Remote sensing mapping of soil and plants as basis for a variable rate nutrient application system

摘要

This paper introduces the use of aerial RGB digital photography to detect changes in soil structure at field level before vegetation appearance and in the early stages of crop development. Aerial digital photographs of a field trial were used as basis for soil structure mapping. Images were acquired right after sowing the crop, and image-processing routines made it possible to detect and map changes in soil structure. The detected pattern could be recognized in the growth pattern of the canopy a month later. The field trial used in this work was subdivided into areas receiving different amounts of fertilizer, and the aerial digital photographs clearly showed the detected soil variations to overpower the influence of the differences in fertilization.