ABSTRACT
GANESH C. BORA, JOHN F. NOWATZKI, AND DAVID C. ROBERTS
8.1 BACKGROUND
Precision agriculture involves the development and adoption of knowledge-based technical management systems with the goal of optimizing application of fertilizer, chemicals, seeds, and irrigation resources to reduce input costs and maximize production. Precision agricultural technology has the ability to spatially vary the rates of all inputs to tailor to the varied production potential within the field, which can be gauged by use of georeferenced historical crop yield data. Variable rate technology (VRT) can be used in both conventional and conservation tillage systems. Adoption of VRT technologies can reduce fuel use, since VRT coupled with GPS guidance systems reduces implement overlap during input applications, thus saving labor and machine hours [1].
