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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #90517
Title: REAL-TIME CLOSE-RANGE SENSORS FOR SITE-SPECIFIC CROP MANAGEMENT

Author
item Hummel, John
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item BIRRELL, STUART - UNIV OF ILLINOIS

Submitted to: Geospatial Information in Agriculture and Forestry International Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Site-Specific Crop Management (SSCM) utilizes maps of soil and plant attributes to identify subfield areas that can be treated as units to optimize productivity and minimize adverse environmental impact. Grid sampling has been combined with traditional soil nutrient analysis techniques to characterize the variability in soil nutrient levels with some success. Numerous studies have shown that the sampling intensity required to accurately map the variability in soil nutrient level is not economical in many instances in field crop production. Low correlations between soil nutrient maps and crop yield maps have provided impetus for mapping additional soil and plant attributes. Close-range sensors may economically provide additional data layers at the desired sample density, and/or improved information quality when used in conjunction with remote sensing technologies. In this paper, we discuss the development of real-time close-range sensors for soil and plant attributes, including the use of spectral reflectance, ion-selective field effect transistors, and other technologies for in-field data collection.