Big Data For Wheat Nov 30

Mike Stephens

News Reporter

Growers in California grapple with plenty of climate uncertainty, but a new set of tools can help wheat farmers make crucial fertilizer decisions with more precision and confidence.

An interactive website integrates these tools developed or adapted by researchers at the University of California Davis and University of California Cooperative Extension, that provide farmers with recommendations for applying nitrogen fertilizers, specific to their own sites and conditions.

“The system is made for being flexible, for being reactive and not having a cookie-cutter approach, year-in and year-out, because the weather is not cookie-cutter, year-in and year-out,” said Mark Lundy, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

While factoring in those weather variables, the management tool also draws data from two indicators of nitrogen sufficiency or deficiency: the results of a soil nitrate quick test and comparisons of plant health in the broader field to that in a “nitrogen-rich reference zone”.

Lundy will introduce the use of the nitrogen-rich reference zone, a small area in a field where extra fertilizer is added at the beginning of the season. He states: “This project is a unique example of digital agriculture at work in an applied setting,” he explained. “We are integrating ‘big data' sources like site-specific soil and weather data, as well as satellite, drone and other sensor measurements into an interactive web interface. This allows users to receive straightforward yet highly customized recommendations from somewhat complex agronomic models.”