• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.98-103
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• 2017

Purpose: Precision agriculture includes determining the right amount of nitrogen for a specific location in the field. This work focused on developing and validating a model using variable rate nitrogen application based on the estimated SPAD value from the ground-based image sensor. Methods: A variable rate N application based on the decision making system was performed using a sensor-based variable rate nitrogen application system. To validate the nitrogen application decision making system based on the SPAD values, the developed N recommendation was compared with another conventional N recommendation. Results: Sensor-based variable rate nitrogen application was performed. The nitrogen deficiency level was measured using the image sensor system. Then, a variable rate application was run using the decision model and real-ti me control. Conclusions: These results would be useful for nitrogen management of corn in the field. The developed nitrogen application decision making system worked well, when considering the SPAD value estimation.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.132-137
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• 2010

Site-specific N application for corn is one of the precision crop management. To implement the site-specific N application, various nitrogen stress sensing methods, including aerial image, tissue analysis, soil sampling analysis, and SPAD meter readings, have been used. Use of side-dressing, an efficient nitrogen application method than a uniform application in either late fall or early spring, relies mainly on the capability of nitrogen deficiency detection. This paper presents map-based variable rate nitrogen application based using a multi-spectral corn nitrogen deficiency(CND) sensor. This sensor assess the nitrogen stress by means of the estimated SPAD reading calculated from the corn leave reflectance. The estimated SPAD value from the CND sensor system and location information form DGPS of each field block was combined into the field map using a ArcView program. Then this map was converted into a raster file for a map-based variable rate application software. The relative SPAD (RSPAD = SPAD over reference SPAD) was investigated 2 weeks after the treatments. The results showed that the map-based variable rate application system was feasible.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.202-210
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• 2005

Since understanding on spatial variability of a field is essential to pursue precision agricultural technology, a field study for field variability and variable rate fertilization of nitrogen in a direct seeding paddy was attempted. Variable rate application of nitrogen was designed with soil test, and field application was tested in a direct seeding paddy in the Kimje, Jeonbuk, Korea. The grid samples of soil was collected from the field of which unit size was 35 m by 112 m on February before irrigating of the field. Soil organic matter, available phosphate and silicate, and extractable potassium were analyzed. Variable rate fertilizer recommendation maps of nitrogen for high yielding, HY, and low input sustainable agriculture, LISA, were derived based on the soil analysis. Direct seeding of rice was performed for variable rate treatment, VRT, for the experimental plot in 2001 and 2002, and so did for three volunteer farmers' field in 2003. Yield mapping was performed by harvesting. Economic feasibility of direct seeding of rice by variable rate fertilization was evaluated. Though increased yield of variable rate application and benefit of reducing fertilizer use and environmental impact, the cost for soil test exceeded the total reduced fertilizer cost.

• Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2006

In-field site-specific nitrogen (N) management increases crop yield, reduces N application to minimize the risk of nitrate contamination of ground water, and thus reduces farming cost. Real-time N sensing and fertilization is required for efficient N management. An 'on-the-go' site-specific N management system was developed and evaluated for the supplemental N application to com (Zea mays L.). This real-time N sensing and fertilization system monitored and assessed N fertilization needs using a vision-based spectral sensor and controlled the appropriate variable N rate according to N deficiency level estimated from spectral signature of crop canopies. Sensor inputs included ambient illumination, camera parameters, and image histogram of three spectral regions (red, green, and near-infrared). The real-time sensor-based supplemental N treatment improved crop N status and increased yield over most plots. The largest yield increase was achieved in plots with low initial N treatment combined with supplemental variable-rate application. Yield data for plots where N was applied the latest in the season resulted in a reduced impact on supplemental N. For plots with no supplemental N application, yield increased gradually with initial N treatment, but any N application more than 101 kg/ha had minimal impact on yield.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.42-54
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• 2001

The use of nitrogen fertilizer in intensive agricultural production is of major concern due to its role on agricultural productivity and water quality. Crop production inputs on farm are usually applied at a uniform rate across an entire field. However, actual input requirements often vary within fields. The field variations in yield potential, soil moisture, soil N status, and the efficiency of fertilizer use, uniform application of crop production inputs does not allow optimum efficiency or profitability. This occurs because uniform application often results in areas of over- and under-application which may affect water quality and crop yield. This study used biophysical and economic models to assess the economic feasibility and water quality benefits of site specific nitrogen management for 10 soil types and 35 sample fields in Goodwater Creek watershed located near Centralia, Missouri. Results showed that the economic feasibility and water quality benefits of variable rate application were sensitive to the distribution of soil types within a field. Variable rate(VR) application was not uniformly more profitable than uniform rate(UR) application for the four agricultural systems evaluated and the water quality benefits were insubstantial relative to uniform application of N.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.247-255
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• 2005

ice yield and plant growth response to nitrogen (N) fertilizer may vary within a field, probably due to spatially variable soil conditions. An experiment designed for studying the response of rice yield to different rates of N in combination with variable soil conditions was carried out at a field where spatial variation in soil properties, plant growth, and yield across the field was documented from our previous studies for two years. The field with area of 6,600 m2 was divided into six strips running east-west so that variable soil conditions could be included in each strip. Each strip was subjected to different N application level (six levels from 0 to 165kg/ha), and schematically divided into 12 grids $(10m \times10m\;for\;each\;grid)$ for sampling and measurement of plant growth and rice grain yield. Most of plant growth parameters and rice yield showed high variations even at the same N fertilizer level due to the spatially variable soil condition. However, the maximum plant growth and yield response to N fertilizer rate that was analyzed using boundary line analysis followed the Mitcherlich equation (negative exponential function), approaching a maximum value with increasing N fertilizer rate. Assuming the obtainable maximum rice yield is constrained by a limiting soil property, the following model to predict rice grain yield was obtained: $Y=10765{1-0.4704^*EXP(-0.0117^*FN)}^*MIN(I-{clay},\;I_{om},\;I_{cec},\;I_{TN},\; I_{Si})$ where FN is N fertilizer rate (kg/ha), I is index for subscripted soil properties, and MIN is an operator for selecting the minimum value. The observed and predicted yield was well fitted to 1:1 line (Y=X) with determination coefficient of 0.564. As this result was obtained in a very limited condition and did not explain the yield variability so high, this result may not be applied to practical N management. However, this approach has potential for quantifying the grain yield response to N fertilizer rate under variable soil conditions and formulating the site-specific N prescription for the management of spatial yield variability in a field if sufficient data set is acquired for boundary line analysis.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 1997

Responses of 'Penncross' creeping bentgrass turf to various fairway cultural practices are not well-established or supported by research results. This study was initiated to evaluate the effects of irrigation frequency, clipping return or removal, and nitrogen rate on leaf and soil nitrogen con-tent in the 'Penncross' creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.) turf. A 'Penncross' creeping bentgrass turf was established in 1988 on a Sharpsburg silty-clay loam (Typic Argiudoll). The experiment was conducted from 1989 to 1991 under nontraffic conditions. A split-split-plot experimental design was used. Daily or biweekly irrigation, clipping return or removal, and 5, 15, or 25 g N $m-^2$ $yr-^1$ were the main-, sub-, and sub-sub-plot treatments, respectively. Treatments were replicated 3 times in a randomized complete block design. The turf was mowed 4 times weekly at a l3 mm height of cut. Leaf tissue nitrogen content was analyzed twice in 1989 and three times in both 1990 and 1991. Leaf samples were collected from turfgrass plants in the treatment plots, dried immediately at 70˚C for 48 hours, and evaluated for total-N content, using the Kjeldahl method. Concurrently, six soil cores (18mm diam. by 200 mm depth) were collected, air dried, and analyzed for total-N content. Nitrogen analysis on the soil and leaf samples were made in the Soil and Plant Analyical Laboratory, at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA. Data were analyzed as a split-split-plot with analysis of variance (ANOVA), using the General Linear Model procedures of the Statistical Analysis System. The nitrogen content of the leaf tissue is variable in creeping bentgrass fairway turf with clip-ping recycles, nitrogen application rate and time after establishment. Leaf tissue nitrogen content increased with clipping return and nitrogen rate. Plots treated with clipping return had 8% and 5% more nitrogen content in the leaf tissue in 1989 and 1990, respectively, as compared to plots treated with clipping removal. Plots applied with high-N level (25g N $m-^2$ $yr-^1$)had 10%, 17%, and 13% more nitrogen content in leaf tissue in 1989, 1990, and 1991, respectively, when compared with plots applied with low-N level (5g N $m-^2$ $yr-^1$). Overall observations during the study indicated that leaf tissue nitrogen content increased at any nitrogen rate with time after establishment. At the low-N level treatment (5g N $m-^2$ $yr-^1$ ), plots sampled in 1991 had 15% more leaf nitrogen content, as compared to plots sampled in 1989. Similar responses were also found from the high-N level treatment (25g N $m-^2$ $yr-^1$ ).Plots analyzed in 1991 were 18% higher than that of plots analyzed in 1989. No significant treatment effects were observed for soil nitrogen content over the first 3 years after establishment. Strategic management application is necessary for the golf course turf, depending on whether clippings return or not. Different approaches should be addressed to turf fertilization program from a standpoint of clipping recycles. It is recommended that regular analysis of the soil and leaf tissue of golf course turf must be made and fertilization program should be developed through the interpretation of its analytic data result. In golf courses where clippings are recycled, the fertilization program need to be adjusted, being 20% to 30% less nitrogen input over the clipping-removed areas. Key words: Agrostis palustris Huds., 'Penncross' creeping bentgrass fairway, Irrigation frequency, Clipping return, Nitrogen rate, Leaf nitrogen content, Soil nitrogen content.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2007

Nitrogen management at the panicle initiation stage(PI) should be fine-tuned for securing a concurrent high yield and high quality rice production. For calibration and testing of the recommendation models of N topdressing rates at PI for target grain yield and protein content of rice, three split-split-plot design experiments including five rice cultivars and various N rates were conducted at the experimental farm of Seoul National University, Korea from 2003 to 2005. Data from the first two years of experiments were used to calibrate models to predict grain yield and milled-rice protein content using shoot fresh weight(FW), chlorophyll meter value(SPAD), and the N topdressing rate(Npi) at PI by stepwise multiple regression. The calibrated models explained 85 and 87% of the variation in grain yield and protein content, respectively. The calibrated models were used to recommend Npi for the target protein content of 6.8%, with FW and SPAD measured for each plot in 2005. The recommended N rate treatment was characterized by an average protein content of 6.74%(similar to the target protein content), reduced the coefficient of variation in protein content to 2.5%(compared to 4.6% of the fixed rate treatment), and increased grain yield. In the recommended N rate treatments for the target protein content of 6.8%, grain yield was highly dependent on FW and SPAD at PI. In conclusion, the models for N topdressing rate recommendation at PI were successful under present experimental conditions. However, additional testing under more variable environmental conditions should be performed before universal application of such models.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.238-246
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• 2005

Rice yield and protein content have been shown to be highly variable across paddy fields. In order to characterize this spatial variability of rice within a field, two-year experiments were conducted in 2002 and 2003 in a large-scale rice field of $6,600m^2$ In year 2004, an experiment was conducted to know if variable rate treatment (VRT) of N fertilizer, that was prescribed for site-specific management at panicle initiation stage, could reduce spatial variation in yield and protein content of rice while increasing yield compared to conventional uniform N topdressing (UN, 33kg N/ha at PIS) method. VRT nitrogen prescription for each grid was calculated based on the nitrogen (N) uptake (from panicle initiation to harvest) required for target rice protein content of $6.8\%$, natural soil N supply, and recovery of top-dressed N fertilizer. The required N uptake for target rice protein content was calculated from the equations to predict rice yield and protein content from plant growth parameters at panicle initiation stage (PIS) and N uptake from PIS to harvest. This model· equations were developed from the data obtained from the previous two-year experiments. The plant growth parameters for the calculation of the required N were predicted non-destructively by canopy reflectance measurement. Soil N supply for each grid was obtained from the experiment of year 2003, and N recovery was assumed to be $60\%$ according to the previous reports. The prescribed VRT N ranged from 0 to 110kg N/ha with an average of 57kg/ha that was higher than 33 kg/ha of UN. The results showed that VRT application successfully worked not only to reduce spatial variability of rice yield and protein content but also to increase rough rice yield by 960kg/ha. The coefficient of variation (CV) for rice yield and protein content was reduced significantly to $8.1\%$ and $7.1\%$ in VRT from $14.6\%$ and $13.0\%$ in UN, respectively. And also the average protein content of milled rice in VRT showed very similar value of target protein content of $6.8\%$. In conclusion the procedure used in this paper was believed to be reliable and promising method for reducing within-field spatial variability of rice yield and protein content. However, inexpensive, reliable, and fast estimation methods of natural N supply and plant growth and nutrition status should be prepared before this method could be practically used for site-specific crop management in large-scale rice field.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 1984

To investigate nitrogen supplying effect of some slowrelease N-fertilizers on barley in upland soil sulfurcoated urea(SCU), ureaform and melamine (1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triamine) were treated and compared to urea. In addition, thiourea as a nitrification inhibitor was also tested. Effects of variable soil condition such as moisture content, pH and temperature on nitrogen supplying ability of the fertilizers and on growth of barley were studied through incubation test and pot culture and the obtained results were summarized as follows: The releasing rate of ammonia from urea, SCU, ureaform and melamine were resulted as 27-59%, 25-39%, 9-34% and 0.7-4.3% at maximum conversion rate, respectively. Nitrification rate of the tested fertilizers was higher at pH 6.54 markedly than at pH 4.73. Addition of thourea depressed the formation of $NO_3$ during four weeks of incubation period. Mixed application of ureaform with small amount of urea contributed to nitrogen supply till latter growth stage of barely Basal application of melamine showed lowest nitrogen supplying ability and injurious response on barley growth.