Researching for a sustainable primary production
The research program is dedicated to site-specific sustainable intensification in the area of primary agricultural production all the way to harvesting.
Our research ranges from a comprehensive online data collection to modelling and process control. Technological and process engineering tasks include sensor-based technologies for precision farming and precision horticulture, the modelling of emissions and of the microclimate in naturally ventilated barn systems as well as the interaction between housing environment and animal welfare. The system assessment is analysing interactions and effects in relation to environment and economy. Here, we concentrate on nitrogen, greenhouse gases and water.
One focus of our research is to develop and apply sensors for assessing the condition of soils, plants and animals. Information on system parameters such as nutrient supply, plant growth, disease pressure, climatic conditions, water demand, respiratory rate, heat stress, fruit ripeness or others can be recorded. Information collected in-situ integrates into the development of complex physiological and physical models. Online analysis is an essential element of individual and flexible process control.
Precision crop production
Crop production is of central importance for the bio-economy: plant biomass not only provides food and animal feed, but is also the basis for bio-based materials and energy.
The global sustainability goals outline the current challenges for precision crop production: to increase productivity while using natural resources in a sustainable manner, to preserve biodiversity, ecosystems, soil fertility and natural habitats, to reduce the impact of invasive species and to ensure that chemicals are managed in an environmentally sound manner.
We are thus working on solutions for sensor-supported local resource management in precision agriculture and precision horticulture. The aim of our research is to increase the efficiency of plant production, in particular by means of adaptive process control and the development of technical solutions for individualized plant production, thus reducing consumption of natural resources, the use of chemicals and of emissions.
Innovative sensor technologies are opening up new possibilities in the field of data acquisition (information and communication technology, telemetry and robotics), processing (Big Data) and analysis of data (genomics, phenomics and bioinformatics). They are fundamental tools in the digital transformation process that agriculture is facing. The information obtained is used to develop complex physiological and physical models that enable precise control of production processes in the sense of a sustainable intensification.
Livestock Management
Animal husbandry concepts should integrate the three pillars of sustainability - environment, society and economy. Solutions have to be found in the area of conflicting interests. While the public's desire for improved animal welfare and more environmental protection is growing, the economic imperatives for the survival of farmers must also be taken into account to ensure that innovative processes can find their way into practice.
We therefore focus our application-oriented basic research in animal husbandry on the improvement of animal welfare, housing environment, animal and environmental protection and on maintaining economic competitiveness. Our goals are: objective animal welfare standards, concepts for solving environmental conflicts, transparent animal husbandry, consumer acceptance and added value from a regional production.
To the team of the research program 'Precision farming in crop and livestock management'
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Research projects
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Climate Farm Demo is a unique pan-European network of Pilot Demo Farmers (PDFs) covering 28 countries and all pedo-climatic areas. Its overall aim it to accelerate the adoption of Climate Smart Farming (CSF) practices an…
Start:
End:
01.06.2022
31.05.2027
Funding authority:
Europäische Union (EU)
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The frequency of occurrence of antimicrobial resistances (AMR) in livestock is an important aspect for their spread in the environment and exposure to humans and other animals. The ERA-NET project ENVIRE (Interventions t…
Start:
End:
01.05.2022
30.04.2025
Funding authority:
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
Europäische Union (EU)
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Within the framework of HorseWatch, the influence of the horse breed and training conditions, the age at the beginning of use and the husbandry system on the health, behaviour and well-being of horses used very early in …
Start:
End:
01.04.2022
31.03.2027
Funding authority:
Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL)
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The aim of the third phase of the I4S project is to develop a sensor-based system that will, in particular, provide recommendations for site-specific fertilization management and thus help to improve soil functions and r…
Start:
End:
01.03.2022
28.02.2025
Funding authority:
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
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The electronic olfactory sensor AgriNose, in combination with remote sensing-optical methods, is intended to support monitoring in plant cultivation in the future in such a way that earlier detection of several plant dis…
Start:
End:
01.01.2022
31.12.2024
Funding authority:
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
More projects within the research program 'Precision farming in crop and livestock production'
Publications of the program
- Ngugi, D.; Kashongwe, O.; Kingori, A. (2022): Effects of treating Prosopis juliflora pods with multienzyme, with and without bacterial cultures on in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), fermentation kinetics, and performance of growing pigs. Tropical Animal Health and Production. (125): p. 0. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03105-x 1.0
- Dammer, K.; Garz, A.; Hobart, M.; Schirrmann, M. (2022): Combined UAV- and tractor-based stripe rust monitoring in winter wheat under field conditions. Agronomy Journal. (1): p. 651-661. Online: https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20916 1.0
- Zhou, M.; Huynh, T.; Groot Koerkamp, P.; van Dixhoorn, I.; Amon, T.; Aarnink (2022): Effects of increasing air temperature on physiological and productive responses of dairy cows at different relative humidity and air velocity levels. Journal of Dairy Science. (2): p. 1701-1716. Online: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21164 1.0
- Foroushani, S.; Amon, T. (2022): A graphical method for assessing the effectiveness of evaporative cooling in naturally ventilated dairy barns. Biosystems Engineering. (Juni): p. 23-30. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2022.04.004 1.0
- Saha, K.; Tsoulias, N.; Weltzien, C.; Zude-Sasse, M. (2022): Estimation of Vegetative Growth in Strawberry Plants Using Mobile LiDAR Laser Scanner. Horticulturae. (2): p. 90. Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020090 1.0
- Sowoidnich, K.; Vogel, S.; Maiwald, M.; Sumpf, B. (2022): Determination of Soil Constituents Using Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy. Applied Spectroscopy. (February): p. 1-11. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00037028211064907 1.0
- Liu, J.; Abdelfattah, A.; Wassermann, B.; Wisniewski, M.; Droby, S.; Fazio, G.; Mazzola, M.; Wu, W. (2022): Contrasting effects of genotype and root size on the fungal and bacterial communities associated with apple rootstocks. Horticulture Research. (uhab013): p. 0. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhab013 1.0
- Höing, C.; Raut, S.; Nasirahmadi, A.; Sturm, B.; Hensel, O. (2022): Development of an optical system based on spectral imaging used for a slug control robot. Horticulturae. (1): p. 77. Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010077 1.0
- Li, M.; Shamshiri, R.; Schirrmann, M.; Weltzien, C.; Shafian, S.; Laursen, M. (2022): UAV Oblique Imagery with an Adaptive Micro-Terrain Model for Estimation of Leaf Area Index and Height of Maize Canopy from 3D Point Clouds. Remote Sensing. (2): p. 585. Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14030585 1.0
- Aziz, M.; Rizvi, S.; Sultan, M.; Ali Bazmi, M.; Shamshiri, R.; Ibrahim, S.; Imran, M. (2022): Simulating Cotton Growth and Productivity Using AquaCrop Model under Deficit Irrigation in a Semi-Arid Climate. Agriculture. (2): p. 242. Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020242 1.0
More publications of the research program