Monitoring errors of semi-mechanized coffee planting by remotely piloted aircraft

Abstract

Mechanized operations on terrain slopes can still lead to considerable errors in the alignment and distribution of plants. Knowing slope interference in semi-mechanized planting quality can contribute to precision improvement in decision making, mainly in regions with high slope. This study evaluates the quality of semi-mechanized coffee planting in different land slopes using a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and statistical process control (SPC). In a commercial coffee plantation, aerial images were collected by a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and subsequently transformed into a digital elevation model (DEM) and a slope map. Slope data were subjected to variance analysis and statistical process control (SPC). Dependent variables analyzed were variations in distance between planting lines and between plants in line. The distribution of plants on all the slopes evaluated was below expected; the most impacted was the slope between 20–25%, implementing 7.8% fewer plants than projected. Inferences about the spacing between plants in the planting row showed that in slopes between 30–40%, the spacing was 0.53 m and between 0 and 15% was 0.55 m. This denotes the compensation of the speed of the operation on different slopes. The spacing between the planting lines had unusual variations on steep slopes. The SCP quality graphics are of lower quality in operations between 30–40%, as they have an average spacing of 3.65 m and discrepant points in the graphics. Spacing variations were observed in all slopes as shown in the SCP charts, and possible causes and implications for future management were discussed, contributing to improvements in the culture installation stage.