DEALING WITH VARIATION IN SPACE AND TIME: THE CHALLENGE FOR A FORWARD-LOOKING APPROACH TO PRECISION AGRICULTURE

摘要

Implementation of precision agriculture (PA) practices anywhere in the world has several dimensions. First, strategic decisions have to be made, followed by tactical and operational decisions, each of them reflecting local conditions and opportunities. Two case studies will be presented in which PA practices are used under operational conditions to the full satisfaction of farmers involved. This introductory paper serves to introduce five papers of our research group. One case study is on a modern arable farm in the Netherlands found on prime agricultural land and the other on a banana farm (finca) in Costa Rica. Real-time forward-looking simulation modeling of crop growth is applied in the Netherlands to fine-tune nitrogen applications in space andtime, using management units based on soil data. Remote sensing data are used to improve model calculations, while meta-models are proposed to make modeling results more accessible. Instead of using specific management for each management unit, also on-the-go management has been explored for liming. In Costa Rica soil maps are used to stratify measured yield data, allowing distinction of poorly producing areas within a given area occupied by a given soil type. This allows focussed research on factors inhibiting production. We conclude that PA is ready to be applied as it presents the opportunity to make production processes more efficient while reducing unfavorable environmental side effects of production to acceptable levels.