阅读说明：本技术 施肥设计方法及施肥设计装置 (Fertilization design method and fertilization design device ) 是由 片桐哲也 于 2018-10-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：施肥设计方法包含作物信息取得工序(S1)、测定值取得工序(S2)、指标计算工序(S3)、优化校准曲线估计工序(S5)和施肥量决定工序(S6)。在S1中,取得与作物的品种及栽培地域相关的作物信息。在S2中,关于栽培作物的栽培地中包含的多个区域,取得基于遥感的测定值。在S3中,基于上述测定值,按各区域计算表示作物的生长状态的指标。在S5中,根据基准校准曲线、或者作物信息及上述指标,估计关于作物的优化校准曲线。在S6中,基于上述指标和优化校准曲线,决定对栽培地施肥的施肥量。(The fertilization designing method includes a crop information acquisition step (S1), a measurement value acquisition step (S2), an index calculation step (S3), an optimum calibration curve estimation step (S5), and a fertilization amount determination step (S6). At S1, crop information relating to the variety and the cultivation area of the crop is acquired. At S2, measurement values by remote sensing are acquired for a plurality of areas included in the cultivation area of the cultivated crop. At S3, an index indicating the growth state of the crop is calculated for each area based on the measured values. In S5, an optimized calibration curve for the crop is estimated based on the reference calibration curve or the crop information and the index. At S6, the fertilizing amount for fertilizing the cultivation land is determined based on the index and the optimized calibration curve.)

1. A fertilization design method, comprising:

a crop information acquisition step of acquiring crop information relating to the variety and cultivation area of a crop;

a measurement value acquisition step of acquiring measurement values by remote sensing with respect to a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated;

an index calculation step of calculating an index indicating the growth state of the crop for each region based on the measurement value;

an optimized calibration curve estimation step of estimating an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and

and a fertilizing amount determining step of determining the fertilizing amount to be applied to the cultivation site based on the index and the optimal calibration curve.

2. The fertilization design method of claim 1,

in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, when data on the reference calibration curve of the crop is stored in a database, the data is acquired from the database to estimate the optimized calibration curve, and when the data is not stored in the database, the optimized calibration curve is estimated from the crop information and the index.

3. The fertilization design method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

a cultivation information acquisition step of acquiring cultivation information relating to the cultivation conditions of the crop,

in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, the optimized calibration curve is estimated by changing the reference calibration curve based on the cultivation conditions.

4. The fertilization design method of claim 3,

the cultivation conditions include any one of an accumulated air temperature, an average precipitation amount, and an average solar radiation amount during a cultivation period in the cultivation area of the crop.

5. The fertilization design method of claim 1 or 2,

in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, data on the reference calibration curve of the crop and data on a past harvest yield of the crop are acquired from a database, and the optimized calibration curve is estimated based on the reference calibration curve and the harvest yield.

6. The fertilization design method of any one of claims 1 to 5,

the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past for the same variety as the crop.

7. The fertilization design method of claim 6,

the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past for the same cultivation area as the crop.

8. The fertilization design method of claim 6,

the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past with respect to a variety cultivated in a region surrounding the cultivation region of the crop.

9. The fertilization design method of any one of claims 1 to 5,

the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past with respect to a variety that is directly related to the crop.

10. The fertilization design method of claim 1 or 2,

in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, an optimized calibration curve is estimated based on the crop information and the distribution of the index in the cultivation area.

11. The fertilization design method of any one of claims 1-10, further comprising:

a display step of displaying the optimized calibration curve estimated in the optimized calibration curve estimation step.

12. The fertilization design method of claim 11, further comprising:

an optimized calibration curve adjustment step of adjusting the optimized calibration curve based on an instruction input by a user,

in the fertilizing amount determining step, the fertilizing amount is determined based on the index and the adjusted optimal calibration curve.

13. The fertilization design method of claim 11 or 12, further comprising:

a fertilizing amount map producing step of producing a fertilizing amount map indicating distribution of the fertilizing amount determined in the fertilizing amount determining step in the planting ground,

in the displaying step, the fertilizing amount map is also displayed.

14. The fertilization design method of any one of claims 11-13, further comprising:

a1 st histogram creation step of calculating an average value of the index in the cultivation area for each of the cultivation areas, creating a1 st histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the index and the number of the cultivation areas,

in the displaying step, the 1 st histogram is also displayed.

15. The fertilization design method of claim 14, further comprising:

a2 nd histogram creating step of calculating an average value of the fertilizing amount determined in the fertilizing amount determining step in the cultivation area for each cultivation area, creating a2 nd histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the fertilizing amount and the number of the cultivation areas,

in the displaying step, the 2 nd histogram is also displayed.

16. The fertilization design method of any one of claims 11-15, further comprising:

a total fertilizing amount calculating step of calculating a total fertilizing amount for all the cultivated lands based on the fertilizing amount for each cultivated land determined in the fertilizing amount determining step,

in the display process, the total fertilizing amount, an approval button for requesting approval from the user, and an order button for accepting an order from the user are also displayed.

17. The fertilization design method of claim 16, further comprising:

and an ordering step of ordering the fertilizer according to the total fertilizing amount only after the approval of the user is accepted by the instruction input of the approval button by the user and when the order of the user is accepted by the instruction input of the order button by the user.

18. A fertilizer application designing device is provided with:

an input unit for accepting an input of information by a user;

an index calculation unit that calculates an index indicating a growth state of a crop for each of a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated, based on remote sensing-based measurement values of the plurality of areas when crop information relating to a variety and the cultivation area of the crop is input through the input unit;

an optimized calibration curve estimating unit that estimates an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and

and a fertilizing amount determining unit that determines the fertilizing amount to be applied to the cultivation area based on the index and the optimal calibration curve.

19. The fertilization design apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a total fertilizing amount calculating part which calculates the total fertilizing amount of all the cultivating lands based on the fertilizing amount of each cultivating land determined by the fertilizing amount determining part; and

and a display part for displaying the total fertilizing amount, an approval button for requesting approval of the user, and an ordering button for accepting ordering of the user.

20. A fertilizer application design apparatus as defined in claim 19, further comprising:

an ordering control section that controls ordering of the fertilizer based on an instruction input via the input section,

the order control part orders the fertilizer corresponding to the total fertilizing amount only after accepting the approval of the user through the instruction input of the approval button by the user and when accepting the order of the user through the instruction input of the order button by the user.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fertilizer application design method and a fertilizer application design apparatus for determining an amount of fertilizer (fertilizer application amount) to be applied to a cultivation site for cultivating a crop.

Background

Various fertilization design methods have been proposed to determine the amount of fertilizer applied to a cultivation site. For example, in patent document 1, the fertilizing amount is determined as follows. First, a target nitrogen amount (target nitrogen amount) in the target cultivation area is acquired with reference to the database. Next, the amount of nitrogen contained in the cultivation site of the object is estimated by a predetermined experiment, and the estimated nitrogen amount is obtained. Then, the difference between the target nitrogen amount and the estimated nitrogen amount (nitrogen deficiency amount) is calculated. Since the amount of nitrogen per unit amount contained in the fertilizer applied to the target cultivation site is known, the total amount of the fertilizer (appropriate fertilizing amount) that can compensate for the above-described nitrogen deficiency is obtained by calculation. That is, by performing this calculation, an appropriate fertilizing amount to the target cultivation site is determined.

For example, in patent document 2, a map including a nursery is displayed, designation of the nursery and input of fertilization design conditions (a combination pattern of fertilizers, a reference amount, and the like) are accepted on the displayed map, and then a plurality of fertilization patterns for the nursery are designed with reference to a database, and the plurality of designed fertilization patterns are displayed on the same screen as the nursery. By such display, the user can determine the appropriate type and amount of fertilizer to be applied while comparing a plurality of fertilizer application patterns on the same screen. Further, a nursery generally refers to a paddy field or a dry field surrounded by a ridge.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1 Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2015-027296 (see claim 1, paragraphs [ 0043 ] to [ 0087 ], FIG. 1, etc.)

Patent document 2 Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-215697 (see claim 1, paragraphs [ 0007 ], [ 0019 ] - [ 0030 ], FIGS. 11 to 15, etc.)

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, the methods of patent documents 1 and 2 are both methods for determining the amount of fertilizer to be applied regardless of the actual growth state of the crop, and therefore appropriate fertilizer application (variable fertilizer application) according to the actual growth state of the crop cannot be performed. Since the growth state of crops varies depending on environmental conditions such as air temperature, precipitation amount, and sunshine amount, and the state of soil, variable fertilization is required to grow high-quality crops and increase the yield of the crops.

Here, the following methods are conventionally known for variable fertilization. For example, fig. 18 is a graph showing cultivation guidelines for a certain variety of rice published by a certain county in japan. The horizontal axis of the graph represents an area per unit (here, 1 m)²) The number of stems of rice (2) and the vertical axis represent the SPAD value. Here, the SPAD value is a value obtained by measuring the amount of chlorophyll (chlorophyl) contained in leaves of crops (plants) with a measuring instrument (chlorophyll meter). In addition, the spelling of SPAD is Soil&Plant Analyzer Development (Utility of soil/crop/product analysis System, a large-scale operator of agricultural and silkworm-gardening office, agricultural and forestry, aquatic products).

As shown in the figure, the above-mentioned cultivation guideline shows that the fertilizing amount is increased or decreased according to the SPAD value. The amount of chlorophyll changes in accordance with the growth state of the crop, and therefore it is conceivable that: by measuring the chlorophyll amount and obtaining the SPAD value and increasing or decreasing the fertilizing amount according to the SPAD value, it is possible to perform appropriate fertilization according to the growth state of the crop. However, the variable fertilization method has the following problems.

First, when obtaining the SPAD value, it is necessary to irradiate light to 1 crop leaf by a measuring device and measure the SPAD value. This operation is performed for plants in the entire cultivation area (nursery), and much effort and labor are required. Therefore, it is desired to obtain an index indicating the growth state of a crop by a simple method and to design a fertilizer application by determining the amount of fertilizer application using the index.

The above-described cultivation guideline (fertilization design in which the amount of fertilizer applied is increased or decreased according to the SPAD value) is shown only for some of the varieties of crops, and is not shown for all of the varieties. Therefore, the remaining varieties cannot be subjected to variable fertilization appropriately according to the SPAD value.

Further, the above-mentioned breeding guideline is a rough guideline for increasing or decreasing the fertilizing amount when the SPAD value deviates from the appropriate range. Therefore, even if the SPAD value is detected with high accuracy, it is not possible to accurately obtain an appropriate fertilizing amount (increased or decreased fertilizing amount) corresponding to the SPAD value. As a result, variable fertilization with high precision cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fertilizer application designing method and a fertilizer application designing apparatus capable of obtaining an index indicating a growth state of a crop by a simple method and performing variable fertilizer application according to the growth state of the crop with high accuracy with respect to all varieties of the crop using the index.

Means for solving the problems

The fertilization design method according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a crop information acquisition step of acquiring crop information relating to the variety and cultivation area of a crop; a measurement value acquisition step of acquiring measurement values by remote sensing with respect to a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated; an index calculation step of calculating an index indicating the growth state of the crop for each region based on the measurement value; an optimized calibration curve estimation step of estimating an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and a fertilizing amount determining step of determining the fertilizing amount for fertilizing the cultivation site based on the index and the optimized calibration curve.

A fertilization designing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes: an input unit for accepting an input of information by a user; an index calculation unit that calculates an index indicating a growth state of a crop for each of a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated, based on remote sensing-based measurement values of the plurality of areas when crop information relating to a variety and the cultivation area of the crop is input through the input unit; an optimized calibration curve estimating unit that estimates an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and a fertilizing amount determining part which determines the fertilizing amount for fertilizing the cultivation land based on the index and the optimized calibration curve.

Effects of the invention

According to the fertilizer application designing method and the fertilizer application designing apparatus described above, it is possible to obtain the index indicating the growth state of the crop by a simple method, and perform variable fertilizer application according to the growth state of all varieties of the crop with high accuracy using the index.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a fertilization design system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a server included in the fertilization design system.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing a calibration curve relating to a certain variety of a crop.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of a fertilization design apparatus included in the fertilization design system.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the fertilization designing system.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the optimization calibration curve estimation process.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the reference calibration curve and the optimized calibration curve.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the reference calibration curve and the optimized calibration curve.

Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of optimizing the calibration curve.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing still another example of the optimized calibration curve.

Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the index map.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an example of the fertilization amount map.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the 1 st histogram.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the 2 nd histogram.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing an example of the average value of the amount of fertilizer applied to each cultivation area.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of the display unit.

Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the optimized calibration curve displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 18 is a graph showing a cultivation guideline for a certain variety of rice.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the drawings.

[ composition of fertilization design System ]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a fertilization design system 1 according to the present embodiment, the fertilization design system 1 is configured by communicably connecting AN image pickup unit 10, a server 20, and a fertilization design device 30 via a communication line NW, and the communication line NW is configured by a Network (wired or wireless) such as L AN (L oral Area Network) or the internet line.

(image pickup part)

The imaging unit 10 is constituted by, for example, a multispectral camera, and images the cultivation site FD of the cultivated crop P L from above, and information (image) of the crop P L (cultivation site FD) obtained at a position distant from the crop P L (cultivation site FD) is referred to as remote sensing in this way, in order to achieve such remote sensing, the imaging unit 10 is attached to the flying body 11, the flying body 11 is constituted by, for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle (aircraft) capable of autonomous flight, and by flying the flying body 11 along the cultivation site FD, it is possible to take images of a plurality of regions T (cultivation regions) constituting the cultivation site FD from above by the imaging unit 10 and obtain images of the entire respective regions T and the cultivation site FD, and further, the flying body 11 may be constituted by, in addition to the unmanned aerial vehicle, a balloon, a flying vessel, an airplane, a helicopter, or the like, and the imaging unit 10 may take images of the cultivation site FD in a state of being fixed to the tower or crane in a rotatable manner, for example, in addition to the flying body 11.

The imaging unit 10 includes a visible imaging unit that images a subject (here, crop P L or cultivation site FD) to obtain a visible image, and a near-infrared imaging unit that images a subject to obtain a near-infrared image.

The visible image pickup unit includes a1 st band-pass filter, a1 st imaging optical system, a1 st image sensor (optical sensor), a1 st digital signal processor, a1 st communication unit, and the like, the 1 st band-pass filter transmitting light in a relatively narrow band with a wavelength of 650nm as a center wavelength, the 1 st imaging optical system forming an optical image of visible light of a measurement object (crop P L or cultivated field FD) having transmitted the 1 st band-pass filter on a predetermined 1 st imaging surface, the 1 st image sensor having a light receiving surface aligned with the 1 st imaging surface, detecting light in a relatively narrow band with a wavelength of 650nm as a center wavelength included in sunlight reflected by the measurement object, converting the optical image of the visible light of the measurement object into an electric signal, the 1 st digital signal processor performing image processing on an output of the 1 st image sensor to form a visible image, the 1 st communication unit being an NW communication interface for transmitting data of the visible image to the outside (for example, server 20), including a transmission circuit, an antenna, and the NW communication line being connectable thereto.

The near-infrared imaging unit includes a2 nd band-pass filter, a2 nd imaging optical system, a2 nd image sensor (optical sensor), a2 nd digital signal processor, a2 nd communication unit, and the like. The 2 nd bandpass filter transmits light in a relatively narrow band having a predetermined wavelength of 750nm or more (for example, wavelength of 800nm) as a center wavelength. The 2 nd imaging optical system images the optical image of the near infrared light of the measurement object having passed through the 2 nd band-pass filter on a predetermined 2 nd imaging surface. The 2 nd image sensor has a light receiving surface arranged to coincide with the 2 nd image forming surface, detects light in a relatively narrow frequency band having a wavelength of 800nm as a center wavelength included in sunlight reflected by a measurement object, and converts an optical image of near infrared light of the measurement object into an electric signal. The 2 nd digital signal processor performs image processing on the output of the 2 nd image sensor to form a near-infrared image. The 2 nd communication unit is an interface for transmitting data of a near-infrared image to the outside (for example, the server 20), and is configured to include a transmission circuit, an antenna, and the like, and is connected to the communication line NW so as to be able to communicate with the communication line NW.

As the 1 st image sensor and the 2 nd image sensor of the imaging unit 10, for example, VGA type (640 pixels × 480 pixels) image sensors can be used.

(Server)

The server 20 is a terminal device that stores various data. Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the server 20. The server 20 includes a1 st database 21, a2 nd database 22, a3 rd database 23, a communication unit 24, and a control unit 25.

The 1 st database 21 stores measurement values by remote sensing by the imaging unit 10. That is, the 1 st database 21 stores, as the measurement values, data of the captured images (visible images, near-infrared images) of the plurality of areas T included in the cultivation site FD, which are acquired by the imaging unit 10 and transmitted to the server 20. The 1 st database 21 may store measurement values obtained by other than the imaging unit 10 as measurement values by remote sensing. For example, the 1 st database 21 may store data of images (visible images and near-infrared images) acquired by satellite photography and transmitted to the server 20. In this case, the fertilization designing system 1 can be configured without providing the imaging unit 10.

For example, if the crop P L is rice (rice), the 2 nd database 22 stores data of a calibration curve obtained in the past (for example, 3982, 2 years ago, 3 years ago) for each variety of rice (for example, variety a, B, … …) and each cultivation region of each variety (for example, each region, each county, each city, each town, or each village).

The 2 nd database 22 also stores data on the past harvest amount of the crop P L in the cultivation site D, and the data on the harvest amount is stored in the 2 nd database 22 by being input to the fertilization designing apparatus 30 and transmitted to the server 20, for example, but may be transmitted from another terminal and stored in the 2 nd database 22.

The 3 rd database 23 stores cultivation information on the cultivation conditions of the crop P L, for example, the integrated air temperature, the average precipitation amount, or the average solar radiation amount in the cultivation period in the cultivation area of the crop P L can be considered as the above-mentioned cultivation conditions, and the integrated air temperature refers to a value obtained by removing a temperature lower than the minimum temperature effective for the growth of the crop P L in an arbitrary cultivation period as invalid, and extracting and integrating only temperatures equal to or higher than the minimum temperature.

The 1 st database 21, the 2 nd database 22, and the 3 rd database 23 are configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk or a nonvolatile memory, for example. In the present embodiment, all of the 1 st database 21, the 2 nd database 22, and the 3 rd database 23 are provided in the same server 20, but at least 1 of them may be provided in a server different from the server 20.

The communication unit 24 is an interface for communicating with the imaging unit 10 and the fertilizer application designing apparatus 30. The communication unit 24 includes a transmission circuit, a reception circuit, a modulation circuit, a demodulation circuit, an antenna, and the like, and is connected to the communication line NW so as to be able to communicate with the communication line NW. The control Unit 25 is constituted by a CPU (central processing Unit) that controls operations of the respective units of the server 20, and operates in accordance with an operation program stored in a memory (not shown).

(fertilization designing device)

Fig. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of the fertilization designing apparatus 30. The fertilizer application designing device 30 is a device for determining an appropriate fertilizer application amount to the cultivation site FD and providing the determined fertilizer application amount to the user, and is constituted by a PC (personal computer), for example. In addition, the fertilization designing apparatus 30 may be constituted by a multifunctional portable terminal (for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal).

The fertilizer application designing apparatus 30 includes an input unit 31, a display unit 32, a storage unit 33, a communication unit 34, and a control unit 35.

The input unit 31 is provided for user operation and accepts user input of information. The input unit 31 is specifically constituted by an operation unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel. The display unit 32 is a display for displaying various information, and is constituted by a liquid crystal display device, for example.

The storage unit 33 is a memory for storing a program for operating the control unit 35 and various information (for example, information acquired from the server 20), and is configured by, for example, a hard disk. The communication unit 34 is an interface for communicating with the server 20, is configured to include a transmission circuit, a reception circuit, a modulation circuit, a demodulation circuit, an antenna, and the like, and is connected to the communication line NW so as to be able to communicate with the communication line NW.

The control unit 35 is constituted by a CPU and operates in accordance with an operation program stored in the storage unit 33. The control unit 35 includes an overall control unit 35a, an index calculation unit 35b, an optimization calibration curve estimation unit 35c, a fertilizing amount determination unit 35d, a map creation unit 35e, a1 st histogram creation unit 35f, a2 nd histogram creation unit 35g, and an order control unit 35h, and implements the respective functions thereof. Each of the above modules of the control unit 35 may be constituted by a separate CPU. The overall control unit 35a controls the operations of the respective units of the fertilization designing apparatus 30 (including display control in the display unit 32 and communication control in the communication unit 34). The functions of the modules of the control unit 35 other than the overall control unit 35a will be described together with the description of the processing described below.

[ treatment in fertilization design System ]

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the fertilization designing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The fertilization designing method implemented by the fertilization designing system 1 includes a crop information acquisition step (S1), a measurement value acquisition step (S2), an index calculation step (S3), a cultivation information acquisition step (S4), an optimization calibration curve estimation step (S5), a fertilization amount determination step (S6), a fertilization amount map creation step (S7), a1 st histogram creation step (S8), a2 nd histogram creation step (S9), a total fertilization amount calculation step (S10), a display step (S11), an optimization calibration curve adjustment step (S12), an adjustment determination step (S13), and an order control step (S14 to S16). The respective steps are explained below.

(S1; crop information acquisition step)

At S1, the user operates the input unit 31 to input crop information relating to the type (for example, type a) and the region of cultivation (for example, AA city) of the crop P L in the fertilizer application designing apparatus 30, the crop information is acquired by the input, and the acquired crop information is stored in the storage unit 33.

(S2; measurement value acquisition step)

At S2, the controller 35 (e.g., the overall controller 35a) requests the controller 25 of the server 20 to transmit the measurement values stored in the 1 st database 21 based on the crop information (the variety and cultivation area of the crop P L) input at S1, that is, transmits a command to the server 20 to transmit the remote sensing-based measurement values of the plurality of areas T included in the cultivation site FD where the crop P L is cultivated, stored in the 1 st database 21, to the fertilization designing apparatus 30. the controller 25 of the server 20 receives the command and transmits the data of the measurement values stored in the 1 st database 21 to the fertilization designing apparatus 30. thereby, the measurement values are acquired at the fertilization designing apparatus 30, and the measurement values are stored in the storage 33. when a plurality of cultivation sites FD managed by the same owner (farmer) exist in the cultivation site, the measurement values of the respective cultivation sites FD are transmitted to the fertilization designing apparatus 30 and stored in the storage 33.

(S3; index calculation step)

In S3, the Index calculation unit 35b calculates an Index indicating the growth state of the crop P L for each region T of the cultivated field FD based on the measurement values, in the present embodiment, the Index calculation unit 35b calculates NDVI (Normalized differentiated vegetation Index, Normalized vegetation Index) as the Index, the NDVI is an Index indicating the distribution and activity of vegetation, and is calculated using the measurement values (pixel values) obtained by remote sensing based on the image pickup unit 10, that is, NDVI [ (IR-R)/(IR + R) ] indicates values Normalized to a value between-1 and 1, and more positive and larger numbers indicate vegetation if the pixel value of the visible image obtained by the image pickup unit 10 is R and the pixel value of the near-infrared image is IR, and the Index calculation unit 35b calculates the Index for each cultivated field FD for each region T when the measurement values are obtained for a plurality of cultivated fields FD in S2.

The index calculation unit 35b may calculate the following value as the index instead of the NDVI. Examples of the Index other than NDVI include RVI (Ratio Vegetation Index; RVI ═ IR/R), DVI (Difference Vegetation Index; DVI ═ IR-R), TVI (transformed Vegetation Index; TVI ═ NDVI Index)^0.5+0.5) or IPVI (innovative permagevector Index: infrared ratio vegetation index, IPVI ═ IR/(IR + R) ═ NDVI +1)/2), and the like.

The index calculating unit 35b may calculate the vegetation rate as the index instead of NDVI, the vegetation rate indicating the rate at which the crop P L covers the ground surface of the cultivated land FD, for example, the index calculating unit 35b may calculate the vegetation rate by performing binarization processing on the near-infrared image acquired by the imaging unit 10 to form a white and black binarized image and calculating the ratio of white portions in the binarized image, and the white portions in the binarized image correspond to the crop P L and the black portions in the binarized image correspond to the soil.

(S4; cultivation information acquisition step)

At S4, the controller 35 (e.g., the overall controller 35a) requests the controller 25 of the server 20 to transmit the cultivation information stored in the 3 rd database 23 based on the crop information (the variety and cultivation area of the crop P L) input at S1, that is, transmits a command to the server 20 to transmit the cultivation information related to the cultivation condition of the crop P L (e.g., the current year and past cumulative air temperature in the cultivation area of the crop P L) stored in the 3 rd database 23 to the fertilizer designing apparatus 30, receives the command, transmits the cultivation information stored in the 3 rd database 23 to the fertilizer designing apparatus 30, acquires the cultivation information at the fertilizer designing apparatus 30, stores the acquired cultivation information in the storage 33, and at S4, instead of the above-mentioned cumulative air temperature, acquires information on the average precipitation amount and the average solar radiation amount from the 3 rd database 23 as the cultivation information.

(S5; optimized calibration curve estimating step)

In S5, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates an optimized calibration curve (a calibration curve most suitable for cultivation of the crop P L) that optimally represents the relationship between the indicator (for example, NDVI) and the fertilizing amount with respect to the crop P L, based on the reference calibration curve that is the past calibration curve with respect to the crop P L, or the crop information acquired in S1 and the indicator acquired in S3. particularly, in S5, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimized calibration curve by acquiring the data of the calibration curve from the 2 nd database 22 when the data of the past calibration curve with respect to the crop P L is stored in the 2 nd database 22, and estimates the optimized calibration curve based on the crop information acquired in S1 and the indicator calculated in S3 when the data of the calibration curve is not stored in the 2 nd database 22.

First, after establishing communication with the server 20 via the communication unit 34, the optimized calibration curve estimation unit 35c determines whether or not data of a past (for example, 1 year ago) calibration curve of the same variety (for example, variety a) as the variety of the crop P L input by the input unit 31 and the same cultivation area (for example, AA city) is stored with reference to the 2 nd database 22 (S21). furthermore, regarding the past year of the data of the calibration curve to be referred to (referring to the data of the calibration curve of the past years), for example, the data of the past calibration curve can be specified by the user operation of the input unit 31. when the data of the past calibration curve is stored in S21, the calibration curve (data) is received and acquired from the 2 nd database 22 and used as a reference calibration curve for estimating the optimized calibration curve (S22).

If the data of the past calibration curve is not stored in the 2 nd database 22 in S21, it is determined whether or not data of the past calibration curve of the same cultivation area (AA city, prefecture, for example) of a different variety (e.g., variety B) from the variety of the crop P L input by the input unit 31 is stored (S23). if the data of the past calibration curve is stored in S23, the data of the past calibration curve is received from the 2 nd database 22 and acquired as a reference calibration curve (S22).

In S23, if the data of the previous calibration curve is not stored in the 2 nd database 22, it is next determined whether or not the data of the previous calibration curve is stored for the cultivar (e.g., the same cultivar a or a different cultivar B) cultivated in the region (e.g., AA bb city) around the cultivation region of the crop P L input by the input unit 31 (S24). furthermore, the region is preferably a region close to the cultivation region (AA city) of the crop P L, more preferably a region adjacent to the cultivation region.

If the data of the previous calibration curve is not stored in S24, it is determined whether or not the data of the previous calibration curve is stored with respect to the cultivar (for example, cultivar a) of the crop P L input from the input unit 31 as a straight cultivar (S25). furthermore, the cultivar that is straight with respect to cultivar a means a cultivar having the same ancestry as cultivar a and a similar quality, for example, cultivar a1 of the previous generation (parent generation) of cultivar a, cultivar a1 'of the next generation (offspring), cultivars a2 of the previous generations, cultivars a 2' of the next generations, and the like can be considered in the genealogical spectrum, and if the data of the previous calibration curve is stored in S25, the calibration curve (data) is received and acquired from the 2 nd database 22 as a reference calibration curve (S22) in S24.

If the reference calibration curve is acquired in S22, the optimized calibration curve estimation unit 35c then refers again to the 2 nd database 22 and determines whether or not the past harvest yield data is stored for the crop corresponding to the reference calibration curve (the same cultivar, the same cultivar of the same region of cultivation, the cultivars of neighboring regions of cultivation, or the orthodox cultivars) (S26).

When the past data of the harvest amount is stored in the 2 nd database 22 in S26, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c receives and acquires the data of the harvest amount from the 2 nd database 22 (S27), and estimates the optimized calibration curve of the current year based on the reference calibration curve acquired in S22 and the harvest amount acquired in S27 (S28).

Fig. 7 and 8 show examples of a reference calibration curve in the past (for example, 1 year ago) and an optimized calibration curve in the present year estimated from the reference calibration curve, respectively. For example, in the case where the harvest amount 1 year ago is more than 2 years ago of the previous year, it is conceivable that a certain degree of harvest amount is expected even if the upper limit of the fertilizing amount is lowered. On the contrary, in the case where the yield 1 year ago is less than 2 years ago, it is conceivable that a certain degree of yield cannot be obtained without increasing the lower limit of the fertilizing amount.

Then, when the harvest yield is more than the previous year before 1 year, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve for the present year by lowering the upper limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve (calibration curve before 1 year) in accordance with the ratio of the harvest yield to the previous year, as shown in fig. 7. Specifically, when the yield 1 year ago is increased by a% from the yield 2 year ago, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve by decreasing the upper limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve by a%. On the other hand, when the harvest yield is less than the previous year before 1 year, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve for the present year by increasing the lower limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve according to the ratio of the harvest yield to the previous year, as shown in fig. 8. Specifically, when the yield 1 year ago is decreased by b% from the yield 2 year ago, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve by increasing the lower limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve by b%.

On the other hand, in the case where the data of the past harvest yield is not stored in the 2 nd database 22 in S26 of fig. 6, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve (S29) in the present year by changing the reference calibration curve in accordance with the cultivation conditions acquired in S4. for example, in the case where the cumulative air temperature in the present year is higher than 1 year ago, it is conceivable that the growth of the crop P L is faster than the same period in the 1 year ago, and in this case, it is conceivable that the upper limit of the fertilizing amount is lower than the same period in the 1 year ago, whereas in the case where the cumulative air temperature in the present year is lower than the same period in the 1 year ago, it is conceivable that the growth of the crop P L is slower than the same period in the 1 year ago, and the lower limit of the fertilizing amount needs to be higher than the lower limit in the 1 year ago.

Then, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve of this year by lowering the upper limit or the lower limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve according to the rate of change of the cumulative air temperature. Specifically, when the cumulative temperature in the present year is increased by c% compared to 1 year ago, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve by decreasing the upper limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve by c% as in fig. 7. Conversely, when the cumulative temperature in the present year is decreased by d% compared to 1 year ago, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimum calibration curve by increasing the lower limit of the fertilizing amount in the reference calibration curve by d%.

In addition, when the data of the past calibration curve is not stored in the 2 nd database 22 with respect to the cultivar that is directly related to the cultivar P L in S25, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates an optimum calibration curve based on the information of the crop obtained in S1 and the distribution of the index of each region T calculated in S3 in the cultivation site F L (S30).

For example, on the coordinate plane shown in fig. 9, the optimization calibration curve estimating section 35c determines the slopes of the horizontal sections H1 and H2 indicating the upper and lower limits of the fertilizing amount in accordance with the value of the NDVI, and the inclined section S (the section connecting the end portions of the horizontal sections H1 and H2) which changes the fertilizing amount in accordance with the value of the NDVI, and then, the position of the inclined section S in the horizontal direction is determined so that the central value of the NDVI becomes the standard fertilizing amount (for example, 2kg per unit area in the case where the crop P L is rice), and then, in accordance with the distribution of the NDVI in the cultivation site FD, the upper limit (horizontal section H1) and the lower limit (horizontal section H2) of the fertilizing amount are adjusted, for example, in the case where the average value of the NDVI is greater than the threshold value, it is conceivable that the growth of P5 is relatively good, the upper limit of the fertilizing amount can be lowered, and therefore, the upper limit of the fertilizing amount is lowered by adjusting the average value of the NDVI and the threshold value of the lower limit of the average value of the NDVI (by adjusting the lower limit H1 c, and the lower limit of the average value of the fertilizing amount of the NDVI, and the average value of the NDVI may be adjusted by the upper limit of the average.

(S6; fertilizing amount determining process)

In S6, the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d determines the fertilizing amount for FD fertilizing the cultivated area based on the indicator (NDVI) calculated in S3, the optimized calibration curve estimated in S5, or the optimized calibration curve adjusted in S14 described later. In S3 described above, since the NDVI value is obtained for each region T included in the cultivated field FD, the fertilizing amount corresponding to the NDVI value can be known from the optimized calibration curve (see fig. 7 to 10) for each region T. Therefore, the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d can determine the fertilizing amount for FD of 1 cultivated land by combining the fertilizing amounts corresponding to the values of NDVI in the respective regions T. In S3, when the index is calculated for a plurality of cultivation sites FD, the same calculation as described above is performed for each cultivation site FD, whereby the fertilizing amount for each cultivation site FD can be determined.

(S7, fertilizer quantity map making process)

In S7, the map creation unit 35e creates a fertilizing amount map showing the distribution of the fertilizing amount determined in S6 on the cultivation site FD, for example, fig. 11 shows an index map as the distribution of NDVI when the value of the index (NDVI) of each area T calculated in S3 is simply divided into 3 stages (small, medium, large) on the cultivation site FD, and further, a portion corresponding to the cultivation site FD is shown on the index map as FD ', and a portion corresponding to each area T of the cultivation site FD is shown as T' (the same applies to the next fertilizing amount map), and in the cultivation site FD, in an area with a high value of NDVI, the crop P L grows well, so that the required fertilizing amount is small, whereas in an area with a low value of NDVI, the required fertilizing amount is large.

(S8; 1 st histogram preparation step)

In S8, the 1 st histogram creation unit 35g calculates the average value of the index in the cultivated land FD for each cultivated land FD, creates a1 st histogram showing the relationship between the average value of the index and the number of cultivated lands FD, fig. 13 schematically shows an example of the 1 st histogram, and referring to the 1 st histogram, the number of nurseries having the average value of NDVI lower than the central value of the horizontal axis is relatively small, and the number of nurseries having the average value of NDVI higher than the central value of the horizontal axis is relatively large, so it can be said that the growing environment (for example, climate, soil, etc.) of these nurseries is good, and the expected total amount of the crop L cultivated in these nurseries (total of all nurseries) is large.

(S9; 2 nd histogram preparation step)

In S9, the 2 nd histogram creating unit 35h calculates the average of the fertilizing amounts in the respective areas T determined in the fertilizing amount determining step of S6 for each cultivated land FD, creates a2 nd histogram showing the relationship between the average of the fertilizing amounts and the number of cultivated lands, fig. 14 schematically shows an example of the 2 nd histogram, fig. 15 shows an example of the average of the fertilizing amounts of the respective cultivated lands FD (for convenience, the cultivated lands FD are distinguished by the nurseries 1, 2, 3, … …), and referring to the 2 nd histogram, the number of nurseries having the average of the fertilizing amounts lower than the center value of the horizontal axis is relatively large, and the number of nurseries having the average of the fertilizing amounts higher than the center value of the horizontal axis is relatively small, so that it is expected that the crop P L can be harvested in these nurseries with the total fertilizing amount (total number of all nurseries) being small.

(S10; calculating total fertilizing amount)

At S10, the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d calculates the total fertilizing amount for all the cultivated lands FD, that is, the combined value of the fertilizing amounts for the respective cultivated lands FD, based on the fertilizing amounts for the respective cultivated lands FD determined at the fertilizing amount determining step of S6 (when the cultivated lands FD are 1, the fertilizing amount determined at S6 becomes the total fertilizing amount). FIG. 15 shows the case where the total amount of applied FD on all the cultivated lands was 75 kg.

(S11; display step)

In S11, the display unit 32 displays various information based on the control of the overall controller 35a, fig. 16 schematically shows an example of the display screen 32a of the display unit 32, and as shown in this figure, the information displayed on the display unit 32 includes, for example, the crop information (variety, cultivation area) input in S1, the designation information of the calibration curve by the input unit 31 (referring to the calibration curve before the past years), the optimized calibration curve estimated in S5, the fertilizer application amount map created in S7, the 1 st histogram created in S8, the 2 nd histogram created in S9 and the average of the fertilizer application amount per cultivation site FD, and the total fertilizer application amount calculated in S10, and further includes a frame for the user to designate an operator policy (a frame for designating an intake/defense), an approval button for requesting the approval of the user, and a button for accepting the order of the user.

In fig. 16, when there are a plurality of cultivated lands FD, first, a map of the entire plurality of cultivated lands FD is displayed, and then, when a predetermined cultivated land FD is designated through the input unit 31 (for example, when the predetermined cultivated land FD is clicked by a mouse), a fertilizing amount map corresponding to the designated optimized calibration curve of the cultivated land FD is displayed in an enlarged manner. When the optimized calibration curve adjustment process described below is performed, the information obtained at S6 to S10 is displayed on the display unit 32 with respect to the adjusted optimized calibration curve.

(S12; procedure for adjusting optimum calibration curve)

At S11, by displaying various information on the display screen 32a of the display unit 32, the user can observe the displayed information and confirm that the calibration curve and the amount of fertilizer to be ordered are optimized. In addition, when the user desires to correct the optimum calibration curve, the user can correct the optimum calibration curve by operating the input unit 31. In S12, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c adjusts the optimum calibration curve as needed based on the instruction input by the user. In addition, in the case where no instruction input by the user is made to optimize the calibration curve, the process of S12 is skipped.

For example, fig. 17 shows an optimized calibration curve displayed on the display screen 32a of the display unit 32. The user positions the pointer of the mouse as the input unit 31 on the display screen 32a at the control point P which is the connection point between the horizontal portion H1 and the inclined portion S in the optimum calibration curve or the control point Q which is the connection point between the horizontal portion H2 and the inclined portion S, and clicks the mouse at that position to move the pointer up and down and left and right. The optimal calibration curve estimating unit 35c can adjust the optimal calibration curve to a desired shape by moving the control point P or the control point Q up and down and left and right in accordance with the movement of the mouse (pointer).

Further, the user can specify the business policy (attack/defense) through the input unit 31 as necessary on the display screen 32a shown in fig. 16, and can realize an optimized calibration curve according to the business policy. Here, the above-mentioned "approach" refers to a guideline in which a large amount of yield can be expected but a risk (loss) is large if a failure occurs, and for example, adjustment of an optimal calibration curve in which the width between the upper limit and the lower limit of the fertilizing amount is widened corresponds to the guideline of the "approach". Conversely, "defense" refers to a policy that yields are stable and there is less risk, for example, an adjustment of an optimized calibration curve that narrows the width between the upper and lower limits of the amount of fertilization corresponds to the policy of "defense". That is, if the policy (approach/defense) is specified through the input unit 31, the optimal calibration curve estimating unit 35c adjusts the optimal calibration curve by increasing the width of the upper limit and the lower limit of the fertilizing amount in the estimated optimal calibration curve (in the case of the approach) or decreasing the width by a predetermined amount (in the case of the defense).

As described above, in the present embodiment, since various instructions and inputs can be made to the information displayed on the display screen 32a by the operation of the input unit 31, it can be said that the display information of the display screen 32a and the input unit 31 constitute a GUI (graphical user interface).

(S13; adjustment judgment step)

In S13, the overall controller 35a determines whether or not there is adjustment of the optimum calibration curve in S12, and controls each part of the fertilizer designing apparatus 10 based on the determination result. More specifically, when determining that the adjustment of the optimized calibration curve is performed in S12 (when yes in S13), the overall controller 35a controls each unit of the controller 35 and the display unit 32 so that the processing after S6 is executed again based on the adjusted optimized calibration curve. Therefore, in this case, the determination of the fertilizing amount of the cultivated field FD (S6), the preparation of the fertilizing amount map (S7), the preparation of the 1 st histogram (S8), the preparation of the 2 nd histogram (S9), the calculation of the total fertilizing amount (S10), and the display of various information (S11) are performed again based on the adjusted optimized calibration curve. On the other hand, when determining that the adjustment of the optimized calibration curve is not performed in S12 (no in S13), the overall controller 35a transitions to the order control process described below.

(S14-S16; order control process)

The ordering control part 35h controls the ordering of the fertilizer based on the instruction input from the input part 31. More specifically, the order control unit 35h first determines whether or not the user has accepted the approval by the user by inputting an instruction (for example, clicking a mouse) to an approval button displayed on the display unit 32 (S14). When the approval of the user is accepted, the order control unit 35h then determines whether or not the order of the user is accepted by an instruction input (for example, a click of a mouse) to the order button by the user (S15). When the order of the user is accepted, the order control unit 35h orders the fertilizer corresponding to the total fertilizer application amount displayed in S12 for the company (fertilizer manufacturer, agent store, sales store, or the like) of the order destination (S16; order process). Then, the series of processes ends.

Further, after the user inputs an instruction to the approval button or the order button, confirmation display for confirming approval or order again may be performed. For example, "true approval? And a confirmation statement, and displays a selection frame of yes and no for the user to selectively input one of the check words and prompt the user to confirm again.

On the other hand, when the approval of the user is not accepted in S14 (for example, when the approval is not accepted and the display screen 32a is closed), or when the order of the user is not accepted in S15 (for example, when the order is not accepted and the display screen 32a is closed), the series of processes is finished without ordering the fertilizer. In addition, in a state where the user does not input an instruction to the approval button, if the user inputs an instruction to the order button, the user is not accepted for approval, and therefore, the fertilizer is not ordered. Therefore, the order process of S16 is executed only when the user 'S approval is accepted by the user' S instruction input to the approval button and the user 'S order is accepted by the user' S instruction input to the order button.

[ Effect ]

As described above, in the present embodiment, the index calculation unit 35b calculates the index (S3) indicating the growth state of the crop P L for each region T of the cultivated field FD from the measurement values based on remote sensing obtained in S2, for example, when the index is NDVI, NDVI can be obtained by a simple operation using the above-described measurement values (pixel values IR and R) as described above, and therefore, unlike the conventional method in which measurement based on a measuring device (for example, measurement based on a chlorophyll meter) for examining the growth state of each 1 crop P L is performed, the index can be obtained by a simple method.

Further, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates an optimized calibration curve (S5) obtained by optimizing the relationship between the index and the fertilizing amount with respect to the crop P L, based on the past calibration curve (reference calibration curve) or the crop information obtained in S1 and the index obtained in S3, and then the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d determines the fertilizing amount (S6) for FD fertilizing the cultivated area based on the index and the optimized calibration curve, whereby not only the fertilizing amount required for growth of the crop P L can be obviously determined (optimized) in the case where the reference calibration curve with respect to the crop P L is present, but also the fertilizing amount required for growth of the crop P L can be determined (optimized) in the case where the reference calibration curve is not present, that is, depending on the crop P L, even if there is a variety without the reference calibration curve, the optimized calibration curve is estimated from the crop information and the index and the optimized calibration curve and the fertilizing amount is determined.

Further, since the optimized calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained by optimizing the relationship between the index and the fertilizing amount, it is possible to realize highly accurate (sufficiently reduce the amount of excess fertilizer) variable fertilizing by determining the fertilizing amount using the optimized calibration curve.

In S5, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c acquires the data on the reference calibration curve of the plant P L from the 2 nd database 22 of the server 20 and estimates the optimized calibration curve when the data are stored in the 2 nd database 22, whereby the fertilizer application designing apparatus 30 does not have a large-capacity memory for storing the data on the reference calibration curve, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified, whereas in the case where the data are not stored in the 2 nd database 22, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates the optimized calibration curve based on the plant information acquired in S1 and the index calculated in S3, and thus the optimized calibration curve can be estimated even for the variety for which the reference calibration curve has not existed in the past as described above.

In addition, in S4, cultivation information related to the cultivation conditions of the crop P L is acquired from the 3 rd database 23 of the server 20, and then, the optimized calibration curve estimation unit 35c estimates an optimized calibration curve by changing the reference calibration curve based on the cultivation conditions (S29).

In this case, the above-mentioned cultivation conditions include any of the integrated air temperature, the average precipitation amount, and the average solar radiation amount during the cultivation period in the cultivation area of the crop P L, and the integrated air temperature, the average precipitation amount, and the average solar radiation amount are indispensable conditions necessary for cultivation of the crop P L, and therefore, it is possible to reliably perform the fertilizer application design in consideration of the cultivation conditions of the crop P L.

The optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c acquires data on the reference calibration curve of the crop P L and data on the past harvest yield of the crop P L from the 2 nd database 22, and estimates an optimized calibration curve based on the reference calibration curve and the past harvest yield (S22, S26 to S28).

Here, the reference calibration curve may be a calibration curve (S21, S22) acquired in the past regarding the same cultivar as the crop P L, the reference calibration curve may be a calibration curve (S21, S23, S22) acquired in the past regarding the same cultivation area as the crop P L, the reference calibration curve may be a calibration curve (S24, S22) acquired in the past regarding a cultivar cultivated in a region surrounding the cultivation area of the crop P L, or the reference calibration curve may be a calibration curve (S25, S22) acquired in the past regarding a cultivar that is straight to the crop P L, these calibration curves have a high correlation (the cultivar or the cultivation region is the same as or close to the same) with the crop P L included in the input crop information, and therefore, even when any calibration curve is used as the reference calibration curve, the optimum calibration curve for the crop P L can be appropriately estimated from the reference calibration curve, and the fertilizing amount can be determined.

Further, the optimized calibration curve estimating unit 35c estimates an optimized calibration curve based on the distribution of the index in the crop information and the cultivation site FD (S30). Thus, even when the reference calibration curve is not stored in the 2 nd database 22, the fertilizing amount can be determined based on the estimated optimized calibration curve and variable fertilizing can be performed.

Further, the display unit 32 displays the estimated optimal calibration curve based on the control of the overall control unit 35a (S11). Thereby, the estimated optimized calibration curve can be recommended to the user. The user can also observe the displayed optimized calibration curve, and customize (fine-tune) the optimized calibration curve by operating the input unit 31 as necessary as in S12 (see fig. 17).

The optimum calibration curve estimating unit 35c adjusts the optimum calibration curve based on the instruction input from the user (S12, S13), and the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d determines the fertilizing amount based on the index and the adjusted optimum calibration curve (S6). Thus, even if the optimum calibration curve is adjusted according to the user's intention, the fertilizing amount can be determined based on the adjusted optimum calibration curve, and variable fertilization can be performed.

Further, the map making unit 35e makes a fertilizing amount map indicating the distribution of the fertilizing amount determined by the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d in the cultivated field FD (S7), and the display unit 32 further displays the fertilizing amount map (S11). In this case, the user can confirm the displayed fertilizing amount map, operate the input unit 31 based on the fertilizing amount map, and finely adjust the optimum calibration curve as needed. For example, when the user observes the displayed fertilizing amount map and determines that the fertilizing amount in the area T with a small fertilizing amount can be increased, the user can perform fine adjustment such as raising the lower limit of the optimization calibration curve by operating the input unit 31.

The 1 st histogram creation unit 35f calculates the average value of the index in the cultivation site FD for each cultivation site FD, and creates a1 st histogram showing the relationship between the average value of the index and the number of cultivation sites (S8). Then, the display unit 32 also displays the 1 st histogram (S11). In this case, the user can operate the input unit 31 and finely adjust the optimum calibration curve as necessary based on the displayed 1 st histogram.

For example, in the 1 st histogram displayed, when the number of cultivated lands FD (nursery) having a high average value of NDVI as an index is large and the number of cultivated lands FD having a good growing environment of the crop P L is considered to be large, a certain amount of harvest can be expected even if the total amount of fertilizer applied to all the cultivated lands FD is reduced.

The 2 nd histogram creation unit 35g calculates an average value of the fertilizing amount determined by the fertilizing amount determination unit 35d in the cultivation site FD for each cultivation site FD, and creates a2 nd histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the fertilizing amount and the number of the cultivation sites FD (S9). Then, the display unit 32 also displays the 2 nd histogram (S11). In this case, the user can operate the input unit 31 and finely adjust the optimum calibration curve as necessary based on the displayed 2 nd histogram.

For example, in the 2 nd histogram displayed, the number of cultivated lands FD (nursery) having a high average value of the amount of fertilizer application is small, and in consideration of the large number of cultivated lands FD having a good growing environment of the crop P L, a certain amount of harvest is expected even if the total amount of fertilizer application of all the cultivated lands FD is reduced.

Further, the fertilizing amount determining unit 35d calculates the total fertilizing amount for all the cultivated lands FD, that is, the combined value of the fertilizing amounts for the respective cultivated lands FD, based on the fertilizing amounts for the respective cultivated lands FD determined in S6 (S10). Then, the display unit 32 displays the total fertilizing amount, an approval button for requesting approval from the user, and an order button for accepting an order from the user. Thus, the user can confirm the total fertilizing amount on the display screen 32a of the display unit 32, and can instruct (click) the input unit 31 to input instructions (click) on the approval button and the order button as necessary to order the fertilizer.

The order controller 35h orders the fertilizer according to the total fertilizer application amount only after accepting the user 'S approval by the user' S instruction input to the approval button on the display screen 32a of the display unit 32 and accepting the user 'S order by the user' S instruction input to the order button (S14 to S16). The order of the fertilizer is not made if the approval of the user is not obtained, so that disputes related to the order of the fertilizer can be prevented from occurring.

As described above, the fertilization designing method, the fertilization designing apparatus, and the fertilization designing system described in the present embodiment can also be expressed as follows.

A1. A fertilization design method, comprising: a crop information acquisition step of acquiring crop information relating to the variety and cultivation area of a crop; a measurement value acquisition step of acquiring measurement values by remote sensing with respect to a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated; an index calculation step of calculating an index indicating the growth state of the crop for each region based on the measurement value; an optimized calibration curve estimation step of estimating an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and a fertilizing amount determining step of determining the fertilizing amount for fertilizing the cultivation site based on the index and the optimized calibration curve.

A2. In the fertilization designing method according to claim a1, in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, when data on the reference calibration curve of the crop is stored in a database, the data is acquired from the database to estimate the optimized calibration curve, and when the data is not stored in the database, the optimized calibration curve is estimated from the crop information and the index.

A3. The fertilization designing method as recited in claim a1 or a2, further comprising a cultivation information acquisition step of acquiring cultivation information on cultivation conditions of the crop, wherein the optimized calibration curve estimation step estimates the optimized calibration curve by changing the reference calibration curve based on the cultivation conditions.

A4. The fertilization designing method of claim a3, wherein the cultivation conditions include any one of an accumulated air temperature, an average precipitation amount, and an average sunshine amount during a cultivation period in the cultivation area of the crop.

A5. In the fertilization designing method according to claim a1 or a2, in the optimized calibration curve estimating step, data on the reference calibration curve of the crop and data on a past harvest yield of the crop are acquired from a database, and the optimized calibration curve is estimated based on the reference calibration curve and the harvest yield.

A6. The fertilization design method of any one of a 1-a 5, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve taken in the past with respect to the same variety as the crop.

A7. The fertilization designing method as defined in claim A6, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past for the same cultivation area as the crop.

A8. The fertilization designing method as set forth in a6, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past with respect to a cultivar cultivated in a region surrounding the region of cultivation of the crop.

A9. The fertilization design method of any one of a 1-a 5, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve taken in the past with respect to a variety that is directly orthodox to the crop.

A10. In the fertilization designing method according to claim a1 or a2, in the optimal calibration curve estimating step, an optimal calibration curve is estimated based on the crop information and the distribution of the index in the cultivation area.

A11. The fertilization design method of any one of claims a1 to a10, further comprising a display step of displaying the optimized calibration curve estimated in the optimized calibration curve estimation step.

A12. The fertilization designing method according to claim a11, further comprising an optimal calibration curve adjustment step of adjusting the optimal calibration curve based on an instruction input from a user, wherein in the fertilization amount determination step, the fertilization amount is determined based on the index and the adjusted optimal calibration curve.

A13. The fertilization designing method according to claim a11 or a12, further comprising a fertilization amount map creating step of creating a fertilization amount map showing distribution of the fertilization amount determined in the fertilization amount determining step in the cultivation site, and the display step further displays the fertilization amount map.

A14. The fertilization designing method according to any one of a11 to a13, further comprising a1 st histogram creation step of, for each of the cultivation places, calculating an average value of the index in the cultivation place, creating a1 st histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the index and the number of the cultivation places, and in the display step, further displaying the 1 st histogram.

A15. The fertilization designing method according to claim a14, further comprising a2 nd histogram creating step of, in the 2 nd histogram creating step, calculating an average value of the fertilization amounts determined in the fertilization amount determining step in the cultivation areas for each of the cultivation areas, creating a2 nd histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the fertilization amounts and the number of the cultivation areas, and in the displaying step, further displaying the 2 nd histogram.

A16. A fertilization designing method according to any one of claims a11 to a15, further comprising a total fertilization amount calculating step of calculating a total fertilization amount for all the cultivated lands based on the fertilization amount for each cultivated land determined in the fertilization amount determining step, and the displaying step of displaying the total fertilization amount, an approval button for requesting approval from a user, and an order button for accepting an order from a user.

A17. The fertilizer application design method of claim a16, further comprising an ordering step of ordering fertilizer according to the total fertilizer application amount only after accepting user approval by user instruction input to the approval button and when accepting user order by user instruction input to the ordering button.

B1. A fertilizer application designing device is provided with: an input unit for accepting an input of information by a user; an index calculation unit that calculates an index indicating a growth state of a crop for each of a plurality of areas included in a cultivation area where the crop is cultivated, based on remote sensing-based measurement values of the plurality of areas when crop information relating to a variety and the cultivation area of the crop is input through the input unit; an optimized calibration curve estimating unit that estimates an optimized calibration curve that optimally represents a relationship between the indicator and the fertilizing amount for the crop, based on a reference calibration curve that is a past calibration curve for the crop, or the crop information and the indicator; and a fertilizing amount determining part which determines the fertilizing amount for fertilizing the cultivation land based on the index and the optimized calibration curve.

B2. The fertilization design apparatus of claim B1, wherein the optimized calibration curve estimation section estimates the optimized calibration curve based on the reference calibration curve when data on the reference calibration curve of the crop is stored in a database, and estimates the optimized calibration curve based on the crop information and the index when the data is not stored in the database.

B3. In the fertilizer application designing apparatus according to B1 or B2, the optimum calibration curve estimating unit estimates the optimum calibration curve by changing the reference calibration curve based on the cultivation conditions when cultivation information relating to the cultivation conditions of the crop is input through the input unit.

B4. The fertilization designing apparatus according to claim B3, wherein the cultivation conditions include any one of an accumulated air temperature, an average precipitation amount, and an average sunshine amount during a cultivation period in the cultivation area of the crop.

B5. The fertilization design apparatus of claim B1 or B2, the optimized calibration curve estimation section estimates the optimized calibration curve based on data on the reference calibration curve of the crop and data on past harvest yields of the crop stored in the database.

B6. A fertilization design apparatus as claimed in any one of B1 to B5, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve taken in the past with respect to the same variety as the crop.

B7. The fertilization designing apparatus according to claim B6, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past for the same cultivation area as the crop.

B8. The fertilization designing apparatus according to claim B6, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve obtained in the past with respect to a variety cultivated in a region surrounding the cultivation region of the crop.

B9. A fertilization design apparatus as claimed in any one of claims B1 to B5, wherein the reference calibration curve is a calibration curve taken in the past in respect of a variety that is directly orthodox to the crop.

B10. The fertilization design apparatus of claim B1 or B2, wherein the optimized calibration curve estimation section estimates an optimized calibration curve based on the crop information and the distribution of the index in the cultivation area.

B11. The fertilization design apparatus of any one of claims B1 through B10, further comprising a display section that displays the optimized calibration curve estimated by the optimized calibration curve estimation section.

B12. The fertilization designing apparatus according to claim B11, wherein the optimized calibration curve estimator adjusts the optimized calibration curve based on an instruction input from a user, and the fertilization amount determiner determines the fertilization amount based on the indicator and the adjusted optimized calibration curve.

B13. The fertilization designing apparatus according to claim B11 or B12, further comprising a fertilization amount map creation unit for creating a fertilization amount map indicating distribution of the fertilization amount determined by the fertilization amount determination unit in the cultivation site, wherein the display unit further displays the fertilization amount map.

B14. The fertilization designing apparatus according to any one of claims B11 to B13, further comprising a1 st histogram creating unit that calculates an average value of the index in the cultivation site for each cultivation site, creates a1 st histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the index and the number of the cultivation sites, and the display unit further displays the 1 st histogram.

B15. The fertilizer application designing apparatus according to claim B14, further comprising a2 nd histogram creating unit that calculates an average value of the fertilizer application amount determined by the fertilizer application amount determining unit in the cultivation area for each of the cultivation areas, creates a2 nd histogram showing a relationship between the average value of the fertilizer application amount and the number of the cultivation areas, and the display unit further displays the 2 nd histogram.

B16. The fertilizer application design apparatus of any one of B11 to B15, wherein the fertilizer application amount determination unit calculates a total fertilizer application amount for all the cultivated lands based on the fertilizer application amount for each cultivated land, and the display unit further displays the total fertilizer application amount, an approval button for requesting approval from a user, and an order button for accepting an order from a user.

B17. The fertilizer applicator design device of claim B16, further comprising an ordering control unit for ordering fertilizer according to the total fertilizer application amount only after accepting user approval by user instruction input to the approval button and when accepting user ordering by user instruction input to the ordering button.

B18. A fertilizer application designing apparatus according to B1, further comprising: a total fertilizing amount calculating part for calculating total fertilizing amount of all cultivating lands based on the fertilizing amount of each cultivating land determined by the fertilizing amount determining part; and a display part for displaying the total fertilizing amount, an approval button for requesting approval of the user, and an order button for accepting an order of the user.

B19. The fertilizer application designing apparatus according to claim B18, further comprising an ordering control unit configured to control ordering of fertilizer based on an instruction input via the input unit, wherein the ordering control unit orders the fertilizer according to the total fertilizer application amount only after accepting user approval by the instruction input of the approval button by the user and when accepting user ordering by the instruction input of the ordering button by the user.

C1. A fertilization design system, comprising: the fertilization design apparatus of any one of B1 to B19, a1 st database storing the measurement values, and a2 nd database storing at least data of the reference calibration curve, wherein the index calculation unit of the fertilization design apparatus calculates the index based on the measurement values stored in the 1 st database, and the optimized calibration curve estimation unit estimates the optimized calibration curve from the data of the reference calibration curve stored in the 2 nd database, or the crop information and the index.

C2. The fertilization design system of claim C1, further comprising a3 rd database storing cultivation information relating to cultivation conditions of the crop, wherein the optimized calibration curve estimation unit estimates the optimized calibration curve by changing the reference calibration curve based on the data of the cultivation conditions stored in the 3 rd database.

C3. The fertilization designing system according to claim C1 or C2, further comprising an imaging unit for imaging the cultivation site where the crop is cultivated to obtain an image, wherein the 1 st database stores data of the image obtained by the imaging unit as the measurement value.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented by being extended or modified within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be used in a device and system for determining the amount of fertilizer applied to a growing area.

Description of reference numerals:

30 fertilization design device

31 input unit

32 display part

35b index calculating part

35c optimization calibration curve estimating section

35d fertilizing amount determining part

35h order control part