Crop Recommendation & Weather Insights Platform

Overview

A responsive Flask + HTML/CSS/JS app that combines OpenWeather and FAO/SoilGrids soil data to recommend crops and visualize rainfall, soil pH, and crop recommendations for sustainable agriculture.

Features

• Crop Management System: Expanded crop selection with detailed metadata (growth cycles, water requirements, categories)
• Enhanced Calendar: Responsive calendar with planting schedules and visual indicators for optimal planting windows
• Data Export: CSV export with customization options for recommendation lists
• Weather Integration: Real-time weather data from OpenWeatherMap API
• Soil Analysis: Soil data from FAO/SoilGrids API including pH, organic carbon, and texture
• Responsive Design: Mobile-first design with Chart.js visualizations

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• OpenWeatherMap API key (free tier: 1,000 calls/day)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install flask requests

3. Set environment variables:

   setx OPENWEATHER_API_KEY "your_api_key_here"

4. Run the application:

   python app.py

5. Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser

Architecture

Backend Structure

app.py              # Flask entry point
config.py           # Environment configuration
routes/             # API endpoints
  ├── pages.py      # Page routes
  ├── weather.py    # Weather API endpoints
  ├── soil.py       # Soil API endpoints
  ├── recommend.py  # Recommendation endpoints
  └── calendar.py   # Calendar endpoints
services/           # Business logic
  ├── weather.py    # Weather service with caching
  ├── soil.py       # Soil service with fallback
  └── recommender.py # Crop recommendation engine

Frontend Structure

templates/          # HTML templates
  ├── base.html     # Base layout
  ├── dashboard.html # Main dashboard
  ├── recommendations.html # Crop recommendations
  └── calendar.html # Planting calendar
static/             # Static assets
  ├── css/styles.css # Styling
  └── js/           # JavaScript modules

API Endpoints

Weather & Location

• GET /api/geocode?query=location - Geocode location search
• GET /api/weather?lat=lat&lon=lon - Weather data for coordinates

Soil Data

• GET /api/soil?lat=lat&lon=lon - Soil properties (pH, SOC, texture)

Recommendations

• POST /api/recommend - Get crop recommendations for location
• GET /api/crops - List all available crops with metadata
• POST /api/export/csv - Export recommendations as CSV

Calendar

• GET /api/calendar?lat=lat&lon=lon - Monthly planting calendar

Crop Recommendation Engine

Scoring Algorithm

The system uses a weighted scoring approach:

• Rainfall: 35% weight
• Temperature: 25% weight
• Soil pH: 15% weight
• Soil Organic Carbon: 15% weight
• Soil Texture: 10% weight

Status Classification

• Green (≥75): Excellent match
• Yellow (50-74): Acceptable match
• Red (<50): Poor match

Crop Categories

• Cereals: Rice, Wheat, Maize, Barley, Oats, Sorghum, Pearl Millet
• Legumes: Soybean, Chickpea, Lentil, Groundnut
• Vegetables: Tomato, Potato, Carrot, Onion, Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinach
• Oilseeds: Sunflower, Mustard, Rapeseed
• Fiber: Cotton
• Cash Crops: Sugarcane, Tea
• Root/Tuber: Potato, Carrot
• Leafy: Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinach
• Bulb: Onion

UI Components

Dashboard

• Location search with geocoding
• Weather metrics (temperature, humidity, wind)
• Soil metrics (pH, SOC, texture)
• Interactive charts (rainfall, temperature, pH gauge, SOC bar)

Recommendations Page

• Searchable crop list
• Category and status filters
• Detailed crop cards with metadata
• CSV export functionality

Calendar Page

• 12-month grid layout
• Color-coded suitability status
• Planting window indicators
• Responsive design for mobile devices

Data Export Features

CSV Export Options

• Fields: crop, score, status, category, growth_cycle_days, water_mm
• Filtering: Export filtered results only
• Customization: Field selection support
• Formatting: Proper numerical and date formatting

Color Palette

• Background: Light gray (#f5f7fa)
• Primary: Blue (#1e90ff)
• Secondary: Navy (#0a2a66)
• Accent: Soft blue (#7fb3ff)
• Success: Green (#23a559)
• Warning: Yellow (#f5a623)
• Error: Red (#e74c3c)
• Text: Dark gray (#2f3640)

Caching Strategy

• Weather data: 15-minute TTL
• Soil data: 24-hour TTL
• Geocoding: 1-hour TTL

Browser Support

• Chrome 80+
• Firefox 75+
• Safari 13+
• Edge 80+

Mobile Responsiveness

• Responsive grid layouts
• Touch-friendly controls
• Optimized chart rendering
• Collapsible navigation on small screens

Security Considerations

• API keys stored server-side only
• No client-side API key exposure
• Input validation on all endpoints
• CORS properly configured

Performance Optimization

• Client-side caching for static assets
• Lazy loading of charts
• Debounced search inputs
• Efficient data filtering algorithms

Error Handling

• Graceful fallbacks for API failures
• User-friendly error messages
• Loading states for all async operations
• Retry mechanisms for failed requests

Future Enhancements

• User authentication and saved locations
• Historical weather data integration
• Machine learning-based recommendations
• Multi-language support
• Offline functionality
• Push notifications for planting reminders

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.