| Researcher(s) |
James Challis (Precision Agronomics Australia) Simon Craig (BCG) Nicole Dimos (SPAA) Andrew Whitlock (Precision Agriculture) |
|---|---|
| Year(s) | 2011 |
| Contributor | Society of Precision Agriculture Australia |
| Trial location(s) |
Birchip, VIC
|
This demonstration has shown that there are many tools available to help farmers identify paddock zones. In this case, the farmer was easily able to identify roughly each zone, however from the yield map it is apparent that using the yield maps, to get those zones 100%, slight changes were required. There was little advantage in applying fertiliser in any of the zones, however, emergence issues may have confounded some of these responses. Both P tests (Colwell and DGT) indicated that Zone 2 was responsive to P. There appeared to be a slight increase in yield to P. This was indicated visually during the season, though the difference was thought to be greater and unlikely to be significant. Most importantly, this demonstration has highlighted that you don’t need to invest heavily to practice PA and VR. The farmer identified 80-90% of the variation with the help of other tools. Those tools will prove very important when the zones as less pronounced or in paddocks that have been recently acquired.
| Lead research organisation |
Society of Precision Agriculture Australia |
|---|---|
| Host research organisation | N/A |
| Trial funding source | GRDC SPA000010 |
| Related program | N/A |
| Acknowledgments |
This project was funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) |
| Other trial partners | Cameron Barber (site host) |
| Crop type | Cereal (Grain): Wheat |
|---|---|
| Treatment type(s) |
|
| Trial type | Precision agriculture |
| Trial design | Not applicable |
| Sow date | Not specified |
|---|---|
| Harvest date | Not specified |
| Plot size | Not specified |
| Plot replication | Not specified |
| Other trial notes |
Many of the growers in Birchiphave experienced 10 years of below average rainfall, placing substantial financial strain on their enterprises. This has also limited their ability to adopt new technology such as VR controllers and yield mapping capabilities. This has become a major barrier to adoption and the BCG PA group decided to use this case study to demonstrate that practicing PA does not require significant financial investment. The group challenged a local grower, to identify his zones on a Google earth map at the start of the year. EM38, Gamma radiometrics, soil samples and a yield map were collected to compare how well the zones were identified. In addition, Nitrogen- and Phosphorus-rich strips were applied across these zones for comparison. |
| # |
Treatment 1
|
Plant available water (mm) | Colwell phosphorus (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | █ Red clay loam | 98 | 27 |
| 2 | █ Red ironstrone | 159 | 19 |
| 3 | █ Grey clay loam | 117 | 25 |
SILO weather estimates sourced from https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/silo/
Jeffrey, S.J., Carter, J.O., Moodie, K.B. and Beswick, A.R. (2001). Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data , Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol 16/4, pp 309-330. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1.
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