Introduction to Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture merges the new technologies borne of the information age with a mature agricultural industry. It is an integrated crop management system that attempts to match the kind and amount of inputs with the actual crop needs for small areas within a farm field. This goal is not new, but new technologies now available allow the concept of precision agriculture to be realized in a practical production setting.

Precision agriculture often has been defined by the technologies that enable it and is often referred to as GPS (Global Positioning System) agriculture or variable-rate farming. As important as the devices are, it only takes a little reflection to realize that information is the key ingredient for precise farming. Managers who effectively use information earn higher returns than those who don't. 

DEFINITION OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE

          Precision agriculture is the application of technologies and principles to manage spatial and temporal variability associated with all aspects of agricultural production for the purpose of improving crop performance and environmental quality (Pierce and Peter, 1999).

HOW TO GO FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE

          To practice the precision agriculture the growers must select and use the necessary equipments and technology. Equipment purchase should carefully evaluate the capabilities of equipment before they purchase by selecting equipment capable of high accuracy application, the growers has achieved the I^st step in the precision agriculture. Growers should not rush in to a complete system until they have identified the elements that will benefit their farm.