'Divine eye' guards the rice fields

AN GIANG Rice fields in An Giang are increasingly appearing with 'magic eyes' to prevent pests and smart technologies to help the soil 'breathe' and reduce emissions.

An Giang rice granary is transforming strongly with smart fields. In high-quality rice fields, there have appeared “guard stations” only a few square meters wide. It is a smart pest monitoring system, connected to IoT, operating 24/24 hours to monitor pests in the fields.

The smart pest monitoring system includes a light trap placed on the edge of the field, a specialized camera, an environmental sensor (temperature, humidity, rainfall), a processor and a solar panel. Insects are attracted by a multi-wavelength LED array, fall into the trap chamber and are periodically photographed by the camera.

The smart pest monitoring system is likened to a "magic eye" that helps farmers monitor and effectively control pests. Photo: Trung Chanh.

At the cooperatives participating in the 1 million hectare project of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation in Tan Hoi, Thanh Dong, and Giong Rieng communes, dozens of automatic monitoring stations are located in the middle of vast fields. Farmers can monitor the pest situation on their smartphones through applications running on iOS and Android.

Unlike traditional light traps that require “lighting, counting by hand, and recording”, the new system applies artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computing technology to automatically identify and count pest density right at the station. This system is capable of identifying over 100 different insect species, distinguishing between harmful groups and beneficial natural enemies. Only when the density reaches the warning threshold will the processed data be sent to the center and synchronized to the application for technical staff, cooperatives, and farmers.

The biggest benefit that the system brings to the high-quality rice area in An Giang is changing the way pesticides are decided to be sprayed. Mr. Nguyen Van Huynh, Director of Thanh Nien Phu Hoa Agricultural Service Cooperative (Tan Hoi commune) said: "Instead of spraying when seeing pests, thanks to technology, farmers only spray when the system and technical staff warn that the density has exceeded the economic threshold, and at the same time recommend prioritizing biological measures instead of chemicals. Thanks to that, the amount of pesticides has decreased significantly, production costs have decreased, and the health of workers and the field environment have been better protected."

Many fields in An Giang are also equipped with smart irrigation systems using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique. Rice fields are monitored for water levels, humidity, etc. through sensors. When the fields are dry enough according to a preset threshold, the pump will be automatically activated, avoiding frequent flooding.

Smart technology monitors water levels in fields to help the alternating flood and dry irrigation system operate effectively. Photo: Trung Chanh.

When integrated with other solutions such as alternate wetting and drying, smart nutrient management, use of drones for spraying pesticides, high-quality rice cultivation, low emissions, it shows clear economic efficiency. Productivity is stable, costs are reduced, profits are increased compared to traditional farming practices.

The application of smart sensor technology helps collect data, both increasing economic efficiency for farmers and protecting the environment. Thanks to controlling the amount of irrigation water, rice plants grow optimally, the amount of water used is significantly reduced, the fields are not continuously flooded, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

When the soil is alternately flooded and dried, an aerobic environment is maintained, limiting the generation of methane. Not only that, rice productivity and quality also increase because the soil is kept in better conditions, giving the soil time to "breathe", the rice roots grow strong, there are fewer pests and diseases, the plants are more sturdy...

Applying technology and digitalizing field management demonstrates the determination to transform traditional agriculture into large-scale, transparent and environmentally friendly commodity production. Implementing the 1 million hectare high-quality and low-emission rice project, rice production in An Giang is gradually moving away from manual and fragmented methods. This is the foundation for moving towards building a green rice value chain, meeting the requirements of traceability, low-emission certification, and expanding export opportunities.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/mat-than-canh-gac-ruong-lua-d787286.html