Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Canopy sensor placement for variable-rate nitrogen application in sugarcane fields

  • Published:
Precision Agriculture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is challenging for sugarcane, and machine-based canopy sensors appear as an alternative to allow variable-rate N fertilization. Top or sidedressing N is applied in each crop row and crop spatial variability behavior must be understood to allow proper sensor placement and applicator configurations in order to optimize N fertilization. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate sugarcane crop variability and N prescription error when working with various sensor placements and boom sections. The approaches involved post-processing N prescription maps and real-time application, varying the number of sensors used and calculating the N rate for the applicator boom sections. Sugarcane fields show high crop variability due to their semi-perennial cropping system, which causes unpredictability of sensor readings from adjacent rows, ideally suggesting one sensor for each row in order to obtain more detailed plant-vigor information. Moreover, the machine must be able to apply fertilizer for each individual row to allow the most reliable application of N rate, ensuring optimization of crop response to variable-rate N application.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amaral, L. R., & Molin, J. P. (2014). The effectiveness of three vegetation indices obtained from a canopy sensor in identifying sugarcane response to nitrogen. Agronomy Journal, 106(1), 273–280. doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amaral, L. R., Molin, J. P., & Schepers, J. S. (2015). Algorithm for variable-rate nitrogen application in sugarcane based on active crop canopy sensor. Agronomy Journal, 107(4), 1513–1523. doi:10.2134/agronj14.0494.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, E. M., Clarke, T. R., Richards, S. E., Colaizzi, P. D., Haberland, J., Kostrzewski, M., et al. (2000). Coincident detection of crop water stress, nitrogen status and canopy density using ground-based multispectral data. In: Proceedings of 5th International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Madison, WI, USA: CSSA, ASA, SSSA

  • Cambardella, C. A., Moorman, T. B., Novak, J. M., Parkin, T. B., Karlen, D. L., Turco, R. F., et al. (1994). Field-scale variability of soil properties in central Iowa soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 58, 1501–1511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lofton, J., Tubana, B. S., Kanke, Y., Teboh, J., & Viator, H. (2012). Predicting sugarcane response to nitrogen using a canopy reflectance-based response index value. Agronomy Journal, 104(1), 106–113. doi:10.2134/agronj2011.0254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pena-Yewtukhiw, E. M., Schwab, G. J., Grove, J. H., Murdock, L. W., & Johnson, J. T. (2008). Spatial analysis of early wheat canopy normalized difference vegetative index: Determining appropriate observation scale. Agronomy Journal, 100(2), 454–462. doi:10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portz, G., Molin, J. P., & Jasper, J. (2011). Active crop sensor to detect variability of nitrogen supply and biomass on sugarcane fields. Precision Agriculture, 13(1), 33–44. doi:10.1007/s11119-011-9243-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • QGIS Development Team. (2016). QGIS Geographic Information System. Open source geospatial foundation project. http://www.qgis.org. Accessed July 10 2016.

  • Roberts, D. F., Adamchuk, V. I., Shanahan, J. F., Ferguson, R. B., & Schepers, J. S. (2009). Optimization of crop canopy sensor placement for measuring nitrogen status in corn. Agronomy Journal, 101(1), 140–149. doi:10.2134/agronj2008.0072x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vieira, S. R., de Carvalho, J. R. P., & González, A. P. (2010). Jack knifing for semivariogram validation. Bragantia, 69, 97–105. doi:10.1590/S0006-87052010000500011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Studies and Projects Financing Agency (FINEP) from the Ministry of Science and Technology through the PROSENSAP project for its financial support; São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for providing a graduate scholarship to the first author (Project Numbers 2009/03372-0 and 2011/08882-7); São Martinho Mill team and Máquinas Agrícolas Jacto SA (Jacto Agricultural Machinery) for the partnership.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Campinas, School of Agricultural Engineering, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Lucas R. Amaral

  2. University of São Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Precision Agriculture Laboratory, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Rodrigo G. Trevisan & José P. Molin

Authors
  1. Lucas R. Amaral
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rodrigo G. Trevisan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. José P. Molin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lucas R. Amaral.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Amaral, L.R., Trevisan, R.G. & Molin, J.P. Canopy sensor placement for variable-rate nitrogen application in sugarcane fields. Precision Agric 19, 147–160 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-017-9505-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-017-9505-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation