Site-Season effects on crop productivity
Lead Research Organisation:
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Water, Energy and Environment
Abstract
Yield mapping in combinable crops has made identifying spatial variation in yield across fields and farms easier. Mapped soil information, (typical profile, sub-soil properties, mineralogy water-holding capacity, trafficability etc.) is available, at 1:250,000 scale, which is not sufficiently detailed to allow in-field variation to be considered effectively. Crop yields also vary markedly in time, with variation in weather (Wreford and Adger, 2010), pest and disease pressure (Madgwick et al., 2011), and seasonal management impacts including cultivations, rotations and fertiliser and pesticide use. Analysing and quantifying relationships between heterogeneous soil conditions and crop growth and yield has often been constrained by a lack of data due to high costs and time demands associated with the sampling (Heil and Schmidhalter, 2012). In the limited number of studies where both temporal and spatial variation are investigated, the patterns often interact i.e. high yielding areas one year might be low yielding the next (Blackmore et al., 2003).
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/S007350/1 | 01/10/2019 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 2450550 | Studentship | NE/S007350/1 | 01/10/2020 | 26/06/2024 | David Clarke |
| Description | 1) An appraisal of the accuracy of whole farm yield map data sets has shown large errors are possible. Land managers and researchers should acknowledge and where possible address these inaccuracy before making management decisions or using the data for research purposes such as model validation or on farm experiments. 2) Using long term field trial experimental data a link between soil apparent electrical conductivity and soil texture was demonstrated. This variation in soil properties was demonstrated to link to yield and grain protein content. Nitrogen use efficiency was show to be 20% lower on the low ECa (lighter textured plots) and Optimal N could be up to 45 kgN ha lower on these plots. Demonstrating to growers how yield maps, proximal soil sensing and targeted grain nutrient analysis can be used to manage spatial variation across farm |
| Exploitation Route | 1) Land managers can take steps to improve the accuracy of yield mapping capabilities or generate additional data sets to validate accuracy such as weighed whole field yields. Researchers can acknowledge and where possible address inaccuracy's, particularly if using yield map data sets to validate crop growth models to support precision agriculture. 2) Demonstrating to growers how yield maps, proximal soil sensing and targeted grain nutrient analysis can be used to manage spatial variation across farm |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Iwvbd16lM |
| Description | The Across farm yield map analysis was used by the case study farm to situate countryside stewardship schemes implemented in 2021. The data analysis allowed them to identify the areas of the farm where best economic and environmental benefits could be achieved from situating schemes on areas of land with lower economic value through agricultural productivity an d therefore potentially areas where nutrient use efficiency is lowest. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | AHDB Strategic Farm East |
| Organisation | Agricultural and Horticulture Development Board |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The methods developed as part of the research was used on a separately NIAB project funded by AHDB. The data from this AHDB funded project was then uses and fed back into the NERC CENTA funded PhD. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Brian Barker - AHDB Strategic Farm East Access to on farm data sets including yield maps and farm records Emily Pope - AHDB KE Manager support with feed back on data analysis and delivering outcomes of use to farmers |
| Impact | 19/11/21 - AHDB Strategic farm East Results Webinar 21/06/22 - AHDB SFE Open Day - presented AHDB results to farmers and industry. 30/11/22 - AHDB Marginal land result webinar AHDB Monitor Farm Wisbech - AHDB and NIAB trials work presentations. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | AHDB Strategic Farm South |
| Organisation | Agricultural and Horticulture Development Board |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Methods developed have been used on this project to identify sampling sites for this project |
| Collaborator Contribution | The methodology and analysis developed for identifying sampling points on farm where used to monitor soil health across the AHDB strategic farm south. |
| Impact | AHDB Montiror farm South meeting and results webinars |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | AHDB Results webinar - Identifying Marginal land |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Results presentation outlining the data analysis from Objective 1 of this PhD project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Iwvbd16lM |
| Description | AHDB Webinar on resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on building Yield resilience to climate extremes using data sets coordinated as part of this research project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://ahdb.org.uk/agronomy-week-2020/monday-programme |
| Description | BBC RADIO 4 Farming today |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Appeared on BBC Radio 4 Farming today talking about the methods used in Objective one of the study at AHDB SFE |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | CEREALS Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CEREALS is the largest UK agricultural show and demonstration. This research projects was talked about in the context of UK agriculture and soil management on the NIAB stand |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | GROUNDSWELL Agricultural Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | GROUNDSWELL show is a agricultural show focused on maintain production while reducing environmental impact for farming practices. Based at the NIAB stand research outputs where discussed with a wide range of stakeholders in the context of wider agricultural practices |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://groundswellag.com/speakers/david-clarke |
| Description | Newsarticle for TMAF newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A write up of my trip to the World congress of soil science and the SLAKE app. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://tmaf.co.uk/can-a-smart-phone-app-help-you-measure-on-farm-soil-aggregate-stability/ |
| Description | REAP Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/REAP-2022-report-v10.pdf |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://agri-tech-e.co.uk/event/reap-2022/ |
| Description | Talk and field demonstration to Indigro Agronomists |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Indigro agronomy are a group of independent agronomists, they visited Morley for a day long trial and field demonstration and talk. Interest was particularly focused on how by identifying spatial variation growers could better site specific inputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Talk provided to The Morley Agricultural Foundations AGM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a presentation on the methods and results from Objective 1 of this project at TMAF AGM, Morley Norfolk, attended by 60+ farmers, agronomists and researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.afcp.org.uk/sites/default/files/TMAF%20AGM%20Feb%202022%20Flyer.pdf |