com suas características. Na primeira etapa são retirados do conjunto pontos com erro grosseiro de posicionamento, representados por pontos fora dos limites do talhão. As etapas de número 2 a 5 consistem na retirada de pontos com produtividade nula ou ausente, pontos com largura de plataforma de corte diferente da total, pontos com umidade nula ou ausente e com distância nula entre pontos. A sexta, age sobre pontos gravados durante o intervalo de enchimento, tendo por base a distância referente ao erro e o número de pontos gravados durante tal distância. Foi desenvolvido um algoritmo de busca, identificação e eliminação dos pontos gravados durante o intervalo de enchimento. A sétima etapa estabelece limites estatísticos para discrepância de valores de produtividade e elimina pontos fora destes limites. De maneira geral, a filtragem de dados melhorou a modelagem da dependência espacial e elevou a qualidade final dos mapas de produtividade. / Precision farming is a set of technologies that provide the capacity to manage the yield based on spacialized information. Yield map is an important information as it describes the answer of the crop to the inputs and soil conditions. There are several yield monitors in the market to collect yield information automatically. Due to the automation of the collection, some errors may be collected together with good data, and the elimination of those errors from the data set represents information quality. This work proposes the development a filtering routine of raw data to eliminate errors. The first step is the analysis and characterization of the errors present on data from six different commercial yield monitors. The errors found are positioning errors, represented by points outside the field. Small positioning errors cannot be detected by this methodology. It was found points with null or no yield, null or no grain moisture and points with the same position. Points with swath width different from the total swath width were considered as area measuring errors because they take account the interpretation of the operator about the actual swath width. For the characterization of the combine filling time it was developed a methodology to identify the running direction of the machine, allowing the estimation of the distance required to fill the threshing mechanism of the combine. The distance during the filling time was found to be between 0 and 44m. Yield outlier limits were established, and values over and under the limits were found in the data. Based on the characteristics of each error, a filtering routine was developed. The routine has seven steps, each one acting over different errors. At the first step, positioning errors are eliminated from the data set. The steps from 2 to 5 eliminate points with null or no yield, null or no grain moisture, points with swath width different from the total swath width and points with null distance. The sixth step acts over the filling time error, eliminating all points recorded during the space required for filling up the threshing mechanism of the combine. A search algorithm was developed to identify and eliminate these errors. The seventh step state outlier limits and remove from the data set the values outside of the limits. The filtering process improved the semivariance analysis and the final quality of yield maps.

São inúmeras as atividades que fazem uso do sistema Global Navigation Satellite System - GNSS, sendo o Global Positioning System - GPS, desenvolvido pelos Estados Unidos, o mais utilizado. Na área de agricultura de precisão há a necessidade de posicionamento estático e cinemático com demandas de distintos níveis de acurácia e precisão para diferentes aplicações. A deficiência de informações técnicas dos fabricantes causa incertezas nos usuários, quanto à classe de receptor a ser utilizado para determinadas atividades agrícolas. Por esses motivos os objetivos deste trabalho foram: avaliar o uso de correções diferenciais através de ensaio estático, testar o uso do receptor GPS RTK como referência para avaliar o desempenho de receptores de baixo custo em condição cinemática e desenvolver uma plataforma instrumentada para avaliar os receptores de GPS sob condição cinemática representativa para operações agrícolas. No primeiro caso foram realizados ensaios com oito receptores, sobre uma torre livre de impedimentos físicos, na qual foi montada uma plataforma em formato de cruz e nos receptores foram ativadas e desativadas as correções diferenciais WAAS, EGNOS, SF1 e SF2 e também testadas as várias intensidades de filtragem disponíveis em alguns dos receptores. No ensaio cinemático utilizando um receptor GPS RTK como referência foram utilizados dois receptores de navegação, fixados sobre a cabine de um trator e foram coletados dados com diferentes freqüências. Para ensaios cinemáticos foi construída uma plataforma móvel instrumentada com um detector óptico de pulsos (encoder), um sensor foto elétrico e dois coletores de dados responsáveis por realizar o sincronismo entre os pulsos do encoder e as atualizações da sentença do GPS e armazenamento dos dados. Assim foi possível determinar as coordenadas de referência para o cálculo dos erros de precisão e acurácia do receptor GPS submetido à avaliação. Na avaliação dos receptores em ensaio estático os resultados mostraram que as correções WAAS e EGNOS não adicionam qualidade ao posicionamento na região de Piracicaba, SP. Com a ativação dessas correções os erros de precisão e de acurácia aumentaram. As correções diferencias SF1 e SF2 via satélite demonstraram ser mais acuradas que os demais sistemas ensaiados. O ensaio sob condição cinemática, com GPS RTK de referência, permitiu o cálculo de erros somente no sentido perpendicular ao percurso. A plataforma instrumentada funcionou, cumprindo as expectativas e permitindo o cálculo dos erros de precisão e acurácia, porém demonstrou problemas de robustez nos coletores de dados, necessitando de pequenas melhorias. / The activities that use the Global Navigation Satellite System - GNSS, are countless, and the Global Positioning System - GPS, developed by the United States is the most used today. In precision agriculture there is a need of static and cinematic positioning with demands of distinct levels of accuracy and precision for different applications. Technical information deficiencies from the manufacturers causes uncertainties to the users, as the receiver class to be used for certain agricultural activities. For these reasons the objectives of this work were: evaluate the use of differential corrections through static test, to test the use of RTK GPS as reference to evaluate the performance of low cost receivers under cinematic condition and develop an instrumented platform to evaluate GPS receivers under cinematic condition that represents agricultural operations. In the first case were realized tests with eight receivers, in the top of a tower free of physical obstacles, where it was mounted a platform with cross shape. The differential corrections WAAS, EGNOS, SF1 and SF2 were tested and also some intensities of filtering available in some of the receivers. In one of the cinematic tests, using a RTK GPS as reference, we used two navigation receivers, fixed over a tractor cabin and the data were collected with different frequencies. For the second cinematic test it was built a moving platform instrumented with a pulse optical detector (encoder), a photoelectric sensor and two data loggers, responsible for the synchronization between the encoder pulses and the GPS strings, and also log the data. With that it was possible to determine the reference coordinates to calculate the errors of precision and accuracy of the GPS receiver submitted to evaluation. The evaluation in static way showed that the corrections WAAS and EGNOS do not work in the region of Piracicaba, SP. Activating these corrections the precision and accuracy errors increased. The data collected with the satellite differential corrections SF1 and SF2 got closer to the real coordinate than the other evaluated systems. The test under cinematic condition, with the RTK GPS as reference, allowed the errors calculation only in the perpendicular direction of the course. The instrumented platform worked, accomplishing the expectation and allowing the errors calculation of precision and accuracy, however, showed problems of robustness in the data loggers, needing some improvement.