Aerial images of fields 6 to 8 weeks into production can help growers prioritize activities and enhance scouting reports when integrated into their field management routine. The cotton yield monitor is a critical component in a precision farming package, and while significant progress has been made over the past two years, additional research and development efforts are needed before it will be of value to most cotton growers. The answer is obvious in a few fields, which have little variability or huge definable areas of difference. The answer becomes less obvious in fields with a moderate amount of less well-defined variability. Site-specific nutrient management offerings are likely to be the first precision agriculture technology cotton growers will be asked to invest in.
Today there are at least four approaches to determining a field's nutrient needs.
The standard approach is to take one composite soil sample from the whole field. A second approach is to sample the field using some sort of grid pattern, usually on 2 -acre cells. The third approach is to divide the field into areas of likeness, based on farmer knowledge of the field and perhaps an aerial photo. The fourth approach is to use a yield map to place fertilizers. However, the most valuable first precision agriculture offering to growers might be a combination of aerial images of their fields combined with the follow-up scouting and action steps needed to make that image more than a pretty picture.