A Digital Advisor Twin for Crop Nitrogen Management

Fabian Weckesser, Michael Beck, Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen and Sebastian Peisl
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Fabian Weckesser: Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Am Hofgarten 10, 85354 Freising, Germany
Michael Beck: Department of Horticulture and Food Technology, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Am Staudengarten 10, 85354 Freising, Germany
Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen: Organic Agriculture and Agronomy, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Liesel-Beckmann-Straße 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
Sebastian Peisl: Department of Horticulture and Food Technology, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Am Staudengarten 10, 85354 Freising, Germany

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Farmers and consultants face an unmanageable amount of diverse knowledge and information for crop management decisions. To determine optimal actions, decision makers require knowledge-based support. In this way, decisions can be improved and heuristics can be replaced over time. The study presents a digital knowledge base with an integrated decision support system (DSS), using the example of nutrient supply, specifically nitrogen (N), fertilization. Therefore, the requirements of farmers and crop consultants for DSS to inform fertilization decisions for winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) were elaborated using surveys, expert interviews, and a prototype test. Semantic knowledge was enriched by expert knowledge and combined in a web application, the Crop Portal. To map regional and personal decision making patterns and experiences, the tacit knowledge on the complex advisory problem of N fertilization is made digitally usable. For this purpose, 16 fuzzy variables were specified and formalized. Individual decision trees and their interactions with an integrative knowledge base were used to multiply the consulting reach of experts. Using three consultants and nine model farms from different soil–climate areas in Germany, the Crop Portal was tested under practical conditions and the perceived pragmatic and hedonic quality of the system was evaluated using a standardized questionnaire. The field test showed that the variation in fertilizer recommendations from the ‘digital advisor twin’ ranged from 5 kg N ha −1 to 16 kg N ha −1 when compared with the decisions of the experts in the field. The study presents the participatory development and evaluation of a rule-based DSS prototype in agricultural practice.

Keywords: decision support system (DSS); nitrogen application; cognitive map; integration; agricultural extension; crop advisory service; participation; user experience questionnaire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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