Bachelor of Computer Science engineering

SEED SELECTION AND SOIL MAPPING: AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR

AGRICULTURE

Thesis Adviser:
Elizabeth Sebios

Chapter I

THE PROBLEM DOMAIN

Project Context
 Farming is the primary source of food production, providing essential crops to

sustain the global population. Without farming, the availability and accessibility of food

would be severely compromised, leading to food shortages and hunger.

Soil type is one of the predominant characteristics of any field, as the type of soil

directly affects many variables important to seed selection, such as the amount of water

available. The process of selecting a seed for a specific group of soils comprising a

growing area would require special knowledge of the soils being planted, the potential

hazards these soils present, and what types of seeds can combat these hazards (Martin,

2009).

Seed selection is a process where it selects a healthy variety of seeds, that must

be capable of growing successfully. The unplanned planting of kinds of seeds is nearly

vulnerable to any seed-borne diseases that will cause severe problems in the agricultural

farming processes. By having these seed selections, it can improve crop yields.

Soil mapping is what people nowadays, usually use the technique in this

technologically advanced world, a concept of agricultural management that the idea is

centered on watching, quantifying, and reacting to crop variability both within and between

fields. Some problems faced by many Filipino farmers, the number one of them is crop

failure and unluckily success in farming cause of not knowing what are right seeds for a

particular soil type. Every soil type, the single farm has differences in soil type, and that

soil type must match to seeds that are to be selected and planted in that specific area.

Both seed selection and soil mapping are combined in this study to create a

unique, genuine idea for increasing agricultural productivity and consecutively the
production of food availability in Biliran. This is the reason why the proponents proposed

Seed Selection and Soil Mapping: An Innovative Solution for Agriculture.

The unplanned planting of seeds of kinds is nearly vulnerable to any kind of

seed-borne diseases that will cause severe problems in the agricultural farming processes.

By having these seed selections, it can improve crop yields. Soil mapping is what people

nowadays usually use the technique in this technological world, a concept of agricultural

management that the idea is centered on watching, quantifying, and reacting to crop

variability both within and between fields. Some problems faced by many Filipino farmers,

the number one of them is crop failure and unluckily success in the farming cause of not

knowing what are right seeds for a particular soil type. Every single farm has differences in

soil type, and that soil type must match what seeds are to be selected and planted in that

specific area. Both seed selection and soil mapping are combined in this study to create a

unique, genuine idea to increase food security. Increasing agricultural productivity and

consecutively the production of food. It can assist in providing opportunities for income

generation. Food security is crucial, ensuring that everyone has access to enough food

and that families can grow their safety, food supply must increase to satisfy people’s

demand. This is the reason why the researchers proposed a Seed Section and Soil

Mapping: An Innovative Solution for Agriculture.

Purpose and Description

 Seed Selection and Soil Mapping: An Innovative Solution for Agriculture is a

system to identify which seed kinds are most appropriate for a specific farm.

This study aims to create a system in a web-based system online that was responsive

and a helpful tool, find a recommended a suitable seed for the availability of collected

data about soil, match features of soil with the proper seed kinds to be chosen, and

plant by the farmers. It also assists farmers in choosing the best seed kinds for their

particular farm by taking into consideration the soil type. Farmers can benefit from this

system by increasing crop yields, lowering the likelihood of crop failure. Increase

agricultural productivity, and optimize when the appropriate type of seed is utilized for

specific fields, which can potentially result in enhanced yield and decreased likelihood of

disease in the crop.

Objectives

The Proponent aims to develop a Web-based System called Seed Selection and

Soil Mapping: An Innovative Solution for agriculture, which allow users to select seeds

that are available in Biliran Province and the system will recommend appropriate soil

type that are compatible to the seeds that the users select.

The objectives of this thesis study are to:

1. Design a working web-based system that can support both mobile phone

and desktop through the use of web application.

2. To gather data about vegetable seeds that are common in Biliran

Province.
 3. To develop a soil map that can pin-point where the seeds are more

compatible to plant.

Scope and Delimitations

The focus of this study “Seed Selection and Soil Mapping: An Innovative Solution

for Agriculture” is to create an online web-based system using Geographical Information

System (GIS), utilize as a map that represents information about soil type, showing

sizes and shape of Biliran in a visual way.

This system will provide 10 capable seed recommendations for every soil type,

all recommended seeds are specified as vegetable seeds.

Through this system, it will help users to choose preferable seed kinds for their

farms. The system supports both desktop and mobile using the web view online.

The tool used to create the system is VS Code Extension and utilize for PHP

language and Excel for mapping to display geographic data within Biliran only.

Definition of Terms

Seed Selection, evaluating seed quality, generic characteristics, and

performance to make informed decisions.

Soil mapping is the process of delineating natural bodies of soil, classifying and

grouping the delineated soils, classifying and grouping the delineated soils into map

units, and capturing soil property information for interpreting and depicting soil spatial

distribution on a map.
 Seed variety, selecting the right seed variety is essential for optimal agricultural

productivity.

Germination rate, germination rate is an indicator of seed quality and vigor. Soil

fertility and Soil moisture, are essential for plant growth and development.

Geographic Information System (GIS),………………….

User Interface, …………………………..

Farming, ……………………………

Agriculture, is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and

raising livestock.

User interface (UI), is the point of human-computer interaction and

communication in a device. This can include display screens, keyboards, a mouse, and

the appearance of a desktop. It is also the way through which a user interacts with an

application or website. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system that

analyzes and displays geographically referenced information. It uses data that is

attached to unique location.

Chapter II
RELATED LITERATURES

This chapter discusses the existing studies that are related to the ongoing current

study of the Seed Selection and Soil Mapping System: An Innovative Solution for

Agriculture. For further understanding, the cited articles and technical background for

creating a system are discussed:

Soil mapping is what people nowadays usually use the technique in this technologically

modern period, agriculture is full of uncertainty due to climate change, rainfall, soil type,
and numerous other factors. Crop prediction in agriculture is a very big dilemma and there

is a huge dataset where farmers find it difficult to predict the yield and seed selection. In

this current situation due to the rise in the population, the production of crops and

agricultural products needs to be increased simultaneously to meet the demands of the

people. These problems could be solved using machine learning and this paper focuses

on these solutions (Technol, 2020).

Ensuring the availability of adequate seed supplies of species and sources appropriate

for restoration projects and programs necessitates extensive science-based planning. The

selection of target species requires a review of disturbance conditions and reference

areas, the development of a reference model, and consideration of specific objectives,

timeframes, available resources, and budgets as well as the performance of prospective

species in past restoration efforts. Identification of seed sources adapted to site conditions

is critical (Halford, 2020).

According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2023), Seed is

one of the most crucial elements in the livelihoods of agriculture communities. It is the

repository of the genetic potential of crop species and their varieties resulting from

continuous improvement and selection over time. The potential benefits of seed-to-crop

productivity and food security can be enormous.

Sun et al. (2020) soil biological analysis involves the study of soil microorganisms and

their role in nutrient cycling, soil structure, and plant growth. Showed that soil biological

analysis can provide valuable information on soil health and sustainability.

This study provides an overview of soil fertility analysis, including traditional methods

and emerging technologies such as machine learning-based soil analysis systems. The
author discusses the potential benefits and limitations of the technology and identifies key

research gaps and challenges (Lal, 2015).

Mishra et al. (2019) examine the importance of seed selection in sustainable agriculture

and discusses the potential role of machine learning-based seed selection systems. The

authors discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the technology and

identify key research gaps and future directions.

Machine learning techniques are widely employed to generate digital soil maps. The

map accuracy is partly determined by the number and spatial locations of the

measurements used to calibrate the machine learning model. However, determining the

optimal sampling design for mapping with machine learning techniques has not yet been

considered in detail in digital soil mapping studies. In this paper, we investigate sampling

design optimization for soil mapping with random forests (Wadoux, 2019).

To recommend specific varieties of seeds to an end user based on the soils in the area

being planted, as well as some user-defined options for field logistics. The system created

involved the use of a WMS service, a WFS an RDBMS, the CLIPS expert system shell,

and the C# programming language. Findings and conclusions. The conglomeration of the

independent pieces was found to successfully create a system capable of recommending

seed varieties (Martin, 2009).

 Technical Background

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a style sheet language used for describing

the presentation and formatting of a document written in HTML or XML. It is a fundamental

technology of the World Wide Web and is commonly used in web development to control

the appearance of web pages.

JavaScript is a high-level, interpreted programming language that was originally

designed for adding interactivity to web pages

Python is widely used in web development, scientific computing, data analysis, artificial

intelligence, automation, and many other areas.

MySQL is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS)

that is widely used for managing and storing structured data. It provides a reliable,

scalable, and high-performance solution for various applications and can be integrated

with different programming languages and platforms.

Bootstrap simplifies and accelerates the process of building responsive and visually

appealing websites and web applications. By leveraging its pre-designed components,

responsive grid system, and JavaScript plugins, developers can create a professional-

looking interfaces with less effort and time compared to starting from scratch.
 Chapter III
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Methodology

The study proponent has utilized the software development life cycle (SDLC).

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is to provide a high-quality system that meets or

exceeds user expectations, functions effectively and efficiently in the existing and future

information technology infrastructure, is affordable to operate, and is cost-effective to

improve. The SDLC is divided into phases, each of which results in deliverables needed by

the subsequent cycle phase. Requirements are translated into design. Code is produced

according to the Design. Testing should be done on a developed products based on

requirements. Development should be done once the testing is complete.

System Architecture
 Requirements Analysis

During the requirements analysis for Seed Selection and Soil Mapping: An Innovative

Solution for Agriculture consider the following key aspects:

 Define project goals and objectives.

 Determine the project’s geographical extent.

 Identify data sources and methods.

 Plan for data processing and analysis.

 Determine relevant soil properties to measure.

 Understand crop preferences and needs.

 Establish criteria based on soil and crop requirements.