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Precision Agriculture in Arkansas

Precision Agriculture in Arkansas. Sreekala G. Bajwa Associate Professor, Dept of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville Dharmendra Saraswat , Subodh Kulkarni , Leo Espinoza , Terry Griffin

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Precision Agriculture in Arkansas

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  1. Precision Agriculture in Arkansas Sreekala G. Bajwa Associate Professor, Dept of Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville DharmendraSaraswat, SubodhKulkarni, Leo Espinoza, Terry Griffin University of Arkansas -Division of Agriculture, Little Rock NCERA 180 Meeting, 23-25 March 2011, Little Rock, Arkansas

  2. At a Glance • Overview of Arkansas Agriculture • Current and past PA projects • Current & Future Issues and needs

  3. Arkansas Agriculture Agriculture sector accounts for 12% of Gross State Product NCERA-180, 2011

  4. Farm Characteristics (USDA-NASS) Gandonou et al (2001): 1060 ac to purchase PA equipment 1350 ac in AR (Popp & Griffin, 2000) Total land: 33.29 million acres Total farm land 13.87 million acres Total Population: 2.9 million

  5. Precision Agriculture Adoption • No comprehensive data available on PA adoption in Arkansas • Arkansas lags behind other regions in PA adoption • Most popular technologies • Yield monitoring • Soil grid sampling & zone management • Variable rate application • Remote Sensing • On-the-go sensing Popp and Griffin (2000); Groves et al. (2006); Torbett et al (2008); Winsteadet al (2010)

  6. Summary of Precision Agricultural Projectsin Arkansas

  7. Precision Agriculture Projects: Remote Sensing • Optical remote Sensing of plant response to stressors • N stress in rice and cotton • Water stress in cotton • Compaction in cotton fields • Diseases in soybean • Soybean Cyst Nematode • Sudden Death Syndrome & interaction with water stress • Charcoal rot & interaction with water stress • For early detection of stresses • For site specific management Bajwa, Rupe, Kulkarni, Norman, Mozaffari, Vories, Huitink

  8. Soybean Diseases: SCN & SDS ProjectBajwa, Kulkarni, Rupe • Both SCN and SDS are Soil-borne pathogens, difficult to detect • SCN is a major cause of yield loss ($1.69 billion in the US in 1998) • SCN symptoms are similar to water/nutrient stress, and hence difficult to detect • SCN and SDS interact

  9. Soybean Diseases: SCN & SDS Project • To detect and map SCN and SDS incidence • Several experiments – microplot, field strip plot with cutlivars, field plots with irrigation treatments • Microplot experiment • 4 cultivars: Control (SCN & SDS resistant), SCN resistant, SDS resistant, SCN & SDS susceptible • 4 disease treatments: Control, SCN, SDS, SCN & SDS • 2 years, 1 location

  10. Soybean diseases: SCN & SDS SDS & SCN susceptible SDS susceptible Found differences in chlorophyll content between infested and healthy plants SDS & SCN Resistant SCN Susceptible

  11. Soybean diseases: SCN & SDS • There were differences in reflectance between infested and non-infested plants over time Control SCN SDS SCN_SDS

  12. Correlation with Canopy Reflectance • Difficulty in getting plants infested • Some cross-contamination • Lack of good means of measuring infestation levels • Presence of pathogen does not mean infestation • Confounding environment

  13. Soybean Charcoal Rot Study Doubledee, Rupe, Kulkarni, Bajwa • Research Problem: • To investigate cultivar, drought effects, and charcoal rot response on soybean canopy reflectance (ASD spectro-radiometer and CropCircleTM ACS-470) • To develop a method to detect and map charcoal rot

  14. Background Information: • 38M bu. lost/year • Prevalent in heat and drought stressed areas • Irrigated soybeans exhibit charcoal rot at critical • plant stages after flowering begins • Disease symptoms depends on plant’s growth • stage at the time of infestation

  15. Research Experiment: • 2 disease treatments (inoculated and not • inoculated), 2 water regimes (irrigated and • water stressed), and 5 replications • 4 soybean cultivars DT-97-4290 (moderately • resistant), DP-4546 (moderately resistant), • R-01-581FCR (drought tolerant), • and LS-980358 (susceptible) • Crop CircleTM ACS-470, ASD spectro-radiometer

  16. Results : • CropCircle: GNDVI, NDVI, VI= f(infestation) • ASD spectra: 12 vegetation indices were tested • Infested plants had higher vegetation indices (CWSI NDVI, REIP, WI, D-Chl-ab, SAVI and SIPI) than non-infested plants at certain times during the season • Practical Application: • Sensors detected charcoal rot before physical • symptoms were observed. However, this was not consistent at all times during the growth season

  17. Variable Rate LimingSaraswat, Espinoza, Kulkarni, Griffin Introduction-pH

  18. $10/ton $20/ton $25/ton $45/ton $30/ton $35/ton Cost of Lime in AR

  19. Lime recommendation based on 2.5 ac grid soil sampling results Lime recommendation based on MSP sensor data Variable Rate Liming Cost of Uniform Liming (recommendation 2 t/ac lime) , @$25/ton = approx. 66*25*2 = $ 3300 Cost of variable rate liming, @$25/ton = 1.5 * 8 * 25 = $300 Savings = approx. $3000

  20. John Deere 6230 TractorBarron Brothers InternationalGrasshopper High Clearance Spreader Two 24 inch spinner disk 21 inch Conveyer Chain VRT Components

  21. Hydraulic Fluid Reservoir TeeJet Conveyer Control Valve TeeJet Spinner Control Valve VRT Components PTO Hydraulic Pump Spinner Hydraulic Pressure Limit Valve Conveyer Hydraulic Pressure Limit Valve

  22. Dickey John 360 Conveyer Rate Sensor VRT Components Attached to post welded to conveyer shaft

  23. VRT Components RPM Sensor Pick Up Contact Point Spinner Shaft RPM Sensor

  24. Conveyer On/Off Switch VRT Components TeeJet Dual Control Module Custom Box to Protect Wires

  25. Gate Height Adjustable From 1 to 12 Inches Gate Height Adjustment Wheel With Lock VRT Components Adjustable Drop Point For Distribution Control

  26. Target rate of 300 lbs over 11 pans across a 40 ft swath to determine swath distribution and applied amount • Pulse rate of 1500 on DJ360 rate controller for 3” gate height at spinner rpm of 500 provided the closest match • Lime density: 83 lbs/cu ft • Travel speed: 6 mph Field Methodology

  27. 15 Feet Field Methodology 15 Feet 400 Feet Consisting of Two Rate Zones • 21 pans for each rate zone Pans within a row were 9.5 ft apart

  28. Similar results when transitions from 600 lb to 300 lb, 600 lb to 900 lb, and 900 lb-600 lb were tested Preliminary Results

  29. A variable rate spreader system for lime application was put together • Missing parts and faulty part operation caused confusion • Manufacturer suggested procedure was revised to calibrate the spreader • Over application in the lower distribution and under application at higher distribution setting was observed • The spreader is under further evaluation Summary

  30. Current/Future Issues • Water quantity and quality • Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer Drying at 15 cm/yr • Arkansas 5th in irrigated acreage and second in percentage of crop area irrigated (Census 2007), with ~ 94% of ground water used for irrigation in Arkansas (USGS, 2005) • Low aquifer recharge rate of 2 cm/yr • Climate Change • Climate adaptation and mitigation • Water availability and quality • Pest and disease incidence • Energy - Fuel prices

  31. Some of the Current Issues Raised by Growers • Soil grid sampling – Value of grid sampling? what is the right grid size? • Pest detection and site-specific management • Data management and information extraction • Challenges with equipment • Getting the most out of precision agriculture

  32. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Special Thanks to.. Cotton Incorporated Cotton Foundation United Soybean Board Corn and Grain Sorghum Promotion Board DeanoTraywick, Paul Ballantyne, and M. Ismanov, Dr. John Fulton, Auburn University Brian Mathis, TeeJet Engineer

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