Development and Application of the Intelligent Seed Processing Technology and Equipment

Seed processing is an important link in the seed industry chain. Crop seed industry is a national strategic and basic core of industry. Drying, cleaning, selecting, grading, coating, packaging and storage of crop seeds are the main measures to realize the precision sowing of crops and the increase of grain yield and income. Continuously improving the intelligence and fi ne level of seed processing equipment is of great signifi cance to ensure the production and supply of excellent seeds and the stability of agricultural production. This paper describes the development status of modern seed processing equipment technology in China, introduces the establishment of seed processing equipment engineering technology research center, taking maize, rice, wheat and cotton seed processing technology and machinery as an example, describes the key technologies and technological process of the breakthrough in the major crop seed processing, analyzes the existing problems of seed processing equipment in China at this stage as well as the development trend in the future, provides a reference for government decision makers in resolving the problem of mechanical damage in the process of seed processing and further improving the intellectualization level of seed processing, promotes the common progress of the global seed processing equipment technology.

Objectives and Structure of the Information and Communication System for "Smart" Organic Farming

The authors showed that the organic production is an actively growing global business: in 2017, it occupied more than 1.4 percent of all agricultural land on the planet. The authors emphasized the relevance of digitalization with the constant growth of the database, which the farmer needs to process quickly and effi ciently. (Research purpose) To form the structure of the information and communication system for the «smart» crop organic farming and the database necessary for its training and ensuring its functioning. (Materials and methods) The prior research was used, as well as previously created databases and information from the existing literature. Since 2016, a multifactorial experiment with potatoes has been carried out as part of an organic crop rotation to fi ll the information base with experimental data. (Results and discussion) The structure of the information and communication system of the “smart” organic crop production has been formed. It is based on the territory digital map and agricultural crop digital models. In the course of the work of the system, we decided to make daily changes to the digital model of agricultural crops based on the incoming agroecological information, as well as to prepare recommendations on the relevant choice and use of the planned technological operations. It was found out that in a fouryear fi eld experiment, the potato yield in the control variant (without the introduction of compost and pesticides) averaged 21.7 tons per hectare, and when using compost and biofungicide Kartofi n, it increased to 26.7 tons per hectare. The authors calculated multiple linear regression equations describing the dependence of the nitrogen mineral form content in the soil in June on the sum of the active temperatures during this period and the compost dose (the correlation coeffi cient is 0.658); and the dependence of potato yield on the nitrogen mineral form content in the soil in the fi rst ten days of June and the sum of active temperatures in May-June (the correlation coeffi cient is 0.667). (Conclusions) The authors presented the structure of the information and communication system of an organic agricultural enterprise, substantiated the possibility of its full implementation as a tool that helps agricultural producers to carry out environmentally safe, competitive and effi cient organic production at a totally new level.

Digital technologies and robotic devices in the agriculture

The agricultural industry in the Russian Federation is dynamically developing; the agricultural export amounts to $ 25 billion. In other countries, in turn, this figure is much higher, for example, in China it has exceeded $ 75 billion. The existing potential can be realized if the efficiency of agricultural production is increased by creating and implementing automation, robotization, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence. As a result it may lead to a 2.5-3.5-fold increase in labor productivity; a 2-3-fold increase in the yield of crops; a 3-4-fold cut in energy consumption and material costs, ensuring the ecological safety of agricultural production and the environment. The authors developed the concept of intelligent agriculture and identified the following areas of digital technology applications: integrated production management; digital technologies in crop production, animal husbandry, energy supply, products storage and processing ; digital engineering for rural areas. The authors presented the stages of agricultural production digitalization, including: a system for monitoring the conditions and parameters of agricultural production; information transmission system; artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, setting the foundation for management decision-making; the implementation of management decisions by robotic devices. The authors presented the examples of using digital technologies in soil cultivation, horticulture, animal husbandry, and artificial ecosystems. In animal husbandry, these technologies prove to facilitate the monitoring of the animals movement, their physiological state, parameters of the microclimate on the premises, feed and milk quality control. The Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is reported to have the necessary educational infrastructure, accredited Master’s and postgraduate studies for training specialists in digital agriculture.

Research on the Progress and Future Development of Technological Innovation of Intelligent Agricultural Machinery in China

Agricultural machinery is the key fi eld in modern scientifi c and technological innovation. In recent years, China has made great achievements in the development of high-performance intelligent agricultural machinery with cutting-edge technology, which promotes the effi cient use of agricultural resources and environment-friendly development, and supports 70 percent of China’s agricultural mechanization production. This paper mainly focus on the innovation and progress in the fi eld of intelligent agricultural equipment technology in China from the aspects of information perception and precision production monitoring technology, intelligent operation management technologies, power machinery, farmland operation machinery, intelligent harvesting technology, production technology and agricultural products processing equipment. the paper also summarizes that, in the future, green, intelligence and universality will become the main characteristics of the development of intelligent agricultural machinery technology, and cross integration, extension and expansion will become the main direction of technological innovation. At last by referring to the application basis and cutting-edge technology of China’s intelligent agricultural machinery industry, the innovation and development goals and research direction of future intelligent agricultural equipment, the scientifi c and technological innovation and industrial development trend in the fi eld of agricultural mechanization and intelligent application integration, this paper puts forward some suggestions on the research direction of future intelligent agricultural equipment.

Intelligent Technologies and Robotic Machines for Garden Crops Cultivation

The existing models of industrial robots cannot perform technological processes of apple harvesting. It is noted that there is a need for developing special actuators, grippers and new control algorithms for harvesting horticulture products. (Research purpose) The research aimed to develop an intelligent control system for horticulture industrial technologies and robotic techniques for yield monitoring and fruit harvesting. (Materials and methods) The research methodology was based on such modern methods as computer modeling and programming. In particular, the following methods were applied: systems analysis, artificial neural networks theory, pattern recognition, digital signal processing. The development of software, hardware and software was carried out in accordance with the requirements of GOST technical standards. The following programming languages were used: (C / C ++)-based OpenCV library, Spyder Python Development Environment, PyTorch and Flask frameworks, and JavaScript. Image marking for training neural networks was carried out via VGG ImageAnnotator and in Labelbox. The design process was based on the finite element method, CAD SolidWorks software environment. (Results and discussion) An intelligent management system for horticulture industrial technologies has been created based the on the «Agrointellect VIM» hardware and software complex. The concept of the system is shown to be implemented via computer and communication technology, robotic machines, the software for collecting, organizing, analyzing and storing data. The gripper proves to fix an apple gently and holds it securely. Depending on the size, the fruit fixation time is 1.5-2.0 seconds, the fruit maximum size is 85 per 80 millimeters , and its maximum weight is 500 grams. (Conclusions) The developed intelligent control system for industrial technologies based on «Agrointellect VIM» hardware and software complex ensures the efficient real-time processing of information necessary for the design of intelligent agricultural technologies using robotic machines and artificial intelligence systems.

Improving the Accuracy of Aerial Photography Using Ground Control Points

The authors showed that it is possible to quickly collect up-to-date information on the agricultural land condition using an unmanned aerial vehicle. It was noted that the use of ground control points increases the accuracy of project measurements, helps to compare the project post-processing results with the real measurements. (Research purpose) To compare the results of standard and high-precision post-processing of aerial survey data using ground control points. (Materials and methods) Aerial photography was carried out on a 1.1- hectare breeding field. The authors used DJI Matrice 200 v2 unmanned aerial vehicle with a GNSS L1/L2 receiver and a modified DJI X4S camera, five control points sized 50 × 50 centimeters and an EMLID Reach RS2 multi-frequency GNSS receiver. The results of scientific research into the use of ground control points during aerial photography were studied. (Results and discussion) It was found out that the error of georeferencing images obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle without control points is significantly higher during the standard data processing compared to the high-precision one. The project error when using five control points is 3.9 times higher during the standard data processing. (Conclusions) It was shown that using ground control points it is possible to improve the project measurement accuracy, as well as compare the project post-processing results with the measurements on the ground. It was detected that the high-precision monitoring enables the use of fewer ground control points. It was found out that in order to obtain data with the accuracy of 2-4 centimeters in plan and height, at least 3 ground control points need to be used during the high-precision post-processing.

The System of Continuing Education at the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM

From 1930 to 1991 our country built a well-structured system of agroengineering higher education institutions and faculties of mechanization that, for 90 years, effectively developed and operated solving the problem of training engineering personnel for the evolving mechanized agriculture. The collapse of the USSR caused dramatic changes in the country system of agricultural engineering education. As a result of numerous reorganizations and reforms in the Russian system of higher education, agroengineering universities ceased to exist independently and had to join agricultural universities. The mergers and integration of research institutions and the establishment of large federal research centers on their basis have made it expedient to implement a continuing professional education system (master’s, postgraduate, doctoral studies).The Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is developing the system of continuing professional education for training modern agricultural engineering personnel in the field of automation, robotization, digital technologies. A current target of the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM is the implementation of Master’s degree programs.

Opportunities and Challenges for Field Experiment Equipment

Modern seed industry development could contribute up to 40 percent to increase agricultural production and effi ciency. Mechanization of fi eld experiments is an important means to improve the effi ciency and precision of fi eld breeding experiments. There is a big gap in the mechanization level and development of fi eld experiments in diff erent countries of the world. The International Association on Mechanization of Field Experiments established in 1964 has played a great role in promoting the development of fi eld experiment mechanization in the world. At present, the advanced fi eld experiment equipment is mainly concentrated in international manufacturers such as Wintersteiger in Austria, Almaco in the United States, Haldrup and Zürn in Germany. As a great agricultural country, China’s demand for rice and maize seeds, the major food crops in the last 10 years, is about 250 million kilograms and 1.15 billion kilograms, respectively. A large amount of demand for seeds prompted China’s fi eld experiment mechanization that has made great progress. The research team of Qingdao Agricultural University has developed 16 types of new plot planters and plot harvesters which have been popularized and applied in China. But diff erent crops, planting patterns and regional characteristics put forward higher requirements for adaptability of fi eld experiment equipment. The precision of the seeder, the cleaning performance of the seeding and harvesting equipment and the intelligent technology of the equipment need to be further improved. In future development, more attention should be paid to the integration of modern information technology and intelligent technology into fi eld test equipment, to improve operational effi ciency and accuracy.

Current Situation and Development Trend of China’s Agricultural Machinery Distribution

In the year of 2021, the Chinese government allocated 19 billion RMB for agricultural machinery subsidy. The data that accurately describes the scale of China’s agricultural machinery market could be calculated by analyzing the national agricultural machinery purchase investment, the total value of the parts market and the replacement market could be inferred. Since the implementation of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, China’s comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting and harvesting has increased rapidly. In 2019, the national comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting and harvesting exceeded 70 percent, and the production of the three major food crops of wheat, rice and corn was basically mechanized. This paper analyzes the scale of the complete machinery market, the market scale of key products in the Chinese agricultural machinery market, the basic situation of Chinese agricultural machinery distribution companies, the basic situation of the Chinese agricultural machinery purchasing groups, and the main gathering platforms of the Chinese agricultural machinery distribution market, explaining the current status of China’s agricultural machinery distribution, putting forward suggestions for the development of China’s agricultural machinery distribution market. There are major contradictions in the agricultural machinery market in China. The most important one is between supply and demand. In terms of crops, the level of comprehensive mechanization of wheat, rice and maize is relatively high, while the level of comprehensive mechanization of cash crops such as cotton oil, sugar and vegetable tea is relatively low; from a regional perspective, the level of mechanization in the northern plains is relatively high, and the level of mechanization in the hilly and mountainous areas of the south is relatively low; from an industrial point of view, the level of mechanization of planting industry is relatively high, while the level of mechanization of animal husbandry, fi shery and processing is low. Meanwhile, the contradiction between manufacturers and distributors, as well as the end-users is further intensifying. This article attempts to explain the effi ciency and benefi t of agriculture and the return on investment of agricultural machinery purchase. Only when agriculture is competitive, has good effi ciency and benefi ts, and the purchase of agricultural machinery has a good rate of return on investment, can the industry develop healthily.

Analysis and Solutions to Environmental Problems in Livestock Farming

The intensifi cation of agricultural production has led to the disruption of nutrient cycles in agroecosystems. In livestock farming, one of the key problems is the low degree of using secondary resources (organic fertilizers based on manure and manure). (Research purpose) To substantiate the basic principles of assessing the agroecosystem environmental sustainability and to develop engineering methods for ensuring environmental safety in livestock farming. (Materials and methods) To solve the problems of agroecological assessment, eff ective technology choice and intelligent system creation, the following indicators were used: 1. specifi c density of animals (mainly for macro-assessment); 2. nutrient balance (the diff erence in the amount of nitrogen available in the formed organic fertilizers with environmentally safe consumption); 3. nitrogen losses during the disposal of organic waste from livestock farming; 4.the eff ectiveness of implementing the best available techniques (BAT). (Results and discussion) Using the assessment of indicators 1 and 2 in the case of the Leningrad region, it was revealed that 3 districts are classifi ed as territories with an excessive risk to the environment, 1 district is classifi ed as a territory with a high risk, 5 districts – with an acceptable risk, and 8 districts – with a low risk to the environment. To solve problems in areas with excessive and high load, we conducted an assessment on indicators 3 and 4, which allowed us to explore technical solutions and select the BAT to reduce the environmental burden. The obtained results showed that among the main technical solutions in the fi eld of organic waste management of livestock farming are biofermentation and the introduction of liquid organic fertilizers. Biofermentation in special chambers can reduce emissions of polluting gases by more than 2 times, and speed up the processing process by more than 60 times. To work with liquid organic fertilizers, intelligent machines with low-emission working bodies have been developed to reduce nitrogen losses during application by up to 50 percent. To solve the problems of agricultural monitoring and engineering solution management, a digital system has been developed that allows to model scenarios of technological development and their impact on the agroecosystem environmental sustainability. (Conclusions) The results obtained allow us to systematically analyze the problems of agroecosystem environmental sustainability and propose specifi c technical and optimization solutions for livestock farming.