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Optimization of soil pH and crop yield based on a precision liming strategy guided by proximal soil sensing: Results of three on-farm field trails

  • Soil acidity is a key factor for soil fertility as it simultaneously influences several yield-relevant soil properties and thus the productivity of agricultural soils. Besides natural pedogenetic processes, on agricultural land, soil acidification is amplified by the removal of the harvested biomass as well as by the application of acidifying fertilizers. Therefore, regular lime application on agricultural fields is inevitable to sustain soil quality and productivity. In Germany, the standard method for defining the lime requirement of a soil is the VDLUFA framework of the German Advisory Board for Agricultural Analytics. The VDLUFA method uses look-up tables that define the lime requirement according to soil texture, soil pH (CaCl2) and soil organic matter (SOM) content (LVLF et al., 2008). To determine these lime-relevant parameters, fields should be subdivided into subunits of 3 to 5 ha. Within a subunit, one mixed sample from 15 to 20 samples should form a composite sample for further reference lab analysis. However, a uniformSoil acidity is a key factor for soil fertility as it simultaneously influences several yield-relevant soil properties and thus the productivity of agricultural soils. Besides natural pedogenetic processes, on agricultural land, soil acidification is amplified by the removal of the harvested biomass as well as by the application of acidifying fertilizers. Therefore, regular lime application on agricultural fields is inevitable to sustain soil quality and productivity. In Germany, the standard method for defining the lime requirement of a soil is the VDLUFA framework of the German Advisory Board for Agricultural Analytics. The VDLUFA method uses look-up tables that define the lime requirement according to soil texture, soil pH (CaCl2) and soil organic matter (SOM) content (LVLF et al., 2008). To determine these lime-relevant parameters, fields should be subdivided into subunits of 3 to 5 ha. Within a subunit, one mixed sample from 15 to 20 samples should form a composite sample for further reference lab analysis. However, a uniform lime requirement determined for subunits of 3 to 5 ha is often in contrast to the real soil variability observed in the field (Kling et al., 2019). In order to reflect the within-field soil variability, a few studies have demonstrated the use of high-resolution proximal soil sensing (PSS) data as tools for variable rate (VR) lime application (Bönecke et al., 2020; Pätzold et al., 2020). However, there is a lack of studies that evaluate the feasibility and benefit of VR methods in on-farm field trails. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the performance of site-specific liming based on PSS to optimize soil pH and crop yield with that of commonly applied standard liming methods in Germany. To determine the effect and practicability of the VRA method, a multi-site-multi-year experiment was conducted between 2017 and 2020 on three sites in Brandenburg, Germany. The trial compared the effects on soil pH and crop yield of three lime management practices: variable-rate liming based on PSS data (VR-PS), uniform liming rate based on the VDLUFA standard method (UR), and no liming (ZR). Soil texture and soil pH were assessed with two mobile sensor platforms: the Geophilus system measuring apparent electrical resistivity (ERa) and Gamma-radiation and the Veris pH Manager (Veris Technologies Inc., Salina, KS, USA). Crop yields were obtained from revenue recordings of combine harvesters. Lime prescription maps were generated with an adapted and stepless VDLUFA algorithm, allowing a continuous CaO recommendation (Bönecke et al., 2020). Based on these maps, management zones were delineated to perform lime spreading with state-of-the-art technique. In this study, we outline the conceptual framework of the VR liming approach and present first results from the on-farm field trials to verify the VR approach for an optimized soil acidity management as well as consider whether the higher economic revenue can compensate for added costs for mapping services and spreading technologies.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Charlotte Kling, Ingmar Schröter, Sebastian Vogel, Eric Bönecke, Jörg Rühlmann, Robin Gebbers, Katrin Lück, Torsten Schubert, Felix Gerlach, Golo Philipp, Dirk Scheibe, Karin Zieger, Stefan Palme, Eckart KramerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7741
Parent Title (English):Landscape 2021 Diversity for sustainable and resilient agriculture, Online conference, 20.-22.09.2021
Subtitle (English):Book of Abstracts
Editor: Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF)
Document Type:Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Publishing Institution:Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde
Release Date:2023/10/20
Page Number:1
First Page:292
Institutions / Departments:Fachbereich Landschaftsnutzung und Naturschutz
University Bibliography:University Bibliography
Peer-Review / Nicht ermittelbar
Licence (German):License LogoUrheberrechtsschutz
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