Evaluation of Agricultural Experts' knowledge toward Precision Agriculture in the Province of Tehran-Iran

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate agricultural experts’ knowledge toward ‘precision agriculture’ and a descriptive correlational research design was used. The target population of this study was agricultural experts of Jihade-agriculture Organizations in the Tehran province of Iran (N=153) that 115 subjects were studied finally (n=115). The main research instrument of this study was a questionnaire and its validity was checked by the panel of experts included faculty members of Agricultural Extension and Education and Mechanics of Agricultural Machinery Departments of Tarbiat Modares University and Agricultural Engineering Research Institute experts. Following the recommendations of them the instrument was revised. Also the questionnaire’s reliability was tested by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and Kuder-Richardson formula 20 and their coefficients were 0.91 and 0.72. The results showed that the agricultural experts’ knowledge level was low to medium on ‘precision agriculture’. The highest level of knowledge was related to ‘global positioning system’ (GPS), ‘soil type sampling’, ‘yield monitoring’, ‘geographic information system’ (GIS), and ‘aerial photography and satellite imaging’. The results from correlation analysis indicated that there were significant relationships between knowledge level of experts on ‘precision agriculture’ and age, work experience, as well as educational level. There were significant differences between knowledge levels of experts on ‘precision agriculture’ in relation to interest in learning new technologies, informed from activities about ‘precision agriculture’, participation in the training classes, visit from research farms, and using the journal publications about ‘precision agriculture’.