A synthesis of multi-disciplinary research in precision agriculture: site-specific management zones in the semi-arid western Great Plains of the USA

Researchers from Colorado State University, in collaboration with scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), initiated a long-term multi-disciplinary study in precision agriculture in 1997. Site-specific management zones (SSMZ) were investigated as a means of improving nitrogen management in irrigated maize cropping systems. The objective was to develop precise nutrient management strategies for semi-arid irrigated cropping systems. This study was conducted in five fields in northeastern Colorado, USA. Two techniques for delineating management zones were developed and compared: SSMZ and yield-based management zones (YBMZ). Nitrogen uptake and grain yield differences among SSMZs were compared as were soil properties. Both management zone techniques were used to divide fields into smaller units that were different with regard to productivity potential (e.g., high zones had high productivity potential while low zones had low productivity potential). Economic analysis was also performed. Based on grain yield productivity, the SSMZs performed better than the YBMZ technique in most cases. Grain yield and N uptake between the low and high productivity management zones were statistically different for most site-years and N fertilizer rates (p < 0.05). Soil properties helped to explain the productivity potential of the management zones. The low SSMZ was markedly different from the high SSMZ based on bulk density, organic carbon, sand, silt, porosity and soil moisture. Net returns ranged from 188 to 679 USD ha−1. In two out of three site-years the variable yield goal strategy resulted in the largest net returns. In this study, the SSMZ approach delineates areas of different productivity accurately across the agricultural fields. The SSMZs are different with regard to soil properties as well as grain yield and N uptake. Site-specific management zones are an inexpensive and pragmatic approach to precise N management in irrigated maize.

[1]  J. Campbell.  Introduction to remote sensing , 1987 .

[2]  Glenn Fox,et al.  Economic Feasibility of Variable‐Rate Technology for Nitrogen on Corn , 1999 .

[3]  Yanyan Liu,et al.  PROFITABILITY OF SITE-SPECIFIC NITROGEN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MICHIGAN CORN , 2003 .

[4]  R. Murray Lark,et al.  Using Yield Maps to Regionalize Fields into Potential Management Units , 1999 .

[5]  David W. Franzen,et al.  Evaluation of Soil Survey Scale for Zone Development of Site-Specific Nitrogen Management , 2002 .

[6]  Kent M. Eskridge,et al.  Field-scale electrical conductivity mapping for delineating soil condition , 2001 .

[7]  P. C. Robert,et al.  Variability of soil and landscape attributes within sub-field management zones. , 2000 .

[8]  Thomas S. Colvin,et al.  YIELD VARIABILITYWITHINACENTRAL IOWA FIELD , 1997 .

[9]  D. Mulla,et al.  An evaluation of indicator properties affecting spatial patterns in N and P requirements for winter wheat yield.: Spatial Variability in Soil and Crop , 1997 .

[10]  J. Neter,et al.  Applied Linear Regression Models , 1983 .

[11]  Kenneth A. Sudduth,et al.  Comparison of Variable Rate to Single Rate Nitrogen Fertilizer Application: Corn Production and Residual Soil NO3-N , 1995 .

[12]  P. Mielke.  The application of multivariate permutation methods based on distance functions in the earth sciences , 1991 .

[13]  W. W. Nelson,et al.  Nitrate losses through subsurface tile drainage in Conservation Reserve Program, alfalfa, and row crop systems , 1997 .

[14]  J. Hatfield,et al.  Review and Interpretation: Nitrogen Management Strategies to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in Tile-Drained Midwestern Soils , 2002 .

[15]  J. V. Stafford,et al.  Precision Agriculture '05 , 2005 .

[16]  Lee H. MacDonald,et al.  Spatial Variability of Measured Soil Properties across Site-Specific Management Zones , 2005 .

[17]  David Lamb,et al.  PA—Precision Agriculture: Remote-Sensing and Mapping of Weeds in Crops , 2001 .

[18]  David W. Franzen,et al.  Evaluation of Soil Survey Scale for Zone Development of Site-Specific Nitrogen Management , 2002 .

[19]  J. R. Landis,et al.  The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. , 1977, Biometrics.

[20]  P. C. Robert,et al.  Assessing managements units on rolling topography. , 2000 .

[21]  G. Gee,et al.  Particle-size Analysis , 2018, SSSA Book Series.

[22]  R. Kanwar,et al.  Nitrate and Water Present in and Flowing from Root‐Zone Soil , 1996 .

[23]  Robert S. Freeland,et al.  Soil Investigations using Electromagnetic Induction and Ground-Penetrating Radar in Southwest Tennessee , 2002 .

[24]  Subhabrata Ray,et al.  USE OF HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR GENERATING SITE-SPECIFIC SOIL MANGEMENT PLAN , 2004 .

[25]  C. Gotway,et al.  Comparison of kriging and inverse-distance methods for mapping soil parameters , 1996 .

[26]  Dale F. Heermann,et al.  Evaluating Soil Color with Farmer Input and Apparent Soil Electrical Conductivity for Management Zone Delineation , 2004 .

[27]  H. R. Duke,et al.  USE OF INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO INCREASE NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY AND PROTECT ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN CROP ROTATIONS , 2001 .

[28]  D. Mulla,et al.  Spatial and temporal variation in economically optimum nitrogen rate for corn , 2003 .

[29]  P. C. Robert,et al.  Grain Yield Stability in Continuous Corn and Corn-Soybean Cropping Systems on a Sandy Landscapes , 1996 .

[30]  J. MacQueen.  Some methods for classification and analysis of multivariate observations , 1967 .

[31]  Jerry L. Hatfield,et al.  Water Quality in Walnut Creek Watershed: Herbicides and Nitrate in Surface Waters , 1999 .

[32]  P. C. Robert,et al.  Evaluating management zone technology and grid soil sampling for variable rate nitrogen application. , 2000 .

[33]  W. M. Frasier,et al.  Economic Feasibility of Variable‐Rate Nitrogen Application Utilizing Site‐Specific Management Zones , 2004 .

[34]  David A. Mortensen,et al.  SITE-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT Site-Specific Management Zones Based on Soil Electrical Conductivity in a Semiarid Cropping System , 2003 .

[35]  I. Ohlsson.  Book reviewSite-specific management for agricultural systems: P.C. Robert, R.H. Rust and W.E. Larson (Editors). American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, 1995. ISBN 0-89118-127-X, Paperback, 993 pp., US$ 39 , 1996 .

[36]  W. E. Larson,et al.  Strategies for establishing management zones for site specific nutrient management. , 2000 .

[37]  Soil Sampling for Site-Specific Nitrogen Management , 1996 .

[38]  J. Hatfield,et al.  Water Quality in Walnut Creek Watershed: Herbicides in Soils, Subsurface Drainage, and Groundwater , 1999 .

[39]  Daniel Inman,et al.  Nitrogen uptake across site specific management zones in irrigated corn production systems , 2005 .

[40]  J. Sawyer.  Concepts of Variable Rate Technology with Considerations for Fertilizer Application , 1994 .

[41]  D. G. Westfall,et al.  Use of site-specific management zones to improve nitrogen management for precision agriculture , 2002 .

[42]  Andreas Persson,et al.  Topographical data for delineation of agricultural management zones. , 2005 .

[43]  Noel A. C. Cressie,et al.  Statistics for Spatial Data: Cressie/Statistics , 1993 .

[44]  T. L. Coleman,et al.  Differentiating soil physical properties from multiple band DOQ data , 1995 .

[45]  J. V. Stafford.  Precision agriculture ‘07 , 2007 .

[46]  R. J. Hanks,et al.  REFLECTION OF RADIANT ENERGY FROM SOILS , 1965 .

[47]  J. C. Shickluna,et al.  Soils. An Introduction to Soils and Plant Growth , 1972 .

[48]  D. G. Westfall,et al.  Comparison of Site-Specific Management Zones: Soil-Color-Based and Yield-Based , 2006 .

[49]  D. W. Nelson,et al.  Total Carbon, Organic Carbon, and Organic Matter , 1983, SSSA Book Series.

[50]  T. L. Coleman,et al.  Soil moisture, organic matter, and iron content effect on the spectral characteristics of selected vertisols and alfisols in Alabama , 1987 .

[51]  Thomas S. Colvin,et al.  Six Year Yield Variability Within a Central Iowa Field , 1996 .

[52]  A. Kravchenko,et al.  Correlation of Corn and Soybean Grain Yield with Topography and Soil Properties , 2000 .

[53]  Noel A Cressie,et al.  Statistics for Spatial Data. , 1992 .

[54]  D. Lobell,et al.  Moisture effects on soil reflectance , 2002 .