🚨 Project update: Corn field trial
🧪 Since the beginning of the year we have been carrying out a research project with PREZEMlab (Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of AgriSciences) and a precision farming company ADW Agro. The project, funded by Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, focuses on preparing maps for precision farming using optical and radar satellite data 🛰️.
🌽 In this post we would like to present our corn field trial with variable rate nitrogen fertilising and variable rate seeding on our partner farm in Lesonice, Czechia.
🧑🔬 Before sowing, soil samples were taken to determine pH, P, K Ca, Mg, organic matter and cation exchange capacity. The samples were taken in a 3 ha grid (Map 1) and analysed in a laboratory using the Mehlich III method. In Map 2 you can see the soil phosphorus content and in Map 3 the prescription map for NP fertiliser (30-15) which was applied before sowing.
📈 To determine mineral nitrogen content (Nmin), soil samples were taken in high and low yield potential zones (Map 4). The samples were analysed in a laboratory using spectrophotometry, and the results were used to create a nitrogen prescription map for urea 46%.
📊 As the trial primarily focuses on variable rate seeding, the nitrogen application was set up to even out the nitrogen content on the field following the NP application. The nitrogen was applied variably (Map 5) only in several smaller zones with a uniform seeding rate, so that we can evaluate variable rate nitrogen and variable rate seeding independently. The urea was applied at the five leaf stage.
🌱 Seeding was performed on April 14 using a Horsch seeder (9 m working width, 12 rows) as seen in the last picture. The seeding map (Map 6) was created based on yield potential productivity zones. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate options for lowering the seeding rate. The seeding rate in zones with medium yield potential was 85 000 plants/ha. In the highest yielding zones the seeding rate was raised to 100 000 plants/ha (+15%), which used to be the uniform rate for the whole parcel. The seeding rate in the lowest yielding zones with higher risks of drought was lowered to 70 000 plants/ha (-15%).
🗺️ The seeding map includes control strips along the whole length of the parcel where the seeding rate was 85 000 plants/ha (medium seeding rate). In addition, we also added smaller validation blocks in the highest yielding zones with 70 000 plants/ha to evaluate the differences between the highest and lowest seeding rates (100k vs 70k plants/ha).
🌾 Before harvest, the PREZEMlab team collected plant samples in over 20 locations to determine moisture, dry matter, starch and ash content.
🚜 The field was harvested on August 26 within the DEMO tour of STROM Praha by the John Deere 8200i harvester. We will evaluate the results of the trial using HarvestLab data and present them in a future post.
