Crop precision technology

what is precision agriculture with crops?

site specific crop management which uses a variety of technologies to manage different parts of a field separately.

Basically… it’s going beyond the ‘field’ as the unit of management.

what causes implications for agriculture?

the fact that our environment is continuously variable

How do aspects of the environment change?

some change over large areas like the climate. others change over short distances like plant nutrient availability.

how do the different changing periods affect fields?

some areas will be…

• steeper/flatter,

• higher/lower in nutrients,

• less/more weeds,

• wetter/drier,

• deeper/shallower soils.

what is limited in conventional agriculture?

managing variation between fields.

what type of land would be ideal for permanent grazing?

dry, above average slope, less fertile than average.

when land is wet, smooth slope and fertile, what management decision is made?

available for spring sown cereals but not considered for maize growing.

what management decisions are made for a field with average wetness, no slope and fertile?

available for all crops grown on farm, including maize. rarely used for grazing.

when can only ‘average treatments within fields be applied?

in conventional mechanised agriculture

what are 3 consequences of ‘imprecise’ agricultural practices?

1. over supply of crop nutrients - pollution,

2. failure to identify the presence of pests/diseases - crop failure,

3. higher operating costs.

what is a very helpful tool to identify constraints on crops?

if outputs (yield) are also recorded across fields.

what factors limit crop growth in fields?

• acidic conditions,

• weed competition,

• low P and K availability,

what opportunities are available when using precision crop technology?

variable rate applications,

targeted/selective treatment (pesticides).

what can have variable application rates?

• seed,

• fertiliser,

• manure/slurry,

• irrigation,

• lime.

what can be done to allow or selective application rates?

some nozzles off and other at lower rates.

what do tractors/implements need to know for precision crop technologies?

it’s location in relation to the environment

what are used to change application in ‘real time’?

sensors

what do constellation of satellites provide?

signal for receivers to ‘triangulate’ where on the planet they’re located

Is signal from GPS accurate?

not always

what does GPS stand for?

global positions satellites

what increases pollution risk?

large scale pesticide use.

mechanical alternative have had limited success.

what do new technologies include for precision weed control?

• sensor guided mechanical (rip weeds from the soil),

• chemical (apply herbicide to individual weed plants,

• laser (‘burn’ weeds).

what devices are incorporated into precision agriculture?

‘remote sensing’ devices - satellites and drones.

what will measuring soil conductivity indicate?

water, soil porosity, soil texture, salinity levels and cation exchange capacity (CEC).

what can precision cultivation do?

vary depth, rate and location in fields.

how can seeds be sown to minimise erosion?

in inter-row areas

what can be measured in precision yield mapping?

volume/weight and quality can be measured but location of each measurement must be recorded for true precision farming.

which farmers invest and use precision crop technologies?

• larger and higher income farmers,

• higher optimism towards economic return of investment,

• farmers who demonstrate innovative and information seeking behaviour (more likely to invest in variable rate technology after 1st using guidance technology)

what factors are associated with uptake?

• economic characteristics have strongest effect (profit orientated business and higher agricultural income),

• education and access to technological information are also important influences on behaviour.

what does managing crops at units that are finer scale than fields offer?

considerable opportunities to minimise costs, increase productivity, reduce pollution and get better profits.