Testing quality of soil survey geographic (SSURGO) Database for precision farming

摘要

Current technology allows for producer-driven, field-scale experimentation and site-specific management based on maps. Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) soil maps are a potential source of information for predicting crop yields as a basisfor management maps. Site-specific wheat yield data were obtained from three dryland farms in two north-central Montana counties during the 1997 growing season to test the utility of the NRCS Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database in precision farming.From the database generated, eight fields with highly variable soils were chosen to test the accuracy and precision of SSURGO as a tool to create predicted relative yield maps. Maps created from SSURGO alone did not accurately predict measured yields, nor was the precision of measured yields improved by reporting results for each soil map unit rather than for whole fields.