1st Edition

Precision Agriculture for Sustainability and Environmental Protection

Edited By Margaret Oliver, Thomas Bishop, Ben Marchant Copyright 2013
    304 Pages 100 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    304 Pages 100 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Precision agriculture (PA) involves the application of technologies and agronomic principles to manage spatial and temporal variation associated with all aspects of agricultural production in order to improve crop performance and environmental quality. The focus of this book is to introduce a non-specialist audience to the the role of PA in food security, environmental protection, and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as its economic benefits. 

    The technologies covered include yield monitors and remote sensing, and the key agronomic principles addressed are the optimal delivery of fertilizers, water and pesticides to crops only when and where these are required. As a result, it is shown that both food production and resource efficiency can be maximized, without waste or damage to the environment, such as can occur from excessive fertilizer or pesticide applications. The authors of necessity describe some technicalities about PA, but the overall aim is to introduce readers who are unfamiliar with PA to this very broad subject and to demonstrate the potential impact of PA on the environment and economy. 

    The book shows how farmers can place sustainability of the environment at the centre of their operations and that this is improved with the application of PA. The range of topics described includes sampling and mapping, weed and pest control, proximal and remote sensing, spatio-temporal analysis for improving management, management zones and water management. These are illustrated with case studies on sampling and mapping, biofuels from sugar cane and maize, paddy rice cultivation, and cotton production.

    Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.tandfebooks.com/page/openaccess It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license.

    Part 1: Precision Agriculture and Food Security 

    1. An Overview of Precision Agriculture  

    M. A. Oliver 

    2. The Role of Precision Agriculture in Food Production and Security 

    J. L. Hatfield and N. R. Kitchen 

    3. Improving Food Security Through Increasing the Precision of Agricultural Development 

    A. Gassner, R. Coe and F. Sinclair 

    Part 2: Techniques 

    4. Rational Management Decisions from Uncertain Spatial Data 

    B.P. Marchant, A.G. Dailey and R. Webster 

    5. Applications of Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture for Sustainable Production 

    P.G. Carter and S. L. Young 

    6. Proximal Sensing 

    R. A. Viscarra Rossel and V. I. Adamchuk  

    7. Spatio-temporal Analysis to Improve Agricultural Management 

    A. Horta and T. F. A. Bishop 

    Part 3: Management 

    8. Site-specific Management and Delineating Management Zones 

    D. L. Corwin 

    9. Precision Weed Management 

    R. Gerhards 

    10. Site-Specific Irrigation Water Management 

    R. G. Evans and E. J. Sadler 

    11. The Economics of Precision Agriculture 

    B. P. Marchant, M. A. Oliver, T. F. A. Bishop and B. M. Whelan 

    12. Spatially Distributed Experimentation: Tools for the Optimization of Targeted Management 

    R. G. V. Bramley, R. A. Lawes and S. E. Cook 

    Part 4: Case Studies 

    CS1. Sampling and Mapping in Precision Agriculture 

    M. A. Oliver 

    CS2. Precision Agriculture in Sugarcane Production 

    J. P. Molin, G. Portz and L. R. do Amaral 

    CS3. Precision Rice Farming for Small-Scale Paddy Fields in Asia 

    B-W. Lee and K-J. Lee 

    CS4. Farmer Perceptions of Precision Agriculture for Fertilizer Management of Cotton 

    R. K. Roberts, J. A. Larson, B. C. English and J. C. Torbet 

    Future Prospects 

    M.A. Oliver, T.A. F. Bishop and B.P. Marchant

    Biography

    Margaret Oliver is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Reading, UK, and was for several years editor of the Journal of Precision Agriculture

    Thomas Bishop is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Sydney, Australia.  

    Ben Marchant is an Environmental Scientist at the British Geological Survey and was previously at Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK.

    This well-designed, four-part book, illustrated with black-and-white photos, contains helpful technical information on precision agriculture (PA). With contributors from North and South America, Australia, Europe, and Africa, the book offers a valuable international perspective.Summing Up: Highly recommended.

    - M K Swan, emeritus, Washington State University, CHOICE Reviews September 2014