The document discusses the various uses of computers in agriculture. It describes the basic components of a computer and classifications of computers based on functionality such as analog computers, personal computers, workstations, mainframes, minicomputers, and supercomputers. It then outlines several applications of computers in agriculture including crop growth models, data mining, bioinformatics, expert systems, precision agriculture, decision support systems, remote sensing and GIS. Specific examples of supercomputers and crop growth models used in India are also provided. The document concludes with discussing uses of computers in areas like e-agriculture, agricultural education, and improving efficiency in irrigation, fertilizer use, and agricultural production.

1. Submitted to:
Dr.P.K.KINGRA
Submitted by:
Jatinderpal Singh

2.  A computer is an advanced electronic device for
storing and processing data, typically in binary form,
according to instructions given to it in a variable
program.
 The basic components of a modern digital
computer are: Input Device, Output Device, Central
Processor Unit (CPU), mass storage device and
memory.

3. Classification of computers
Computers differ based on their data processing abilities.
According to functionality, computers are
classified as:
Analog Computer
Personal computer
Workstation
Mainframe
Minicomputer
Supercomputer
Microcomputer

4.  Analog Computer: A computer that represents
numbers by some continuously variable physical
quantity, whose variations mimic the properties of
some system being modeled.
 Personal computer: A personal computer is a
computer small and low cost. The term "personal
computer" is used to describe desktop
computers (desktops).
 Workstation: A terminal or desktop computer in a
network. In this context, workstation is just a
generic term for a user's machine (client machine)
in contrast to a "server" or "mainframe."

5.  Mainframe: It refers to the kind of large computer
that runs an entire corporation.
 Minicomputer: A minicomputer is a type of
computer that possesses most of the features and
capabilities of a large computer but is smaller in
physical size. A minicomputer may also be called a
mid-range computer.
 Supercomputer: It is the biggest, fastest, and most
expensive computers on earth.(latest supercomputer
used by IMD; PRATYUSH and MIHIR since
January, 2018)
 Microcomputer: The personal computer is
a microcomputer.

6. Use of computer

7. Use of computer in agricultural research
 Computer use among agrometeorologists,
agronomists and other agricultural professionals has
risen rapidly in the past decade.
 The application of the computer in agriculture
research originally exploited for the conversion of
statistical formula or complex model in digital farm
for easy and accurate calculation which are found
relatively tedious in manual calculation.

8.  In the next generation, the same computers have
been used to mechanization, automation and to
develop decision support system for taking
strategic decision on the agricultural production
and protection research.

9. Crop growth
models
Data Mining
Bioinformatics
Expert system
Precision
agriculture
Decision
support system
Remote
sensing and
GIS

10.  Crop growth models have been used since 1970s
(Hoogenboom, 2003).
 Crop growth is a very complex phenomenon and
a product of a series of complicated interactions
of soil, plant and weather.
 In the past decade, the dynamics of crop growth
models have made substantial progress (Gerdes,
1993) and many crop models are available on the
market

11.  Some of models are:
 ORYZA1 (Kropff et al., 1994),
 CERES-Rice(Singh et al., 1993),
 SIMRIW (Rice-Weather relations) (Matthews et al.,
1994)
 ORYZA2000 (Bouman, 2006),
 DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agro-
technology Transfer) (Jones et al., 2003),
 APSIM (Agriculture production Simulator)(Keating et
al., 2003),
 AquaCrop (Raes et al., 2009)
Computer models have achieved various degrees of success in application

12.  Data Mining : Data mining is the process of
discovering potentially useful, interesting, and
previously unknown patterns from a large collection of
data.
 The data mining process is interactive and it requires
an understanding of the decision maker's intentions and
objectives, the nature and scope of the application, as
well as the limitations of data mining methods.
 A variety of software systems are available today that
will handle the technical details so that people can
focus on making the decisions.
 Data mining techniques are used in many research
areas, including mathematics, cybernetics, genetics and
marketing etc.

13.  Bioinformatics: Bioinformatics integrates the
advances in the areas of Computer Science,
Information Science and Information Technology to
solve complex problems in Life and plant Sciences.
 Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that
develops methods and software tools for
understanding biological data.
 Bioinformatics techniques such as image and signal
processing allow extraction of useful results from large
amounts of raw data.
 Bioinformatics tools aid in the comparison of genetic
and genomic data and more generally in the
understanding of evolutionary aspects of molecular
biology.

14.  Remote Sensing and Geographic Information
System: Remote sensing refers to the process of
gathering information about an object, at a
distance, without touching the object itself.
 Remote Sensing techniques have a unique
capability of recording data in visible as well as
invisible part of electromagnetic spectrum.

15.  The application of remote sensing data taken
momentum in the field of agriculture and crop studies
in India especially crop production forecasting
covering both crop inventory and crop yield forecast
models, drought assessment, soil mapping and soil
degradation, command area monitoring, flood
damage assessment, land suitability mapping, insect
pest infestation forecasting and widespread
availability of satellite signals that allow private use
of GPS made it possible for farmers to spatially
locate data from precision farming applications.

16.  Geographical Information System is a computer-
based information system that can acquire spatial
data from a variety of sources, change the data into
useful formats, store the data, and retrieve and
manipulate the data for analysis.
 The majority of the operational GIS are used for
thematic mapping, handling spatial queries, and
decision-making support.
 GIS technology is being increasingly employed by
agriculture researchers to create resource database
and to arrive at appropriate strategies for sustainable
development of agricultural resources.

17.  Precision agriculture: Precision Agriculture is
conceptualized by a system approach to re-organize
the total system of agriculture towards a low-input,
high-efficiency, sustainable agriculture.
 This new approach mainly benefits from the
emergence and convergence of several technologies,
including the Global Positioning System (GPS),
geographic information system (GIS), miniaturized
computer components, automatic control, in-field and
remote sensing, mobile computing, advanced
information processing, and telecommunications.

18.  Expert Systems: An expert system is a specific
kind of information system in which computer
software serves the same function expected of an
expert.
 The computer, programmed to mimic the thought
processes of experts, provides the decision-maker
with suggestions as to the best choice of action for a
particular problem situation.

19.  Expert systems allow users to influence the
knowledge of experts without requiring their
presence.
 Expert systems are useful in any field especially in
agriculture where experts are rare, expensive, or
inaccessible.

20.  Machine learning is an algorithms based
application of artificial intelligence (AI) that
provides systems the ability to automatically
learn and improve from experience without being
explicitly programmed. Machine
learning focuses on the development of
computer programs that can access data and use
it learn for themselves.

21.  Decision Support Systems: Computer systems that
provide users with support to analyze complex
information and help to make decisions are called
decision support systems (DSSs).
 Decision support systems are information systems
with a specific function to help people with the
problem solving to some extent and decision
making process.
 DSS consists of a collection of people, procedures,
software, and databases with a purpose. The
computer is the primary technology in such
systems.

22.  Weather forecasting:
Weather forecasting is
the application of science and
technology to predict the
conditions of the atmosphere
and sky condition or cloud
cover.
 Weather forecasting now
relies on computer-based
models that take many
atmospheric factors into
account

23.  Pratyush and Mihir are
the supercomputers established at Indian Institute of
Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and National
Center for Medium Range Weather
Forecast (NCMRWF), Noida respectively.
 Pratyush and Mihir are used in the fields of weather
forecasting and climate monitoring in India.
 It helps the country to make better forecasts in terms
of Monsoon, fishing, air quality, extreme events
like Tsunami, cyclones, earthquakes, lightning and
other natural calamities such as floods, droughts etc.

24. Application of computer in Agriculture
 E-Agriculture
 Agricultural Education
 Crop Development
 Understanding the Crops
 Agri-business
 E-Choupal
 Agricultural Marketing
 Enhancing Agricultural
Production
 Efficiency In Fertilizer
And Irrigation System
 Efficiency In Getting
Information
Kisan Call Centre
 Improved Equipment
Tracking
 Seeds Development
 Soil Development
 Farm Land Assessment

25. E-Agriculture
 E-Agriculture is an emerging field
focusing on the enhancement of agricultural
and rural development through improved
information and communication processes.
 Large and small, farms and ranches of all
sizes have found many applications for
computers and networks.
 Manufacturers of farming equipment have
added computers to several types of
equipment and have integrated a wide range
of software programs into farming
applications.
 The adoption of these technologies has
improved productivity and has allowed the
farmer to shift spending on labor to
spending on capital items.

26. Agricultural Education
*Colleges and universities
across the country now incorporate
computer applications into their
agricultural curriculums.
*Agricultural students not only
study basic business computing
applications but also learn about
-Yield management applications,
-Herd management software,
-Computer-based animal husbandry
systems, and
-Use of global positioning system
devices in crop planning and
management

27. Courses on Precision
Farming Systems that cover the use
of farming machinery supported by
global positioning systems (GPS)
and geographical information
systems (GIS) are among the
contemporary course offerings at
many universities. As a result of the
adaptation of computing technology
to farming and ranching applications,
agriculture careers are becoming
more appealing to younger
generations (Roberson, 2008).

28. E-Choupal
Agri Business Division, one
of India's largest exporters of
agricultural commodities, has
conceived e-Choupal as a more
efficient supply chain aimed at
delivering value to its customers
around the world on a sustainable
basis.
The e-Choupal model has
been specifically designed to tackle
the challenges posed by the unique
features of Indian agriculture,
characterised by fragmented farms,
weak infrastructure and the
involvement of numerous
intermediaries, among others.

29. Agri-business
 Online Trading
 Recent rapid growth in
the availability of online
commodity trading has
allowed many amateur
investors to trade on the
commodity market from
their own home or
business.

30.  National Agriculture Market or e-NAM is an online trading platform
for agricultural commodities in India. The market facilitate farmers,
traders and buyers with online trading in commodities. The market is
helping in better price discovery and provide facilities for smooth
marketing of their produce.

31. Efficiency in Getting Information
 Through forum and social networking site farmers can get
connect with other experts and exchange their views and other
details .Farmers can get a lot of information on variety of
agriculture topics by surfing. Farmers can get connect foreign
customer which can help to improve their product and increase
their production capacity .Farmer can get information regarding
price, weather, temperature etc.
 Kisan call centre
 Launched on January 21, 2004 by the Department of
Agricultural & Co-operation
 Computer system with Internet
 Telephone line
 Teleconferencing facility

32.  Farmer dials toll free number
‘1551’ for any enquiry
 If queries not answered
satisfactorily then the call is
forwarded to level II & level III
 Important information
gateway
 Cost is almost zero, response
is in local language
 If needed, the agricultural
scientists also visit the field

33. Seeds Development
 Remote management of grain storage
facility for high quality of agricultural
products
 Remote environmental monitoring
system via the Internet
 Real-time monitoring and analysis of
temperature variation in the storage
facility
 Collection and distribution of crop
growth stage information and pest
information using GPS (Global
Positioning System).

34. Soil Development
 Technology is dramatically
increasing the amount of land
each farmer can work
effectively.
 Using the GPS vocational
device and sensors in the field,
farmers can harvest, along with
their crops, detailed digital
maps of their fields.
 Precise application reduces
waste and improves yield

35. Efficiency in Fertilizer and Irrigation System
 To determine the best application of
pesticide and fertilizer products,
agronomists have generally sampled
soil at select locations in crop fields to
develop an average fertilizer level for
the field.
 New precision farming technologies
enable farmers to go beyond an average
application by developing a GPS-based
grid pattern of the field and testing each
grid before applying appropriate levels
of fertilizer to improve crop yield at a
more precise level.
 This reduces the consumption of
fertilizer in some areas and increases it
in other areas of the field. The amount
of water sprinkled in a balanced
quantity is also computerized.
A center-pivot irrigation system an
onsite computer

36. Enhancing Agricultural Production
 It Increasing efficiency,
productivity and sustainability of
small scale farms by:-
 Providing information about pest
and disease control, especially
early warning systems, new
varieties, new ways to optimize
production and regulations for
quality control
 In the planting process, it is
important to place the proper
number of seeds per row.

37. THANK YOU

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Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Environment and
Natural Resources Services Research, Extension and Training
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