Abstract
The design of site-specific management zones that can successfully define uniform regions of soil fertility attributes that are of importance to crop growth is one of the most challenging steps in precision agriculture. One important method of so proceeding is based solely on crop yield stability using information from yield maps; however, it is possible to accomplish this using soil information. In this study the soil was sampled for electrical conductivity and eleven other soil properties, aiming to define uniform site-specific management zones in relation to these variables. Principal component analysis was used to group variables and fuzzy logic classification was used for clustering the transformed variables. The importance of electrical conductivity in this process was evaluated based on its correlation with soil fertility and physical attributes. The results confirmed the utility of electrical conductivity in the definition of management zones and the feasibility of the proposed method.
Highlights
Precision agriculture presents promising perspectives in the development of new technologies and crop management propositions, optimizing inputs and allowing production cost reductions or increases in yield in addition to possible environmental benefits
As the assembly moves across the field, a pair of these electrodes transmits an electric current to the soil, while the other two pairs measure the potential difference verified in the electromagnetic field generated in the soil due to the electric current applied
The following parameters are presented in Table 2: nugget effect, sill, range, and model for the calculated semivariograms, in addition to the error sum of squares values, which was the criterion adopted to select the best fit for each model and structural component (C1/C0+C1), representing the amount of data variance which can be explained by spatial dependence (Isaaks & Srivastava, 1989)
Summary
Precision agriculture presents promising perspectives in the development of new technologies and crop management propositions, optimizing inputs and allowing production cost reductions or increases in yield in addition to possible environmental benefits. One approach is based on management zones that represent a homogeneous combination of potential productivity-limiting factors, which are permanent (Fridgen et al, 2001) and refer to geographic regions that present topography and soil attributes with minimal heterogeneity (Luchiari Jr. et al, 2000). The determination of homogeneous areas within a field is difficult to achieve due to the complex combination among factors which may influence yield. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) has attracted attention as a mapping tool since it is a quick and economic method of indicating soil productivity (McBride et al, 1990). Agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.), v.65, n.6, p.567-573, November/December 2008
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
