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Emphasizing the 'precision' in precision agriculture
September 27, 2007New protocol and software developments are helping farmers put the precision back in "precision agriculture" by making it easier for growers to use previously ineffectual soil and environmental data to manage their crops.
Historically, gaps between researchers and producers, as well as lack of capacity to transform data into relevant decisions, have all contributed to data languishing on hard drives rather than being used to inform growing decisions.
Using software available online, researchers from the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture (ACPA) at the University of Sydney have developed a simplified protocol to teach growers how to convert complex yield and soil data into pertinent information. The resulting data and maps, when interpreted with local agronomic knowledge, can be used to make class-specific management decisions.
"The protocol provides [growers] with the ability to experiment on their fields with different combinations of temporal data layers to improve their understanding of how their fields respond," said James Taylor and his team of researchers who worked with a range of growers to develop the methodology.
The researchers' article in the September/October 2007 Agronomy Journal details their work in advancing field management, in particular their efforts to move away from treating all zones uniformly to more site-specific management. After receiving protocol training on how to analyze and apply field data, Australian growers were able to utilize the protocol and software to develop better field management, including implementing site-specific nutrient and pest management treatments.
Researchers hope that this precision agriculture protocol will be used by growers across a broad range of cropping systems to increase efficiency and effectiveness in crop management.
"As more data or 'expert' knowledge are acquired, the process can be re-run to update or test the effectiveness of the management classes," Taylor said.
The protocol, developed with funding from Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation, promotes a cost-effective approach to class management at a grower and consultant level. Users begin with raw data which they then clean and cluster to develop management classes so they can care for the sites appropriately. The software tools which run the data analysis, VESPER and FuzME, are available online at the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture: http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/agric/acpa/pag.htm
American Society of Agronomy
"The protocol provides [growers] with the ability to experiment on their fields with different combinations of temporal data layers to improve their understanding of how their fields respond," said James Taylor and his team of researchers who worked with a range of growers to develop the methodology.
The researchers' article in the September/October 2007 Agronomy Journal details their work in advancing field management, in particular their efforts to move away from treating all zones uniformly to more site-specific management. After receiving protocol training on how to analyze and apply field data, Australian growers were able to utilize the protocol and software to develop better field management, including implementing site-specific nutrient and pest management treatments.
Researchers hope that this precision agriculture protocol will be used by growers across a broad range of cropping systems to increase efficiency and effectiveness in crop management.
"As more data or 'expert' knowledge are acquired, the process can be re-run to update or test the effectiveness of the management classes," Taylor said.
The protocol, developed with funding from Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation, promotes a cost-effective approach to class management at a grower and consultant level. Users begin with raw data which they then clean and cluster to develop management classes so they can care for the sites appropriately. The software tools which run the data analysis, VESPER and FuzME, are available online at the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture: http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/agric/acpa/pag.htm
American Society of Agronomy
Precision Agriculture Current Events and Precision Agriculture News RSSA Thermometer for the Earth
According to climate change experts, our planet has a fever - melting glaciers are just one stark sign of the radical changes we can expect.
Iowa State researchers developing wireless soil sensors to improve farming
Ratnesh Kumar keeps his prototype soil sensors buried in a box under his desk. He hopes that one day farmers will be burying the devices under their crops.
Crop Management: How Small Do We Go?
The use of on-the-go crop and soil sensors has greatly increased the precision with which farmers can manage their crops. Recently released research in Agronomy Journal questions whether more precise management is necessarily more efficient.
New crop of technology reveals plant health
Scientists have developed a system that picks up the subtle cues of plant communication helping plant growers to monitor the crop's state of health and will result in optimal environmentally-friendly growing conditions.
Agriculture Can Be Managed From Outer Space
The first attempt in the Russian Federation to utilize contemporary information technologies for efficient farm production management has been made. The decision-making support system for agricultural enterprises is being tested at a private agricultural farm in the Orenburg Province. Information technologies, which formerly served solely space industry, can be employed to make agriculture more efficient. That has been done by the specialists of the GEOMIR Engineering Center in collaboration with the ILYINKA agroindustrial holding located in the Orenburg Province, ILYINKA being one of the largest private agricultural enterprises. Quick and appropriate decision-making for farm production nee
The physics of muck spreading
Physicists have to tread carefully when it comes to fertiliser, but the first tentative steps to a better understanding of the ancient art of fertilising the soil are described in a paper published today in the Institute of Physics publication, The Journal of Measurement Science and Technology. Frederic Cointault, Philippe Sarrazin and Michel Paindavoine of the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France show how to take a snapshot of particles of fertiliser as a centrifugal spreader spits them out. Their findings could improve efficiency in the spreading of fertilisers and reduce environmental damage along field margins. It may seem a simple task load up your centrifugal spreader with fertilise
Integrated Crop Management - International Conference Explores Breakthrough Thinking
3 - 5 April 2000, SCI International Headquarters, London, UK. An international conference entitled The Economic and Commercial Impact of Integrated Crop Management is being held by the SCI Crop Protection Group in collaboration with the Volcani Center, Israel and the Fresh Produce Consortium. Invited speakers from four continents will explore Integrated Crop Management (ICM) in four sessions ICM Facts and Perceptions; ICM in Practice; ICM Case Studies; and ICM the Wider Picture. Food quality is of increasing importance to today’s informed consumer. In Europe, food concerns have included Salmonella and Listeria infection in farm animals and cheese, through BSE, to dioxins in
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