Millets are climate-resilient cereal crops cultivated predominantly under rainfed and low-input conditions; however, their productivity remains constrained by low mechanisation intensity, high labour dependency, and limited adoption of automation and precision agriculture technologies. This chapter presents a comprehensive technical assessment of farm mechanisation, automation, and precision agricultural interventions for millet cultivation, covering critical operations including soil preparation, sowing, inter-row weeding, harvesting, threshing, and primary processing. The study synthesises experimental data, field performance metrics, and recent technological advancements reported in peer-reviewed literature to quantify operational efficiencies, energy requirements, and system-level limitations. Conventional full-width tillage practices used in millet systems require draft forces ranging from 6 to 12 kN and fuel consumption of 18–25 L ha−1, resulting in excessive soil disturbance and moisture losses of 12–20%. Reduced and strip tillage systems demonstrated a 20–35% reduction in draft requirement and improved soil moisture retention by 10–18%, making them suitable for dryland millet cultivation. Precision sowing using tractor-operated seed drills and pneumatic planters improved seed placement accuracy to within ±5–10 mm, reduced seed rate by 15–25%, and increased field capacity to 0.4–0.8 ha h−1 compared with conventional broadcasting. Mechanical weed management using inter-row weeders and power weeders achieved weeding efficiencies of 70–85% while reducing labour demand by 60–70%. Vision-guided automated weeders employing RGB or multispectral cameras, and machine learning-based classifiers achieved crop–weed discrimination accuracies exceeding 90%, enabling site-specific actuation with minimal crop damage. Harvesting mechanisation using reapers, modified combine harvesters, and millet-specific headers improved harvesting capacities to 0.3–0.6 ha h−1 and reduced harvest losses to below 3–5%. Retrofitted axial-flow and rasp-bar threshers achieved threshing efficiencies above 95%, grain damage below 2–3%, and cleaning efficiencies exceeding 90% for small-seeded millets. Automation and precision agriculture tools, including UAV-based remote sensing, GNSS-enabled guidance, and variable-rate input application, demonstrated potential yield improvements of 10–25% and input savings of 15–30% in millet-based systems. Despite these advancements, adoption remains limited due to fragmented landholdings, lack of crop-specific machine designs, and high capital costs. The paper identifies critical research gaps in lightweight modular machinery, sensor fusion for crop-specific automation, and cost-effective retrofitting of existing equipment. Integrating field mechanisation with automation and precision agriculture is essential for enhancing productivity, reducing drudgery, and improving sustainability in millet cultivation systems under climate variability.

Precision Agriculture and Advances in Field Mechanisation for Millets

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发表日期：

2026年

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Rajendra Machavaram

摘要

Millets are climate-resilient cereal crops cultivated predominantly under rainfed and low-input conditions; however, their productivity remains constrained by low mechanisation intensity, high labour dependency, and limited adoption of automation and precision agriculture technologies. This chapter presents a comprehensive technical assessment of farm mechanisation, automation, and precision agricultural interventions for millet cultivation, covering critical operations including soil preparation, sowing, inter-row weeding, harvesting, threshing, and primary processing. The study synthesises experimental data, field performance metrics, and recent technological advancements reported in peer-reviewed literature to quantify operational efficiencies, energy requirements, and system-level limitations. Conventional full-width tillage practices used in millet systems require draft forces ranging from 6 to 12 kN and fuel consumption of 18–25 L ha−1, resulting in excessive soil disturbance and moisture losses of 12–20%. Reduced and strip tillage systems demonstrated a 20–35% reduction in draft requirement and improved soil moisture retention by 10–18%, making them suitable for dryland millet cultivation. Precision sowing using tractor-operated seed drills and pneumatic planters improved seed placement accuracy to within ±5–10 mm, reduced seed rate by 15–25%, and increased field capacity to 0.4–0.8 ha h−1 compared with conventional broadcasting. Mechanical weed management using inter-row weeders and power weeders achieved weeding efficiencies of 70–85% while reducing labour demand by 60–70%. Vision-guided automated weeders employing RGB or multispectral cameras, and machine learning-based classifiers achieved crop–weed discrimination accuracies exceeding 90%, enabling site-specific actuation with minimal crop damage. Harvesting mechanisation using reapers, modified combine harvesters, and millet-specific headers improved harvesting capacities to 0.3–0.6 ha h−1 and reduced harvest losses to below 3–5%. Retrofitted axial-flow and rasp-bar threshers achieved threshing efficiencies above 95%, grain damage below 2–3%, and cleaning efficiencies exceeding 90% for small-seeded millets. Automation and precision agriculture tools, including UAV-based remote sensing, GNSS-enabled guidance, and variable-rate input application, demonstrated potential yield improvements of 10–25% and input savings of 15–30% in millet-based systems. Despite these advancements, adoption remains limited due to fragmented landholdings, lack of crop-specific machine designs, and high capital costs. The paper identifies critical research gaps in lightweight modular machinery, sensor fusion for crop-specific automation, and cost-effective retrofitting of existing equipment. Integrating field mechanisation with automation and precision agriculture is essential for enhancing productivity, reducing drudgery, and improving sustainability in millet cultivation systems under climate variability.