Abstract
In the present study, the spatial variability of some soil physical and chemical properties in a 0.8 ha apple orchard were studied. Sixty soil samples were taken from two sampling depths: 0–0.3 m and 0.3–0.6 m. The soil samples were analyzed for the following soil properties: soil texture, pH, cation exchange capacity and NO3–N, NH4–N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, B and organic matter content. Data analysis indicated that most of the nutrients were at sufficient levels. The site-specific application map for N was created based on the amount of N that was removed from the soil with the yield of the previous year. By applying N site-specifically, 38% of N could be saved compared to uniform application.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bhatti, A. U., Mulla, D. J., & Frazier, B. E. (1991). Estimation of soil properties and wheat yields on complex eroded hills using geostatistics and thematic mapper images. Remote Sensing of Environment, 37, 181–191.
Bongiovanni, R., & Lowenberg-Deboer, J. (2004). Precision agriculture and sustainability. Precision Agriculture, 5, 359–387.
Brady, C. N. (1984). The nature and properties of soils (Chapter 5, 9th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
Cambardella, C. A., & Karlen, D. L. (1999). Spatial analysis of soil fertility parameters. Precision Agriculture, 1, 5–14.
Cambardella, C. A., Moorman, T. B., Novak, J. M., Parkin, T. B., Karlen, D. K., 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.
Earl, R., Wheeler, P. N., Blackmore, B. S., & Godwin, R. J. (1996). Precision farming—the management of variability. Landwards, 51(4), 18–23.
Gemtos, T., Fountas, S., Blackmore, S., Griepentog, H. W. (2002). Precision farming in Europe and the Greek potential. In A. Sideridis & C. Yialouris (Eds.), HAICTA 2002, Proceedings of the 1st Greek conference on information and communication technology in agriculture (pp. 45–55). Athens, Greece: Agricultural University of Athens.
Graeff, S., & Claupein, W. (2003). Quantifying nitrogen status of corn (Zea mays L.) in the field by reflectance measurements. European Journal of Agronomy, 19, 611–618.
IFA. (1992). International Fertilizer Association. World Fertilizer Use Manual. Available at http://www.fertilizer.org/ifa/Home-Page/LIBRARY/World-Fertilizer-Use-Manual/by-common-names, last accessed January 2010.
Koukoulakis, P. (1995). Basic principles of rational fertilization of crops. Crop and Animal Husbandry, 9, 43–61. (in Greek).
Lopez-Granados, F., Jurado-Exposito, M., Alamo, S., & Garcia-Torres, L. (2004). Leaf nutrient spatial variability and site-specific fertilization maps within olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards. European Journal of Agronomy, 21, 209–222.
Minasny, B., McBratney, A. B., Whelan, B. M. (2005). VESPER version 1.62. Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture, McMillan Building A05, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006. (http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/agric/acpa, last accessed August 2009).
Nava, G., Dechen, A., & Nachtigall, G. (2008). Nitrogen and potassium fertilization affect apple fruit quality in southern Brazil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 39, 96–107.
Plaster, J. E. (1992). Soil science and management (Chapter 9). Albany, New York: Delmar Publishers Inc.
Pontikis, K. (2003). Applied pomology (p. 74). Athens, Greece: Stamoulis Publications. (in Greek).
Schachtl, J., Huber, G., Maidl, F. X., & Sticksel, E. (2005). Laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements for detecting the nitrogen status of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) canopies. Precision Agriculture, 6, 143–156.
Sharma, D. D., & Chauhan, J. S. (2005). Effect of different rootstocks on root distribution of apple. Acta Hort, 696, 167–171.
Shukla, M. K., Slater, B. K., Lal, R., & Cepuder, P. (2004). Spatial variability of soil properties and potential management classification of a chernozemic field in lower Australia. Soil Science, 169, 852–860.
Vasilakakis, M. (2004). General and specialized pomology (pp. 276–311). Thessaloniki, Greece: Gartaganis Publications. (in Greek).
Zaman, Q., & Schuman, W. A. (2006). Nutrient management zones for citrus based on variation in soil properties and tree performance. Precision Agriculture, 7, 45–63.
Zaman, Q., Schuman, W. A., & Miller, W. M. (2005). Variable rate nitrogen application in florida citrus based on ultrasonically-sensed tree size. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 21, 331–335.
Acknowledgements
The project was funded by the Greek Ministry of Education through the PYTHAGORAS II programme.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aggelopoulou, K.D., Pateras, D., Fountas, S. et al. Soil spatial variability and site-specific fertilization maps in an apple orchard. Precision Agric 12, 118–129 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-010-9161-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-010-9161-x