Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
protecting
harv.
fertilizing
cultiv. &
sowing
treatment
map
topographic
map
soil property
map
use of
soil/crop models
integrating
map
crop property
map
yield map
input of control-data
from current season
for subsequent crops
Fig. 13.1
Information transfer within a precision agriculture cycle and between subsequent crops
(Compiled and complemented with details from Stafford
2006
)
for this site-specifi c control can be sensed, recorded and applied within
precision
agriculture cycles
(Stafford
2006
) that surround every growing season.
In addition, from the yield of the present crop, again information can be derived
for site-specifi c operations that hold for subsequent crops. Examples for this are
long-term mapped records that can be used for many years and especially fertilizing
according to yields or nutrient removals of previous crops. In an ideal sense and for
a holistic control, the information transfer should take place within precision agriculture
cycles as well as between successive cycles. The information transfer might even
extend over several crop rotations. Hence
intra-crop
as well as
inter-crop infor-
mation transfer
might be needed. The processing of signals between farming oper-
ations or crop growing seasons too must be considered.
However, it always should be kept in mind that information transfer has no value in
itself. Whenever any information transfer does not improve the control of precision
farming, it should be left out. Cemeteries of unused data as well do not help, they might
be a great nuisance. Condensing the information transfer into the actual need,
e.g.
by
adequate averaging of signals and sorting out of useless data, might ease the situation.
Furthermore, the variety and abundance of steps as listed in Fig.
13.1
should be
regarded as a list of possibilities - not of essentials - in order to exploit the sources
of information. Where the site-specifi c conditions vary greatly, it might be reason-
able to use all the information transfer routes. However, there are also many cases
where only some of the routes listed are needed. And the start into site-specifi c
control of precision farming will always be a gradual procedure.
Regarding the actual
crop growth factors
, the conditions too can differ greatly.
The simplest situation is that just one growth factor is important,
e.g.
the water
