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Sri Lankan forestry company uses RFID technology to track tree health

While plantations manage the trees they grow for commercial use, labor is dedicated to the planting, care and harvesting of individual trees. However, for large operations, the management of the data associated with each tree can be a tedious and labor-intensive task. With this in mind, Sadaharitha Plantation Ltd. (SPL) deployed radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that can track the identity of each tree and associate it with its area-based location, so data from each tree in the plantation can be Automatically collected, updated and managed throughout its lifecycle.

Sadaharitha Plantations is a commercial forester in Sri Lanka. The company operates plantations across the country, including thousands of acres in the western, northwestern and central provinces. These trees come in several species, including mahogany, agarwood, sandalwood, teak and rambutan, and are used to make a variety of wood products. SPL has approximately 40,000 customers, including individuals and companies, investing in commercial forestry timber products.

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Since its launch in August 2002, SPL has been expanding its size, location and tree species. The solution is currently deployed at one plantation, with plans to expand it to all locations in the future. The technology consists of rugged passive UHF RFID tags installed on the tree, handheld readers operated by maintenance staff, and software to manage the data collected.

Tracking trees is a challenging task, and the company uses a variety of methods to ensure that all trees are uniquely identified. Initially, SPL used aluminum tags to mark each tree with a serial number, and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to keep records indicating which tree species were where, and their maintenance details. This information may include annual tree growth and fertilizer use, as well as chemical and pesticide use.

Replacing printed aluminum tags with RFID

Raqueeb Yoosoofmiya, director of information and communication technology at the plantation, said the main challenge at present is the inability to track the number of trees due to the fading of the numbers on the aluminum tags. While each tree has its own unique serial number, weather has had an impact on the labels that print the serial numbers, making manual tracking difficult. In addition, approximately five to seven years of exposure to sunlight, dirt, rain, and related moisture render many labels illegible.

Another challenge the company faced was that managing tree-related paperwork was time-consuming. Excel spreadsheets require workers to record ID numbers or search for them in paperwork, as well as enter data in a central database. RFID tag reading will enable data to be automatically captured and populated on servers, so the company invested in technology that can store unique IDs digitally, while providing printed IDs. SPL had not previously used RFID for tree tracking, so the solution needed to be re-tested and evaluated.

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Last December, SPL chose to implement an RFID solution for tree management, first at its plantation in Neboda in southwestern Sri Lanka, to track agarwood trees. Crews have taken regular tree growth measurements on the trees over the past few months. Each tree’s unique ID number is then linked to the tree’s location according to its allocated block within the plantation, and to other identity-based details in a central server.

These tags will now become part of the regular maintenance of the plantation. When each tree is tagged, data is captured and managed on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Employees weed, water and trim trees throughout the plantation, carrying handheld RFID readers as they perform these tasks. By reading the tags of the trees and updating information about the services they provide and the condition of each tree.

Designed for Challenging Forestry Environments

Collected data is stored and automatically forwarded to the software when a connection is available, updating the tree’s status and maintenance history. When needed, the company uses chemicals and pesticides to protect the health of the trees, at which point staff use RFID readers. They also read tree labels when fertilizers were applied twice a year, and when tree heights were measured once a year.

Plantations are often located in remote locations, which presents multiple challenges for wireless technologies, as these locations often lack Wi-Fi or cellular 4G signals to access cloud or local servers. To solve this data communication problem, Kulatilake said, a custom mobile application had to be developed to enable offline use of the database.

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Kulatilake said the app needed to have a sync feature that would prompt an automatic upload of data between the server and the handheld once the reader detected a connection. This enables the field team to carry out their day-to-day work as usual, and once complete and data sync is available, all data is synced to the server, updating all required information.

To withstand the types of weather the forest is exposed to, RFID tags need to be durable enough to transmit data for at least a decade. Trees are full of water, which can present challenges for RF transmission, which needs to be considered when companies design solutions. To overcome the read problem, Kulatilake said, SPL deployed RFID tags that can achieve long read distances given the environment in which they operate.

Automated data on tree health, maintenance

Sadaharitha Plantations said the selected IP 68-rated UHF RFID tags were supplied by a third-party supplier and were not designed for this particular application. Yoosoofmiya said that considering the harsh and extreme tropical weather conditions, we are able to deploy strong RFID tags that can even last for more than 10 years.

SPL chose a handheld reader that can withstand outdoor environments, though the company declined to name the technology provider. Meanwhile, the commercial forester already has in-house software to manage data related to its day-to-day plantation operations.

According to the company, the data collected provides multiple benefits, starting with the specific services performed and information on the condition of the trees at the time of each service. The data also provide an analytical advantage, as SPL can now measure the costs associated with tree maintenance. Because the technology records the transactions associated with each tree, forestry companies can calculate the costs associated with any given tree.

What’s more, management can take inventory of data about their plantations, as well as a complete history of tree services, and this data can be accessed remotely. According to Yoosoofmiya, all ongoing activities will now be managed day-to-day from the company’s headquarters in Colombo as needed.


Post time: Mar-24-2023