Evaluation of In-Season Management Zones from High-Resolution Soil and Plant Sensors

Martina Corti,Daniele Cavalli,Giovanni Cabassi,Simone Bregaglio,Pietro Marino Gallina,Bianca Ortuani,Gabriele Cola,Luigi Degano,Antonio Vigoni

doi:10.3390/agronomy10081124

Martina Corti, Daniele Cavalli + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081124

Copy DOI

Abstract

The adoption of precision agriculture has the potential to increase the environmental sustainability of cropping systems as well as farmers’ income. Farmers in transition to precision agriculture need low-input and effective protocols to delineate homogenous management zones to optimize their actions without past knowledge e.g., yield maps. Different approaches have been developed so far, based on the analysis of the within-field variability in crop and soil properties, but procedures were rarely suited for operational conditions. We identified here a low-inputs protocol to map management zones from soil electrical conductivity and/or crop vegetation indices, using a winter wheat field in northern Italy as a pilot case. The reliability of the alternative data sources was evaluated at three crop development stages using a yield map as reference. Red-edge and NIR (NDRE) bands were the most reliable data sources for management zones identification, with 62%, 68%, and 74% of correct classifications at early tillering, stem elongation, and late booting, respectively. Our work identifies a minimum dataset for accurate management zones’ definition and highlights that in-season monitoring based on the red-edge band was able to reliably identify management zones already at early tillering, despite minor differences in crop growth.

Highlights

The intensification of agricultural systems led to the excessive use of irrigation water, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals, with detrimental effects on environmental sustainability and farmers’profitability [1]
This study aims at defining a low-input methodology for management zones (MZs) mapping based on high-resolution soil and crop sensors (EMI sensor and airborne digital camera), which can be adopted by farmers in the first year of adoption of precision agriculture when yield maps are not available
Italian farmers are experiencing a transition from standard to precision agriculture and need simple and low-input procedures to support the shift of paradigm

Summary

Introduction

The intensification of agricultural systems led to the excessive use of irrigation water, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals, with detrimental effects on environmental sustainability and farmers’profitability [1]. The intensification of agricultural systems led to the excessive use of irrigation water, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals, with detrimental effects on environmental sustainability and farmers’. Standard management practices in conventional agriculture entail consistent application of water and agrochemicals, disregarding the within-field variability of crop status and needs [2]. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1124 in PA is the variable-rate application, based either on application maps or on real-time sensors [4]. Examples of the latter are tractor-mounted data acquisition and processing systems used to optimize nitrogen fertilization [5,6] and weed management [7]

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion