PR - Winter Grain Response To Phosphorus Variation On Different Soil Types Under Precision Agriculture (pa) (p347-358)

Phosphorus (P) is an important nutrient required by every living plant and animal cell, and deficiencies in soils could cause limited crop production, thereby reducing profitability. P is also a primary nutrient essential for root development and crop production, and is needed in the tissues of a plant where cells rapidly divide and enlarge. Precision agriculture (PA) could assist the farmer in applying the ideal amount of P to a specific part of a field where it is required most. Variable rate technology (VRT) is a tool that can help with the development of strategies for fertiliser phosphate management.
On-field trials were conducted on a commercial farm in the Western Cape Province; As many as five soil types occur on each field studied, and three crops – wheat, canola and barley - are grown in rotation. One half of each field was planted using VRT (PA), while constant application (SR) was used on the other half. The objective was to determine the variation of winter grain yield response to P on different soil types.

Keywords: Precision agriculture, variable-rate phosphorus application, single rate phosphorus application, winter grain yield, South Africa.