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R&D MALAYSIA UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE AT UPM UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE AT UPM

I-dentifying nutrient variability in soil

THE rich yellow-green fields tha.tyield our rice crops cover up to300,000 hectares of land in

West Malaysia alone. Every hectare is alocation of delicate nutritional balancethat nurtures the crops for harvesting.The optimum yield can be achieved iffarmers are able to create a nutritional

equilibrium in their soil through fertili­sers and other enhancers.

Soii ana.lysis is an important step inreaching this nutrient equilibrium andUniversiti Putra Malaysia has develo­ped a system called the Soil PropertiesMapping System (SOILPROP)to allowlocal farmers to manage their paddyfields in terms of optimising fertiliserinput and rice yield.

"The idea came about becausepaddyfarmers always apply the same amountoffertiliser uniformly across the paddyfield, no matter the content of the soil,"says Professor Ir Dr Mohd Amin MohdSoom, a Professor of Soil and WaterEngineering at UPM's Department ofBiological and Agricultural Enginee­ring, and Head of the Smart FarmingResearch Centre at the Faculty of Engi­neering, UPM. "Applying fertilisers orany chemicals are necessary in cropproduction, especially with crops likerice that is grown twice per year. Somefarmers think that the more fertilisers

they apply, the better the crop yield,but this is not the case."

Some fields may require differentnutrients in different amounts, andeven this may vary within a single field.The primary nutrients that can befoundin soil are nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium, with supporting nutrientsbeing calcium, magnesium and sulphur.Micronutrients like boron, copper, iron,molybdenum, zinc and manganese alsoexist in the soil in trace amounts. Thecombinations of nutrients dictate the

fecundity of the soil, and like mostnaturally occurring qistribution, theyoften occur asymmetrically.

Continuing a research project on soilvariability mapping using an electricalconductivity sensor for precision far­ming of rice by UPM researchers in2004, the SOILPROP project is led byProfessor Mohd Amin, with co-resear­chers Dr Aimrun Wayayok, Ezrin MohdHusin and Mohamad Razi Mad Amin.

"What is unique about this systemis that it is the only known variable ratetechnology available for paddy farmershere in Malaysia:' Professor Amin says."The system we have developed is theonly known quick way so far that canidentify nutrient variability in thesoil."

FULFILLINCANEED: "There was a clearneed for a variable rate treatment - atreatment that takes into account thevariability in soil content - so that onlythe areas that require certain feHiliserswill be supplied with them:' ProfessorMohd Amin says of the need that ins­pired SOILPROP."In SOILPROP,we usebulk soil electrical conductivity (EC)mapping to create management zonesof nutrients for the farmers to utilise

during the application offertilisers andother nutrients."

The setup for the SOILPROPsystem

centres on avehicle, usually atractor, towhich an array of plates called the ECa(electrical conductivity) sensor probeis attached, that can measure the con­ductivity of the soil. A DGPSantenna isplaced on the probe, with a DGPSrecei­ver situated in the tractor cab wherea PCwith the SOILPROPsoftware willalso be mounted.

"Usually it takes about 15-20 minu­tes to do the ECa mapping for onehectare of soil:' explains ProfessorAmin. "The ECasensor measures ECa

at two soil depths, one at an averagedepth of one foot, another at an aver­age depth ofthree feet. The reason forthis is that top soil is not stable in itscontents, as we aer'ate this layer, butat three feet the consistency is morestable and accurate. Once-we run the

probe, we get the data in real time onthe computer screen in the tractor cab.So the farmer sitting in the cab can seethe ECavariability map right there."

Once the EC mapping is comple­ted, the SOILPROP software steps inand converts the ECzones into nutri­ent zones created within a geospatialinformation system (GIS).Farmers willuse this information to regulate theirfertiliser application rates. The fertili­ser recommendation map is displayedon the computer screen mounted inthe tractor cab on real-time basis. Thefertiliser recommendation maps arealso accessible by the paddy farmersthrough a web portal called the WebSmart Farmer.

For a new area, the SOILPROPneedsto be calibrated before it can be fullyutilised for that particular area. Soilsamples need to be collected from thedominant ECzones and sent for labo­

ratory analysis. Once the results of theavailable soil nutrients are known, theSOILPROPwill standardise the soil nut­

rient elements for the particular areaaccording to the ECzones. Again, theinformation will also be made availablein the Web Smart Farmer.

BENEFITS Of:SOILPROP: Currently, theUPM team has been implementing thedata from the SOILPROP software inthe fertilisation of paddy mainly at thepaddy fields in Sawah Sempadan, Tan­jung Karang, Selangor, where UPM hasan external laboratory called the SmartFarming Community Centre.

"Two benefits that we have obser­

ved so far in the Tanjung Karang paddyfields is an increase in yield of up to 30per cent, and a reduced cost of fertili­sers of up to 50 per cent:' Profes'sorAmin reveals. "Although the pilot stu­dy in Tanjung Karang is considered asmall-scale paddy area of about 400hectares, it is still a considerable suc­cess story."

A 30 per cent reduction in costs canhave a large impact on a paddy farmer.Professor Amin points out that one oftheir farmers harvesting six lots is ableto rake in three to four thousand in pro­fit at the end of the day.

"We are trying to extend our successstory to a wider number of farmers:'Professor Amin says. The SOILPROPsoftware can be used on any crop who­se variability the farmers wish to iden-

tify, as long as the soil is not too wetas moisture would affect the accura­

cy of the soil electrical conductivity."This would require the involvementof government bodies, as running themachine and the analyses carried outcomes at a price.The SOILPROPsystemwould be a convenient facility for ourfarmers if they were able to access iteasily, and at a subsidised cost:'

The implementation of SOILPROPdoes not only provide monetary bene­fits, but environmental ones as well.Over application of chemical fertili­sers increases environmental degra­dation if no action is taken to control

the superfluous use of chemicals andfertilisers. SOILPROP guards againstover-fertilising and provides accura­te information on precise applicationrates of the required nutrients, thusavoiding the potential for environmen­tal detriment.

SOILPROP is but one of the agri­culture-based products developed byresearchers at UPM, as the institutionhas taken on the mandate to improvefood security for the country and ensu­re the sustainability and accessibility ofcrops, systems and land throughoutMalaysia

Example of maps ofEC zones and fertiliserrecommendations produced by the SOILPROP.

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Educatingfarmers on the Web Smart Farmer portaluser-friendly interface.

Researchers and farmers analysing the paddy fields.

The 8awah 8empadan Smart farming community centre.

Ezrin Mohd Husin

WEB SMART FARMER (WEB PETANI PINTAR): The Web Smart Farmer is a web­based information system that allows farmers to view their soil variability maps.Logging onto the web portal gives farmers a chance to facilitate smart farmingpractices based on the ECavariable rate map available online; it acts as a book­keeping site for activities carried out by the farmers, generates individual reportsof farmer's lots to show costs and acts as a prompt for farmers to carry outactivities at the right place and time, and with the correct amount.

Easily accessible and readily updateable, the web smart farmer portal is anopportunity for the farmers involved to keep track of their production costs,remind them to carry out important agricultural activities and help them toincrease profitability by optimising their inputs like fertilisers and chemicals.The web portal also acts in an educational way by helping bridge the dividebetween urban and rural communities through its user-friendly interface andeasy-to-use applications.

InventionsunderPREFERDjSFRC

VIRAS RADER: VIRTUAL RAINFALL STATIONS WITH RADAR DERIVED RAINFALL:

A new technique improving on previous attempts at runoff modelling, VirasRader is based on a weather-derived rainfall estimation and hydrological modelfor a whole watershed (a basin-like-landform). Once again GISsteps in andwith the information, creates uniform virtual rainfall stations throughout thewatershed. RaDeRis the newly-developed programme that estimates rainfallfrom the raw weather data.

Thus far, the virtual rainfall stations have produced results proving a morerepresentative rainfall distribution in the chosen areas, culminating in moreaccurate river runoff estimations.

The Viras Rader has the potential to provide early warning of impendingfloods due to heavy rain; more accurate data for rainfall-runoff modelling anchydrologic studies of river basins, as well as predicting the amount of rainfalat un-gauged locations. The product has commercial potential for river basirauthorities, water resources specialists, the agriculture industry in general, lanedevelopment authorities and the water management industry.

Professor Ir Dr Mohd AminMohd800m

The UPMresearch team.

The PREFERD way forsmart farming

The Precision Farming Engineeringand Research Group (PREFERD)was formed in 2004 to conduct a

study on the precision farming ofrice financed by the Malaysian Cen­

.tre for Remote Sensing (MACRES),now known asthe MalaysianRemoteSensing Agency: With a RMI millionbudget, PREFERDconducted studiesin five specific components, namelysoil variability mapping, rice yield

mapping, geospatial informationsystem (GIS) modelling, improvingpaddy field water management andvariable rate treatment of agricultu­ral inputs. The study was carried outunder the Tanjung Karang Rice Irri­gation Scheme (TAKRIS),located ona flat coastal plain in the NorthwestSelangor Integrated AgriculturalDevelopment Area (IADA).

The PREFERDgroup was formerlyoperating under the Smart FarmingTechnology Laboratory in the Insti­tute of Advanced Technology (ITMA)at Universiti Putra Malaysia, but wasrecently upgraded to its own pre­mises known as the Smart FarmingResearch Centre (SFRC) located inthe Faculty of Engineering at UPM.The SFRCprovides consultancy ser­vices to government agenciesaswellas the public in their area of experti­se,and carries out researchactivitiesin the precision farming discipline inthe rice and oil palm industry.

PREFERDconsists of researchers,academicians and scientists with

various relevant backgrounds withmore than 10 years under theirbelts. All members of the SFRCare

staff of UPM, and it currently hoststhree professors, three associateprofessors, seven lecturers with doc­torates and three research officers.

Successful products resulting fromSFRCresearchare marketed throughUPM Holdings, UPM's business arm.For smart farming products likeWeb smart Farmer, Viras-Rader andSOILPROp,PIDMAMS Smartfarming,a subsidiary of UPM, takes over themarketing. turned into organic fer­tiliser.