“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Most

Gracious.”

THESIS PRESENTATION
 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF AUTO STEERING SYSTEM FOR
PRECISION SOWING OF WHEAT TO INCREASE CROP PRODUCTIVITY

ENGR.H.M.SHAHAB UD DIN
17-ARID-2598
SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:
DR. TAHIR IQBAL (SUPERVISOR)
DR. SHOAIB RASHID SALEEM (MEMBER)
DR. MUHAMMAD HANIF (MEMBER)

Department of Farm Machinery & Precision Engineering

Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology
October 26th, 2023
 INTRODUCTION
• Background
• Study Area
• Problem Statement

OUTLINE • Research Objectives

LITERATURE REVIEW

MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY

RESULTS

CONCLUSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
 Agriculture sector of Pakistan contributes 22.9% to the GDP (gross domestic
product) and 37% in employment generation, ensuring food security and
providing raw materials to the industrial sector. (MNFSR GoP, 2022)

 Pakistan’s agricultural land under wheat cultivation is about 9.04 million hectares
Mha, for the year (2021-22), in comparison with last year’s area of 8.97 Mha
recorded with an increase of 0.7 (Crop Reporting Service, 2023)

 Wheat contributes 9.2% in agriculture sector of Pakistan and 1.8% to the GDP.
(Government of Pakistan, 2021). Ideal time for wheat sowing in northern Pakistan
is mid-November to end of November (Bari Chakwal, 2012)
 Cont.,
 Automation in agriculture sector has reduced input costs, minimized manual labour,
enhanced the crop quality, and improved productivity (Kim et al., 2013)
 Auto-steering system are widely used to precisely manage agriculture field that
makes farming easier and more efficient way. Real time kinematics- Global
positioning system (RTK-GPS) and sensors are mounted on auto-steering system
may reduce the time and effort needed to precisely drive a tractor in a straight line
( Han et al., 2015)
 AuSS can reduce overlapping, wastage of seed and labour requirement, thus leading
to improve crop productivity, cost savings, and also reduces the quantity of seeds and
chemical sprayers (Balafoutis et al., 2017)
 Low light intensity influenced wheat plant growth and later development in plant
growth (Dong et al., 2014). The airflow under the controlled chamber is less drastic
than in an open field that can effect the germination rate
Study Area

Saleem (CSBE, 2021)

 PROBLEM STATEMENT
 Broadcasting may lead to uneven seed distribution in the field, which causes wasted
seed, excess labour requirement, time-consuming and clusters are formed that result
in light intensity and air circulation is disturbed.

 In a manual guidance system, a straight-line cropping pattern (accuracy) can’t be

achieved and the movement of air circulation can also be affected, which is essential
for plant growth and crop yield.

 Auto steering systems can achieve a straight line, reduce overlapping, improve crop
growth, profitability and reduce operational costs over manual guidance system
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 Comparison of seed germination rates on field basis between operator
driven and auto steer, and their impact on crop yield

 Evaluation of the overlapping and gaps between consecutive rows by

operator driven and auto steering system

 Effects of light intensity and air circulation on crop physical parameters

and yield
LITERATURE REVIEW
REFERENCES METHODS FINDINGS
(Topçueri & The AuSS was mounted on an MF285 AS was used in all three operations of soil
Keskin, 2019) tractor with significant accuracy of ± 2.5 ridge tillage, sowing and spraying the error
cm. The study was carried out on 50m was minimal (7.5 ± 1.72 cm; 0.4-0.6%). AS
three different ground speeds are used in systems have been found to significantly
the path, namely, 1, 2, and 3 km/h, and reduce the overlap and gap errors in parallel
with two replications on both asphalt and adjacent passes in spraying
tilled fields
(Aghkhani et . The experiments encompassed 13 The mean inaccuracy of the automated steered
al., 2008) distinct fields where cotton crops were path was 2.4 and 2.6 cm/m of longitudinal
sown. AuSS systems reduce overlap and path on asphalt and soil surfaces. The steering
spacing errors during parallel adjacent inaccuracy of this system was just 4% more
passes in spraying when compared to than the maximum allowable inaccuracy
MGS methods (based on design specifications) on soil
surface while 2.4% lower than allowable
inaccuracy on asphalt
Cont.,
REFERENCES METHODS FINDINGS

Khan et al. (2018) Designed agricultural steering robot with AgBot is traversed the corn field
GPS guidance. Using a customized Robot autonomously and performed detection
Operating System (ROS) to create our own of weeds and spraying herbicide with
navigation program using information certain degree of accuracy and applying
from GPS and LIDAR sensors. Image fertilizer
capturing and detecting system, for
applying fertilizer and detect the herbicides
MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY
 MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY
Experimental Site
The experiment took place on two
different fields under wheat cropping
(variety: AZRC DERA) system was selected
at University Research Farm (URF) “Koont”
Chakwal

Saleem (CSBE, 2021)

Cont.,
Auto Steering System and its
components
 The tractor model had an AllyNav LIANSHI
AF 305 GNSS auto steering system
compatible with the correction system
BeiDou (B1, B2, & B3) and RTK

 The LIANSHI technology includes one T100

control tablet, one EMS2 motor wheel, two
GPS500 GNSS antennas, one angle sensor,
and other cable accessories
Cont.,
Real Time Kinematics-Global
Positioning System
SinoGNSS T300 GNSS receiver is a
compact RTK GNSS receiver tracking to mark
sampling stations in the field
Cont.,

Examination of the Seed Utilized

The specific amount of seed distributed
to each replicate was measured to compare the
seed used in AuSS and MGS. Seed drill
distribution settings (110-120kg ha-1) and each
replicate dimension (0.35 ha). Using an
electronic balance, the leftover seeds in the tank
were removed into a plastic bag after each
replication
Cont.,

Fertilizer Distribution
Di-Ammonium phosphate (DAP) and
Urea fertilizer are distributed on the field before
and after sowing. The quantity of fertilizer is
delivered on crop is 40 kg/Acre is equally
distributed on both treatment T1 & T2 and their
respective plots
Cont.,

Growth Parameters of Wheat Crop

 Wheat germination is collected after 15 days of

sowing.

 Tillering stage is commonly peaked at 40-45

days after sowing (DAS) and raised from 30 to
60 DAS

 Productive tillers may be same or less due to

competition among tillers because of
photosynthesis and fertilization process
Cont.,
 Leaf area index (LAI) meter is a handheld
instrument that is used to measure the non-
destructive area of the leaf

LAI = Leaf area (m2)/ area covered by the plant

(m2)

 Plant height of the wheat was measured from the

base to the tip of the spikes from the different
sampling station through measuring tape
Cont.,
 Proximal sensors are used in precision
agriculture to collect the NPK, EC, pH,
Temp, and humidity data from the targeted
points
Cont.,

Harvesting Parameters
 Measure the height of the panicle from one end
to the other end of the tip by using a measuring
tape

 Separated the number of spikelets from the

panicle and counted them manually
Cont.,

 Grains were separated from spikelets and

counted them. Collected the grains from the
cluster of panicles, packed them in polybags, and
weighed on electronic measuring balance

 Collect the 1000 grain in polybag then weight on

electronic balance
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Cont.,
Wheat Stages Variable Sowing Mean St Dev Two sample t-test (p-
Method values)

AuSS 441.7 10.9

Light Intensity*10
MGS 419.4 8.95 p< 0.002
Heading & (LUX)

flowering stage AuSS 1.81 0.42

Air Circulation (m/s) p< 0.003
MGS 1.47 0.42

AuSS 325.4 10.6

Light Intensity*10
p< 0.004
(LUX) MGS 297.8 7.56
Ripening and
maturity stage AuSS 1.13 0.280
Air Circulation (m/s) p< 0.005
MGS 0.88 0.32

Table 9: Light intensity and air circulation parameters statistics on significance level for wheat crop of Field
1
Recommendations

 The field should be leveled with a laser land leveler and then sowed by an auto-steering system with
minimum skip error, in this way our crop productivity will increase more

 While sowing with the auto-steering system, the speed of the tractor should be 5 to 8 km/hr

 AuSS operates need proper training for the best use of auto steering system

 The auto-steering system should have an auto-turning effect instead of a manual turn

 There should be no hurdles between RTK GPS and GNSS receiver when sowing from the Auto
steering system to avoid the skips errors
References
■ BARI CHAKWAL. (2012). wheat production technology.
https://barichakwal.punjab.gov.pk/system/files/1. Wheat Production Technology.pdf
■ Balafoutis, A., Beck, B., Fountas, S., Vangeyte, J., Van Der Wal, T., Soto, I., Gómez-Barbero, M.,
Barnes, A., & Eory, V. (2017). Precision agriculture technologies positively contributing to ghg
emissions mitigation, farm productivity and economics. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(8), 1–28.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su9081339
■ Crop Reporting Service. (2023). Crop Estimate. https://crs.agripunjab.gov.pk/reports
■ Dong, C., Fu, Y., Liu, G., & Liu, H. (2014). Low light intensity effects on the growth, photosynthetic
characteristics, antioxidant capacity, yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at different
growth stages in BLSS. Advances in Space Research, 53(11), 1557–1566.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2014.02.004
■ Han, X. Z., Kim, H. J., Kim, J. Y., Yi, S. Y., Moon, H. C., Kim, J. H., & Kim, Y. J. (2015). Path-tracking
simulation and field tests for an auto-guidance tillage tractor for a paddy field. Computers and
Electronics in Agriculture, 112, 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2014.12.025
■ Kim, J., Moon, H., Woo, H., Zhe, H., Kim, H., Kim, Y., & Kye, J. (2013). Auto-guidance system for
tillage tractor. International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, Iccas, 1347–1350.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCAS.2013.6704165
■ Kvíz, Z., Kroulik, M., & Chyba, J. (2014). Machinery guidance systems analysis concerning pass-to-
pass accuracy as a tool for efficient plant production in fields and for soil damage reduction. Plant, Soil
and Environment, 60(1), 36–42. https://doi.org/10.17221/622/2012-pse
■ Sultan, U., Khan, A. A., Husnain, S. N., Zohaib, M., & Hashim, N. (2023). Multi crop high efficiency
seed drill with solar hybrid seed metering: A step toward precision and sustainability. Frontiers in
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