Lowland Farming Research Articles

Groundwater-Extracting Rice Production in the Rejoso Watershed (Indonesia) Reducing Urban Water Availability: Characterisation and Intervention Priorities

Production landscapes depend on, but also affect, ecosystem services. In the Rejoso watershed (East Java, Indonesia), uncontrolled groundwater use for paddies reduces flow of lowland pressure-driven artesian springs that supply drinking water to urban stakeholders. Analysis of the water balance suggested that the decline by about 30% in spring discharge in the past decades is attributed for 47 and 53%, respectively, to upland degradation and lowland groundwater abstraction. Consequently, current spring restoration efforts support upland agroforestry development while aiming to reduce lowland groundwater wasting. To clarify spatial and social targeting of lowland interventions five clusters (replicable patterns) of lowland paddy farming were distinguished from spatial data on, among other factors, reliance on river versus artesian wells delivering groundwater, use of crop rotation, rice yield, fertiliser rates and intensity of rodent control. A survey of farming households (461 respondents), complemented and verified through in-depth interviews and group discussions, identified opportunities for interventions and associated risks. Changes in artesian well design, allowing outflow control, can support water-saving, sustainable paddy cultivation methods. With rodents as a major yield-reducing factor, solutions likely depend on more synchronized planting calendars and thus on collective action for effectiveness at scale. Interventions based on this design are currently tested.

ANTİKLİNAL VƏ MONOKLİNAL ACINOHUR-CEYRANÇÖL ALÇAQDAĞLIĞI MORFOSTRUKTURLARIN FORMALAŞMASI VƏ İNKİŞAFI XÜSUSİYYƏTLƏRİ

The topic is the formation and development of morphostructure in the Acinohur-Jeyranchol lowlands and the changes that have taken place or are taking place here. The relief forms formed in the Acinohur-Jeyranchol lowland are studied with the help of a number of geographical means, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other geographical means. It should also be noted that the impact of these landforms on agriculture in the Ajinohur-Jeyranchol lowlands is analyzed. The development of morphostructures creates favorable conditions for the formation of interconnected landforms. Key words: morphostruktur, morphoskluptur, ravines, gobu, tires, river valleys, terraces, river area, relief, endogenous and exogenous processes

The use of GPS data to assess behaviour of red deer hinds over calving: hinds farmed in extensive high-country environments

ABSTRACT Global Positioning System (GPS) technology was used to track movements of extensively farmed red deer hinds over the calving period on two New Zealand high-country farms, during the summers of 2006/07, 2007/08 (Haycocks Station) and 2008/09 (White Rock Station). The goal was to analyse positional data around the expected birthing period to define patterns of hind movement that are potentially descriptive of parturient behaviour. A Hidden Markov model (HMM) was used to identify the time and site of calving based on four pre-defined stages of behaviour described for red deer hinds. These stages are: Late pregnancy (State 1), birth-site searching (State 2), birthing (State 3) and post-birthing (State 4). Previous research on red deer hinds over calving on an intensive lowland farm showed a close alignment between actual calving behaviour and those behaviours inferred from the algorithms developed in the HMM. Hinds in the high-country study conformed to the four-stage model of positional movement patterns. Inferred birthing dates ranged from 8 Nov to 3 Dec. The length of time hinds spent searching for a birthing site (State 2) was highly variable and averaged 16 (SE 3.9) hours, with an average 4-fold increase in distance between consecutive GPS recordings relative to that occurring earlier in late pregnancy (State 1), while in the birthing stage (State 3) there was a 40% reduction in distance between recordings compared with State 1. Although actual incidences of birthing were not observable in this study, it is concluded that definable behavioural characteristics of red deer hinds over the calving period can be discerned from GPS positional data. A key observation of this study was the between-hind variability of duration of these innate behaviours that indicates behavioural plasticity in the face of intraspecific competition for resources or perception of threat within extensive farm environments.

Drivers of songbird territory density in the boundaries of a lowland arable farm

Conventional farming in the UK has had adverse effects on farmland biodiversity, particularly during post-war intensification of agriculture. Efforts have been made in the reversal of these effects, with much of the literature reporting a mixture of findings. At a localised scale, these efforts have been noticeable with RSPB Hope Farm observing a 200% increase in bird territory numbers from 2000 to 2012, achieved with the wide implementation of agri-environment schemes (AES) on the farm. We aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal drivers of territory density in four hedgerow specialist bird species using a thirteen year (2000–2012) dataset of hedgerow management, in-field cropping and field boundary habitat records. Territory maps were used to calculate territory counts for each hedgerow across the time period. Generalised Linear Mixed Models were used to model territory counts for each habitat variable. These findings demonstrate that for Emberiza citrinella, Carduelis cannabina and Sylvia communis, presence of oilseed rape (OSR) is a strong predictor of higher territory numbers, leading to a doubling in territory density compared to absence of OSR. However, tree presence in hedgerows was a negative predictor of territory numbers for these species. Opposing trends were observed for Carduelis chloris, which exhibited significantly greater territory numbers in roadside hedgerows, hedges with trees and when adjacent fields were not sown with a main crop. Management of hedges was a weak predictor of S. communis territories. This demonstrates that crop type, AES features, tree presence and location of hedgerows are drivers of farmland bird territory numbers. These findings validate the usefulness of more sustainable, wildlife-friendly farming under previous CAP rules and have important implications for post-Brexit farming policy, such as the Agriculture Bill.

Households Vulnerability to Climate Change in Drought Prone Agro-ecosystems of Northeastern Ethiopia

Climate change is seriously affecting households who are mainly depending on rain-fed farming agriculture and pastoral/agro-pastoral way of life in different agro-ecosystems. Hence, households’ level of vulnerability analysis to climate change is very important to know the vulnerability of local households in different agro-ecosystems so as to tap their potentials for climate change adaptation at the grass root level. Accordingly, this article examined climate change vulnerability of households in highland mixed farming, lowland mixed farming, agro-pastoral, and pastoral agro-ecosystems in drought prone areas of northeastern Ethiopia focusing on Kobo and Golina districts in Amhara and Afar regions respectively. Data gathered from secondary sources, observation, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and household survey to address the problem comprehensively. Consequently, quantitative data analyzed by SPSS and STATA software whereas qualitative information analyzed by thematic analysis. More specifically, two analytical models used to perform quantitative analysis. Firstly, principal component analysis used to calculate adaptive capacity, sensitivity, exposure and vulnerability indexes of households in each agro-ecosystem. Secondly, ordered probit model fitted to examine the determinants of highly, moderately and less vulnerable categories of households at each agro-ecosystem. The findings have shown that while households in lowland mixed farming agro-ecosystem are less vulnerable, households in agro-pastoral agro-ecosystem are more vulnerable. However, not all households in lowland mixed farming agro-ecosystems are less vulnerable and not all households in agro-pastoral agro-ecosystems are more vulnerable. Hence, it is recommended that households’ specific adaptive capacity should be improved through mainly empowering female-headed households, expanding education, developing irrigation schemes, and creating access to affordable credit and appropriate extension services in the study areas as it reduces their sensitivity and finally their overall vulnerability. Keywords : climate change, vulnerability, drought-prone, principal component analysis, ordered probit DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/13-5-05 Publication date: March 31 st 2021

Literacy and adaptation strategy of rainfed lowland farmer on climate change risk in Takalar Regency

This study aims to determine the level of literacy of farmers to the risk of climate change and to analyze climate change risk adaptation strategies in rainfed rice fields. This research was carried out intentionally in areas that have relatively wider rainfed rice fields in the Districts of North Polombakeng and South Polombakeng, Takalar Regency, South Sulawesi Province. Sampling was conducted purposively on 147 farmer respondents. Data sourced from primary and secondary data. Data analysis is a qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicate that the level of literacy of rainfed lowland rice farmers to climate change is the highest on the component of climate change impacts, while the lowest on aspects of climate change adaptation strategies. Farmers’ adaptation strategies in dealing with climate change in rainfed rice farming are the most dominant, including tracking climate change information, shifting planting time, managing cropping patterns, planting spacing, and using short-lived varieties. Rainfed lowland rice farmers in strengthening household food security to face the risk of climate change are more dominant in implementing storage strategies (food reserves), diversifying income in farming and non-farming, and empowering family members to obtain additional income.

Remnants of naturalness in a reclaimed land of central Italy

Wetlands are among the most fragile habitats on Earth and have often undergone major environmental changes. As a study case in this context, the present work aims at increasing the floristic knowledge of a reclaimed land now turned into an agricultural lowland with scarce patches of natural habitats. The study area is named Piana di Rosia, and it is located in southern Tuscany (Italy). The compiled checklist consists of 451 specific and subspecific taxa of vascular plants. The life-form spectrum shows a predominance of hemicryptophytes, followed by therophytes. The chorological spectrum highlights a co-dominance of Euri-Mediterranean and Eurasian species along with many widely distributed species. The checklist includes seven species of conservation concern, three Italian endemics (Crocus etruscus Parl., Polygala vulgaris L. subsp. valdarnensis (Fiori) Arrigoni, and Scabiosa uniseta Savi), 41 alien species, 21 segetal species, and 11 aquatic macrophytes of which five helophytes and six hydrophytes. This study suggests that irreversible land-use changes in wetlands can lead towards a simplification of the flora. However, despite the deep transformations that the former wetland has undergone, the presence of some aquatic and protected taxa is interesting. From a conservation point of view, the natural value of this agricultural area could be enhanced and its current management partly reconsidered, thus preserving the remnants of naturalness present.

The Impacts of Waterproof Insulated Jackets on Lamb Performance on a UK Lowland Farm.

Simple SummaryCold stress is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in lambs, with negative implications on both lamb welfare and economics. A recent anecdotal trend has been the provision of insulating jackets to young stock on cattle farms, despite a lack of evidence for their effectiveness in the literature. This study aimed to document the use of similar insulating jackets in lambs to determine if they could reduce the effect of cold stress on lamb growth. Insulating lamb jackets were assessed on their effect on physiological parameters such as temperature and weight gain to determine if they provided an advantage to lamb production. This study found that the jackets had no significant effect on lamb average weight gain, live weight or estimated body temperature. However, jacketed lambs had significantly higher surface temperatures throughout the study.The majority of lamb losses occur within the first two weeks of life, with cold stress being a major cause of lamb morbidity and mortality. This study investigated the effect of insulating lamb jackets on newborn lambs. One hundred and four newborn lambs were randomly allocated by birth date to two treatment groups, (a) non-jacketed (n = 52) or (b) jacketed (n = 52), for fourteen days after birth. The live weights of lambs were recorded regularly up to 21 days, and average daily weight gains were calculated from these data. For the first two days after recruitment to the study, surface and body temperatures of lambs were also recorded. The jackets significantly increased the lambs’ surface temperatures, providing a warmer microclimate and reduced cold stress for jacketed lambs. There was no significant effect of the insulating jackets on estimated body temperatures, live weights or average daily weight gain of the lambs in this study. There were no detrimental effects of the jackets, and no rejection of lambs occurred.

Recurrent Neural Network Predictions for Water Levels at Drainage Pumping Stations in an Agricultural Lowland

Recurrent Neural Network Predictions for Water Levels at Drainage Pumping Stations in an Agricultural Lowland

Disentangling the Impact of Catchment Heterogeneity on Nitrate Export Dynamics From Event to Long‐Term Time Scales

AbstractDefining effective measures to reduce nitrate pollution in heterogeneous mesoscale catchments remains challenging when based on concentration measurements at the outlet only. One reason for this is our limited understanding of the subcatchment contributions to nitrate export and their importance at different time scales. While upstream subcatchments often disproportionally contribute to runoff generation and in turn to nutrient export, agricultural areas (which are typically found in downstream lowlands) are known to be a major source of nitrate pollution. To examine the interplay of different subcatchments, we analyzed seasonal long‐term trends and event dynamics of nitrate concentrations, loads, and the concentration–discharge relationship in three nested catchments within the Selke catchment (456 km2), Germany. The upstream subcatchments (40.4% of total catchment area, 34.5% of N input) had short transit times and dynamic concentration–discharge relationships with elevated nitrate concentrations during wet seasons and events. Consequently, the upstream subcatchments dominated nitrate export during high flow and disproportionally contributed to overall annual nitrate loads at the outlet (64.2%). The downstream subcatchment was characterized by higher N input, longer transit times, and relatively constant nitrate concentrations between seasons, dominating nitrate export during low‐flow periods. Neglecting the disproportional role of upstream subcatchments for temporally elevated nitrate concentrations and net annual loads can lead to an overestimation of the role of agricultural lowlands. Nonetheless, constantly high concentrations from nitrate legacies pose a long‐term threat to water quality in agricultural lowlands. This knowledge is crucial for an effective and site‐specific water quality management.

Swampy rice lines for iron toxicity tolerance and yield components performance under inland swamp at Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia

Abstract. Maruapey A, Wicaksana N, Karuniawan A, Utami DW, Windarsih G. 2020. Swampy rice lines performance for iron toxicity tolerance and yield components under inland swamp at Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5394-5402. The extensification of sub-optimal lowland farming strategy is expected to support the increase of rice production. Based on the efforts, the development of tolerant rice varieties to Fe-toxicity to be used in the swampy land area is one of the approaches for increasing rice production. Currently, promising rice lines that are tolerant to Fe-toxicity has been developed using molecular breeding approach for inland swampy area. The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of 15 promising rice lines that have various genetic backgrounds in inland swamp in Sorong, West Papua. The field experiment was conducted during the second rice planting season (August 2018 to February 2019) to evaluate the performance of the promising rice lines to the morpho-agronomic performance under the lowland swamp conditions. The trial was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) consisting of 4 m x 5 m square plots, with 25 cm x 25 cm planting distance and 3 replications. The results revealed that most of the lines had good performances on the Fe-toxicity tolerance, based on bronzing, root length, and biomass characters. The G1 line had the best performance on yield component characters, especially the panicle length. This line also had the highest grain yield (6.15 ton.ha-1) followed by the next promising line of G7 (5.92 ton.ha-1). The genetic performance of these lines showed that they contained IRT (Iron Regulation Transporter) alleles that contributed to partitioning the Fe tolerance mechanism.

Forest regeneration on European sheep pasture is an economically viable climate change mitigation strategy

Livestock production uses 37% of land globally and is responsible for 15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet livestock farmers across Europe receive billions of dollars in annual subsidies to support their livelihoods. This study evaluates whether diverting European subsidies into the restoration of trees on abandoned farmland represents a cost-effective negative-emissions strategy for mitigating climate change. Focusing on sheep farming in the United Kingdom, and on natural regeneration and planted native forests, we show that, without subsidies, sheep farming is not profitable when farmers are paid for their labour. Despite the much lower productivity of upland farms, upland and lowland farms are financially comparable per hectare. Conversion to ‘carbon forests’ is possible via natural regeneration when close to existing trees, which are seed sources. This strategy is financially viable without subsidies, meeting the net present value of poorly performing sheep farming at a competitive $4/tCO2eq. If tree planting is required to establish forests, then ∼$55/tCO2eq is needed to break-even, making it uneconomical under current carbon market prices without financial aid to cover establishment costs. However, this break-even price is lower than the theoretical social value of carbon ($68/tCO2eq), which represents the economic cost of CO2 emissions to society. The viability of land-use conversion without subsidies therefore depends on low farm performance, strong likelihood of natural regeneration, and high carbon-market price, plus overcoming potential trade-offs between the cultural and social values placed on pastoral livestock systems and climate change mitigation. The morality of subsidising farming practices that cause high GHG emissions in Europe, whilst spending billions annually on protecting forest carbon in less developed nations to slow climate change is questionable.

Introducing Life Cycle Assessment in Costs and Benefits Analysis of Vegetation Management in Drainage Canals of Lowland Agricultural Landscapes

Nitrate pollution remains an unsolved issue worldwide, causing serious effects on water quality and eutrophication of freshwater and brackish water environments. Its economic costs are still underestimated. To reduce nitrogen excess, constructed wetlands are usually recognized as a solution but, in recent years, interest has been raised in the role of ditches and canals in nitrogen removal. In this study, we investigated the environmental and economical sustainability of nitrogen removal capacity, using as a model study a lowland agricultural sub-basin of the Po River (Northern Italy), where the role of aquatic vegetation and related microbial processes on the mitigation of nitrate pollution has been extensively studied. Based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach and costs and benefits analysis (CBA), the effectiveness of two different scenarios of vegetation management, which differ for the timing of mowing, have been compared concerning the nitrogen removal via denitrification and other terms of environmental sustainability. The results highlighted that postponing the mowing to the end of the vegetative season would contribute to buffering up to 90% of the nitrogen load conveyed by the canal network during the irrigation period and would reduce by an order of magnitude the costs of eutrophication potential.

Stored-grain losses and management practices among smallholder cereal farmers in Northern Ethiopia

Storage pests are a major concern to smallholder farmers in Africa south of the Sahara since their livelihoods heavily depend on subsistence agriculture. These farmers depend mainly on traditional grain storage materials and pest management methods, both of which are generally ineffective against pests. Here we provide insights into stored-grain losses suffered by highland and lowland farmers in northern Ethiopia using a survey conducted during the 2016/2017 cropping season. A total of 109 household heads were interviewed and about half were visited for observation of grain storage materials. Irrespective of agroecology, the predominant stored-grain pests were weevils, rats, and termites. Both highland and lowland farmers stored grains in woven polythene sacks and dung made barrels indoors, and in barns outdoors. Some lowland farmers stored grains in underground pits outdoors. While highland farmers suffered an 8.03% average annual grain loss to the storage pests, the lowland farmers suffered a 12.18% average annual grain loss, which was significant (p = 0.007). The multiple linear regression analysis indicated significantly higher stored-grain losses in (i) lowland than highland farmers, (ii) households with heads holding village administrative positions than households with heads not holding any village administrative position, (iii) households storing grains for an additional month than households that did not and (iv) households storing grains in other indoor storage materials than households storing grains in woven polythene bags with plastic liners inside (p < 0.05). Households with one more family member working on the farm and household heads who had attended training on pest management suffered significantly lower losses (p < 0.05). Innovative storage methods and environmentally benign management options are recommended.

ANALISIS KESEJAHTERAAN RUMAH TANGGA PETANI PADI SAWAH BERDASARKAN PENDAPATAN DAN KONSUMSI DI KELURAHAN SINDANG SARI KECAMATAN SAMBUTAN (Analysis of Household Welfare of Lowland Paddy Farmer based on Income and Consumption in Sindang Sari Urban Village Sambutan Subcity)

The level of income and household consumption reflects the welfare level of farmer household of lowland paddy. The purposes of this study were to know the income of lowland paddy farming, the income of farmer household, the consumption of farmer household, and the welfare level of farmer household. This study was conducted from April to June 2018 in Sindang Sari Urban Village, Sambutan Subcity. Data analysis was done to calculate of total cost, revenue, income, consumption, and welfare of farmer household of lowland paddy. The result of this study showed the average income of lowland paddy farming in Sindang Sari Urban Village, Sambutan Subcity was IDR10,674,523.81 ha-1 mt-1. The average income of farmer household in that the urban village was IDR28,623,380.95 year-1. The average household consumption of farmer household was IDR24,535,257.14 year-1. The average per capita income of lowland paddy farmer was IDR13,697,175.95 capita-1 year-1. Based on the welfare level of farmer household of lowland paddy was known if 85.71% respondents above the poverty line and 14.29% below the poverty line.

Exploring Spatial Relationship Between Electrical Conductivity and Spectral Salinity Indices in the Mekong Delta

The negative impact of salinization concurrent with drought is a severe problem that creates challenges for agriculture in deltas and coastal lowlands. This study aims to investigate the spatial relationship among the field measured electrical conductivity (EC) and spectral salinity indices derived from Remote sensed data in the Mekong Delta using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). A wide range of Landsat 8 Operational Land Images (OLI) products, including single bands, band ratios, vegetation indices (NDVI and EVI), intensity indices (INT), and brightness indices (BI) were employed for computing salinity indices. The Kriging and Co-kriging interpolation techniques were used to estimate the spatial pattern of the field measured EC. Additionally, the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression were employed to characterize the relationship between single bands and EC measurement before applying the GWR for exploring the spatial correlation among the indices. There was a gradually increased of EC value from inland to coastal area. A significant relationship between EC measurement and spectral salinity indices and the highest correlation coefficient with p value less than 0.05 was found in EVI (r2 = 0.736). This study demonstrated that the GWR is germane to analyse the spatial correlation among the mentioned variables in the study area. Moreover, it also revealed that spectral salinity indices could be an alternative option for EC measurement in monitoring salt water intrusion at coastal areas.

Shift in the cow milk microbiota during alpine pasture as analyzed by culture dependent and high-throughput sequencing techniques

In the present study, two groups of cows from a permanent lowland farm (PF) were divided during summer and reared in the PF or in a temporary alpine farm (ALP), respectively. Microbiological analyses were performed with the objective to investigate the microbial evolution of milk before, during, and after summer transhumance comparing, in particular, the two groups of cows to determine whether the alpine pasture could directly influence the milk microbiota. A significant increase of all microbial groups was registered in milk samples collected in the ALP. Interestingly, many strains belonging to species with well reported technological and probiotic activities were isolated from Alpine milk (20% Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis/cremoris, 18% Lactobacillus paracasei, 14% Bifidobacterium crudilactis and 18% Propionibacterium sp.), whereas only 16% of strains isolated from the permanent farm milk belonged to the species Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis/cremoris, 6% to Lactobacillus paracasei, 2% to Bifidobacterium crudilactis and 5% to Propionibacterium sp. The MiSeq Illumina data showed that Alpine milk presented a significant reduction of Pseudomonas and an increase of Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus genera. These data confirmed the practice of Alpine pasture as one of the main drivers affecting the milk microbiota. All the microbial changes disappeared when cows were delivered back from Alpine pasture to the indoor farm.

Integrated model of local resource management for agriculture and poultry husbandry in rural area: A service learning program in Sidrap Regency Indonesia

The service learning program is one of the partnership activities to contribute significantly to the university’s role for the community, industry, local government and community groups who want to be economically and socially independent. This program offers a solution to solve problems by conducting partnership activities between institutions, local government and the community. One of the solutions from the low productivity of farmers from rainfed lowland agriculture and poultry husbandry is to increase farmers’ knowledge and skills through the application of science and technology both in the production stage and post-harvest processing. Therefore, the concept of “petik, olah, jual” (harvest, process, sell) can be implemented well. The paper described the implementation of service learning conducted by students of Universitas Hasanuddin in one of poor villages in Sidrap Regency. With the implementation of science and technology, the goal of community empowerment in the context of poverty alleviation through local resource management is expected to be achieved.

Attending to Place and Time: Seasonality in Early Modern Scotland and Cyprus

Far from being a simple annual round determined by the calendar, seasonality in human societies is a complex system of interdependence between humans and non-humans. It requires close attentiveness to the variability of soils, weather, topography, plants, and animals across both time and space. In this article, the author investigates mobile systems of interdependence that take advantage of topographical and seasonal variation. He uses a range of case studies from early modern Scotland and Cyprus, focusing on summer grazing in the uplands and lowland agriculture carried out by mountain communities. After a comparative discussion of seasonality, the article examines the role of topography and movement, and then puts the ‘margins at the centre’ in order to highlight the central role played by seasonal activity and movement in rural society.

A computer vision-based weed control system for low-land rice precision farming

&lt;span&gt;Agricultural sector is one of the economic pillars of developing nations, because it provides means of boosting gross domestic profit. However, weeds pose a threat to food crop by competing with it for nutrients and undermining the profit to be made from it. The treatment of these weeds is necessary, but at minimal impact on the actual food crop. Herbicide usage is one major means of weed control, owning to the expensive and labour-intensive nature of hand weeding. Recently, the need for site specific spraying has been on the rise because of health concerns which have been raised on the effect of herbicides on food crops and the effect on the environment. Most research on the field focuses on accurately identifying the weeds whilst neglecting the weed control. In this research, we apply fuzzy logic-based expert system to control how herbicide is sprayed on low-land rice in order to reduce excessive herbicide usage. The system supplies the control with weed density (Box size) and confidence level. The values of both are then passed to the fuzzy logic control for spray decision. The Sugeno as well as Mamdani models were tested using generated values for detected weed box size and confidence levels of the computer vision. The mean absolute error obtained was 0.9 for both, and 0.3 and 0.2 respectively, for the mean square error. The error shows how accurate the system can be and with low error value, it shows that the system implementation is capable of providing control for spraying of herbicides which in turn will yield more returns for low-land rice farmers.&lt;/span&gt;