Introduction

What is Instrumentation?
Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring
instruments used for indicating, measuring and recording
physical quantities.
The term instrumentation may refer to something as
simple as direct reading thermometers or, when using
many sensors, may become part of a complex Industrial
control system in such as manufacturing industry,
vehicles and transportation. Instrumentation can be
found in the household as well; a smoke detector or a
heating thermostat are examples.
What is its need in agriculture?
The rapid development and miniaturization of
technologies used in digital cameras, cell phones, and
wireless computers are allowing scientists to develop
networks of small sensors that will lead to a new era of
monitoring the health and stability of our environment.
Wireless devices half the size of a cell phone now exist
with sensors to measure light, wind speed, rainfall,
temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.
Moreover, these devices store collected data, process
desired data averages or transformations, and then
transmit requested data by radio frequency along a series
of wireless hops to an Internet node.
Deploying arrays of hundreds of these sensor devices will
allow us to fill a gap between local-scale ecological
observations and environmental data from scattered

regional weather stations. Such micrometeorological

measurements at fine spatial and temporal scales will
help scientists understand the relationship of broad-scale
changes in global climate and local microclimate that
control many ecosystem and physiological processes.
These sensor networks have the potential to revolutionize
science and to influence major economic, agricultural,
environmental, social, and health issues, as well as to
enhance opportunities for new educational programs.
Beyond fixed arrays of meteorological sensors, new types
of sensors and improved sensor platforms are also being
developed to provide environmental scientists with
significant tools for understanding fundamental
ecosystem processes in a manner not previously possible.
Multi-spectral video imagers, acoustic sensors, gas
analyzers, and other high-performance instruments are
now being added to remote, unattended network
deployments (Figures 1 and 2) . These technologies
greatly expand our ability to monitor the environment to
understand patterns of global change and changes in
levels of water and air pollution. The use of such
instruments is possible with new platforms that combine
multiple processor and wireless network modules. These
platforms have energy control systems to allow the nodes
themselves, and their sensor devices, to operate only on
demand, thus conserving energy for long-life operations.

Sensors mounted on trams or other mobile platforms are

allowing an innovative approach to the flexible and
efficient deployment of environmental sensors. In what is

termed actuated sensing, fixed sensors can communicate

the local presence of an unusual dynamic condition (e.g.
a frost or dew point condition or a rare bird call) to a
mobile system, tasking it to move to scan the area to
better understand the spatial and temporal scales of the
phenomenon or animal presence.
Beyond sensors and sensor platforms themselves,
however, other critical components of these new
technologies consist of the means for coordination of
sensor modalities across multiple spatial and temporal
scales, the infrastructure to link sensors to a broadly
accessible wireless network, and of course the reliability
for long-term deployment with appropriate maintenance
and calibration of sensors. Key to the success of these
systems are appropriate tools for the storage and
management of large data sets so that users can rapidly
and efficiently access multiple configurations of data sets
in real-time.
Remote Sensing in Agriculture
Remote sensing of ecological patterns and processes is a
key element of the new technologies being applied to
environmental monitoring and ecosystem model
development. Resulting data are being collected by a
combination of satellite sensors in earth orbit and
instrumentation mounted in small aircraft. These sensors
provide measurements of structural, spectral, and
thermal characteristics of the land surface at a scale
broader than that measured by fixed sensor arrays.
Examples of such sensing instruments are multi-spectral
imaging by the Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and radar interferometry, in

satellites; and light detection and ranging LiDAR (laser

altimetry), and thermal imagers, in aircraft.

Parameters that are essential for Agriculture

1. Light
2. Soil moisture
3. Temperature
4. Wind speed/direction
5. Rainfall
6. Evapotranspiration
7. Nutrient levels & pH

LIGHT MEASUREMENT: Light intensity or light quantity refers to the total amount
of light that plants receive. It is also described as the
degree of brightness that a plant is exposed to. In
contrast to light quality, the description of the intensity of
light does not consider wavelength or color.
The intensity of light is usually measured by the
units lux (lx) and footcandle (fc). One footcandle means
the degree of illumination 1 foot away from a lighted
standardized wax candle; 100 footcandles is 1 foot away
from 100 candles that are lighted simultaneously. Lux (pl.
luces) is the unit of illumination that a surface receives
one meter away from a light source. One footcandle is

equal to 10.76391 luces and 1 lux is approximately equal

to 0.093 footcandle.
However, the units footcandle and lux are merely based
on visual sensitivity and do not provide information on
the energy or photon content of light. According to Runkle
(2006), the better unit of light intensity for studies
involving plant responses is the mol m-2s-1. It describes
the number of photons of light within the photosynthetic
waveband that an area of 1 sq meter receives per
second. It can be measured using a light meter. To
convert the intensity of light from the sun, for instance,
800 mol m-2s-1 to footcandle, 800 is multiplied by 5
which results to 4,000 fc. Another unit of measurement is
the mol m-2d-1 which describes the total number of
photons received by an area of 1 sq meter in 24 hours.

High light intensity means it is brighter compared to low

light intensity. Some terms that are used with reference

to light intensity are open or full sun, partial sun or partial

shade, and closed or dense shade. Based on adaptation,
crops can be classified as sun plants and shade
plants with various intergrades.
Plant rooting, growth, and development are all
significantly influenced by both the quantity and the
quality of light. A plant uses light in a specific frequency
band called PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation).
PAR meters are also referred to as Quantum meters, and
PAR values are given in micromoles.
Types of light sensors: Photo-emissive Cells
Photo-conductive Cells
Photo-voltaic Cells
Photo-emissive Cells: A phototube or photoelectric cell is a type of gasfilled or vacuum tube that is sensitive to light. Such a
tube is more correctly called a 'photoemissive cell' to
distinguish it from photovoltaic or photoconductive cells.
Phototubes were previously more widely used but are
now replaced in many applications by solid state
photodetectors. The photomultiplier tube is one of the
most sensitive light detectors, and is still widely used in
physics research.
Phototubes operate according to the photoelectric
effect: Incoming photons strike a photocathode,
knocking electrons out of its surface, which are attracted
to an anode. Thus current is dependent on the frequency

and intensity of incoming photons.

Unlike photomultipliertubes, no amplification takes place,
so the current through the device is typically of the order
of a few microamperes.
The light wavelength range over which the device is
sensitive depends on the material used for the
photoemissive cathode. A caesium-antimony cathode
gives a device that is very sensitive in the violet to ultraviolet region with sensitivity falling off to blindness to red
light. Caesium on oxidised silver gives a cathode that is
most sensitive to infra-red to red light, falling off towards
blue, where the sensitivity is low but not zero.
Vacuum devices have a near constant anode current for a
given level of illumination relative to anode voltage. Gas
filled devices are more sensitive but the frequency
response to modulated illumination falls off at lower
frequencies compared to the vacuum devices. The
frequency response of vacuum devices is generally
limited by the transit time of the electrons from cathode
to anode.

Photo-conductive Cells: The photoconductive cell is a two terminal

semiconductor device whose terminal resistance will vary
(linearly) with the intensity of the incident light. For
obvious reasons, it is frequently called aphotoresistive
device.

The photoconductive materials most frequently used

include cadmium sulphide (CdS) and cadmium selenide
(CdSe). Both materials respond rather slowly to changes
in light intensity. The peak spectral response time of CdS
units is about 100 ms and 10 ms for CdSe cells. Another
important difference between the two materials is their
temperature sensitivity. There is large change in the
resistance of a cadmium selenide cell with changes in
ambient temperature, but the resistance of cadmium
sulphide
remains
relatively
stable.
The spectral
response of a cadmium sulphide cell closely matches
thatof the human eye, and the cell is therefore often used
in applications where human vision is a factor, such as
street light control or automatic iris control for cameras.
The essential elements of a photoconductive cell are the
ceramic substrate, a layer of photoconductive material,
metallic electrodes to connect the device into a circuit
and a moisture resistant enclosure.

Photo-voltaic Cells: Photovoltaics (PV) covers the conversion of light

into electricity using semiconducting materials that
exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in
physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry.
A typical photovoltaic system employs solar panels, each
comprising a number of solar cells, which generate
electrical power. The first step is the photoelectric effect
followed by an electrochemical process where crystallized
atoms, ionized in a series, generate an electric current.
PV Installations may be groundmounted, rooftop mounted or wall mounted.

Light measuring device- SpectraPen LM 500: -

SpectraPen LM 500 is a handheld spectroradiometer that

is pre-configured and pre-calibrated to measure spectral
characteristics and to calculate key parameters like Lux,

Lumen, PAR and Watt values. LM 500 is especially useful

for rapid measurements of light intensity and of spectral
light quality in the lab, greenhouse or field. It is also wellsuited for wide scope of environmental, agricultural and
ecological applications such as monitoring of artificial
lighting used in horticulture industry or light source
testing.
SpectraPen LM 500 is a complete system with integrated
touch screen display and cosine corrector; it is powered
by a Li-Ion rechargeable battery. Measured data - light
spectrum, intensity readings in user defined range, CIE
chromacity diagram, correlated color temperature and
many more parameters - are instantly displayed on the
SpectraPen display and all recorded data are
automatically stored into the device internal memory.
Comprehensive software package and USB connectivity
provide full system control, data acquisition and easy
data post-processing in a PC. LM 500 comes with a handy
carrying case.
Soil Moisture: Soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water
content in soil. Since the direct gravimetric
measurement of free soil moisture requires removing,
drying, and weighting of a sample, soil moisture sensors
measure the volumetric water content indirectly by using
some other property of the soil, such as electrical
resistance, dielectric constant, or interaction
with neutrons, as a proxy for the moisture content. The
relation between the measured property and soil
moisture must be calibrated and may vary depending on

environmental factors such as soil type, temperature,

or electric conductivity. Reflected microwave radiation is
affected by the soil moisture and is used for remote
sensing in hydrology and agriculture. Portable probe
instruments can be used by farmers or gardeners.
Soil moisture sensors typically refer to sensors that
estimate volumetric water content. Another class of
sensors measure another property of moisture in soils
called water potential; these sensors are usually referred
to as soil water potential sensors and
include tensiometersand gypsum blocks.

Temperature Measurement: Resistance thermometers, also called resistance

temperature detectors (RTDs), are sensors used to
measure temperature. Many RTD elements consist of a
length of fine wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass
core but other constructions are also used. The RTD wire
is a pure material, typically platinum, nickel, or copper.
The material has an accurate resistance/temperature
relationship which is used to provide an indication of
temperature. As RTD elements are fragile, they are often
housed in protective probes.
RTDs, which have higher accuracy and repeatability, are
slowly replacing thermocouples in industrial applications
below 600 C.

Conclusion
Different Applications of agriculture have been discussed.
Instrumentation and control is revolutionizing the way
agriculture works as further progress is being made.
Studies show that the yield from farming has increased
much more with the advent of technology.
The resources such as water which are scarce to a lot of
places can be utilized efficiently through proper
monitoring.
The farming practices have become much easier than
those practiced by our ancestors.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumentation
http://www.environment.ucla.edu/reportcard/article1506.
html