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Autoguidance system operated at high speed causes almost no tomato damage
Authors
Aziz Z. AbidineBrian C. Heidman
Shrini K. Upadhyaya
David J. Hills
Authors Affiliations
A.Z. Abidine is Graduate Research Assistants; B.C. Heidman is Graduate Research Assistants; S.K. Upadhyaya is Professors, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, UC Davis. The authors are grateful to the California Energy Commission (CEC) for financial support; Trimble Navigation for equipping our JD 8700 tractor with their autopilot system; and Button and Turkovich for assisting with the experimental design and providing transplanting and cultivation equipment. We also thank Ricardo Amon of the CEC and Eric Arvesen and Bruce Stevens of Trimble Navigation for their input at various stages of this project, and Uriel Rosa, Flavio Mazetto, Eduardo Cleto and Pedro Andrade for their assistance; D.J. Hills is Professors, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, UC Davis. The authors are grateful to the California Energy Commission (CEC) for financial support; Trimble Navigation for equipping our JD 8700 tractor with their autopilot system; and Button and Turkovich for assisting with the experimental design and providing transplanting and cultivation equipment. We also thank Ricardo Amon of the CEC and Eric Arvesen and Bruce Stevens of Trimble Navigation for their input at various stages of this project, and Uriel Rosa, Flavio Mazetto, Eduardo Cleto and Pedro Andrade for their assistance.Publication Information
Hilgardia 58(1):44-47. DOI:10.3733/ca.v058n01p44. January 2004.
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Abstract
This project explored the effectiveness of an autoguidance system based on a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK GPS) accurate to the centimeter (about half-inch) in agricultural production. Our objectives were to determine the effect of spacing between cultivator disks or knives and forward tractor speed on plant damage, and of deep tillage operations on drip-tape damage. Two sets of split-plot field experiments were conducted (with processing tomato transplants and direct-seeded tomatoes) in a Yolo loam field on the UC Davis campus. No significant plant damage occurred even at 7 miles per hour (mph) forward speed and cultivator disk spacing of 2 inches from the plant line. In an additional split-plot test, there was no significant damage to drip tape when the fertilizer shank was operated 2 inches from the drip tape at 3.5 mph. This system allows for automatic steering of the tractor and implements along a path close to buried drip-tape and/or plants without damaging them, even at high operational ground speeds.
References
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