Application of neural networks: precision farming

Precision farming is a relatively new field of study whose goal is to improve cropping efficiency by variable application of crop treatments such as fertilizers, pesticides, etc. A deeper understanding of the functional relationship between yield, soil and site properties is of critical importance to precision farming. A number of feedforward neural network methods were investigated in an attempt to identify techniques able to functionally relate soil properties and crop yields on a point by point basis. Both training accuracy and generalization ability were evaluated for these previously reported neural techniques. Several techniques were able to provide a relatively high degree of accuracy, while retaining good generalization characteristics.