n Planiranje sezone

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www.kws.rs
Digitalisation

KWS digital innovations

for field optimising

Modern agriculture is linked to large investments, so every

production price increase means that producers must attain
maximal yield on the scarce land resources, and each failure in that
process potentially leads to a yield decline and a blow to the budget
and to the entire household as well.
KWS Company has, through its aerial vehicles. After collecting the photos
DIGITAL4CAST programme, made by drones, the Agremo Company
supported by Agremo™ Company, conducted a field and crop analysis using
during 2018 conducted a digital its technology.
innovation project for field optimizing, While deciding which analysis should be
by using drones and modern conducted, the needs of producers were
technology, aiming to improve taken into account as well as the other
production and to increase crop yields. factors that are mostly contributing to the
Project was implemented on the fields crop yield increase.
of 35 producers from Serbia and
Romania.
Through the 4 carefully planned stages,
the KWS was recording the fields of its
producers by using the unmanned

WELCOME TO THE 2019

DIGITAL4CAST PROJECT
Same as the previous year, the
KWS Company, supported by the
Agremo Company, will implement
the DIGITAL4CAST project. This
year the project will be realised on
the fields of 20 producers in Serbia,
Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia.
We hereby welcome you as one of the
most important participants of the KWS
producer project. In the following text we
will guide you through the project stages
and show you the benefits of each
stage.
We will closely introduce you to the
cutting-edge technologies that will,
during this project, monitor your crops
and fields, such as the unmanned aerial
vehicles - drones. Through this project
we will introduce you to the potential
perils to your crops and crop yields, as
well as to the ways of economising and
chances to increase yields and profits.

Who is Agremo?
2 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 2
 Agremo is a high-tech Company that has developed the world’s leading computer
program for the automatic analysis of photos collected by using drones in order to
improve the agricultural processes and to increase yields.

Producers throughout the world have 12 Agremo reports at their disposal, which
provide a clear insight to the number of crops on the field, as well as the general state
of crops and fields during the entire agricultural season.
Up until now, producers from more than 100 countries have improved their agricultural
production and yields on more than 100 plant species.

100+ PLANT SPECIES

100.000+ HECTARES

100+ COUNTRIES

The biggest challenges for the

agricultural manufacturers
KWS Company has recognised different challenges the manufacturers face during the
agricultural season, which can be surpassed using the DIGITAL4CAST programme,
the Agremo analysis and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

Some of the biggest challenges and variables that you can encounter, and that
DIGITAL4CAST can solve are:

▪ ACCURATE PLANT NUMBER &

GERMINATION RATE

▪ LOCATION & SIZE OF WEED ZONES

▪ WHERE TO SPRAY

▪ HOW MUCH AND WHERE TO APPLY

FERTILAZER?

▪ EARLY YIELD INSIGHTS AND ESTIMATES

▪ CAUSE OF LOWER YIELDS

How DIGITAL4CAST functions

3 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 3
DIGITAL4CAST Project will last throughout the entire agricultural season. During the 4 stages, licensed drone pilots will be visiting
your fields. Prior to the drone pilot arrival, your KWS salesman or the representative of Agremo will contact you. During recording by
a drone, you’re not obliged to be present on the field but you’re welcome to see the usage of modern technology on the spot and to
get to know the Project closely.

During each of the 4 Project stages, which will be closer analysed in the Mapping Calendar Paragraph, a drone pilot as well as the
representatives of both KWS and Agremo Companies, will pass through the following steps in order for you to get the results of
Agremo analysis in a timely manner and to obtain a clear insight into the condition your crops and fields are in.

During each stage your KWS salesman will deliver the analysis results, which is presented above in the Managing the results step.
After that it is up to you to go out to the field, to choose and apply the adequate agro-technical measures. In case of any dilemmas or
questions, don’t hesitate to contact your KWS salesman or the representative of the Agremo Company for help.

4 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 4
DIGITAL4CAST and the
advantages of Precision agriculture
Traditional methods regard the entire field as the only and basic unit for the application of agro-technical measures, and, at the same
time for all the other calculations, including the yield forecast. Now you can make decisions based on computer analysis, and not on
an arbitrary basis. Drones and Agremo eliminate the human error factor.

Main objectives of Precision agriculture are the reduction of production costs, production sustainability and yield maximisation.
DIGITAL4CAST enables the agriculture producers to perform necessary seasonal input calculations (seed, fertiliser, chemistry)
based on the clear and highly precise data obtained by this cutting-edge technology.

Unlike the ancient methods where the forecasts are made upon rule-of-thumb and are limited by the visual field and producer’s care,
drones are able to perceive every square centimeter of the field, and thanks to that the DIGITAL4CAST provides highly-precision
data on your crops.

Traditional agriculture Precision agriculture

100 HA 1m²

5 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 5
Using drones in agriculture has a
number of advantages
In the previous chapter we explained how drones provide the most precise insight into the state of crops and fields, but besides that they
bring other advantages to those agricultural manufacturers who have the opportunity to use them:

• Increased productivity
• Saved money on inputs
• Easier input decisions
• More precise product application
• Operational uniformity
• Controlled experimentation
• Reduced labor/work hours
• Reduced machine and equipment operation time

• Reduced machine and equipment operation time

Mapping Calendar

Stage 1 – measuring the

arable land and leveling

Stage 2 – Counting plants

and weed
analysis

Stage 3 – Counting plants

and stress
analysis

Stage 4 – Crop yield forecast

These 4 stages lead to the establishment of real condition of crops and fields, and further analysis
can determine the adequate measures that will lead to the crop yield increase and production cost
reduction.

6 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 6
Factors that mostly affect the crop yield:
No. Factor Percentage Comment on the influence

1 Crop sequence 6% - 10% Previous culture

2 Land 4% - 7% Poorly cultivated land

3 Fertilisation 20% - 40% Late or irregular fertilisation

4 Hybrid 15% - 45% Improper hybrid

5 Sowing density 8% - 27% Large sowing gap – sparse composition

6 Weeds 18% - 36% Belated struggle against weeds and herbicide usage

7 Diseases 15% - 28% After insects, diseases emerge as well

8 Vermin 10 % - 30% Insects in the silking and cob-formating stages

9 Drought 25% - 60% Drought leaves consequences during fertilisation and pollinaton

Water kept on the land contributes greatly to the

10 Accumulated water 15% - 50% yield decrease and weed proliferation

Source: Iowa State University

Example on a 57 ha field

Corn production revenues and

Influence % Per ha 57 ha
expenses
Gross revenues Potential yield (t) 8 456

Price per ton (€) €150 €150

Gross revenues €1200.00 €68,400.00

Direct production costs Fertilisers €240.00 €13,680.00

Chemistry €120.00 €6,840.00

Seed €150.00 €8,550.00

Drying €45.00 €2,565.00

Storage €15.00 €855.00

Insurance €40.00 €2,280.00

Total direct costs €610.00 €34,770.00

Arable land and leveling; Plant
Costs of drone analysis counting; Weed; Stress and €16.00 €912.00
Yield forecast
Mechanisation costs Total mechanisation costs €250.00 €14,250.00

Additional unpredicted costs €100.00 €5,700.00

Total non-land costs €976.00 €55,632.00

Profit €224.00 €12,768.00

7 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 7
Field monitoring throughout the 2018 season as part of the Digital4Cast Project

Stage 1 – Measuring the arable land and

leveling

In the example of 57 ha field, it is found by analysis that the field has a discrepancy
of 2.4 m in elevation

Point 1 is a reference, zero-point.

Point 2 (red zone) is the highest point on the field with a +1.5m discrepancy
compared to the zero-point and in that zone exists a soil erosion danger. With
these kind of areas there is a danger of soil washing that could lead to a
poorer land composition and a fertiliser rinse.

Point 3 (blue zone) is the lowest point on the field with a -0,9m discrepancy
compared to the zero-point and in that zone exists a danger of water accumulation
that could lead to the sparse composition, weeds and plant diseases.

Image 1: Leveling map

Arable land analysis of the same field based on the Leveling map concluded that
5,83 ha is arable with risk, meaning that exists a possibility of unwanted factor
occurrence that could lead to a yield decrease.

Zone 1 – Depression zone of 1,27 ha area

Zone 2 – Depression zone of 0,31 ha area

Zone 3 – Depression zone of 2 ha area

Zone 4 – Depression zone of 1,96 ha area

Zone 5 – Depression zone of 0,29 ha area

In these zones exists a possibility of water accumulation that could lead

to the sparse composition or in some cases to a total yield lost.
Image 2: Map of arable
These areas are convenient for development of weeds and plant diseases.
land with risk-zones

Conclusion: Manufacturer should transfer the funds dedicated to the treatment of 5,83ha of risky land to the
risky zone adaptation in order to achieve full yield there, and return the investment in the short term.
Otherwise, a lost of yield and money is expected in these zones.

8 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 8
Stage 2 – Plant counting and
weed analysis
In the example of 57 ha field, in the V3 stage of development, precisely 2,023,833 of corn plants were counted and the
achieved composition is 45% below expected, i.e. that on the field in question there is 1,679,867 corn plants less than the
producer had sown.

Deeper analysis has shown that the biggest loss occurs around the risky arable land zones, where exists a danger of
water accumulation, already explained in the previous chapter.

In risky zones, producer had significantly lower number of plants compared to the planned one, while the sparse composition is
encountered in the entire area.

Because of the problem’s nature, risk of losing yields is predicted in the zones
of water accumulation every year.

Analysis that were part of the Project have shown, that the following factors
caused the lower field composition:

Climate – we have an example where, because of the temperature and

precipitation, the seed did not begin its development, which often causes the
uneven germination and scattered crops.
Land preparation – At certain fields the optimal corn composition is lacking due
to poorly land preparation before sowing and missing the optimal sowing date
which lead to the lack of fertilization effect before sowing.

Image 3: Map with

Herbicide damages – On the elevated field points where the soil
sparse composition
humidity is lower, there’s been the herbicide accumulation in the plant
zones
seed zone.

Weed analysis on the 57 ha field showed that 12,13 ha is weed-

locked, or 21,28%.

This analysis showed the level of weed saturation and the occurring zones. After
the inspection of those zones, producer can establish weed type and chose the
adequate agents in fighting against weeds.

Image 4: Map with weed zones

Conclusion: Agremo weed analysis has determined zones of weed occurrence, as well as the total area that
should be treated with the adequate herbicides.

With the help of smart sprinklers, spraying is conducted on 12,13 ha instead on the entire field, thus enabling producer
to save on 44 ha, i.e. 44 ha x €120 = €5,280.00 in herbicides.

In case of modern equipment shortage, spraying is conducted at the expanded zone of 35 ha, which also enables saving
of €2,280.00 in herbicides.

9 KWS digital innovations for field optimising KWS digital innovations for field optimising 9
Stage 3 – Stress analysis and
plant counting

Due to late sprouting at the 57 ha field, plant counting analysis is repeated in the
R3 development stage, which established a number of 3,137,137 sprouted plants,
i.e. that the final composition is 20% lower than the expected.

As the previous stage showed, late sprout occurred in the zones of endangered
land (water accumulation land) and zones with the presence of weed.

Conclusion: It is established that 36% of plants had belated sprout, which

will cause the lower yield at the year’s end.

Image 5: Map with sparse composition

Stress analysis showed that 16.27ha is under stress, and those are the zones
where lower yields may be expected.

Stress zones occurred in the zones of sparse composition, belated sprout,

increased soil humidity as well as in the weed-locked zones, which directly
cause lower yields.

Conclusion: At the end of the season in stress zones a soil sampling

should be conducted, as well as the irrigation preparation and the
revision of the plan to combat weed– types of herbicides and moment of
application.

Image 6: Map with stress zones

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Stage 4 – Yield assessment

Yield assessment analysis on the 57 ha field showed that high yield potential
can be expected on 45.41 ha.

On 41.78 ha very high yield can be expected (green color),

11.43 ha (yellow zone) has medium yield potential where lower yields compared to
the green zone might be expected,

while on 3.79 ha there are no plants and no yield is expected at the end of

the year. Average plant composition on the field is 51,777 / ha.

Conclusion: It is necessary to visit the green and yellow zones, take samples of corn
cobs from each zone in order to obtain data on:
Number of corn kernel rows in the cob
Image 7: Map with yield Corn kernel number per row in the cob
zones

That data, together with mass of 1000 seeds are entered in Agremo calculator,
in order to obtain the average and total expected yield on the field. With that
information producer can plan business operations before sowing – storage, drying
and buyout.

KWS digital innovation for field optimising

 Nemanja Čarapić Sabin Stefan
email: nemanja@agremo.com email: sabin@agremo.com

phone: +38163668871 phone : +40786212634