Comprehensive Evaluation of Soil Moisture Sensing Technology Applications Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process and Delphi

Limin Yu, Sha Tao, Yanzhao Ren, Wanlin Gao, Xinliang Liu, Yongkang Hu and Redmond R. Shamshiri
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Limin Yu: College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Sha Tao: College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Yanzhao Ren: National Engineering Laboratory for Agri-Product Quality Traceability, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100083, China
Wanlin Gao: College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Xinliang Liu: National Engineering Laboratory for Agri-Product Quality Traceability, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100083, China
Yongkang Hu: College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Redmond R. Shamshiri: Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, 14469 Potsdam, Germany

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The demand for smart irrigation and water-saving practices in agriculture has triggered the development of different soil moisture sensing techniques that can operate under harsh field conditions. In this study, a soil moisture sensing technology appropriate for the field applications was comprehensively evaluated. From a qualitative and quantitative perspective, the Delphi and analytic hierarchy process methods were used to construct an index system involving technological advantage, economic benefit, risk analysis, policy support, four second-level indicators, and 23 fourth-level indicators. The results showed that economic benefits account for the largest weight. The practical evaluation resulted in 12 farms that showed that the selected soil water sensing methods performed reasonably and exhibited obvious water-saving irrigation benefits, which are usually used for scheduling irrigation. The overall score of M4 in different soil types was 0.2% lower than that of M5. Farms with reasonable economic conditions and a high awareness scored 5.3% higher on technology than those with modest economic conditions, which clearly affects the evaluation scores of the two technologies. The evaluation results help farmers and government decision-making bodies in technology selection, production decision-making, and risk control.

Keywords: soil water sensing technology; index system; comprehensive evaluation; analytic hierarchy process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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