Three Methods of Site-Specific Yield Mapping as a Data Source for the Delineation of Management Zones in Winter Wheat

Matthias Stettmer, Martin Mittermayer, Franz-Xaver Maidl, Jürgen Schwarzensteiner, Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen and Heinz Bernhardt
Additional contact information
Matthias Stettmer: Agricultural Systems Engineering, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
Martin Mittermayer: Organic Agriculture and Agronomy, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
Franz-Xaver Maidl: Organic Agriculture and Agronomy, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
Jürgen Schwarzensteiner: Farmtastic Consulting GmbH, 94342 Irlbach, Germany
Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen: Organic Agriculture and Agronomy, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
Heinz Bernhardt: Agricultural Systems Engineering, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: In this study, three digital, site-specific, yield-mapping methods for winter wheat were examined, and their precision was evaluated. The crop yields of heterogeneous fields at three locations were determined on a site-specific basis using a yield-recording system composed of a combine harvester and algorithms based on reflection measurements made via satellites, as well as a tractor-mounted sensor. As a reference, the yield was determined with a plot harvester (ground truth data). The precision of the three methods was evaluated via statistical indicators (mean, median, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation) and correlation analyses between the yield of the ground truth data and the respective method. The results show a yield variation of 4.5–10.9 t ha −1 in the trial fields. The yield of the plot harvester was strongly correlated with the yield estimate from the sensor data (R 2 = 0.71–0.75), it was moderately correlated with the yield estimate from the satellite data (R 2 = 0.53–0.68), and it ranged from strongly to weakly correlated with the yield map of the combine harvester (R 2 = 0.30–0.72). The absolute yield can be estimated using sensor data. Slight deviations (<10%) in the absolute yield are observed with the combine harvester, and there are clear deviations (±48%) when using the satellite data. The study shows differences in the precision and accuracy of the investigated methods. Further research and optimization are urgently needed to determine the exactness of the individual methods.

Keywords: management zones; yield variability; site-specific farming; winter wheat; sensor data; remote sensing (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
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/8/1128/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/8/1128/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:8:p:1128-:d:876118

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().