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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #320191
Title: Engineering and agronomy aspects of a long-term precision agriculture field experiment

Author
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item Kitchen, Newell
item Sadler, Edward
item Drummond, Scott
item Yost, Matt

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/21/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Much research has been conducted on specific precision agriculture tools and implementation strategies, but little has been reported on long-term evaluation of integrated precision agriculture field experiments. In 2004 our research team developed and initiated a multi-faceted “precision agriculture system” (PAS) on a 36-ha field in Central Missouri, USA. The PAS plan was developed based on our decade-long (1993-2003) record of yield and soil mapping and water quality assessment on that field and employs targeted management to address both crop production and environmental issues. From 2004 through 2014 the field was managed according to the PAS plan, including no-till, cover crops, growing wheat instead of corn for field areas where topsoil depth was shallow, site-specific N for wheat and corn using canopy reflectance sensing, variable-rate P, K, and lime using intensive grid sampled data, and targeting of herbicides based on weed pressure. Implementation and evaluation of the plan relied on both commercial systems (e.g., for yield mapping, remote sensing, and variable-rate P and K application) and those that we developed (e.g., for mapping plant stand and for variable-rate N application). This presentation will describe the PAS implementation and the technologies and systems used. It will also present preliminary results comparing crop yields under PAS to yields obtained in the pre-PAS decade.