Evolutionary Algorithms and Agricultural Systems deals with the practical application of evolutionary algorithms to the study and management of agricultural systems. The rationale of systems research methodology is introduced, and examples listed of real-world applications. It is the integration of these agricultural systems models with optimization techniques, primarily genetic algorithms, which forms the focus of this book. The advantages are outlined, with examples of agricultural models ranging from national and industry-wide studies down to the within-farm scale. The potential problems of this approach are also discussed, along with practical methods of resolving these problems. Agricultural applications using alternate optimization techniques (gradient and direct-search methods, simulated annealing and quenching, and the tabu search strategy) are also listed and discussed. The particular problems and methodologies of these algorithms, including advantageous features that may benefit a hybrid approach or be usefully incorporated into evolutionary algorithms, are outlined. From consideration of this and the published examples, it is concluded that evolutionary algorithms are the superior method for the practical optimization of models of agricultural and natural systems. General recommendations on robust options and parameter settings for evolutionary algorithms are given for use in future studies. Evolutionary Algorithms and Agricultural Systems will prove useful to practitioners and researchers applying these methods to the optimization of agricultural or natural systems, and would also be suited as a text for systems management, applied modeling, or operations research.

Modern agriculture needs to have high production efficiency combined with a high quality of obtained products. This applies to both crop and livestock production. To meet these requirements, advanced methods of data analysis are more and more frequently used, including those derived from artificial intelligence methods. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are one of the most popular tools of this kind. They are widely used in solving various classification and prediction tasks, for some time also in the broadly defined field of agriculture. They can form part of precision farming and decision support systems. Artificial neural networks can replace the classical methods of modelling many issues, and are one of the main alternatives to classical mathematical models. The spectrum of applications of artificial neural networks is very wide. For a long time now, researchers from all over the world have been using these tools to support agricultural production, making it more efficient and providing the highest-quality products possible.

This book covers the emerging applications of different computational and optimization techniques in order to achieve a sustainable agriculture. A sustainable agricultural management requires tools in providing integrated, area-specifi c, and interpreted prediction or forecasting and guidance in every aspect in agriculture.

One of the ultimate goals in Robotics is to create autonomous robots. Such robots will accept high-level descriptions of tasks and will execute them without further human intervention. The input descriptions will specify what the user wants done rather than how to do it. The robots will be any kind of versatile mechanical device equipped with actuators and sensors under the control of a computing system. Making progress toward autonomous robots is of major practical inter est in a wide variety of application domains including manufacturing, construction, waste management, space exploration, undersea work, as sistance for the disabled, and medical surgery. It is also of great technical interest, especially for Computer Science, because it raises challenging and rich computational issues from which new concepts of broad useful ness are likely to emerge. Developing the technologies necessary for autonomous robots is a formidable undertaking with deep interweaved ramifications in auto mated reasoning, perception and control. It raises many important prob lems. One of them - motion planning - is the central theme of this book. It can be loosely stated as follows: How can a robot decide what motions to perform in order to achieve goal arrangements of physical objects? This capability is eminently necessary since, by definition, a robot accomplishes tasks by moving in the real world. The minimum one would expect from an autonomous robot is the ability to plan its x Preface own motions.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) present many benefits in analyzing complex data in a proficient manner. As an effective and efficient problem-solving method, ANNs are incredibly useful in many different fields. From education to medicine and banking to engineering, artificial neural networks are a growing phenomenon as more realize the plethora of uses and benefits they provide. Due to their complexity, it is vital for researchers to understand ANN capabilities in various fields. The Research Anthology on Artificial Neural Network Applications covers critical topics related to artificial neural networks and their multitude of applications in a number of diverse areas including medicine, finance, operations research, business, social media, security, and more. Covering everything from the applications and uses of artificial neural networks to deep learning and non-linear problems, this book is ideal for computer scientists, IT specialists, data scientists, technologists, business owners, engineers, government agencies, researchers, academicians, and students, as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about how artificial neural networks can be used across a wide range of fields.

Agro-informatics is the application in agriculture with innovative ideas, techniques and scientific knowledge to expand the horizons of the Computer Science. The book contains the details about the information technology applied to management and analysis of agricultural data The book covers the diverse areas ranging from artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks, decision support system, expert system, geographic information system, information system related to agriculture, genetic algorithm, programming language with backend tool to develop softwares The book contains fifteen chapters that highlight and discuss the various dimensions of agro-informatics. It is hoped that the book will provide the basic and fundamental knowledge of understanding the concepts of Bioinformatics. This book is prepared, taking into consideration the changing needs of the undergraduate curricula of various universities involved in offering courses on agro-informatics The book will also be a guide for the researchers The book would also provide the required computer knowledge to the students

This book is as an extension of previous book “Computer Vision and Machine Learning in Agriculture” for academicians, researchers, and professionals interested in solving the problems of agricultural plants and products for boosting production by rendering the advanced machine learning including deep learning tools and techniques to computer vision algorithms. The book contains 15 chapters. The first three chapters are devoted to crops harvesting, weed, and multi-class crops detection with the help of robots and UAVs through machine learning and deep learning algorithms for smart agriculture. Next, two chapters describe agricultural data retrievals and data collections. Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9 focuses on yield estimation, crop maturity detection, agri-food product quality assessment, and medicinal plant recognition, respectively. The remaining six chapters concentrates on optimized disease recognition through computer vision-based machine and deep learning strategies.

Artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms both are areas of research which have their origins in mathematical models constructed in order to gain understanding of important natural processes. By focussing on the process models rather than the processes themselves, significant new computational techniques have evolved which have found application in a large number of diverse fields. This diversity is reflected in the topics which are subjects of the contributions to this volume. There are contributions reporting successful applications of the technology to the solution of industrial/commercial problems. This may well reflect the maturity of the technology, notably in the sense that 'real' users of modelling/prediction techniques are prepared to accept neural networks as a valid paradigm. Theoretical issues also receive attention, notably in connection with the radial basis function neural network. Contributions in the field of genetic algorithms reflect the wide range of current applications, including, for example, portfolio selection, filter design, frequency assignment, tuning of nonlinear PID controllers. These techniques are also used extensively for combinatorial optimisation problems.

This book was created with the intention of informing an international audience about the latest technological aspects for developing smart agricultural applications. As artificial intelligence (AI) takes the main role in this, the majority of the chapters are associated with the role of AI and data analytics components for better agricultural applications. The first two chapters provide alternative, wide reviews of the use of AI, robotics, and the Internet of Things as effective solutions to agricultural problems. The third chapter looks at the use of blockchain technology in smart agricultural scenarios. In the fourth chapter, a future view is provided of an Internet of Things-oriented sustainable agriculture. Next, the fifth chapter provides a governmental evaluation of advanced farming technologies, and the sixth chapter discusses the role of big data in smart agricultural applications. The role of the blockchain is evaluated in terms of an industrial view under the seventh chapter, and the eighth chapter provides a discussion of data mining and data extraction, which is essential for better further analysis by smart tools. The ninth chapter evaluates the use of machine learning in food processing and preservation, which is a critical issue for dealing with issues concerns regarding insufficient foud sources. The tenth chapter also discusses sustainability, and the eleventh chapter focuses on the problem of plant disease prediction, which is among the critical agricultural issues. Similarly, the twelfth chapter considers the use of deep learning for classifying plant diseases. Finally, the book ends with a look at cyber threats to farming automation in the thirteenth chapter and a case study of India for a better, smart, and sustainable agriculture in the fourteenth chapter. This book presents the most critical research topics of today’s smart agricultural applications and provides a valuable view for both technological knowledge and ability that will be helpful to academicians, scientists, students who are the future of science, and industrial practitioners who collaborate with academia.