PA Methods to DiagnoseCrop Performance

?Tim Neale 1 and John Heap 2

1 PrecisionAgriculture.com.au2 SARDI

Seedling

“Diagnostic Agronomy”

Yes

To the beach!

No

What Went Wrong??

Black box &Can of worms Vegetative biomass

Water limited yield in all zones?

AnotherBlack box &

Can of wormsGrain yieldThe ultimate integrator

What Went Wrong? (www.WWW.org.au?)

• Crop grain yield is the ultimate integrator of constraints

• Spatial-temporal patterns (PA) give excellent diagnostic clues

- eg gap between vegetative biomass and grain yield

• Real-time sensing vs. historical diagnosis

• Yield constraints

- Natural or man-made (management)

- Natural: Biological, Soil, Other

- Treatable or untreatable (practicality, economics)

- Simple or complex (eg ARG x subsoil constraints?)

PA Methods to Diagnose and Manage Crop Performance

Identify problem zones

Management decision:Amelioration vs ↓ inputs

Yield (+ biomass) maps

Management action

Diagnose (ID) problemObservation, knowledge, experience, tests, PA data

VRT options, economics, experience, risk

PA VRT equipment

Constraints to achieving water limited yield(incomplete list for example only)

Biological

Weeds

Soilborne diseases

Foliar diseases

Soil biota

Insects

Soil

N

P

pH

Other nutrients

Soil depth

Soil texture

Boron

Salinity

Water repellance

Other

Frost

Wind

Herbicide toxicity

Water-logging

Compaction

Lodging

PA technologies and data to diagnose crop performance(incomplete list for example only)

Real-time (sensors)N application

(CropCircle, CropSpec, Greenseeker)

Herbicide application (WeedSeeker)

TechnologiesYield/Protein monitors

EM38

Satellite imagery

Aerial imagery

Weed mapping

(CropCircle, CropSpec etc)

Gamma

DataYield/Protein maps

ECa maps

Biomass maps

Soil maps

Weed maps

Disease inoculum maps

Elevation (DEMs)

Thermal maps

Slope/aspect

Drainage models

Diagnostic Agronomy: Where are we?

• Sound agronomic knowledge at paddock level

• Good range of diagnostic tests and tools

• PA research - good progress on specific problems

• Need an integrated approach to diagnose zone constraints

• Best diagnostic models are in good agronomists heads

Diagnostic Agronomy: Next steps?

• Need to capture and codify agronomist’s knowledge

and diagnostic process – aided by PA data.

• Synergistic combination of technologies important

(e.g. gamma + EM38)

• Need sound economic mapping and VRT strategies

• Human observation and experience critical to success

Potential GRDC investment:Integrated Diagnostic Model

• Identify major constraints

• Define/research characteristics of constraints

• Construct a diagnostic tool for constraints

(similar to plant taxonomy?)

• Field test diagnostic tool

• Sampling/testing promotion?

Develop mapping and VRT technologies

• Practical techniques and economics