Generation of agronomic datasets from experimental crops

Organisations developing digital technologies for agriculture often need reliable reference data to evaluate whether their solutions perform accurately under real agricultural conditions and environmental sostenaibilty. This service provides agronomic datasets from AGACAL-CIAM’s experimental crop trials, enabling users to evaluate parameters, develop and evaluate AI, machine learning, robotics, and other data-driven agricultural applications using trusted ground-truth information. This will allow: (1) Access high-quality agronomic datasets from experimental crops. (2) Train, calibrate, and validate parameters and digital solutions using reliable ground-truth data. (4) Evaluate the performance and generalisation of digital solutions across different crops, seasons, environmental conditions, and agronomic management practices. (5) Reduce development time and improve the accuracy and reliability of digital agricultural technologies before real-world deployment.

The service consists of generating and providing agronomic data from AGACAL-CIAM’s experimental research trials according to the customer’s requirements and data availability. Current-season data are generated according to the crop calendar, while historical agronomic data can be provided for crops previously studied. For seasonal crops, the service typically covers one complete growing cycle (approximately 5 to 6 months), from crop establishment to harvest. For applications requiring the monitoring of annual or perennial cropping systems, the service can be extended to cover up to one full year. The service is provided by AGACAL-CIAM (Mabegondo, A Coruña, Spain). There are no geographical restrictions for customers, as data are delivered digitally. The customer will receive the agreed agronomic data together with documentation describing the experimental conditions, measured variables, data collection methods, and any other relevant information available for the requested data. Data can be provided in mutually agreed standard formats, either as raw or processed data, depending on the requirements of the service. To request the service, the customer should specify the intended application, crop(s), variables of interest, and the required observation period. The scope of the service will be agreed according to data availability, ongoing research activities, and the applicable data-sharing and intellectual property conditions.

The service can be customised according to the customer’s objectives and data requirements. Depending on data availability, requests can be tailored by crop type, crop variety, observation period (current season, historical records, or both), agronomic variables, and level of data preparation. Where available, additional information such as environmental observations, soil characteristics, crop management practices, or data from available technologies and external data sources can be included. The final scope of the service will be agreed between the customer and AGACAL-CIAM, considering the availability of experimental data and ongoing research activities. Current-season data generation is subject to the agricultural calendar and the growing cycle of the selected crop. Historical data are limited to the information available from AGACAL-CIAM’s experimental research programmes. The availability of specific datasets, variables, technologies, and observation periods will depend on existing experimental records and on the feasibility of generating additional data within the requested timeframe.