March 29, 2024

How new agricultural technologies fit into the plots of cult films

How new agricultural technologies fit into the plots of cult films

Climate change, fighting livestock andplants are pushing scientists from the agricultural sector to apply new methods that previously could only be found in films. We have compiled a list of agricultural technologies that intersect with the motifs of famous films.

"Soylent Green" and meat 

Dystopia "Soylent Green"tells the viewer about an overpopulated world in which food is completely exhausted, but a solution is supposedly found in plankton. The plot twist leads the main character to a terrible conclusion.about the true origin of the only food source - human meat.

Cannibalism is no longer a threat these daysto humanity, since scientists nevertheless synthesized artificial meat. At the moment, a kilogram of such a product costs about 6,000 rubles. After 4 years, the cost should fall to 800 rubles. For the synthesis of one piece of muscle tissue of the calf. The cells of the animal are placed in a nutrient medium to maintain their growth and division, after which it remains only to wait.

"Interstellar", corn and manure

Based on the plot of the film "Interstellar"Climate change meant that wheat no longer grew. The main character was forced to plant hectares of land with corn alone, although he was a NASA pilot by profession. 

In the real world, soil conditions are still far fromthe same unsuitable condition as in the Oscar-winning film, but climate change does make significant adjustments to farmers' plans. AgTech Forbes 2019 Summit participants agreed on the need to plant more cover crops and apply organic fertilizers instead of chemical ones. The reason for this decision was statistics, according to which 1/3 of all greenhouse gas emissions are from agriculture.

Organic Fertilizer Processing Technology Againproved to be relevant, but now they are also economically viable. They learned to recover nutrients from manure by separating coarse solids and liquids. This process is carried out using an inclined sieve, a sieve with a rotating drum and screw presses. The final product is concentrated, which saves farmers the cost of transportation.

If high content fertilizer is neededphosphorus, centrifuges, vibrating and inclined screens are used, as well as crystallization of struvite, which gives a dry, granular fertilizer with a slow release. Small solid particles are not thrown out, but are used as compost, fertilizer, soil supplement, while the liquid turns into waste water for irrigation.

"Back to the Future" and energy

Manure is already actively used for productionenergy using pyrolysis and torrection technologies, which indirectly intersects with the plot of the film “Back to the Future 2”, where the DeLorean time machine worked on household waste, including organic waste. 

Torrection is a low temperaturea version of pyrolysis aimed at compacting the energy contained in biomass solids by producing bio-carbon. Russia has also paid attention to the potential of biofuels. In October, a plant for processing manure into electricity was opened in the Leningrad region, which produces 140 kWh per day.

"Idiocracy" and harvest

In the dystopian film "Idiocracy"The government decided that plants should be watered with Brawndo, a drink that contains electrolytes. As a result, the plants did not grow, and watering with water miraculously saved the situation.

In the real world, watering is still happeningby the classical method - 80% of fresh water consumed is spent on agriculture. However, irrigation technology now allows you to control and save the cost of a valuable resource.

Tracked using smart technologysoil and weather conditions in real time. For this, infrared, multispectral and humidity sensors, satellite images, supervisory control and data collection systems are used. 

Separately, we can highlight the rapid developmentspot irrigation systems, such as irrigation systems for angles and projections of the field and drip irrigation. Laser field alignment is used on uneven areas to prevent waterlogging and reduce overall water consumption.

Autonomous irrigation systems should workwithout fail, otherwise the plants will dry out. They consist of strain gauges, valve controllers and a wireless controller. Strain gauges are installed next to the root system, and the valve switch interacts with it at a distance of 1 km and controls the opening of the hydraulic valve.

The microcontroller is responsible for collecting data.It sends information via cellular communication to a cloud server, which responds by sending commands to open and close the valves. The decision to water is made not by a person, but by a mathematical algorithm that analyzes information from all sensors. 

“I – legend", "28 days later" and viral diseases of livestock

According to the plot of the film “I am – legend"Humanity was struck by a virus that was initially accepted as a universal cure for cancer. Both people and animals were exposed to the virus. A similar plot is observed in “28 Days Later,” in which a monkey infected with an unknown virus caused the death of an entire country.

In fact, animals are very oftenturn out to be sources of the spread of dangerous diseases: bird flu, anthrax, mad cow disease, plague, etc. Scientists are constantly looking for ways to quickly identify dangerous symptoms and technology is very helpful in this.

Startup Advanced Animal Diagnostics allowsfarmers can quickly identify infectious diseases in animals with a few drops of blood or feces. Early detection of diseases can help farmers save money by preventing the disease of other animals and reducing the cost of antibiotics.