Start Date
1-12-2010 12:00 AM
Description
Precision agriculture technologies are an integral part of many crop production operations. However, implementation for N application has lagged, primarily due to lack of a viable system for variable N rate decisions. Active canopy sensors have been developed as a tool to determine plant N stress deficiency and provide an on-the-go decision for implementing variable rate. Two general approaches could be implemented. One is to plan on conducting canopy sensing each year, with a reduced N rate applied preplant, at planting, or early sidedress and then sensing conducted at mid-vegetative growth to determine additional application need. A second is to conduct sensing only if conditions result in N loss from the primary N application, or other factors change expected crop requirements. Both approaches could address variable N fertilization and seasonal circumstances.
Included in
Quantifying corn nitrogen deficiency and application rate with active canopy sensors
Precision agriculture technologies are an integral part of many crop production operations. However, implementation for N application has lagged, primarily due to lack of a viable system for variable N rate decisions. Active canopy sensors have been developed as a tool to determine plant N stress deficiency and provide an on-the-go decision for implementing variable rate. Two general approaches could be implemented. One is to plan on conducting canopy sensing each year, with a reduced N rate applied preplant, at planting, or early sidedress and then sensing conducted at mid-vegetative growth to determine additional application need. A second is to conduct sensing only if conditions result in N loss from the primary N application, or other factors change expected crop requirements. Both approaches could address variable N fertilization and seasonal circumstances.