The use of precision farming technologies in the cultivation of winter wheat in the conditions of the Orel region

Obtaining agricultural products at minimal cost is the basis for the rational use of the agricultural sphere. Optimal use of biological resources of plants and soil is impossible without modern means of technical production. The combination of ground-based and aerospace means of analyzing agricultural production is a highly effective way of regulating agricultural production. Precision agriculture is being widely developed in the agro-industrial complex of the Orel region. To study the effect of accurate fertilizer distribution on the physiological activity of winter wheat plants of the Mironovskaya 39 variety and their yield on the podzolized chernozems of the Orel region the following systems and mechanism were used: Amazone TS series fertilizer distributors equipped with Section Control distribution systems in conjunction with GPS-Switch and GPS-Track navigation function, as well as the Argus Twin sensor system for monitoring the transverse distribution of fertilizers and the Wind Control function for monitoring and adjusting the distribution of fertilizers in windy weather. As a control indicator for determining the amount of macronutrients introduced, the value of the vegetation index NDVI was used on plots along with the precision farming techniques and traditional methods of fertilization. At the beginning of the growing season, the value of the NDVI index at the control points of the study had a low value throughout the field of 0.15-0.21. Fertilizing plants during the growing season of A part of the field was carried out taking into account the content of fertilizers in the soil, in part B it was done in the traditional way. The difference of the NDVI index between the experimental and control sites during the analysis in mid-June and mid-July was 26 and 18%, respectively. In the experimental field, there was less lodging of winter wheat plants, and the yield was 11% higher. Fertilizer savings amounted to thirteen percent.