A group of Chilean scientists is applying artificial intelligence to help a sector not usually associated with this kind of high technology–fruit farmers. The team has designed a special software called Agronomic Simulation and Agroclimatic Information, known by its Spanish acronym SAIA, which places real-time data about the soil, plants and weather at farmers’ fingertips. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)
RENGO, Chile, May 29 (Xinhua) — A group of Chilean scientists is applying artificial intelligence to help a sector not usually associated with this kind of high technology — fruit farmers.
The team has designed a special software called Agronomic Simulation and Agroclimatic Information, known by its Spanish acronym SAIA, which places real-time data about the soil, plants and weather at farmers’ fingertips.
“The idea is to have (SAIA) interact with the user, more than to provide data, to supply answers and tools, and help the farmer make decisions,” head researcher and agronomist Michelle Morales told Xinhua.
Morales and her fellow scientists work for the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Cultivation (CEAF) in Rengo, a city about an hour’s drive south of the Chilean capital of Santiago.
The innovative project began in 2017 in the country, which is the leading fruit exporter in the southern hemisphere, and the world’s leading exporter of table grapes and cranberries, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
In mid May, the president of Chile’s Association of Fruit Exporters, Ronald Bown, said the country exported 98,200 tons of nectarines and peaches during the 2017-2018 season, with China among the top importers of Chilean nectarines.
Technological advances, such as SAIA, aim to help Chile consolidate its top ranking as a fruit exporter.
SAIA is still in the early stages of development and currently compiles data from the soil and climate for fruit cultivation, but the plan is to expand the application to other industry segments as it is perfected.
“SAIA is going to be registering data on a daily basis, and generating a forecast of phenological conditions,” said Morales, referring to the study of plant cycles and how they are affected by the seasons.
That way, farmers can identify which fruits have the best chance of thriving under the local conditions, and determine more technical matters, such as exactly when and how much to irrigate.
As Morales puts it, “farmers will be able to interact with their land.”
While similar applications are in use in Brazil and the United States, she said, they only provide hard data, not forecasts that can help in the decision-making process.
“Precision agriculture or data management is transformed into information that can improve the production dynamics,” said Morales, adding that “the idea is to embark by regions and expand (the application) nationwide.”
CEAF director Mauricio Ortiz said that the best way to tackle the problems that fruit growers and other farmers typically face, such as pests, droughts or floods, is with “good, timely, quality information.”
Greenvic S.A., one of Chile’s 10 largest fruit exporters, uses SAIA to organize the harvests, the volumes and the use of machinery.
The application “allows us to coordinate all of the stages of production and commercialization in a more precise way,” said agronomist Victor Moreno, who works for the company.
A scientist works in a greenhouse at the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Cultivation (CEAF) in Rengo, Chile, on May 14, 2018. A group of Chilean scientists is applying artificial intelligence to help a sector not usually associated with this kind of high technology–fruit farmers. The team has designed a special software called Agronomic Simulation and Agroclimatic Information, known by its Spanish acronym SAIA, which places real-time data about the soil, plants and weather at farmers’ fingertips. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)
Scientists work at the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Cultivation (CEAF) in Rengo, Chile, on May 14, 2018. A group of Chilean scientists is applying artificial intelligence to help a sector not usually associated with this kind of high technology–fruit farmers. The team has designed a special software called Agronomic Simulation and Agroclimatic Information, known by its Spanish acronym SAIA, which places real-time data about the soil, plants and weather at farmers’ fingertips. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)
Scientists work in a greenhouse at the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Cultivation (CEAF) in Rengo, Chile, on May 14, 2018. A group of Chilean scientists is applying artificial intelligence to help a sector not usually associated with this kind of high technology–fruit farmers. The team has designed a special software called Agronomic Simulation and Agroclimatic Information, known by its Spanish acronym SAIA, which places real-time data about the soil, plants and weather at farmers’ fingertips. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)
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