• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.31 no.6 s.119
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• pp.463-473
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• 2006

Automated sensing of soil macronutrients would allow more efficient mapping of soil nutrient spatial variability for variable-rate nutrient management. The capabilities of ion-selective electrodes for sensing macronutrients in soil extracts can be affected by the presence of other ions in the soil itself as well as by high concentrations of ions in soil extractants. Adoption of automated, on-the-go sensing of soil nutrients would be enhanced if a single extracting solution could be used for the concurrent extraction of multiple soil macronutrients. This paper reports on the ability of the Kelowna extractant to extract macronutrients (N, P, and K) from US Corn Belt soils and whether previously developed PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes could determine the nitrate and potassium concentrations in soil extracts obtained using the Kelowna extractant. The extraction efficiencies of nitrate-N and phosphorus obtained with the Kelowna solution for seven US Corn Belt soils were comparable to those obtained with IM KCI and Mehlich III solutions when measured with automated ion and ICP analyzers, respectively. However, the potassium levels extracted with the Kelowna extractant were, on average, 42% less than those obtained with the Mehlich III solution. Nevertheless, it was expected that Kelowna could extract proportional amounts of potassium ion due to a strong linear relationship ($r^2$ = 0.96). Use of the PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes proved to be feasible in measuring nitrate-N and potassium ions in Kelowna - soil extracts with almost 1 : 1 relationships and high coefficients of determination ($r^2$ > 0.9) between the levels of nitrate-N and potassium obtained with the ion-selective electrodes and standard analytical instruments.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.157-164
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• 2021

Smart agriculture requires sensing systems which are fundamental for precision agriculture. Adequate and appropriate water and nutrient supply not only improves crop productivity but also benefit to environment. However, there is no available soil sensor to continuously monitor nutrient status in soil. Electrical conductivity (EC) of soil is affected by ion contents in soil and can be used to evaluate nutrient contents in soil. Comparison of various commercial EC sensors showed similar water content and EC values at water content less than 20%. Soil EC values measured by sensors decreased with decreasing soil water content and linearly correlated with soil water content. EC values measured by soil sensor were highly correlated with water soluble nutrient contents such as Ca, K, Mg and N in soil indicating that the soil EC sensor can be used for monitoring changes in plant available nutrients in soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2005.08a
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• pp.100-113
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• 2005

Leaf color and plant vigor are key indicators of crop health. These visual plant attributes are frequently used by greenhouse managers, producers, and consultants to make water, nutrient, and disease management decisions. Remote sensing techniques can quickly quantify soil and plant attributes, but it requires humans to translate such data into meaningful information. Over time, scientists have used reflectance data from individual wavebands to develop a series of indices that attempt to quantify things like soil organic matter content, leaf chlorophyll concentration, leaf area index, vegetative cover, amount of living biomass, and grain yield. The recent introduction of active sensors that function independent of natural light has greatly expanded the capabilities of scientists and managers to obtain useful information. Characteristics and limitations of active sensors need to be understood to optimize their use for making improved management decisions. Pot experiments involving sand culture were conducted in 2003 and 2004 in a green house to evaluate corn and red pepper biomass. The rNDVI, gNDVI and aNDVI by ground-based remote sensors were used for evaluation of corn and red pepper biomass. The result obtained from the case study was shown that ground remote sensing as a non-destructive real-time assessment of plant nitrogen status was thought to be a useful tool for in season crop nitrogen management providing both spatial and temporal information.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.92-103
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• 2003

Research and technological advances in the field of remote sensing have greatly enhanced the ability to detect and quantify physical and biological stresses that affect the productivity of agricultural crops. Reflectance in specific visible and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum have proved useful in detection of nutrient deficiencies. Especially crop canopy sensors as a ground remote sensing measure the amount of light reflected from nearby surfaces such as leaf tissue or soil and is in contrast to aircraft or satellite platforms that generate photographs or various types of digital images. Multi-spectral vegetation indices derived from crop canopy reflectance in relatively wide wave band can be used to monitor the growth response of plants in relation to environmental factors. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), where NDVI = (NIR-Red)/(NIR+Red), was originally proposed as a means of estimating green biomass. The basis of this relationship is the strong absorption (low reflectance) of red light by chlorophyll and low absorption (high reflectance and transmittance) in the near infrared (NIR) by green leaves. Thereafter many researchers have proposed the other indices for assessing crop vegetation due to confounding soil background effects in the measurement. The green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI), where the green band is substituted for the red band in the NDVI equation, was proved to be more useful for assessing canopy variation in green crop biomass related to nitrogen fertility in soils. Consequently ground remote sensing as a non destructive real-time assessment of nitrogen status in plant was thought to be useful tool for site specific crop nitrogen management providing both spatial and temporal information.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1194-1196
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• 2003

Variations in soil physical and chemical properties can affect agricultural productivity and the environmental implications of crop production. These variations are present and may be important at regional, field, and sub-field (precision agriculture) scales. Because traditional measurements are time-consuming and expensive, reflectance-based estimates of soil properties such as texture, organic matter content, water content, and nutrient status are attractive. Soil properties have been related to reflectance measured with laboratory, in-field, airborne, and satellite sensors. Both multispectral and hyperspectral instruments have been used, with both natural and artificial illumination. Varying levels of accuracy have been obtained, with the best results (r > 0.95) using hyperspectral reflectance data to estimate soil organic matter and water content.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.644-651
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• 2013

The fermented manure derivative known as Preparation 500 is traditionally used as a field spray in biodynamic agriculture for maintaining and increasing soil fertility. This work aimed at characterizing the product from a microbiological standpoint and at assaying its bioactive properties. The approach involved molecular taxonomical characterization of the culturable microbial community; ARISA fingerprints of the total bacteria and fungal communities; chemical elemental macronutrient analysis via a combustion analyzer; activity assays for six key enzymes; bioassays for bacterial quorum sensing and chitolipooligosaccharide production; and plant hormone-like activity. The material was found to harbor a bacterial community of $2.38{\times}10^8$ CFU/g dw dominated by Gram-positives with minor instances of Actinobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. ARISA showed a coherence of bacterial assemblages in different preparation lots of the same year in spite of geographic origin. Enzymatic activities showed elevated values of ${\beta}$-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase, chitinase, and esterase. The preparation had no quorum sensing-detectable signal, and no rhizobial nod gene-inducing properties, but displayed a strong auxin-like effect on plants. Enzymatic analyses indicated a bioactive potential in the fertility and nutrient cycling contexts. The IAA activity and microbial degradation products qualify for a possible activity as soil biostimulants. Quantitative details and possible modes of action are discussed.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.343-349
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• 2010

Rapid on-site sensing of nitrate-nitrogen and potassium ions in hydroponic solution would increase the efficiency of nutrient use for greenhouse crops cultivated in closed hydroponic systems while reducing the potential for environmental pollution in water and soil. Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are a promising approach because of their small size, rapid response, and the ability to directly measure the analyte. The capabilities of the ISEs for sensing nitrate and potassium in hydroponic solution can be affected by the presence of other ions such as calcium, magnesium, sulfate, sodium, and chloride in the solution itself. This study was conducted to investigate the applicability of two ISEs consisting of TDDA-NPOE and valinomycin-DOS PVC membranes for quantitative determinations of $NO_3$-N and K in hydroponic solution. Nine hydroponic solutions were prepared by diluting highly concentrated paprika hydroponic solution to provide a concentration range of 3 to 400 mg/L for $NO_3$-N and K. Two of the calibration curves relating membrane response and nutrient concentration provided coefficients of determination ($R^2$) > 0.98 and standard errors of calibration (SEC) of < 3.79 mV. The use of the direct potentiometry method, in conjunction with an one-point EMF compensation technique, was feasible for measuring $NO_3$-N and K in paprika hydroponic solution due to almost 1:1 relationships and high coefficients of determination ($R^2$ > 0.97) between the levels of $NO_3$-N and K obtained with the ion-selective electrodes and standard instruments. However, even though there were strong linear relationships ($R^2$ > 0.94) between the $NO_3$-N and K concentrations determined by the Gran's plot-based multiple standard addition method and by standard instruments, hydroponic $NO_3$-N concentrations measured with the ISEs, on average, were about 10% higher than those obtained with the automated analyzer whereas the K ISE predicted about 59% lower K than did the ICP spectrometer, probably due to no compensation for a difference between actual and expected concentrations of standard solutions directly prepared.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) can acquire images with lower cost than conventional manned aircraft and commercial satellites. It has the advantage of acquiring high-resolution aerial images covering in the field area more than 50 ha. The purposes of this study is to develop the rice grain yield distribution using UAV. In order to develop a technology for estimating the rice yield using UAV images, time series UAV aerial images were taken at the paddy fields and the data were compared with the rice yield of the harvesting area for two rice varieties(Singdongjin, Dongjinchal). Correlations between the vegetation indices and rice yield were ranged from 0.8 to 0.95 in booting period. Accordingly, rice yield was estimated using UAV-derived vegetation indices($R^2=0.70$ in Sindongjin, $R^2=0.92$ in Donjinchal). It means that the rice yield estimation using UAV imagery can provide less cost and higher accuracy than other methods using combine with yield monitoring system and satellite imagery. In the future, it will be necessary to study a variety of information convergence and integration systems such as image, weather, and soil for efficient use of these information, along with research on preparing management practice work standards such as pest control and nutrient use based on UAV image information.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.70-78
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• 2009

Remote sensing technique in agriculture can be used to identify chlorophyll content, biomass, and yield caused from N stress level. This study was conducted to evaluate biomass, N stress levels, and yield of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) under sand culture in a plastic film house using ground-based remote sensors. Nitrogen rates applied were 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 percent of N concentration in the Hoagland's nutrient solution. Sensor readings for reflectance indices were taken at 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days after transplanting(DAT). Reflectance indices measured at 40th DAT were highly correlated with dry weight(DW) of tobacco leaves and N uptake by leaves. Especially, green normalized difference vegetation index(gNDVI) from spectroradiometer and aNDVI from Crop Circle passive sensor were able to explain 85% and 84% of DW variability and 85% and 92% of N uptake variability, respectively. All the reflectance indices measured at each sampling date during the growing season were significantly correlated with tobacco yield. Especially the gNDVI derived from spectroradiometer readings at the 40th DAT explained 72% of yield variability. N rates of tobacco were distinguished by sufficiency index calculated using the ratio of reflectance indices of stress to optimum plot of N treatment. Consequently results indicate that the reflectance indices by ground-based remote sensor can be used to predict tobacco yield and recommend the optimum application rate of N fertilizer for top dressing of tobacco.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2009

Pot experiments using sand culture were conducted in 2004 under greenhouse conditions to evaluate the effect of nitrogen deficiency on red pepper biomass. Nitrogen stress was imposed by implementing 6 levels (40% to 140%) of N in Hoagland's nutrient solution for red pepper. Canopy reflectance measurements were made with hand held spectral sensors including $GreenSeeker^{TM}$, $Crop\;Circle^{TM}$, and $Field\;Scout^{TM}$ Chlorophyll meter, and a spectroradiometer as well as Minolta SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter. Canopy reflectance and dry weight of red pepper were measured at five growth stages, the 30th, 40th, 50th, 80th and 120th day after planting(DAT). Dry weight of red pepper affected by nitrogen stress showed large differences between maximum and minimum values at the 120th DAT ranged from 48.2 to $196.6g\;plant^{-1}$, respectively. Several reflectance indices obtained from $GreenSeeker^{TM}$, $Crop\;Circle^{TM}$ and Spectroradiometer including chlorophyll readings were compared for evaluation of red pepper biomass. The reflectance indices such as rNDVI, aNDVI and gNDVI by the $Crop\;Circle^{TM}$ sensor showed the highest correlation coefficient with dry weight of red pepper at the 40th, 50th, and 80th DAT, respectively. Also these reflectance indices at the same growth station was closely correlated with dry weight, yield, and nitrogen uptake of red pepper at the 120th DAT, especially showing the best correlation coefficient at the 80th DAT. From these result, the aNDVI at the 80th DAT can significantly explain for dry weight of red pepper at the 120th DAT as well as for application level of nitrogen fertilizer. Consequently ground remote sensing as a non-destructive real-time assessment of plant nitrogen status was thought to be a useful tool for in season nitrogen management for red pepper providing both spatial and temporal information.