POLY HOUSE FARMING , PRECISION FARMING

                              POLYHOUSE FARMING

What is a polyhouse?

Polyhouse or a greenhouse is a house or a structure made of translucent material like glass or polyethylene where the plants grow and develop under controlled climatic conditions. The size of structure can differ from small shacks to big-size buildings as per the need. Above all, a greenhouse is a glass house whose interiors become warm when exposed to sunbeams as the house stops the greenhouse gas to leave. So when it is cold outside, the temperature inside is survival friendly and warm for the plants.

Difference between Greenhouse and Polyhouse

Polyhouse is a type of greenhouse or we can say that it is a smaller version of greenhouse, where polyethylene is used as the cover. In developing countries like India, polyhouse farming is a popular greenhouse technology due to its low cost of construction and easy maintenance. Lath house is one more greenhouse technology where wood is used as the cover.

Poly house is cheaper as compared to greenhouse but the later is more long-lasting than polyhouse.

Crops grown in Polyhouse

• Fruits that can be grown are Papaya, Strawberry etc.
• Vegetables that can be grown include Cabbage, Bitter Gourd, Capsicum, Radish, Cauliflower, Chili, Coriander, Onion, Spinach, Tomato etc.
• Flowers like Carnation, Gerbera, Marigold, Orchid, and Rose can also be easily grown.

Benefits of Polyhouse

Polyhouse is very beneficial for the farmers specially those who prefer organic farming. here are few of the benefits of a polyhouse:

• Your plants are grown under controlled temperature thus there is less chances of crop loss or damage.
• You can grow crops throughout the year and will not have to wait for any particular season.
• There are less pests and insects in a polyhouse.
• External climate will not have any impact of the growth of crops.
• Quality of produce is obviously higher in polyhouse.
• Good drainage and aeration
• Propagation of Ornamental Crops can also be done effortlessly in a polyhouse.
• Poly House gives the right environmental facilities to your plants in any season.
• It also increases yield for about 5 to 10 times.
• Less cropping period
• Fertilizer application is easier and is controlled automatically with the help of drip irrigation.

Types of Polyhouse

Based on environmental control system, polyhouse are of two types:

• Naturally ventilated polyhouse - This type of polyhouse or greenhouse does not have any environmental control system except for sufficient ventilation and fogger system to save the crops from bad weather conditions and natural pests and diseases.
• Environmental controlled polyhouse - They are constructed primarily to extend the growing period of crops or to increase the off-season yield by controlling the light, temperature, humidity, etc.

Conclusion

It has been estimated that the yield under polyhouse or greenhouse farming can be achieved at a higher level – say about 4-8 times as compared to farming done in open field. Hence farmers must think of setting up a polyhouse rather than just working on open fields.

PRECISION FARMING

Precision agriculture (PA) is an approach to farm management that uses information technology (IT) to ensure that the crops and soil receive exactly what they need for optimum health and productivity. The goal of PA is to ensure profitability, sustainability and protection of the environment. PA is also known as satellite agriculture, as-needed farming and site-specific crop management (SSCM).

Precision agriculture relies upon specialized equipment, software and IT services. The approach includes accessing real-time data about the conditions of the crops, soil and ambient air, along with other relevant information such as hyper-local weather predictions, labor costs and equipment availability. Predictive analyticssoftware uses the data to provide farmers with guidance about crop rotation, optimal planting times, harvesting times and soil management.

Sensors in fields measure the moisture content and temperature of the soil and surrounding air. Satellites and robotic drones provide farmers with real-time images of individual plants. Information from those images can be processed and integrated with sensor and other data to yield guidance for immediate and future decisions, such as precisely what fields to water and when or where to plant a particular crop.

Agricultural control centers integrate sensor data and imaging input with other data, providing farmers with the ability to identify fields that require treatment and determine the optimum amount of water, fertilizers and pesticides to apply. This helps the farmer avoid wasting resources and prevent run-off, ensuring that the soil has just the right amount of additives for optimum health, while also reducing costs and controlling the farm's environmental impact.

In the past, precision agriculture was limited to larger operations which could support the IT infrastructure and other technology resources required to fully implement and benefit from the benefits of precision agriculture. Today, however, mobile apps, smart sensors, drones and cloud computing makes precision agriculture possible for farming cooperatives and even small family farms.