Equipment for predicting fungal diseases in vegetables

• Grant number: 97/07351-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: January 01, 1998
• End date: February 28, 2002
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Electrical, Magnetic and Electronic Measurements, Instrumentation
• Principal Investigator: Nilson Augusto Villa Nova
• Grantee: Nilson Augusto Villa Nova
• Company: Microdesign Informática Tecnologia Indústria Comércio Ltda
• City: Campinas

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to develop equipment for forecasting diseases caused by fungi in vegetables, providing farmers with a technical reference for the use of fungicides and, for scientists, an instrument for improving the algorithms that will form part of the project. The planned equipment will be made up of hardware that collects, records and processes agro-meteorological data in the area of monitored planting and informs, through a display (or also through an optical interface), as to the possibility of fungus infestation and its severity. In recent decades, the advent of new technologies has meant that agriculture has changed a great deal. Maximization of productivity has been achieved mostly by using pesticides. These have caused concern as to their impact on the environment, their increased cost, and the exodus of people from the countryside. The equipment in question must be low-cost, be able to withstand harsh environmental usage conditions and be easy to use and set up. The system will be assembled with degree of protection appropriate for the environment it will be used in and it must be independently battery- and solarcell- operated. Studies conducted abroad, where the method of predicting diseases has been employed based on agro-meteorological data show a dramatic reduction in the use of fungicides to control and contain the diseases. (AU)