LASER Land Leveling in Rice Farming

Julian F. Cacho BAE 4213 April 28, 2004

Overview
LASER LASER Leveling System How LASER Leveling Works Benefits of LASER Land Leveling in Rice Farming Limitations of LASER Land Leveling Possible ways to overcome the limitations

LASER Defined:
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Light of special properties

Lasers amplify light Radiation coverage at wavelengths ranging from IR to UV and even Soft Xray range (XUV)
XUV (10 nm 30 nm)
(www.columbia.edu/cu/mechanical/mrl/ntm/Glossary.html)

LASER Leveling System

Laser Transmitter
Laser Receiver Electrical Control Panel Twin Solenoid Hydraulic Control Valve

LASER Transmitter

- Sends

the LASER beam rapidly in a circular manner

LASER Receiver (Omni-directional)

- Intercepts

the LASER beam

Electrical Control Panel

- Accepts

and Interprets the signal from the LASER receiver

Twin Solenoid Hydraulic Control Valve

- Raises or lowers the bucket

Benefits of Precise Land Leveling

Increases Yield Reduces Weed Problems by even water distribution Increases Opportunity to Use Direct Seeding Increases Water Use Efficiency Other benefits

Yield Increase
Table 1. Results of Land leveling experiments conducted by CIAP in Cambodia, 1996-1999
Year Rice Yield (t/ha) Leveled Fields Unleveled Fields 1996 3.40 2.67 1997 2.27 1.46 1998 2.72 2.36 1999 (CARDI) 2.34 2.00 Average 2.72 2.19

Average Increase = 24% or 530 kg/ha

Reduces Weed Problems by Even Water Distribution

Improved water coverage - reduces the weed by up to 40% (Rickman,
2002)

Reduction of time for crop weeding (Rickman,

2002)

- from 21 to 5 labor days/hectare - 75% decrease in labor required for weeding

Increases the Opportunity to Use Direct Seeding

- Direct

seeding reduces labor by approximately 30 persondays/hectare

Increased Water Use Efficiency

Reduction in time and water required to irrigate the field - 25 to 50 % less water to flood the field (Coblentz, 2000)

Other Benefits
Highly Accessible and Inexpensive Input Data - topographic map -internet, local agricultural offices Re-leveling takes 5 to 10 years (Rickman,
2002)

Limitations of LASER Land Leveling

High Cost of the equipment/LASER instrument Need for Skilled operator to set/adjust laser settings and operate the tractor More efficient for regularly sized and shape field

Possible Ways to Overcome the Limitations in the Third World Countries

Government Intervention - precision land leveling services on a subsidized
rental basis - The Government of Punjab, India charges services by Rs. 150/hr = $3.4/hr = Php187.5/hr

Intervention of Farmers Cooperatives and Other Farmers Associations

References:
http://msucares.com/news/print/agnews/an00/000742tw.htm http://www.ricefarming.com/home/archive/precleveling.html http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/laserLeveling/How_it_works.htm http://www.punjab.gov.pk/agriculture/water_management/agriculture _water_management http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu/uccerice/water/wtrmg03.htm http://www.agriculture.com/sfonline/sf/2003/october/0310precision_ri ce.html http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mechanical/mrl/ntm/Glossary.html Rickman, J. F., 2002. Manual for laser land leveling, Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin Series 5. New Delhi-110 012, India: Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, pp. 24. Dr. Marvin Stone, Dr. John Solie, and Dr. Bill Raun

Oopps!.........
. No LASER Precise Answers . For Difficult Questions!