Technology to help cotton industry with damaging spray drift effects
Spray drift from pesticides, which causes damage to neighbouring crops and costs the cotton industry millions of dollars, could be reduced thanks to new technology.
The damaging effects of spray drift, which can cost the cotton industry millions of dollars in crop losses, could be mitigated thanks to new Artificial Intelligence technology.
A partnership between the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, BARD AI, PentaQuest and AgriSci, is applying technology solutions which help farmers make better decisions to reduce the impacts of spray drift and improve agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability.
In 2018 spray drift cost the Australian cotton industry about $18 million in crop losses, according to Monash University.
Faculty of IT Interim Dean Professor Ann Nicholson said along with AI technology, game-design practices and behavioural science will also be used.
“It is no good for us to come up with a smart solution which isn’t fit for purpose for people on the ground to use, so there is an element in here called gamification,” Ms Nicholson said.
“The idea is don’t just click on something and get an answer out, there is a community and you can see how you’re going and you can see how your decisions compete with other people in the community.
“If a farmer doesn’t understand it or understand why they should bother, then nothing will happen.”
Byron Birch from SOS Gwydir - a group of growers, agronomists, resellers, consultants and spray contractors who want to eradicate spray drift – said the agricultural community needed to be engaged and encouraged practice change that reduced off-target spraying and safer spraying techniques.
“Off target spray drift is like cancer from passive smoking, it is the invisible cloud that can destroy another farmers’ livelihood down wind,” Mr Birch said.
“Education, technology and regulation are all needed to fight the problem.”
The project received a Business Research and Innovation Initiative grant of nearly $100,000 earlier this year and will be eligible to apply for a grant of up to $1 million to develop a prototype or proof of concept later this year.
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