Agromet

The Use of Artificial Neural Networks to Estimate Reference Evapotranspiration

Abdul Haris — 2025-04-29

Evapotranspiration is defined as the loss of water from soil and vegetation to the atmosphere, driven by weather conditions. It reduces the availability of water for agricultural purposes, which affects the amount of irrigation water, particularly during the dry season. The objective of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of the estimated reference evapotranspiration value based on artificial neural networks (ANN) with backpropagation bias 1 (BP-1) and backpropagation bias 0 (BP-0) architectures. The model was fed with data of air temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. The model is utilized to calculate the evapotranspiration using the Hargreaves method as the training data. The performance of ANN model was evaluated using the mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), and coefficient determination (R²). Our results showed that both ANN models performed well as indicated by low error (MSE < 0.01) and high R² (>0.99). Also, we found that air temperature and relative humidity determine the optimal prediction. Further, this proposed model can serve as a reference for other models seeking to determine the most appropriate computational model for evapotranspiration value estimation.

Land Management of Tidal Swamp Type B with Surjan System as Climate Change Anticipation

Ani Susilawati — 2025-05-05

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change, which can significantly impact national food security. In addition to climate change, agricultural development faces challenges, including the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. As a result, agricultural extensification has expanded into marginal lands, such as tidal swamplands. This paper presents a literature review on the characteristics of tidal swamplands, the principles of the surjan system, and its relevance in addressing climate change, particularly in the context of food security and ecosystem sustainability. Various literature sources were analyzed to assess the advantages, challenges, and sustainable management strategies of tidal swamplands. The review highlights the importance of effective land management to create suitable soil conditions for optimal plant growth and increased productivity. The surjan system, a land management approach practiced by tidal swampland farmers, demonstrates high adaptability in mitigating the impacts of climate change. This system integrates cultural, ecological, and economic perspectives by combining local knowledge with technological advancements. Key components of the surjan system include a one-way water management system with flap-gates and stoplogs, as well as the use of climate-adaptive crop varieties on tidal swamplands.

Contribution of Small Rainwater Reservoirs to Performance Off-season Vegetable Farming

Tony Basuki — 2025-06-03

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) has become essential in ensuring sustainable agricultural production amidst ongoing climate change. This study aims to analyze the impact of small rainwater reservoirs (SRRs) on the performance of off-season vegetable farming in Netpala Village, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The SRRs, constructed using plastic tarpaulin with storage capacities of 3.6 m³ and 4.3 m³, were applied to support the cultivation of mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, carrots, and eggplant during the December 2017 to April 2018 growing season. An on-farm research (OFR) approach was used to assess the effects of SRR implementation compared to traditional water management practices. Key performance indicators include cultivated land area, planting index, crop diversification, and farmer income. Results revealed that SRRs expanded the cultivated area by 21.07%, increased the planting index by 0.52 for mustard greens and 0.64 for cabbage, and boosted farmer income by 29.38%. Income levels were also influenced by factors such as market absorption, commodity prices, and land availability. These findings demonstrate that SRRs can enhance the resilience and productivity of smallholder vegetable farming systems by improving water availability during the rainy or off-season. SRRs offer a practical and scalable solution to address water scarcity and promote sustainable intensification in vulnerable agricultural regions.