Open AccessTractor path overlap is influenced by field shape and terrain attributes
Author(s) -
Kharel Tulsi P.,
Owens Phillip R.,
Ashworth Amanda J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
agricultural and environmental letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2471-9625
DOI - 10.1002/ael2.20027
Subject(s) - terrain , tractor , grid , field (mathematics) , polygon (computer graphics) , grid cell , path (computing) , environmental science , mathematics , soil science , computer science , agricultural engineering , remote sensing , geology , geometry , geography , engineering , automotive engineering , cartography , telecommunications , frame (networking) , pure mathematics , programming language
Tractor overlaps and gaps during field operations reduce production efficiencies; however, studies evaluating linkages between overlaps and field terrain attributes are limited. Our objective is to explore relationships between tractor guidance (TG) systems and field shape and terrain attributes on tractor path overlap. Fields with varying attributes were used for fertilizer (six fields) and herbicide (four fields) applications (with and without TG). Overlap polygon and terrain attributes were overlaid and sampled per 50‐ × 50‐m grid cell. Overlap increased with increasing field irregularities (6 to 11% field area), shorter pass lengths (2 to 19 m 2 ), greater slope (17 to 53 m 2 ), and roughness index (13 to 38 m 2 ) per grid cell. Averaged across slope classes, overlap area decreased 41 to 17 m 2 (58% reduction) per grid cell with TG. These results are important for future design of machinery, sensors, and improved TG efficiencies for automated field operations.