A Model for Agro-Economic Analysis of Soil pH Mapping |
| |
| Authors: | Adamchuk V I Morgan M T Lowenberg-Deboer James M |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583;(2) Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907;(3) Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907 |
| |
| Abstract: | Core soil sampling followed by laboratory analysis is the traditional method used to map soil pH prior to variable rate application (VRA) of lime on cropland. A recently developed automated soil sampling system capable of measuring soil pH on-the-go has significantly increased sampling resolution. However, adoption of such systems must be justified economically. This paper presents a method for assessing the economic benefit from automated mapping of soil pH prior to variable rate lime application. In this work, geostatistical, agronomic, and economic methods were used to generate a comprehensive numerical model for quantitative assessment of the net return over cost of liming for different lime management strategies. The strategies included: automated pH mapping, manual grid soil sampling, and whole field sampling used in combination with either variable or fixed rate liming. The model was demonstrated using a simulated field with known average pH and semivariogram model. The analysis showed the largest benefit ($6.13ha–1year–1) from using VRA with automated soil pH mapping versus VRA based on 1ha (2.5acres) manual grid point sampling for the selected simulated field conditions. A sensitivity analysis demonstrated that for a wide range of field conditions and crop prices, VRA plus automated mapping promises higher relative benefits than VRA based on either manual grid point or grid cell sampling. |
| |
| Keywords: | automated mapping soil pH variable rate liming |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
