1. LASER Land Leveling in Rice Farming Julian F. Cacho BAE 4213 April 28, 2004

2. Overview • LASER • LASER Leveling System • How LASER Leveling Works • Benefits of LASER Land Leveling in Rice Farming • Limitations of LASER Land Leveling • Possible ways to overcome the limitations

3. LASER Defined: • Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation • Light of special properties • Lasers amplify light Radiation coverage at wavelengths ranging from IR to UV and even Soft X-ray range (XUV) • XUV (10 nm – 30 nm) (www.columbia.edu/cu/mechanical/mrl/ntm/Glossary.html)

4. LASER Leveling System • Laser Transmitter • Laser Receiver • Electrical Control Panel • Twin Solenoid Hydraulic Control Valve

5. LASER Transmitter - Sends the LASER beam rapidly in a circular manner

6. LASER Receiver (Omni-directional) - Intercepts the LASER beam

7. Electrical Control Panel - Accepts andInterprets the signal from the LASER receiver

8. Twin Solenoid Hydraulic Control Valve - Raises or lowers the bucket

9. Benefits of Precise Land Leveling • Increases Yield • Reduces Weed Problems by even water distribution • Increases Opportunity to Use Direct Seeding • Increases Water Use Efficiency • Other benefits

10. Yield Increase Table 1. Results of Land leveling experiments conducted by CIAP in Cambodia, 1996-1999 Year Rice Yield (t/ha) Leveled Fields Unleveled Fields 1996 3.40 2.67 1997 2.27 1.46 1998 2.72 2.36 1999 (CARDI) 2.34 2.00 Average 2.72 2.19 Average Increase = 24% or 530 kg/ha

11. Reduces Weed Problems by Even Water Distribution • Improved water coverage - reduces the weed by up to 40% (Rickman, 2002) • Reduction of time for crop weeding (Rickman, 2002) - from 21 to 5 labor days/hectare - 75% decrease in labor required for weeding

12. Increases the Opportunity to Use Direct Seeding - Direct seeding reduces labor by approximately 30 person-days/hectare

13. Increased Water Use Efficiency • Reduction in time and water required to irrigate the field - 25 to 50 % less water to flood the field (Coblentz, 2000)

14. Other Benefits • Highly Accessible and Inexpensive Input Data - topographic map -internet, local agricultural offices • Re-leveling takes 5 to 10 years (Rickman, 2002)

15. Limitations of LASER Land Leveling • High Cost of the equipment/LASER instrument • Need for Skilled operator to set/adjust laser settings and operate the tractor • More efficient for regularly sized and shape field

16. Possible Ways to Overcome the Limitations in the Third World Countries • Government Intervention - precision land leveling services on a subsidized rental basis - The Government of Punjab, India charges services by Rs. 150/hr = $3.4/hr = Php187.5/hr • Intervention of Farmers’ Cooperatives and Other Farmers’ Associations

17. References: • http://msucares.com/news/print/agnews/an00/000742tw.htm • http://www.ricefarming.com/home/archive/precleveling.html • http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/laserLeveling/How_it_works.htm • http://www.punjab.gov.pk/agriculture/water_management/agriculture_water_management • http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu/uccerice/water/wtrmg03.htm • http://www.agriculture.com/sfonline/sf/2003/october/0310precision_rice.html • http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mechanical/mrl/ntm/Glossary.html • Rickman, J. F., 2002. Manual for laser land leveling, Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical Bulletin Series 5. New Delhi-110 012, India: Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, pp. 24. • Dr. Marvin Stone, Dr. John Solie, and Dr. Bill Raun

18. Oopps!......... ……. No LASER Precise Answers ……. For Difficult Questions!