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Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming

Chapter · April 2014

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1103.9689

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148 Precision Farming : A New Approach

Laser Guided Land Leveling

9 and Grading for Precision
Farming
☞ Shiv Kumar Lohan1, ☞ Harminder Singh Sidhu2
and ☞ Manpreet Singh3

L and leveling is necessary for taking up good agronomic, soil and crop
management practices. Land leveling saves irrigation water, facilitates field
operations and increases yield and quality of the produce. Leveled land also helps
in mechanization of various field operations. Land leveling may be carried out to
produce a level land without any slope, such as followed in case of rice or a slope
may be given in one direction or two perpendicular directions.
This chapter explains the different ways to level fields and the agricultural
and financial benefits of good land leveling as part of land preparation. The
unevenness in land level (sometimes called surface topography) within a field has a
major effect on crop management and crop yields. Unevenness in land level results
in uneven water coverage. Uneven water coverage means that more water is needed
to wet up the soil for land preparation and plant establishment reducing the effective
time available to complete these tasks. Unevenness in land level results in uneven
crop stands, increased weeds and uneven maturing crops. All of these factors result
in reduced yields and reduced grain quality. Effective land leveling will improve
crop establishment and care, reduce the amount of effort required to manage the
crop and will increase both grain quality and yields.

WHY LASER LAND LEVELING?

Laser leveling is a laser guided precision leveling technique used for achieving
fine leveling with the desired grade on the agricultural field. Laser leveling uses a
laser transmitter unit that constantly emits 3600 rotating beam parallel to the required
field plane. This beam is received by a laser receiver fitted on a mast on the scraper
unit. The signal received is converted in to cut and fill level adjustments and the
corresponding changes in scraper level carried out automatically by a two way
hydraulic control valve. Laser leveling maintains the grade by automatically
performing the cutting and filling operations. The field is cultivated and planked
before using the laser land leveler. A grid survey is performed using grade rod to
identify highs and lows in the field and mean grade is found. A grid spacing of

1&3
Deptt. of Farm Machinery & Power Engineering PAU, Ludhiana - 141 001
2
Borlaug Institute for South Asia, Punjab Agricultural University Campus, Ludhiana- 141001
Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming 149

10m x 10m is maintained for accurate land survey, however this spacing can be
varied depending upon the size of the field. For practical purpose and with experience,
grid surveys can be done by pacing off the distances. A map is then drawn to indicate
high areas which require soil to be cut and the lows which require soil to be added
(Sidhu et al, 2007).

LASER LAND LEVELING AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN PRECISION

FARMING
Precision agriculture involves optimum application rate and placement of
inputs so as to maximise crop yields, reduce inputs and subsequently input cost
and also reduce operational costs. Precision land leveling through operation of
laser guided land leveler ensures accurate land leveling and grading, ensuring the
following:
· Uniform application of water in different parts of the field.
· Prevents accumulation of water in depressions.
· Uniform sowing depth leading to uniform emergence pattern.
· Higher crop yields due to the above factors.
· Laser guided land leveler gives a maximum average deviation of 1-2
cm as compared to 5-10 cm in conventional leveling.

Fig. 9.1: Principle of laser land leveling

Benefits of Land Leveling

· Increase in water application efficiency up to 50 per cent.
· Reduces the amount of water required for land preparation(20 – 30
per cent), hence saving in energy (diesel/electricity)
· Better crop stand due to even application of fertilizers and other inputs
i.e. improvement in crop yield by 10 to 15 per cent.
· Less area under bunds/ridges i.e., increase in 8 to 10 per cent area
under the crop.
· Reduced labour requirement for irrigation.
150 Precision Farming : A New Approach

· Totally automatic (less load on operator)

· Effective land leveling reduces the work in crop establishment and
crop management, and increases the yield and quality.
· Level land improves water coverage that improves crop establishment
· Reduces weed problems
· Improves uniformity of crop maturity
· Decreases the time to complete tasks
· More level and smooth soil surface
· Reduction in time and water required to irrigate the field
· More uniform distribution of water in the field
· More uniform moisture environment for crops
· More uniform germination and fast growth of crops
· Reduction in seeds rates, fertilizer, chemicals and fuel used in cultural
co-operation
· Improved field used traffic ability (for subsequent operations)

INCREASING WEED CONTROL AND CROP YIELD

Research has shown a large increase in rice yield due to proper field leveling.
A large part of this increase is due to improved weed control. It improves water
coverage from better land leveling and reduces weeds by up to 40 per cent. This
reduction in weeds results in less time for weeding. A reduction from 21 to 5 labour-
days per hectare is achieved (Jat et al., 2006).

Seeding Practices
Leveling reduces the time taken for planting, transplanting and direct seeding.
Land leveling provides greater opportunity to use direct seeding. The possible
reduction in labour by changing from transplanting to direct seeding is
approximately 30 person-days per hectare.

Efficiency of Water Use

Rice farmers using animals or two-wheel tractors rely on water to accumulate
in the field before starting land preparation. The average difference in height between
the highest and lowest portions of rice fields in Asia is 160 mm. This means that in
an unleveled field an extra 80 mm to 100 mm of water must be stored in the field to
give complete water coverage. This is nearly an extra 10 per cent of the total water
requirement to grow the crop. The economics of land leveling and the initial cost of
land leveling for using contractors and machinery is high. The costs of leveling vary
according to the topography, the shape of the field and the equipment used.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF LAND LEVELING

Although the initial cost of land leveling is an extra expense, a cash flow over
the years shows that financial benefits do result from land leveling. There are many
Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming 151

financial benefits can be gained through land leveling. What it does not include are
the benefits of being able to direct seed, plow the field on time, harvest evenly ripened
crop and shed flood waters more rapidly. While poor farmers may have problems
financing a contractor to level land, it is quite possible for all farmers to level part of
their land each year using animals and harrows during the normal plowing cycle.

Components of laser Leveler

The laser control system requires a laser transmitter, a laser receiver, an electrical
control panel and a twin solenoid hydraulic control valve.

The Laser Transmitter

The laser transmitter transmits a laser beam which is intercepted by the laser
receiver mounted on the leveling bucket. The control panel mounted on the tractor
interprets the signal from the receiver and opens or closes the hydraulic control
valve which will raise or lower the bucket.

Laser Emitter
The laser emitter unit sends continuous
self-leveled laser beam signal with 360 o laser
reference up to a command radius of 300-400 m
(depending upon it’s range) for auto guidance
of the receiving unit. The laser emitter is mounted
on a tripod stand placed just outside the field to
be laser leveled and high enough to have
unobstructed laser beam travel. Different
working components and controls on the laser
emitter unit include laser emission indicator, low
battery assembly and manual mode indicator
for setting of desired grade.

Laser Beam Receiver Fig. 9.2: Laser Emitter

The laser receiver mounted on the scraper, is an omni-directional (360°) receiver

that detects the position of the laser
reference plane and transmits it to the
control box. Further, this control box directs
the double actuating hydraulic valve for
desired upward and downward
movement of scraper blade to obtain the
leveled field. The grade position LED’s
indicate the position of the machine’s blade
relative to the plane of the laser light from
the laser emitter. These lamps function in
the same way as the grade position lamps
on the control box mounted on tractor
except they flash instead of lighting Fig. 9.3: Laser Beam Receiver
solidity.
152 Precision Farming : A New Approach

Control Box
The control box is to be mounted on the tractor so
that the operator can easily access the switches and view
the indicator lamps. The control box has the main
control unit for actuating the double acting hydraulic
valves. The control box receives and processes signals
from the laser receiver mounted on the bucket. It displays
these signals to indicate the drag bucket’s position
relative to the finished grade. The control box is set to
automatic position, it provides electrical output for
driving the hydraulic valve to operate scraper
automatically. Fig. 9.4: Control Box

Hydraulic valve assembly

The valve assembly regulates the flow
of tractor hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder
to raise and lower the scraper blade. The oil
supplied by the tractor’s hydraulic pump is
normally delivered at 2000-3000 psi pressure.
As the hydraulic pump is a positive
displacement pump and always pumping more
oil than required, a pressure relief valve has also
been provided in the system to return the excess
oil to the tractor reservoir. The solenoid control
valve controls the flow of oil to the hydraulic Fig. 9.5: Hydraulic valve assembly
ram which raises and lowers the bucket. The
desired rate at which the bucket could be raised and lowered is dependent on the
operating speed and amount of oil supplied to the delivery line.

Laser eye
Laser eye is to be mounted on the
grade survey rod for obtaining the level of
the field. It contains a laser receiving panel
and when the laser emitted by the laser
emitter panel falls in the center of this eye,
a continuous beep sound indicates the
level of that specific point with respect to
the laser emitter.
The grade of that point is the read
from grade rod. Fig. 9.6: Field Survey before laser leveling

Source of Power
A four-wheel tractor is required to drag the leveling bucket. The size of the
tractor can vary from 30-500 hp depending on the time restraints and field sizes. In
Asia tractors ranging in size from 30-100 hp have been successfully used with laser-
Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming 153

controlled systems. It is preferable to have a four wheel drive tractor than two wheel
drive and the higher the horsepower the faster will be the operation. Power shift
transmissions in the tractor are preferred to manual shift transmissions.

Ploughing
The fields will require plowing before and after land leveling. Depending on
the amount of soil that must be cut it may also be necessary to plow during the
leveling operation. Disc, moldboard or tine plows can be used.

Drag Bucket
The leveling bucket can be either three-point linkage mounted or pulled by the
tractor’s drawbar. Pull type systems are preferred as it is easier to connect the tractor’s
hydraulic system to an external hydraulic ram than connect to the internal control
system used by the three-point-linkage system. Bucket dimensions and capacity
will vary according to the available power source and field conditions. A 60 hp
tractor will pull a 2 m wide x 1 m deep bucket in most soil types. The design
specifications for the bucket should match the available power from the tractor.

Design of laser guided land leveler

Design Principles
· The mapping of the field for reduced levels should be accurate, for this
the maximum error permissible should be 2 mm at 100 m distance.
· The laser system should be selected based on the requirements-
leveling without any slope as required for rice fields, leveling in the
plane of desired slope in one direction and leveling in the plane of
desired slope in two perpendicular directions as required for drainage
operations.
· The laser guided land leveler is used for final leveling and grading
after rough leveling has been carried out. Even then the deviation
from average level is sometimes 10 cm or more. The laser receiver
should be able to receive signals when deviation is 15 cm.
· Range of the laser transmitter should be at least 300 m.
· The control box of the laser leveler should be able to operate on DC
power obtained from tractor battery of 12 V.
· The hydr aulic system should be designed so that the once desired signal
is received from the laser system, the drag scraper should move down or
up to desired level in shortest possible time. In other words, the response
time of the leveler should be as less as possible.
· The size of the drag scraper should be matching to the power of the
tractor.

Selection of laser system specifications based on design principles

· Select the type of laser transmitter based on requirements- level, single
slope or dual slope.
154 Precision Farming : A New Approach

· Self leveling arrangement of transmitter.

· Range of laser transmitter 300 m or more.
· Minimum width of sensing portion of receiver should be 30 cm for
receiver mounted on drag scraper.
· Minimum width of sensing portion of receiver used for mapping
should be 20 cm or more.
· Control box should be operated by 12 V DC current obtained from
tractor battery.

Hydraulic System Design

The hydraulic system supplies oil to raise and lower the levelling bucket. A
pressure relief valve is needed in the system to return the excess oil to the tractor
reservoir. If this relief valve is not large enough or it malfunctions, damage can be
caused to the tractor’s hydraulic pump. Components of external hydraulic system
are, (i) Solenoid operated directional control valve, (ii) Pressure relief valve if tapping
is taken other than auxiliary hydraulic outlet of tractor, (iii) Hydraulic cylinder and
(iv) Hydraulic hose pipes, couplers etc.
· Solenoid operated directional control valve should be having capacity
more than maximum flow rate of hydraulic system.
· For 50 to 60 hp tractors, flow rate is about 25-35 l/min.
· Selection of hydraulic cylinder is carried out with a view to minimise
response time.
· Since the laser guided land leveler is designed for final precision
leveling, the maximum depth of operation is considered as 15 cm.

Field Operation and Calibration

Land leveling makes possible the use of larger fields. Larger fields increase the
farming area and improve operational efficiency. Increasing field sizes from 0.1
hectare to 0.5 hectare increases the farming area by between 5 per cent and 7 per
cent. This increase in farming area gives to farmer option to reshape the farming
area that can reduce operating time by 10 per cent to 15 per cent. The field should be
preferably plowed from the center of the field outwards. Plow when the soil is moist,
because if it is plowed dry a significant increase in tractor power is required and
large clod sizes may result. Cut up or remove surface residues to aid soil flow from
the bucket (Chandiramani, 2007)
Following are the guidelines for setting up the laser emitter, laser receiver, laser
eye and control box on tractor.
· The laser emitter and laser eye should be fully charged or equipped
with replicable batteries with sufficient battery back-up before taken
to field.
· The electrical connections of control box on tractor and double
actuating valve should be made properly.
Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming 155

· Choose a location in the field for the laser emitter (to be fixed on tripod)
where obstruction, such as trees and buildings, passages etc. do not
block the plane of laser light. The laser receiver on scraper should be
able to sense the plane of laser light all times.
· As far as possible, set up the laser emitter and receiver at a height
above the tractor’s canopy or any cab or roll over protection attachment
to avoid any blocking to the plane of laser beam as the machine/
equipment moves around the field.
· Fix the laser eye on the graded rod for the field level survey (as
mentioned below) which is essential for estimating the quantum of
work and find the level plane to maintain as per needs.
· Sufficient number of iron or wooden pegs should be arranged for
marking the different points in field during survey.

Land survey
A topographic survey should be conducted to record the high and low spots in
the field. The mean height of the field can be calculated by taking the sum of all the
readings and dividing by the number of readings taken. Then, using a field diagram
and the mean height of the field, determine how to move soil effectively from the
high to low areas.

Fig.9.7: Contour map and digital elevation map in Gurusar Kaonke village (Punjab).

Field evaluation
The evaluation of levelling a field involves the following steps:
· The laser controlled bucket should be positioned at a point that
represents the mean height of the field.
· The cutting blade should be set slightly above ground level (1-2 cm)
· The tractor should then be driven in a circular direction from the high
areas to the lower areas in the field.
· To maximize working efficiency, as soon as the bucket is near filled
with soil the operator should turn and drive towards the lower area.
Similarly, when the bucket is near empty the tractor should be turned
and driven back to the higher areas.
156 Precision Farming : A New Approach

· When the whole field has been covered, the tractor and bucket should
then do a final levelling pass in long runs from the high end of the
field to the lower end.
· Re survey to make sure that the desired level of precision has been
attained.
· The fields should not require further major leveling works for at least
8 years.

Limitations
· High cost of the equipment/laser instrument.
· Need for skilled operator to set/adjust laser settings and operate the
tractor.
· More efficient for regularly sized and shaped field.
Unevenness of the soil surface has a major impact on the germination, stand
and yield of crops through nutrient water interaction and salt and soil moisture
distribution pattern.
Land leveling is a precursor to good agronomic, soil and crop management
practices. Resource conserving technologies perform better on well-leveled and laid-
out fields. Farmers has recognize this and therefore, devote considerable attention
and resources in leveling their fields properly. However, traditional methods of
leveling land are not only more cumbersome and time consuming but more expensive
as well. Very often most rice farmers level their fields under ponded water conditions.
The others dry level their fields and check level by ponding water. Thus, in the
process of a having good leveling in fields, a considerable amount of water is wasted.
It is a common knowledge that most of the farmers apply irrigation water until all
the parcels are fully wetted and covered with a thin sheet of water. Studies have
indicated that (20-25 per cent) amount of irrigation water is lost during its application
at the farm due to poor farm designing and unevenness of the fields. This problem is
more pronounced in the case of rice fields. Unevenness of fields leads to inefficient
use of irrigation water and also delays tillage and crop establishment options. Fields
that are not level have uneven crop stands, increased weed burdens and uneven
maturing of crops. All these factors tend to contribute to reduced yield and grain
quality which reduce the potential farm gate income. Effective land leveling is meant
to optimize water use efficiency, improve crop establishment, reduce the irrigation
time and effort required to manage crop.
Laser land leveling seeks to explain the benefits of land leveling in fields,
particularly rice fields, and help develop skills of farmers and operators in using
laser technology to achieve a level field surface. It is also intended to enable the users
to identify and understand the working of the various components of a laser-
controlled land leveling system, undertake a topographic survey using a laser system,
set up and use a laser-controlled leveling system and troubleshoot a laser-controlled
leveling system. It is hoped that the users (farmers and service providers) will find
this information useful in adopting resource conserving technology as a precursor
to several other improved agronomic, soil and crop management practices.
Laser Guided Land Leveling and Grading for Precision Farming 157

PROCEDURE FOR TESTING OF LASER GUIDED LAND LEVELER

The variables need to be measured for testing of laser guided land leveler are,
accuracy of leveling, subjective methods, contour maps, surface charts, measurement
of variations in reduced levels and calculating standard deviation of reduced levels,
leveling index, forward speed, field capacity, capacity of the leveler, Fuel
consumption and cost of operation.

EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
· Reduced levels of grid points (10X10 m) are taken prior to and after
leveling.
· In case of leveling the slope is 00 in both directions.
· In case of grading, the laser transmitter is adjusted for slope in both
directions. The laser beams are then transmitted in plane of the grade
set. Reduced levels readings are taken before and after grading with
respect to this plane.
· While grading, observations on forward speed, field capacity and fuel
consumption are taken.
· From readings of reduced levels, mean and standard deviation of
reduced levels are calculated.
· The numerical difference between mean reduced level and actual
reduced levels are calculated. The average value gives the leveling
index.

Break even Usage of Laser Land Leveler

The initial cost of the Laser leveler is quite high so this type of service should be
available on custom hiring to the farmers. PAU has already been advocating the use
of costly farm machinery through cooperative societies, custom hiring or contracting
to make these services available to all categories of farmers to reduce its operating
cost because it improves the annual use and thus reduce the cost of farming. Fig. 9.8
presents the break even usage of laser land leveler.

Fig. 9.8: Break even Usage of Laser Land Leveler

 158 Precision Farming : A New Approach

GROWTH OF LASER LEVELING IN PUNJAB

The work on laser land leveling was started in rice crop initially from 2005-06
from 8 units of machine at PAU and various farmer’s field in farmer’s participatory
research mode. Few machinery modifications has also been done like hitch system
of scraper bucket was modified from it’s V shape to Y shape which improved it’s
turning radius by 27 per cent for it’s easy manure-ability in the small fields and
hydraulic control system of the scraper bucket was simplified for easy, simplified
and leak proof operation and machine working. The main intention was to
authenticate the replicated trial’s results (in terms of water saving and better yields
etc.) with the farmer’s managed fields. Then more efforts were made for the
popularization of this technology by organizing trainings for farmers, contractors
and Govt officials, demonstrations, field days and workshops for all the stake holders.
Machinery manufacturers were also enrolled in to the potential future growth of the
technology to maintain the price & quality simultaneously. In Punjab the area covered
under laser leveling has been increased tremendously in last few years (Fig. 9.9).

Fig. 9.9: Growth of Laser Land Leveling area in Punjab.

(Source: Sidhu et al., 2007& 2012 )

REFERENCES
Chandiramani M, Kosina P, Jones. (2007).Cereal Knowledge Bank. (knowledgebank.
cimmyt.org). IRRI-CIMMYT alliance.
Jat ML, Chandna P, Gupta R, Sharma SK and Gill MA. (2006). Laser Land Leveling: A
Precursor Technology for Resource Conservation. Rice-Wheat Consortium Technical
Bulletin Series 7. New Delhi: Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains.
Sidhu HS, Mahal JS, Dhaliwal IS, Bector V, Manpreet S, Sharda A, Singh T. (2007). Laser land
levelling: A boon for sustaining Punjab agriculture. Farm Machinery Bulletin 2007/
01.Department of Farm Power & Machinery, PAU, Ludhiana.
Sidhu HS. (2012). Laser Land Leveling – A Technology for Resource Conservation. ppt.
BISA project. Punjab.
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