AI makes Karnataka's Aland’s sugarcane farmers aim high on yield

The sugarcane growers in Tadakal and surrounding villages of Aland taluk have got almost double yield using Artificial Intelligence. 

Adopted for the first time in the state, this has enabled precision irrigation, reducing costs by 30-40 per cent.

AI is guiding farmers on when and how much water and nutrients should be given to the crop. The growers have taken a cue from AI technology adopted in the sugarcane belt of Baramati in Maharashtra.

NSL Sugars is encouraging farmers cultivating on 500 acres of land under its purview by providing advance amount towards cultivation cost to them. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of Baramati and Microsoft are partnering in this initiative.

The farmers have incorporated IoT sensors — including soil moisture probes, flow meters, canopy and leaf‑wetness monitors and GPS‑based yield trackers —to enable precise, real‑time field insights.

Complemented by AI‑driven analytics, automated irrigation controls and optimised irrigation scheduling, these technologies support data‑driven decisions and strengthen overall sustainability of the crop. 

A weather station has been set up within the 3-km radius of the sugarcane fields and the censor equipment provide inputs to Microsoft company about climatic changes, rainfall indication, temperature, chances of sudden rainfall apart from monitoring moisture condition, temperature, nutrients, pests and crop growth through satellite.

KVK officials in Baramati send messages to the mobile phones of farmers through AI technology about pest attacks and water management by collecting these inputs.

The farmers claimed wastage of fertilisers can be avoided and productivity increased significantly by planting sugarcane with a spacing of six feet between rows instead of the normal three feet, which restricts air circulation and sunlight, leading to reduced yield. 

Farmer Basavaraj Patil Koralli, who cultivated 18 acres and got an yield of 105 tonnes per acre, said planting sugarcane with a spacing of six feet enhances photosynthesis and improves sugar content in crop.

Water, fertilizer efficiency

Udaykumar Pavadashetty, a farmer from Tadakal village, who is a software engineer, said he has significantly improved water and fertilizer efficiency, resulting in nearly a 40 per cent increase in sugarcane yield with implementation of a comprehensive drip irrigation system.

“To further enhance productivity, I am planning to adopt AI,” he said.

The factory is planning to provide training and sensor-based equipment to farmers adopting AI-based cultivation. It is planning to increase area under cultivation with this technology.

“Use of AI will help save 30 per cent water, 40 per cent fertilisers and increase yield by 40 per cent, supplying water and nutrients directly to the crop’s root zone through drip irrigation,” the factory’s deputy general manager Ambrishi Kadam said.

NSL Sugars unit-2 chairman G R Chintala said the factory had decided to give 50 per cent of the sugarcane cultivation cost as advance assistance to growers in the factory’s command area.