A new Precision Farming Project has been developed in Vacaria – RS, a region that uses a lot of technology and that is well known for its fruit production. The project is the result of the partnership between AGCO, Massey Ferguson dealer Sotrima, Cerquinha Farm and BASE Precision Farming Consultants.
The project has the objective of demonstrating the Precision Farming Technologies that are available to the farmer in a practical way, to promote the potential benefits that can be reached.
The project began in the second semester of 2005, in an area of 125.4 hectares (ha), of which 94,4 ha are managed using precision farming techniques and 31 ha are farmed vconventionally (based on averages).
To date 30 geo-referenced soil samples have been taken, and fertility and variable rate application maps for phosphorus and potassium have been made using GTA500 SGIS software and applied using a Fieldstar system attached to an Amazone spreader.
The VRT maps generated by GTA500 SGIS showed that in 46 ha potassium fertilizer application was not required.
On 40 hectares phosphorus fertilizer was spread to complement the application that was performed during the planting operation and guarantee that the crop had good development conditions. The harvest will be performed using the farm’s MF34 combine equipped with the Fieldstar system allowing the results of the VRT application to be evaluated.
Figure 1: Fertility and application maps for Potassium.
