By Valentina Manstretta | Project Manager | Horta Srl
In the management of the crops, different kinds of decisions need to be taken: strategic, which effect spans for one or more years (e.g. crop rotations, variety to sow); or tactical, which are taken day by day, in response to what is happening in the field. Decision-making is a mental process, which starts with the identification of the problem, and results in the final choice among several options. The decision making is supported by the collection of all the relevant information, the identification of different options to solve the problem, the performance of a critical analysis, accounting for different aspects, leading to the final decision, and the related action.
Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a class of computerized information systems able to support the decision-making process. DSSs collect, organize, and integrate all types of information required for producing crops; then they analyse and interpret the information and finally use the analysis to recommend the most appropriate action or action choices. Expert knowledge, mathematical models, and timely data are key elements of DSSs and are used to assist producers both with daily operational and long-range strategic decisions. Although DSSs provide information supporting the decision-making process, the final decision on the actions to be performed in the field is in the hands of the crop manager.
DSSs need to be easy-to-use tools, with access through the internet, relying on technologies widespread among the users, and providing information in the form of easy-to-understand decision supports able to reduce uncertainty for the decision-maker.
A two-way communication between users and the providers is also necessary, in order to guarantee the possibility to input site specific data that need to be taken into consideration from the system. Moreover, DSSs need to have a holistic vision of crop management problems with the focus on all the different individual operation issues (e.g. pests, diseases, fertilisation, irrigation, canopy management). Models are a key component of DSSs, especially for plant disease control. Plant disease models are simplifications of the relationships between pathogens, crops, and the environment that cause epidemics to develop over time and/or space. Prediction of a disease allows growers to respond in timely and efficient ways by adjusting crop management practices: a prediction of low disease risk may result in reduced pesticide application with positive economic and environmental effects.
Relying on expert advice, provided on the basis of scientific and technical advances, decision makers are enabled to opt for actions that benefit the environment, food quality, and economic performance. In fact, DSSs make it possible to optimise the use of technical inputs for crops, allowing to better respond to the actual needs (i.e. in terms of water, nutrients and protection from pest and diseases), leading to a better management of resources, and to an improvement of the final product quality.
It is important to demonstrate the benefits that can be achieved by using a DSS, in terms of overall sustainability. As an example, the use of Horta’s DSS in grapevine resulted in savings up to 35%, in use of plant protection products, thanks to improved pest management based on model outputs. These savings allow to reduce economical costs, as well as environmental ones, improving the overall crop sustainability.
The STELLA project is devoting significant effort in delivering improved protocols and tools for crop monitoring, both for proximal sensors (IoT devices, smart insect and spore traps, robotic data collection), and for remote sensing data. The improvements in crop monitoring offers the possibility of having new data available for improving the support to farmers. Moreover, the project is advancing web-platforms for plant monitoring and disease risk warnings by deploying the STELLA Pest Surveillance System (PSS), which targets specifically non-quarantine pests (RNQP) and quarantine pests and diseases. The STELLA PSS will support plant health early detection, territory surveillance, and phytosanitary measures, thus providing decision makers with valuable information.
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