rplt - Research Plot Layout Tool

Research Plot Layout Tool for replicated agricultural field trials.

web-based interactive tool for quickly creating replicated agricultural field trials. Plot layouts are displayed directly on satellite imagery or a custom zxy tiled map. Perfect for field trial planning.

This tool coupled with a SprakFun Facet and SW Maps allows for rapid and accurate plot layout in the field.

Use 'total_research_area.kml' to plan drone missions to monitor the trial during the growing season. This file can be loaded into a DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral from a SD card and used as the boundary for flight missions. Be sure to set the margin in the advanced settings so there is sufficiuent overlap at the edges of the trial for good orthomosaic reconstruction.

If applying treatments with a spray drone or percision ag equipement the plot polygons can be used as field boundaries to program the application equipement. A buffer can be planned on the edge for sprayer clean out and priming application equipement between treatment applications.

When analysing data, plot boundaries are already defined and shorten the inlitial analysis.

This tool is a perfect companion for QGIS. This provides a starting place to rapid trial layout and drone programming.

Summary of work flow

• Set trial location with origin, and baseline.
• Select standard or metric measurement units.
• Choose a trial numbering scheme.
• Set number of treatments and replications.
• Define plot dimensions and buffers.
• Generate files instantly and download.

🌟 Features

• Interactive Map Interface with Esri World Imagery (or custom tile layers)
• Click-to-place Origin and Baseline points (or use points collected from the field with a GPS)
• Support for metric and imperial units
• Multiple plot numbering schemes: Row-major, Column-major, Snake
• Configurable buffers (left/right/front/back) and replication gaps
• Two origin reference modes:
  • Lower-left of first plot (101)
  • Lower-left of entire area (including buffers)
• Real-time visualization of:
  • Individual treatment plots
  • Total research area
  • Full buffered area
  • Plot centers & vertices
• Export multiple formats:
  • GeoJSON (plots, centers, vertices, total area)
  • KML (total research area)
  • CSV (centers, origin/baseline, vertices)
• Download all files individually or as ZIP

🚀 Live Demo

Try it now: research-plot-layout-tool

Demo Data - Use the data below to experiment with the tool. See the screenshots below for examples using demo data.

• Custom Map:

  https://miguel.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/{z}/{x}/{-y}.png

• Zoom location: 35.731585,-78.702636
• Origin: 35.731086,-78.701864
• Baseline: 35.731985,-78.701798

📸 Screenshot

Example layout 4 treatments × 4 replications, 25m x 25m plots, 5m buffers with 10m on plot front, and Row-major numbering

🛠️ How to Use

1. Load custom tiles (optional) — e.g., drone orthomosaics or high-res imagery
2. Set Origin & Baseline:
   • Click "Set Origin (click map)" → click lower-left corner
   • Click "Set Baseline (click map)" → click a point to your right
3. Enter experiment parameters:
   • Units, treatments, replications
   • Plot width/length, spacing, buffers
4. Click Generate Layout
5. Download output files (GeoJSON, KML, CSV, ZIP)

💡 Pro Tip: Use the "Zoom to Location" panel to quickly navigate to your field. Use google.com/maps if you need to rapidly find latitude and longitude of your trial. These can be copied from Google Maps by right clicking on the location.

📂 Output Files

File	Description
plots.geojson	All treatment plots with IDs
centers.geojson / centers.csv	Plot center coordinates
vertices.geojson	Corner points of each plot
total_research_area.kml	Boundary of all plots (no buffers)
total_area.geojson	Full area including buffers
origin_baseline.csv	Origin and baseline coordinates
total_area_vertices.csv	Corners of the total buffered area

🗺️ Custom Tile Layers

Want to use your own imagery (e.g., drone orthomosaic)? Process your drone images with webodm.net and choose the option to generate tiles. These can be added locally with 'file://local directory/{z},{x}/{y}.png' or from a web location if tiles are on a server.

Already have an orthomosaic? Use QGIS to generate the tiles. Open the processing tool box (Ctrl+Alt+T), under raster tools choose 'Generate XYZ Tiles (Directory)' and then follow the prompts.

Be sure you know the format of your tiles. If in TMS form be sure to use a '-y' value such as this example '{z}/{x}/{-y}.png`.

🧠 Design Philosophy: Do One Thing Well

This tool follows the Unix philosophy — programs that do one thing and do it well

This tool is designed for:

• Generating accurate, GIS-ready plot layouts from real-world coordinates.
• Rendering plots instantly.
• Producing intermediate outputs in GeoJSON, CSV, KML formats
• Sticking to data science principles, reproducibility + transparency > automation

Learn more about the Unix philosophy:
“The Art of Unix Programming” by Eric S. Raymond – Chapter on modularity and transparency