In the farms of the management company "August-Agro" in the Republic of Tatarstan, the universal seeding control system (USCS) has been successfully tested and is being implemented - a Russian digital development in the field of precision farming, which allows you to track the quality of sowing. For the first time this spring, before the sowing of spring crops, the Bourgault sowing complex at the August-Leninogorsk agricultural firm was equipped with USCV sensors for the first time. Practice has shown: the number of flaws has been minimized. According to the experts of "August-Agro", in this way, even at the stage of the sowing campaign, it is possible to save 2-3% of the future harvest. As a result, sensors are being installed at 15 sowing complexes this fall for winter sowing, and by spring sowing it is planned to equip all 44 Bourgault units at the Avgust-Agro farms with them.
USKV is a development of Omsk specialists designed to control sowing and provide the operator of the sowing complex with information on the technological parameters of the process and the health of the equipment. The solution includes software, a tablet computer and a system of sensors that the complexes are equipped with. USCS can be integrated into digital platforms for remote control of agricultural production.
For the first time, a system for monitoring seed sowing and fertilization was installed at one of the sowing complexes in the Avgust-Leninogorsk agricultural company. In real time, it signaled violations of the technological process for each seed tube and coulter. In total, about 2 thousand hectares were sown in this way.
“The quality of sowing turned out to be good, with a minimum number of flaws, there were no siftings or re-sowing,” said Dmitry Shaplyko, head of the control and monitoring department of the management company “August-Agro”. – The application rate of seeds and fertilizers was precisely maintained. The intuitive interface of the system allows the machine operator to point and quickly respond to clogged seed tubes and coulters. According to our estimates, in this way it is possible to avoid crop losses in the amount of 2–3% of the total volume. On the scale of our agribusiness, this is a significant amount of agricultural products, so the introduction of new equipment pays for itself in the first year of use. Here I would like to note that a significant role in the efficiency of USCS is played by the contractor who installs the sensors and puts the system into operation. Our partners have shown a high level of competence in this area, provided the necessary guarantees, and we continue to work with them.”
Specialists of Avgust-Agro also point out that the potential advantage of the seeding control system is also manifested in the fact that it helps the management of agricultural firms to monitor the quality of sowing online: if in normal operation the machine operator can treat the process negligently and continue with 2–3 seed tubes clogged after sowing for an arbitrarily long time, new solutions allow, after a few minutes of such work, to give a signal to the head of the unit. Thus, problems with equipment are eliminated in a timely manner, and crop losses are reduced.