Re: research ideas
Stephen Judd (judd@scr.siemens.com)
Thu, 5 Dec 1996 10:05:25 -0500 (EST)
> >>What electronic devices do YOU THINK would make a contribution toward
> >>sustainable agriculture?
> >>
> An obvious one which may already exist is a _low-cost_, preferrably
> solar-powered degree-day (degree-hour) meter. It could be either be very
> cheap and targetted at a single pest or disease, or slightly more expensive
> and accept input as well as calculate multiple degree-hour conditions.
> I know there are devices on the market, but the ones I have seen (which
> was quite some time ago) were outside the price range of the home or
> small orchard. I'm sure that the technology already exists (solar-powered
> watches and calculators, integrated semiconductor temperature sensors,
> etc.), and this is simply an issue of supply and demand.
>
> If such a low-cost device exists, I would appreciate someone letting me
> know how to obtain it. When I speak of low-cost, I'm thinking something
> in the $5 to $50 range, depending on feature set and product reliability.
> Another advantage of the low price would be to allow larger orchards to
> place several devices, and monitor their micro-climates (hill-top, north
> slope verses south slope, etc.).
>
> -------------
> Don Gross
> Home orchardist
> Member, Home Orchard Society (Small organization in NW Oregon)
Nice suggestion. Thanks.
What statistics are required here? Do you need a complete record of
temp through every day? or a histogram of temps over the last week?
How often do you need them reported? hour to hour? day to day?
month to month?
Can the stats be collected by hand? or do you want them retrieved
from afar automatically?
What kind of pests are you concerned about?
If they are flying insects, would you like a device to listen for their
distinctive flight sounds and count them?
What diseases are you concerned about? Do any of them have special
temp X time X humidity X sunlight X season conditions that are
distinctive indicators of onset?
Is there one disease in particular that is best treated by immediate
attention, and therefor would be a good candidate for 24 monitoring?
sj
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Dr. J. Stephen Judd email: judd@scr.siemens.com
Siemens Corporate Research, phone: (609) 734-6573
755 College Rd. East, fax: (609) 734-6565
Princeton, NJ, usa 08540 URL: http://www.scn.de/
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