Precision agriculture for soil management

Soil management aimed at improving soil performance and involves activities in the various field management operations such as: tillage, planting, croping practices, fertilizer, lime, irrigation, herbicide and insecticide application, and other treatments conducted on or applied to a soil for the production of plants. Traditional agronomic management practices consider the field as the minimum area of management. However variation in factors such as; soil fertility, weed, water, topography, pests, and other field conditions can vary substantially within fields and affect crop yield. The development of geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), in-field and remote sensors, spatial analysis tools and variable rate applicator have enabled management of field operations on a spatially-variable basis. Spatially variable crop production (SVCP), a concept practiced in precision agriculture (PA), aims to improve farm manageme nt efficiency by adjusting field/crop treatments to conditions existing at specific areas within fields. The goal of SVCP in crop management is to reduce inputs and maintain product quantity and quality in an environmentally sensitive and economically sound manner. Similarly, site-specific soil management (SSSM) can be practice to efficiently manage soil. This paper described the application of PA system in SSSM using approaches practiced in precision agriculture. The theory of SSSM, recent research and development issues related to PA application is also discussed.