Method for ascertaining plant properties of a useful plant

Abstract

The invention relates to a method, a system and a computer program product for ascertaining a plant property of a useful plant in a field, wherein external data concerning the useful plant are stored in a memory unit, wherein a measurement device ascertains a raw measured value relating to at least one plant property, and wherein a calibrated or corrected value for the plant property is ascertained on the basis of the raw measured value taking account of the external data from the memory unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving raw measured data related to a plant property of useful plants in a field;   identifying, within a digital map, subarea-specific data of the field corresponding to a position associated with the raw measured data, the digital map comprising data independent from the raw measured data; and   computing calibrated or corrected data for the plant property based at least in part on the raw measured data or the subarea-specific data.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 causing a measurement device to move through or over the field, wherein the measurement device comprises a sensor and a position determining system.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 capturing the raw measured data using a measurement device; and   associating the raw measured data with position information captured simultaneously using the position determining system.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the measurement device comprises a sensor for the actually harvested useful plant, wherein values for grain moisture content are recorded in the digital map, and wherein from the weight of the harvested grain and the grain moisture content, a calibrated grain weight, normalized to a defined grain moisture content, is computed. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the sensor is attached on a field machine selected from a group consisting of a harvesting machine, an application machine for pesticides or fertilizers, a sowing machine, and a planting machine, and wherein the calibrated or corrected data for the plant property is used for the control of the field machine. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the digital map comprises data that are the result of a plant growth model that models at least one property of the field for a time-point at which the measurement device ascertains the raw measured value related to the plant property. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the digital map of the field is stored in a memory unit which is designed in the form of a central server. 
     
     
         8 . A system comprising:
 a memory unit in which a digital map of a field is stored; and   a processor configured to:
 receive raw measured data related to a plant property of useful plants in the field; 
 identify, within the digital map, subarea-specific data of the field corresponding to a position associated with the raw measured data, the digital map comprising data independent from the raw measured data; and 
 compute calibrated or corrected data for the plant property based at least in part on the raw measured data or the subarea-specific data. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a measurement device with a sensor and a position determining system, wherein the measurement device is designed and configured to move over or through the field, and wherein the sensor is configured to capture the raw measured values and simultaneously determine the position of the measurement device in or over the field by using the position determining system.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the measurement device comprises a sensor for the actually harvested useful plant, wherein values for grain moisture content are recorded in the digital map, and wherein from the weight of the harvested grain and the grain moisture content, a calibrated grain weight, normalized to a defined grain moisture content, is computed. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor is attached on a field machine selected from a group consisting of a harvesting machine, an application machine for pesticides or fertilizers, a sowing machine, and a planting machine, and wherein the calibrated or corrected data for the plant property is used for the control of the field machine. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the digital map comprises data that are the result of a plant growth model that models at least one property of the field for a time-point at which the measurement device ascertains the raw measured value related to the plant property. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the memory unit which is designed in the form of a central server. 
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 receive raw measured data related to a plant property of useful plants in a field;   identify, within a digital map, subarea-specific data of the field corresponding to a position associated with the raw measured data, the digital map comprising data independent from the raw measured data; and   compute calibrated or corrected data for the plant property based at least in part on the raw measured data or the subarea-specific data.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions further cause a measurement device to move through or over the field, and wherein the measurement device comprises a sensor and a position determining system. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the measurement device to:
 capture the raw measured data using a measurement device; and   associate the raw measured data with position information captured simultaneously using the position determining system.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the measurement device comprises a sensor for the actually harvested useful plant, wherein values for grain moisture content are recorded in the digital map, and wherein from the weight of the harvested grain and the grain moisture content, a calibrated grain weight, normalized to a defined grain moisture content, is computed. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the sensor is attached on a field machine selected from a group consisting of a harvesting machine, an application machine for pesticides or fertilizers, a sowing machine, and a planting machine, and wherein the calibrated or corrected data for the plant property is used for the control of the field machine. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the digital map comprises data that are the result of a plant growth model that models at least one property of the field for a time-point at which the measurement device ascertains the raw measured value related to the plant property. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the digital map of the field is stored in a memory unit which is designed in the form of a central server.