Implementing precision agriculture concepts and technologies into crop production and site-specific management of nematodes.

Abstract

Abstract Precision agriculture is defined as a management strategy that gathers, processes and analyses temporal, spatial and individual data and combines it with other information to support management decisions according to estimated variability for improved resource use efficiency, productivity, quality, profitability and sustainability of agricultural production. This includes a wide range of technologies, many of which are linked to geographic information system technologies used to analyse spatial location and organize layers of on-farm data. Southern root-knot (Meloidogyne incognita), reniform (Rotylenchulus reniformis), Columbia lance (Hoplolaimus columbus) and sting (Belonolaimus longicaudatus) nematodes are significant problems on cotton in the US. Granular and fumigant nematicides have provided control when applied at uniform rates across fields pre-plant in-furrow or at-plant in-furrow at costs of US$148 and US$74 per hectare, respectively. Site-specific variable-rate (SSVR) technologies offer producers the potential to move away from uniform application rates and apply nematicides only to specific management zones in a field. The goal is to sustain yield levels while minimizing nematicide applications and thus increasing economic returns. This chapter discusses strategies for the development of management zones, evolution of application technologies needed for SSVR applications, assessment of nematode damage from multispectral images, and field experiences with site-specific nematode management. The economic importance of precision agriculture technology and future research requirements are also mentioned.