Variable Rate Seeding
March 1, 2012 As any precision agriculture enthusiast will tell you, noteworthy advancements in production practices are rooted in knowledge. Put more simply, precision agriculture dictates that the more you know, the more you can save.
A prime example of this principle is in the new way some researchers are looking at seeding rates for cotton. With the right foundation in soil maps, yield maps and precision planters, Extension experts have found a way to save costs on cotton seed while increasing yield.
It took four years of research, but University of Arkansas Extension Cotton Specialist Tom Barber and others have put together a comprehensive study of the effects of seeding rates on net profitability, based on the variables of soil type and overall soil-productivity. The end result, he says, is a potential savings of around $20 per acre.
Of course, growers will need to be equipped with the building blocks of soil maps and yield monitors for a project like this to work. But researchers say the ends more than justify the means.
“The main thing I want people to know is that yeah, we can make this work,” Barber says. “You have to be set up to do it, but the equipment today will do it. It may get frustrating to build the map and make it read the first time, but once you figure it out it’s pretty easy.
“The main thing is that they need to have the information necessary to make those decisions. They really need a yield map and they really need a soil map, to help them find the different soil zones if they want to do this. And the yield map is important so they know their different higher- and lower-productive areas of the field. But in the end, we think it will be worth it.”
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