Nutrient Management Research Database

Precision  agriculture  techniques  can  aid  in  management  decisions  on  established  orchards.These same principles can be incorporated into other permanent crops including vineyards.  This can be accomplished by analyzing site specific information and relating that information back to profit  or  loss  within  the  orchard.    There  are  currently  several  thousand  acres  that  are  being mapped in this manner allowing orchard owners and advisers to guide in the future direction of these permanent crops

The objectives of this study were two-fold:

1. Determine if a need exists in apple management for site specific yield and quality data.
2. Demonstrate the benefits of GIS for managing an analyzing apple production practices.

To achieve these objectives the following experiment was performed:

Soil samples were collected along a 1-acre grid from four 10-acre apple plots.

From the results of these soil samples, P and K fertilizer application maps were produced, and utilized to apply fertilizer at a variable rate.

In-season tissue samples ere collected along this same grid.

Yield was measured as relating to the grid collections.

Yield maps showed that variable rate fertilization was useful due to variability to soil nutrient levels. These maps can also be overlaid with nutrient maps, images, and pest data.

This type of mapping can also be useful for pH, N, and other factors that can relate to yield.