Crop yield influences a farm's profitability and impacts the people who benefit from the produce. When they are down for a particular season, consumers may have difficulty sourcing healthy, nutritious foods at affordable prices. Here are seven technologies that are resulting in better yields.

1. Drones

Drones can assist farmers by helping them monitor crops or spray pesticides, but rice farmers in Ghana discovered another benefit of drones that unexpectedly boosted their yields. Dry spells and other environmental factors are making it difficult for migratory birds to rely on their usual food sources, so they come to the rice fields instead. This development means farmers must take extra time to scare the birds away, often using manual, time-consuming methods.

However, the agricultural drones used in Ghana emit a sound that frightens the flocks. Without those creatures feasting on the crops, yields improve.

2. Smartphone Apps

Farmers no longer need to rely solely on experience and educated guesses when determining how to boost yields. They have a full assortment of smartphone apps that can assist them by providing recommendations for more successful growing seasons.

For example, an Israeli company developed a smartphone application called AgroScout. It works with a drone to gather data and highlight issues that may negatively affect crop growth, such as diseases and pest infestations. Many apps also forecast risks to the growing season, allowing agricultural professionals to act quickly and mitigate the potential damage.

3. Robots

Weed management has a direct connection to crop yields. Weeds compete with crops for light, water and nutrients, which causes issues as the growing season progresses.

However, Naïo Technologies offers a weeding robot called Oz. Farmers use a remote control to guide the bot to the starting point. They then specify how many rows to weed, how far apart they are and the length of each one. After that, the robot works autonomously. This approach saves time while giving crops the best chances to grow without the disruptive influence of weeds.

4. Energy-Efficient Lights

Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are commonly used to save energy in homes and businesses alike. In the agriculture sector, horticulture lighting featuring LED bulbs can be optimized to encourage crop growth.

Seoul Semiconductor, a South Korean LED supplier, conducted experiments to show that its brand of bulbs increased yield and antioxidant content for lettuce after two weeks of use. Choosing the right kind of lights to suit agricultural needs is particularly necessary considering the rise in indoor farming. In addition, some analysts think this method could ramp up production despite challenges like climate change.

5. Big Data

Big data software can extract insights from massive quantities of information in minutes or hours. Conversely, humans working without that technological help would likely need weeks or months to draw the same conclusions.

The Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is one example of an organization that sees the potential of big data to enhance farming. It seeks to apply big data to agriculture in ways that solve problems and develop novel ways of reacting to whatever the future may bring for farming professionals. Information sharing is also an integral part of CGIAR's aims. Reducing barriers between the parties that need data should spur collaboration.

6. Plant Genetics Advancements

Scientists are working hard to learn more about plant genetics and, hopefully, reveal previously unknown details that could increase yields. One example of recent progress occurred when a team found novel genetic variations in sorghum's MSD2 gene. Their discovery allows making a tweak to double the amount of grain produced by a sorghum plant.

People use sorghum for human and animal food, as well as biofuel. Thus, this revelation about how to increase yields could substantially reduce future food security challenges.

7. Artificial Intelligence

Modern farmers face a wide variety of obstacles that can lead to lost profits and disappointing seasons. Maize growers in the northern region of Córdoba, Colombia, dealt with erratic weather patterns for years. However, researchers combined big data with machine learning — a subset of artificial intelligence — to help them achieve better yields even when Mother Nature wreaked havoc.

This CGIAR-associated project compiled 10 years of data, and machine learning algorithms transformed the information into new growing guidelines. The farmers who applied those recommendations saw increased yields of up to 40%, plus got suggestions for reducing fertilizer applications and coping with excessive rainfall.

Technology Increases the Likelihood of Better Yields

The solutions here won't succeed in every case. However, the examples provided highlight why technology is crucial for helping farmers overcome obstacles that cause poor yields. As the technologies mentioned continue to improve, so too should results that users can anticipate.

About the author: Emily Folk is a sustainability writer and avid gardener. You can read more of her work on her site, Conservation Folks, where she writes about helping tomorrow’s planet today.