ABSTRACT

Traditional mechanized agriculture treats large fields with uniform agronomic practices, such as field preparation, applying fertilizers and pesticides, water management, as well as planting. Advances in technologies such as modern electronics, variable rate technology (VRT), the global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS), and remote sensing enable a different approach for farming practices. In this approach, instead of managing the entire field as one uniform unit, a crop field can be handled site specifically based on local field needs. Thus, the concept behind precision agriculture/precision farming is to manage in-field variability. With help from the above technologies, farmers can now decide when, where, and how to apply fertilizers and pesticides. With economic, productivity, and environmental considerations, the goals of precision agriculture can be described as (Yao 2004)

• Greater yield than traditional farming with the same amount of input • The same yields with reduced input • Greater yield than traditional farming with reduced input

CONTENTS

18.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................333 18.1.1 Precision Farming ..................................................................................................333 18.1.2 Remote Sensing Data .............................................................................................335