On-board Computer Unit Development for Precision Fertilization in Oil Palm Plantations Based on Data from a Precision Agriculture Platform

Abstract

This study aims to develop the function of the On-Board Computer Unit (OBC) device to control the Variable-Rate Fertilizer Application (VRFA) device according to the recommendations of the precision agriculture platform for oil palm (Precipalm) platform integrated into the tractor system. Then, the operational movement of tractors integrated with VRFA is to be modeled using the Dead Reckoning (DR) algorithm to achieve the precision of space and place in the oil palm plantation before being applied to the actual conditions of the oil palm field. Precision agriculture in oil palm plantations can be applied using a mechanization system regulated by OBC devices and developed based on information from Precipalm. Precipalm is an application system based on precision agriculture, using Sentinel 2 satellite data for a fertilization decision support system that produces appropriate fertilization recommendations for plant needs. The results of this study show that the development of OBC can provide a reasonably accurate value for controlling VRFA tools. A liquid flow sensor for output measurement is used to confirm the accuracy of the OBC. Then, values are compared between the predetermined output of Preciplam data and the actual output value of the VRFA system controlled by OBC. The final result of the average percentage comparison value is 0.679% for the element Nitrogen (N), 0.846% for the element Phosphor (P), and 1.915% for the element Potassium (K). The values show that systems controlled by OBC have a very minimal percentage of system error values.