Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #86561
Title: SENSORS AND THE FUTURE OF SITE-SPECIFIC NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Author
item HUMMEL, JOHN
item BIRRELL, STUART - UNIV OF ILLINOIS

Submitted to: Site Specific Management for Agricultural Systems Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/18/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Site-Specific crop management is a technique in which the application rates of such inputs as herbicides and fertilizers are varied within a field due to point-to-point differences in soil and crop related properties. For efficient and economical operation, automated instruments are needed to measure these differences in the field. In this paper, we discuss the development of sensors for soil properties such as soil organic matter, soil moisture, and soil nutrients. Expanded research is needed to develop additional sensors, to evaluate the usefulness of the additional data in understanding and predicting crop growth, and identifying the sensors that will provide economic benefits to crop producers while enhancing environmental quality.

Technical Abstract: Development of sensors, particularly sensors specifically developed for Site-specific Crop Management, currently lags the other enabling technologies. Real-time sensors, i.e., those that can sense a soil or crop parameter and produce an estimate of the value of the parameter within a few seconds, are under development. Two technologies - spectral reflectance and ion-selective membranes, are being exploited for sensing soil parameters. Remote sensing is being investigated for sensing crop conditions requiring additional agronomic inputs. The need for expanded research on sensors is urgent, given the costs and time involved in developing a sensor from conception to commercialization.