Latest news with #PunjabAgriculturalUniversity
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Tech leap: Move over, Musk! PAU unveils AI-powered self-driving tractor
While Elon Musk's self-driving car, Tesla, is creating a lot of buzz with its India launch, the experts at the Punjab Agricultural University here have come up with an AI-powered tractor that promises to take agri operations to the next level. The tractor uses advanced technologies, such as sensors, GPS, and artificial intelligence (AI) to navigate fields, perform tasks including tilling, cultivating and seeding, and avoid obstacles, eliminating the need for a human operator, says PAU's vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal. (Gurpreet Singh/HT) The tractor uses advanced technologies, such as sensors, GPS, and artificial intelligence (AI) to navigate fields, perform tasks including tilling, cultivating and seeding, and avoid obstacles, eliminating the need for a human operator, says PAU's vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal. The autonomous tractor will be powered by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based Auto-Steering System. 'The technology, uncommon in Indian farm machinery, enables tractors to operate key implements like disc harrows, cultivators, and PAU's smart seeder with minimal to no human inputs,' Gosal said adding that once a farmer keys in inputs, the tractor will combine satellite signals, sensors, and a touchscreen console to steer tractors accurately—even in low visibility—while reducing errors, fatigue, and resource wastage. College of agricultural engineering and technology, dean Manjeet Singh said the technology has shown remarkable results, including up to 12% increase in field capacity, 85% reduction in fatigue, and a 40% drop in labour requirements. 'Built for precision farming, the technology can help farmers take care of their land using field implements like disc harrow, cultivator, rotavator, and PAU-smart seeder without manual input, with decision-making tasks handed over to artificial intelligence,' Gosal said during the demonstration of the auto-steering system fitted tractor. Key components of the system include a GNSS receiver for accurate positioning, a wheel angle sensor to track steering movement, and a motorised steering unit. The ISOBUS-compliant console allows for advanced features such as auto turns, skip-row functionality, and custom turn patterns. The operator can switch between manual and automatic modes with a single button. ISOBUS is a standardised communication protocol used in agricultural and forestry machinery. 'It ensures consistent steering even in low-light conditions, reducing fatigue, overlap, and missed areas during fieldwork. This system has basically three things: GPS, sensors, and a computer. There is a tablet in front of the driver's seat. Once the data is keyed in, the decision is taken by artificial intelligence. The driver is assisted by the technology here to optimise the process,' Gosal added. Field data from PAU trials show the system's advantages over manual steering. With manual steering, field implements like disc harrow, cultivator, rotavator, and PAU-Smart Seeder showed overlaps between 3 to 12%. With the auto-steering system, these overlaps dropped to about 1%. Missed areas reduced from 2 to 7% to under 1%. The system maintained an impressive pass-to-pass accuracy of ±3 cm, leading to better resource use and consistent crop establishment, the PAU data added. Gosal, the technology has become ubiquitous abroad. 'This system has been developed with the help of a US-based company, which provided the tablet. This is something the PAU will back and recommend. The tractor will be taken to melas and various agri events to show farmers its advantages. We hope that with demand, the tech will be adopted in India by the companies,' Gosal added. Gosal noted that the launch of this system reflects PAU's decisive push towards digital transformation in agriculture. Director research Ajmer Singh Dhatt said: 'Scientific and scalable solutions like the auto-steering system are the future of Indian agriculture.'
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Indian Express
Move over Tesla, Punjab agri univ get farming future ready as it tills a field with driver-less tractor
A tractor tilling a farm is nothing unusual in Punjab. But a tractor tilling a farm on its own, without a driver in saddle to steer it, is surely unusual. This unusual sight was seen Monday as Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) unveiling its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based auto-steering system for tractors with a live demonstration at its research farm. The tractor in question, with a cultivator attached, moved through the farm creating furrows and raising dust, even navigating the turns and bends with ease, evoking whoops of joy from onlookers. Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the university, Dr S S Gosal, later termed the live demonstration as a major milestone in 'PAU's transition from conventional farming to digital, precision-based agriculture'. The GNSS-based system, he said, facilitates driver-less movement of the tractor. The computer-controlled system uses signal receivers, sensors and cameras for smooth navigation in precision agriculture and reduces human effort. Gosal said that the 'auto-steering system is a satellite-guided, computer-assisted tool designed to automate steering during tractor operations'. 'By combining signals from multiple satellite constellations with sensors and a touchscreen control console, the system guides tractors along accurate, predefined paths. It ensures consistent steering even in low-light conditions, reducing fatigue, overlap, and missed areas during fieldwork,' Gosal said. Key components of the system include a GNSS receiver for accurate positioning, a wheel angle sensor to track steering movement, and a motorised steering unit. The ISOBUS-compliant console allows for advanced features such as auto headland turns, skip-row functionality, and custom turn patterns. The operator can switch between manual and automatic modes with a single button. 'Field data from PAU trials show the system's strong performance. With manual steering, field implements like disc harrow, cultivator, rotavator, and PAU smart seeder showed overlaps between 3 to 12 per cent. With the auto-steering system, these overlaps dropped to about 1 per cent. Missed areas reduced from 2 to 7 per cent to under 1 per cent. The system maintained an impressive pass-to-pass accuracy of ±3 cm, leading to better resource use and consistent crop establishment,' the PAU said in statement Gosal said that the launch of this system reflects the PAU's decisive push towards digital transformation in agriculture. The university is not just embracing technology for the sake of innovation, but as a necessary shift to keep farming profitable, efficient, and sustainable, he remarked. He pointed out that digital tools like auto-steering not only improve productivity but also lighten the physical burden on farmers. Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research, PAU, observed that advancements including machine learning, sensor networks, and navigation technologies are essential in view of shrinking natural resources and rising input costs. According to him, scientific and scalable solutions like the auto-steering system are the future of Indian agriculture. Dr Rishi Pal Singh, Registrar of PAU, recalled how the university's innovations recently received national recognition when the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan operated PAU's sensor-based, remote-controlled paddy transplanter during a demonstration in Patiala. The university also held a live demonstration of the remote paddy transplanter. Dr Manjeet Singh, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, explaining the university's remote-controlled two-wheel paddy transplanter, said that the machine allows farmers to operate from shaded areas, drastically reducing exposure to heat and humidity during transplantation. He said the technology has shown remarkable results, including up to 12 per cent increase in field capacity, 85 per cent reduction in fatigue, and a 40 per cent drop in labour requirements. Both the driver-less tractor and the remote paddy transplanter may go a long way in cutting down on labour costs too, experts said. The university also informed about its progress in precision irrigation. The Centre for Water Technology and Management is developing (internet of things-) IoT-based irrigation systems that monitor soil moisture, water levels, and weather in real time. These systems automate irrigation scheduling for crops like rice, wheat, maize, and summer moong. Trials in Sangrur have shown improvements in water use efficiency, reduced greenhouse emissions, and lower energy and labour input.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
RSS-affiliated farmers' body calls for cancellation of permission to test GM maize at Punjab Agricultural University
Terming it a 'cancer-causing farming', Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the farmer's wing of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), on Friday (July 18, 2025) demanded the cancellation of the permission granted to test Genetically Modified (GM) maize in Punjab Agricultural University's fields. Earlier this week, The Hindu had published that the field trials of two kinds of GM maize are expected to begin in the ongoing kharif (summer) season at Punjab Agricultural University, days after the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the country's top regulator for the sector, gave the approval for the trials upon receiving consent from the Punjab government. The decision was taken last month by the committee, which recommended a proposal by Bayer Crop Science Limited for the conduct of confined field trials on herbicide-tolerant transgenic maize, and insect-resistant transgenic maize at the Ludhiana-based university for this year's kharif season. Objecting to the plan, a delegation headed by BKS Punjab chief Ravinder Singh Dhillon submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University. Possibility of adulteration The organisation said that the largest producer of GM corn is the U.S., which uses about 80% of this crop for animal feed and uses 20% to make ethanol, plastic, etc. 'But in India, less amount of ethanol is produced from corn and maximum is used as human food. There is a strong possibility of adulteration at all places from farming to purchasing, processing, market, food, etc. We want organic, not GM,' the BKS delegation said in the memorandum. The farmers' body also warned that the GM corn is being promoted as pest-resistant and weed-resistant. 'BT cotton, a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton, was brought to India and insects started eating it soon after its introduction. Later, more toxic BT-2 was introduced which witnessed the same fate as white flies and sucking insects started destroying the cotton crop. It is clear from this that the use of pest-resistant GM cotton turned out to be uncertain, unsafe and full of adverse effects. Hence, the way of giving permission to test GM corn is also an attempt to bring the failed experiment back on the farmers,' it added. Weed-resistant experiments BKS stated that after the failure of GM cotton in the name of pest-resistance, now weed-resistant experiments are being secretly spread among the farmers. They added that there is a danger due to this of destruction of crops and biodiversity, as well as a vicious cycle of spreading cancer in farmers' families for free through the chemicals used in it. 'On one hand, entire Punjab is suffering from cancer due to the ill effects of chemical farming, and is struggling to get rid of addiction. In such a situation, why is Punjab Agricultural University trying to promote the cause of cancer on the same land? This is beyond comprehension. When the people of Punjab have immersed themselves in the anti-drug movement, then the attempt to make the soil, water and air of Punjab more poisonous and addictive through GM is highly condemnable,' the organisation stated.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
‘Confined field trials' on GM maize to begin soon at Punjab Agricultural University
The field trials of two kinds of genetically modified (GM) maize are expected to begin in the ongoing kharif (summer) season at the Punjab Agricultural University, days after the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, the country's top regulator for the sector, gave the nod for the trials, after receiving consent from the Punjab government. In its meeting in June, the committee recommended a proposal by Bayer Crop Science Limited for the conduct of confined field trials on herbicide-tolerant transgenic maize, and insect-resistant transgenic maize at the Ludhiana-based university for this year's kharif season. Activists, however, have raised the alarm against the move. The trials will study weed-control efficacy in herbicide-tolerant maize hybrids with the application of Glyphosate-K salt, and the efficacy of insect-protected maize hybrids against targeted lepidopteran pests. 'The field trials will begin soon as this is the right time for sowing maize,' Punjab Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal told The Hindu. The university had no involvement in decisions related to the commercialisation of the crop; its mandate was limited to conducting research, under which the field trials would be conducted on GM maize, Mr. Gosal said, dismissing concerns over genetic modification. 'At the Punjab Agricultural University, we have the necessary infrastructure, facilities and experts, so we are going ahead with the trials. We need to understand that, unless we study the matter, we will not know whether it's good or bad. The trials are for research purposes only, and we are not going to recommend that it (GM maize) should be grown commercially or not. It's for the Central government to take a call. We would be conducting the trials adhering to the guidelines of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and established standards of procedures. It's a research institute, and it's our mandate to conduct research,' Mr. Gosal said. The Coalition for a GM-Free India, a platform advocating safe and sustainable agriculture, has urged the Punjab government to withdraw its No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the trials. In a letter to Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Kavitha Kuruganti, co-convenor of the coalition, said that the State government had an issued order prohibiting the usage of glyphosate, a deadly herbicide with a large body of scientific literature pointing to its negative impacts on human health and the environment. '...How can the university experiment with herbicide-tolerant maize that has been modified to withstand the application of glyphosate, which is in itself against the legally-approved label claim for glyphosate in India's pesticides regulatory regime?' Ms. Kuruganti said. In 2018, the Punjab government banned the sale of glyphosate, a herbicide used extensively in the State to control a wide variety of weeds in almost all crops. Pointing out that the State government's NOC would result in national repercussions, Ms. Kuruganti urged the State to prioritise an inquiry into the scientific basis on which such NOCs were being issued, and to immediately withdraw the NOC that has been issued for confined field trials on GM maize.
Hindustan Times
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Rain inundates south Malwa districts
The rainfall in the entire semi-arid region of Punjab threw life out of gear on Monday. Even as the intermittent rain lashed the region since morning, many low-lying areas on arterial roads got heavily waterlogged. According to Punjab Agricultural University's observatory at the Bathinda-based regional research centre, 79 mm of rainfall was recorded till 2.30 the region has no dedicated stormwater network, sewage lines are used for rainwater drainage. There was a flood-like situation in most parts of Bathinda city, with water level reaching over five feet at some places. (Picture only for representational purpose) Roof of a house collapsed in Bathinda's Parasram Nagar locality. No one reportedly suffered injury in the incident. Many parts of Bathinda and other districts were inundated by afternoon as the municipal authorities have failed to come up with a solution to the chronic problem that plagues various towns and cities, including Bathinda, Ferozepur, Mansa and Abohar. There was a flood-like situation in most parts of Bathinda city, with water level reaching over five feet at some places. Low-lying areas such as Power House Road, Mall Road, Paras Ram Nagar, Sirki Bazaar and 100 Feet Road were the worst-affected by the rainfall. The area around the district administrative complex (DAC) that has the official residences of the deputy commissioner, senior superintendent of police (SSP) and judicial officials was flooded. Rainwater entered the women police station complex which is located opposite the DAC.
