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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #74861
Title: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRECISION AGRICULTURE

Author
item PLATTNER, CHAD - UNIV OF ILLINOIS
item HUMMEL, JOHN

Submitted to: International Conference on Precision Agriculture Abstracts & Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/10/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Plant population is known to be an important factor affecting corn yields. In this research, a photoelectric sensor was developed that can be used with a radar ground speed sensor to sense corn population. The sensor was tested in early growth stage corn, as well as on a combine head at harvest stage. The sensor's ability to estimate the diameter of the corn stalk was used to reject erroneous counts resulting from leaves and weeds in the corn row. The data collection system, when interfaced with a global positioning system (GPS) can produce maps of corn population. The ability to sense and map corn population variability will assist corn producers in evaluating how plant population interacts with other soil and plant variables and their impact on crop yield.

Technical Abstract: A photoelectric emitter and receiver pair produced the signal used to measure the in-row distance between plants to provide information on plant spacing, skips, and doubles. Data were collected with the sensor mounted on a corn-head on a combine, and in corn in the early growth stages, 4 - 8 leaves per plant. Plant spacing and stalk diameter were used in filtering to remove erroneous plant counts due to weeds and plant leaves.