Abstract
Soil properties play an important role in spatial variability of crop yield. However, a low spatial correlation has generally been observed between maps of crop yield and of soil properties. The objectives of the present investigation were to assess the spatial pattern variability of soil properties and of corn yield at the same sampling intensity, and evaluate its cause-and-effect relationships. The experimental site was structured in a grid of 100 referenced points, spaced at 10 m intervals along four parallel 250 m long rows spaced 4.5 m apart. Thus, points formed a rectangle containing four columns and 25 rows. Therefore, each sampling cell encompassed an area of 45 m² and consisted of five 10 m long crop rows, in which the referenced points represented the center. Samples were taken from the layers 0-0.1 m and 0.1-0.2 m. Soil physical and chemical properties were evaluated. Statistical analyses consisted of data description and geostatistics. The spatial dependence of corn yield and soil properties was confirmed. The hypothesis of this study was confirmed, i.e., when sampling the soil to determine the values of soil characteristics at similar to sampling intensity as for crop yield assessments, correlations between the spatial distribution of soil characteristics and crop yield were observed. The spatial distribution pattern of soil properties explained 65 % of the spatial distribution pattern of corn yield. The spatial distribution pattern of clay content and percentage of soil base saturation explained most of the spatial distribution pattern of corn yield.
Highlights
Precision agriculture (PA) is based on the understanding that crop yield is affected by the spatial and temporal variability of yield-related factors of soil management
Based on the classification of coefficient of variation (CV) proposed by (Pimentel-Gomez & Garcia, 2002), the variability of clay and sand content was low in both layers, while the variability in silt content was considered medium (Table 1)
Similar results were obtained by Kitamura et al (2007), who observed a low variability in clay and medium variability in silt and sand content in a Rhodic Hapludox under no-tillage
Summary
Precision agriculture (PA) is based on the understanding that crop yield is affected by the spatial and temporal variability of yield-related factors of soil management. Knowledge of the spatial variability of soil properties is fundamental for the implementation of precision agriculture. Soil properties vary across the landscape due to differences in soil formation and related processes, as well as in land management and agricultural practices. Variations in soil properties are spatially dependent. Crop yield shows spatial variability, and several factors can affect this variability, including soil properties. Soil properties influence crop management efficiency and development. The spatial definition of soil and plant properties contributes to the planning of commercial crops and the location of scientific experiments (Reichert et al, 2008)
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