Tools for the Agronomic Detective

If one can easily map fields or parts of fields that produce less than general in the local neighbourhood or in the same field, and if one has strategies for the agronomic detective work to identify probable causes for the lower yields, then one has an effective tool to solve local fertility issues or adapt crop management – for example variable fertilizer rates – to the local conditions. This is important for a resource-use-efficient food production.

The idea is not new. Yield mapping on combine harvesters has been used since the mid-1990s, but although the technology is widely available today, it is still – for various reasons – challenging both to produce reliable yield maps and to use them. Now, satellite-based yield mapping is an alternative.

In the project Tools for the agronomic detective, SLU together with Lantmännen and five pilot farms, are developing methods that will make it easy to map yields via satellite, to find the locally attainable yield level and to identify yield-limiting factors. The project is for two years, starting in 2024 and financed by Lantmännen research foundation. It is carried out within the framework of the Laboratory for agricultural decision support systems (LADS).