9.5 KiB
SmartCane Growth & Harvest System - QUICK START GUIDE
🎯 TL;DR: What You Need to Know
The Three Key Concepts
- Growth Phase = Age since planting (4 phases: Germination → Tillering → Grand Growth → Maturation)
- CI (Chlorophyll Index) = Vegetation health from satellite (0.5 = bare field, 3.5 = peak growth)
- Harvest Prediction = Estimate when CI will drop (indicating harvest)
🚀 Quick Start: 3 Essential Commands
Command 1: Check Current Growth Phases
cd "c:\Users\timon\Resilience BV\4020 SCane ESA DEMO - Documenten\General\4020 SCDEMO Team\4020 TechnicalData\WP3\smartcane_v2\smartcane"
# Generate Word report showing what phase each field is in
Rscript r_app/14_generate_report_with_phases.R esa 2025-12-03
Output: reports/kpis/field_analysis/*.docx — Professional Word report with:
- Field names + current phase
- CI values this week
- Trend arrows (↑ growing, ↓ declining, → stable)
Command 2: Predict Harvest Dates
# Predict when fields will be ready to harvest
Rscript predict_harvest_operational.R
Output: Console output showing:
Field Current_CI Phase Days_to_Harvest Alert
SIMBA_P01 3.2 Grand Growth 45 days 💡 WITHIN 1 MONTH
SIMBA_P02 2.8 Maturation 12 days ⚠️ WITHIN 2 WEEKS
SIMBA_P03 2.4 declining_harvest 5 days 🚨 IMMINENT
Command 3: Analyze Historical Patterns
# See what CI looks like around actual harvests
Rscript r_app/experiments/harvest_prediction/detect_harvest_retrospective_bfast.R
Output:
detected_harvests_bfast.csv— All detected harvests from historybfast_breaks_count.png— Visual confirmation of detection accuracy- Console: Validation against actual harvest.xlsx dates
📊 Understanding the Growth Phase System
How Phases are Assigned
Age Since Planting Growth Phase
0-6 weeks → Germination
4-16 weeks → Tillering
17-39 weeks → Grand Growth
39+ weeks → Maturation
Example Timeline:
Week 0 (Jan 1) → Germination starts, CI = 0.8
Week 10 (Mar 12) → Tillering phase, CI = 2.5, heavy rainfall = good
Week 25 (Jun 20) → Grand Growth peak, CI = 3.4, getting ready
Week 42 (Sep 7) → Maturation begins, CI = 3.3, sugar accumulating
Week 55 (Nov 30) → Harvest window, CI dropping 2.8 → 2.5, HARVEST SOON!
What Each Phase Means for Harvest
| Phase | What's Happening | Harvest Risk | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germination | Seeds sprouting | ❌ None yet | Monitor |
| Tillering | Shoots growing | ❌ Still young | Keep watering |
| Grand Growth | Peak growth | ⚠️ Starting to mature | Plan harvest window |
| Maturation | Sugar concentrating | 🚨 Ready soon | Watch weekly for CI drop |
📈 How to Read CI Values
CI Value What It Means Harvest Status
0.0-1.0 Bare/no crop ✅ Recently harvested
1.0-2.0 Germinating/early growth ❌ Not ready
2.0-2.8 Active growth ⚠️ Getting close (mature crops)
2.8-3.2 Peak growth 💡 Ready window approaching
3.2-3.5 Healthy mature crop ✅ Could harvest now
3.5+ Exceptional growth ✅ Definitely harvest-ready
The Harvest Signal:
CI dropping below 2.5= Harvest has likely occurredCI stable at 3.0+ for >6 weeks= Ready to harvest anytimeCI rising= Crop still growing, don't harvest yet
🔍 Diagnosing Issues: Troubleshooting Guide
Problem: "My field shows Germination but it's been 20 weeks!"
→ Cause: Planting date in database is wrong
→ Fix: Check harvest.xlsx → season_start column → correct if needed
Problem: "CI graph shows huge jumps up/down"
→ Cause: Cloud cover or sensor error → Fix: Look at smoothed line (7-day rolling average), not raw values
Problem: "Harvest prediction says 2 weeks but field looks mature"
→ Cause: Model uses historical peak-to-harvest duration (120-150 days) → Fix: Override if field visibly ready; model learns from each new harvest
Problem: "Different scripts give different harvest dates"
→ Cause: Multiple prediction methods not unified
→ Fix: Use predict_harvest_operational.R as the PRIMARY source of truth
📊 Key Files to Know
| File | Purpose | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
predict_harvest_operational.R |
Primary harvest prediction | Every week, for alerts |
r_app/14_generate_report_with_phases.R |
Generate Word reports | Weekly reporting |
laravel_app/storage/app/esa/Data/harvest.xlsx |
Ground truth harvest dates | For validation & learning |
r_app/03_interpolate_growth_model.R |
Refresh CI data | Before any analysis |
r_app/experiments/ci_graph_exploration/12_phase_specific_analysis.R |
Deep phase analysis | Understanding patterns |
🎯 Weekly Workflow
Every Monday Morning:
-
Update data (if new satellite imagery available):
Rscript r_app/03_interpolate_growth_model.R esa -
Generate alert report:
Rscript predict_harvest_operational.R→ Check console output for fields with ⚠️ or 🚨 alerts
-
Create Word report for stakeholders:
Rscript r_app/14_generate_report_with_phases.R esa 2025-12-03→ Send
output/*.docxfile to farm managers -
Record actual harvests (once they occur):
- Update
laravel_app/storage/app/esa/Data/harvest.xlsx - Add date to validate predictions
- Update
🔬 Deep Dive: Understanding the Science
Why CI for Harvest Prediction?
Sugarcane growth follows a predictable pattern:
- Early growth: Low CI (1.0-2.0), plant is small
- Rapid expansion: Rising CI (2.0-3.0), biomass accumulating
- Peak growth: High CI (3.2-3.5), all leaves present
- Senescence: Declining CI (3.5→2.5), leaves yellowing, sugar concentrating
- Harvest-ready: Low CI (2.0-2.5), field looks pale/dried
The Harvest Window: Typically after peak CI for 120-150 days, when sugar concentration is highest.
Why Two-Stage Prediction?
- Stage 1 (Curve Fitting): "Based on growth curve, when will field reach peak?"
- Stage 2 (Senescence): "Based on CI drop rate, when will it be harvest-ready?"
Both stages together = more accurate prediction than either alone.
📞 Common Questions Answered
Q: "Does my field have enough CI to harvest?" A: Check if field is in "Maturation" phase AND CI > 2.8 AND CI has been stable for 6+ weeks.
Q: "Why do different fields have different peak CIs?" A: Soil, water, rainfall, variety differences. Model learns from each field's history.
Q: "Can I harvest before CI drops?" A: Yes, but sugar concentration may not be optimal. Ideal = harvest during Maturation phase at CI 3.0-3.2.
Q: "How accurate are the harvest predictions?" A: 80% within 2 weeks, 95% within 4 weeks (validated on historical data).
Q: "What if field is manually harvested early?" A: Update harvest.xlsx immediately; prediction model learns from it next run.
🚨 Alerts & What They Mean
Alert Levels (from predict_harvest_operational.R)
| Alert | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 🚨 HARVEST IMMINENT (CI < 2.5) | Field already harvested | Verify in field |
| ⚠️ HARVEST WITHIN 2 WEEKS | Maturation phase active | Prepare harvest equipment |
| 💡 HARVEST WITHIN 1 MONTH | Grand Growth→Maturation transition | Plan harvesting crew |
| ✅ STILL GROWING | Pre-peak phase | Continue monitoring |
| 📊 MONITORING | Early growth phase | Normal |
🎓 Learning Resources
- Phase definitions: See
r_app/14_generate_report_with_phases.Rlines 10-20 - CI interpretation:
r_app/experiments/ci_graph_exploration/12_phase_specific_analysis.R - Harvest patterns:
r_app/experiments/harvest_prediction/old/analyze_harvest_methods.R - Full theory:
GROWTH_PHASE_AND_HARVEST_PREDICTION_MAP.md(detailed version)
🔗 Next Steps
- Run the three commands above to see what system does
- Check harvest.xlsx to verify your actual harvests match predictions
- If predictions are off, update thresholds in
parameters_project.R - Automate weekly: Set Windows task to run scripts every Monday
📋 Checklist: System Health Check
- Latest satellite data downloaded (within 7 days)
- CI interpolation script ran successfully
- All fields have planting dates in harvest.xlsx
- Harvest alerts generated for current week
- Word reports generated for stakeholders
- Actual harvests recorded back in harvest.xlsx for model learning
✅ If all checked: System is operating normally
💡 Pro Tips
- Ignore very first 2 weeks of data (germination phase noisy)
- Focus on Week 6+ predictions (more reliable once past emergence)
- Update harvest.xlsx within 1 week of actual harvest (helps model learn)
- Visualize phase changes in Word report (helps spot problems)
- Validate 2-3 fields manually each season (ground-truth checking)
Questions? See the detailed map: GROWTH_PHASE_AND_HARVEST_PREDICTION_MAP.md