Adaptation of precision agriculture to root crops (sugar beet and potato).

Abstract

Abstract Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris ) meets about 30% of the global demand for sucrose while potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) is the world's fourth staple food crop contributing to a significant proportion of global food needs. As world population increases, increasing the yields of these crops sustainably is important, providing it is not to the detriment of the environment and farm profitability. Despite its potential contribution towards sustainable intensification, few farmers have adopted precision agriculture (PA) approaches in these crops. This paper reviews and discusses the scope and challenges of implementing PA in sugar beet and potato. The main challenges identified are: the general paucity of yield maps especially for sugar beet; the difficulty of detecting the underground yield components of root crops by remote sensing; the ability of root crops to absorb water and nutrients from deep in the soil; and changes in the EU support to sugar beet farmers. The crops are, however, grown in large areas, mostly in developed countries that have more access to PA techniques and technologies, so that there is a good scope for adaptation. For example, existing PA techniques of weed control, nutrient management and irrigation could be adapted for root crops. Future research should focus on overcoming these challenges, evaluate commercial application of PA techniques to root crops and examine the possibility of early detection of crop stress.