1st Edition

Handbook of Precision Agriculture Principles and Applications

Edited By Ancha Srinivasan Copyright 2006
    734 Pages
    by CRC Press

    734 Pages
    by CRC Press

    A thorough, critical, and up-to-date look at precision farming around the world

    In most developing countries, farming is the best safety net against hunger and keeping production costs under control without sacrificing crop yield is essential for survival. The Handbook of Precision Agriculture presents up-to-date research, field studies, and practical applications from around the world to help agricultural scientists and farmers work together to design a farming methodology that improves productivity, profitability, and sustainability. The book offers a comprehensive guide to basic principles and technologies, crop-specific applications, integrative strategies, economic and environmental concerns, and future trends in precision agriculture in different regions of the world.

    Handbook of Precision Agriculture provides basic guidelines and recommendations for implementing precision farming worldwide to help improve farm profits while conserving the environment. Keeping the technical jargon to a minimum, 50 of the world’s foremost authorities on precision farming examine a wide range of subject areas, including agronomy, crop physiology, genetics and plant breeding, soil science, entomology, meteorology, agricultural extension, weed science, plant pathology, ecology, spatial information sciences, and economics. In addition to discussing theory and practice on field-level management, the book’s contributors discuss how to identify and manage field variability, and how to implement precision farming in selected crops and cropping systems, working from case studies that represent both regional and crop-specific contexts.

    Topics examined in Handbook of Precision Agriculture include:

    • essential technologies for precision farming
    • site-specific nutrient management
    • precision water management
    • site-specific weed management
    • precision management of rice
    • site-specific management of cotton producing
    • precision farming from a cropping systems perspective
    • case studies of precision farming in Europe, Australia, and South America
    • and much more
    Handbook of Precision Agriculture also includes a foreword written by the renowned agricultural scientist, administrator, and World Food Prize Laureate, Professor M.S. Swaiminathan. Peer-reviewed by more than 100 reviewers from around the world, this unique book presents detailed information and concepts in a simple and direct style that’s easy to understand-even for beginners!

    • About the Editor
    • Contributors
    • Foreword (M. S. Swaminathan)
    • Preface
    • Acknowledgments
    • PART I: PRINCIPLES, TECHNOLOGIES, AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES
    • Chapter 1. Precision Agriculture: An Overview (Ancha Srinivasan)
    • Introduction
    • Basics of Precision Agriculture
    • Tools for Implementation of Precision Agriculture
    • Current Status, Uncertainties, and Future Trends
    • Epilogue
    • Chapter 2. The Role of Technology in the Emergence and Current Status of Precision Agriculture (John V. Stafford)
    • The Beginnings of Precision Agriculture
    • The Basis for Precision Agriculture: Information Technology
    • Spatial Location
    • Basics of GPS
    • Information Acquisition: Sensors
    • Crop Condition
    • Weed Detection
    • Grain Yield
    • Grain Quality
    • Environment
    • Assembling and Interpreting Information
    • Utilizing Information: Application and Control
    • Agrochemicals
    • Patch Spraying: Philosophy of Approach
    • Fertilizers
    • The Role of Precision Agriculture in the Future of Agriculture-Technological Developments
    • Chapter 3. Soil Sensors for Precision Farming (Sakae Shibusawa)
    • Introduction
    • Current Developments and Use of Soil Sensors
    • Future Development and Prospects
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 4. Site-Specific Nutrient Management: Objectives, Current Status, and Future Research Needs (Silvia Haneklaus and Ewald Schnug)
    • Introduction
    • Origins of SSNM
    • Data Sources for SSNM
    • Decision Making for SSNM
    • SSNM for Different Nutrient Sources
    • Interaction of SSNM with Other PA Measures in the Field
    • Quality Aspects
    • Economic, Ecological, and Social Impacts of SSNM
    • Future Research Needs
    • Chapter 5. Precision Water Management: Current Realities, Possibilities, and Trends (Carl R. Camp, E. John Sadler, and Robert G. Evans)
    • Introduction
    • Current Status
    • Irrigation Application and System Control
    • Auxiliary System Components
    • Management Zones
    • Applications and Justifications
    • Current Trends
    • Cost-Benefit Issues
    • Future Directions
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 6. Site-Specific Weed Management (Roland Gerhards and Svend Christensen)
    • Introduction
    • Weed Distribution in the Field
    • Stability of Weed Populations
    • Weed Monitoring
    • Decision Making
    • Site-Specific Herbicide Application
    • Site-Specific Weed Control
    • Future Directions
    • Chapter 7. Site-Specific Management of Crop Diseases (Karsten D. Bjerre, Lise N. Jørgensen, and Jørgen E. Olesen)
    • Introduction
    • The Disease Management Arena
    • IPM Strategies for Disease Control
    • Site-Specific Disease Control: The Next Step in the Evolution of Disease Management
    • Effects of Diseases and Spatial Variability on Crop Growth
    • Technology for Site-Specific Disease Management
    • Perspectives
    • Chapter 8. Site-Specific Management of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes (Robert A. Dunn, Jimmy R. Rich, and Richard E. Baird)
    • Introduction
    • General Nematode Biology
    • Diagnosing Nematode Problems
    • Principles of Nematode Management—Nonchemical
    • Nematicides
    • Variable-Rate Nematicide Application
    • Chapter 9. Site-Specific Measurement and Management of Grain Quality (Piet Reyns, Josse De Baerdemaeker, Ludo Vanongeval, and Maarten Geypens)
    • Introduction
    • Quality Factors and Their Measurement
    • On-Line Quality Measurements
    • Influence of Plant Nutrition on the Quality of Cereal Crops
    • Grain Quality and Crop Management
    • Site-Specific Crop Quantity and Quality Management
    • Conclusions
    • PART II: APPLICATIONS IN CROPS AND CROPPING SYSTEMS
    • Chapter 10. Site-Specific Rice Management (Alvaro Roel, G. Stuart Pettygrove, and Richard E. Plant)
    • Introduction
    • Quantifying Spatial Variability and Its Causes
    • Discussion
    • Chapter 11. Precision Agriculture Management Progress and Prospects for Corn/Soybean Systems in the Midwestern United States (Thomas S. Colvin)
    • Introduction
    • Experimentation in Central Iowa
    • Availability of Yield Monitors and Site-Specific Soil Testing
    • Other Benefits of Yield Monitors
    • Status of Soil Sampling
    • Profitability
    • Environmental Issues
    • The Human Side of Precision Agriculture
    • The Need for Future Research
    • Chapter 12. Site-Specific Management of Cotton Production in the United States (Richard M. Johnson, Judith M. Bradow, and Anne F. Wrona)
    • Introduction
    • Soil Informational Layer
    • Crop Informational Layer
    • Remote Sensing Informational Layer
    • Integration of Informational Layers
    • Acceptance of Site-Specific Management by Cotton Producers
    • Chapter 13. Potential of Precision Farming with Potatoes (Colin McKenzie and Shelley A. Woods)
    • Introduction
    • Nutrient Management
    • Remote Sensing
    • Nematodes
    • Insects
    • Weed Control
    • Harvesting and Seeding Equipment
    • Soil Salinity
    • Field Scale Experimentation
    • Problems Hindering the Adoption of Precision Farming by the Potato Industry
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 14. Site-Specific Management in Sugarbeet (David W. Franzen)
    • Properties of Sugarbeet Favorable to Site-Specific Nutrient Management
    • Zone Management of Nutrients
    • Profitability of Using Site-Specific Nitrogen Management in Sugarbeet
    • Use of Imagery from Sugarbeet to Modify Nitrogen Recommendations to Subsequent Crops
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 15. Application of Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Modeling in Vineyard Management (Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Lee F. Johnson, and Michael A. White)
    • Introduction
    • The Vineyard As an Ecosystem
    • Tools in Vineyard Management
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 16. Site-Specific Management from a Cropping System Perspective (David E. Clay, Sharon A. Clay, and Gregg Carlson)
    • Introduction
    • Understanding Yield Variability
    • Managing Yield Variability
    • Conclusions
    • PART III: CURRENT STATUS
    • Chapter 17. Africa (W. T. (Wimpie) Nell, Ntsikane Maine, and P. M. Basson)
    • Introduction
    • Climatic Conditions
    • Background of Agriculture
    • Site-Specific Management
    • Precision Agriculture
    • Constraints in the Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Site-Specific Management Technologies
    • Research on Precision Agriculture in South Africa
    • Prospects for Precision Agriculture
    • Chapter 18. Asia (Ancha Srinivasan)
    • Introduction
    • Spatial Variability in Asian Farms
    • Drivers and Opportunities for Adoption of Precision Farming
    • Current Status in Selected Countries
    • Constraints and Approaches for Adoption
    • Implications for Adoption in Asia
    • Future Action
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 19. Australia (Simon E. Cook, Matthew L. Adams, Robert G. V. Bramley, and Brett M. Whelan)
    • Introduction
    • What Precision Agriculture Means in Australia
    • Demand for Precision Agriculture in Australia: The Battle for Sustainability Needs Accurate and Relevant Information
    • Methods Used in Australia
    • Applications in the Grains, Cotton, Wine, and Sugar Industries
    • Impediments to Adoption
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 20. Europe (Simon Blackmore, Hans W. Greipentrog, Søren M. Pedersen, and Spyros Fountas)
    • Introduction
    • The Current Situation in European Farming
    • Precision Farming Research in Europe
    • Variability and Management
    • Technology-Led Opportunities
    • Issues of Adoption and Farmer Attitudes
    • Future Research
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 21. Argentina (Rodolfo Bongiovanni and Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer)
    • Introduction
    • Argentine Agriculture
    • Current Status
    • Factors That Favor Adoption
    • Factors That Discourage Adoption
    • Prospects
    • Challenges
    • Chapter 22. Brazil (Glaucio Roloff and Daniele Focht)
    • Introduction
    • A Brief History of Precision Agriculture in Brazil
    • Precision Agriculture on Highly Weathered Soils
    • Managing Variability
    • Precision Agriculture for Specific Crops
    • Conclusions
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Ancha Srinivasan, PhD, is a Principal Researcher and Manager at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Hayama, Japan. Prior to joining IGES, he worked at premier institutions such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Topics, the Hokkaido National Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). Dr. Srinivasan served as a Principal Investigator for several funded projects in sustainable agriculture, information systems, and the environment, and recently developed a special interest in policy issues of adaptation to climate change in agriculture. His work has been widely published in national and international journals, and he serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Crop Improvement (Haworth).