Soil and Crop Sensing for Precision Crop Production

Soil and crop sensing is a fundamental component and the first important step in precision agriculture. Unless the level of soil and crop variability is known, appropriate management decisions cannot be made and implemented. In the last few decades, various ground-based sensors have been developed to measure spatial variability in soil properties and nutrients, crop growth and yield, and pest conditions. Remote sensing as an important data collection tool has been increasingly used to map soil and crop growth variability as spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions of image data have improved significantly in recent years. While identifying spatial variability of soil and crop growth within fields is an important first step towards precision management, using that variability to formulate variable rate application plans of farming inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides is another essential step in precision agriculture.The purpose of this book is to present the historical, current and future developments of soil and crop sensing technologies with fundamentals and practical examples. The first chapter gives an overview of soil and crop sensing technologies for precision crop production. The next six chapters provide details on theories, methods, practical applications, as well as challenges and future research needs for all aspects of soil and crop sensing. The last two chapters show how soil and crop sensing technologies can be used for plant phenotyping and precision fertilization. The chapters are written by some of the world’s leading experts who have contributed significantly to the developments of precision agriculture technologies, especially in the area of soil and crop sensing. They use their knowledge, experiences, and successful stories to present informative and up-to-date information on relevant topics. Therefore, this book is an invaluable addition to the literature and can be used as a reference by scientists, engineers, practitioners, and college students for the dissemination and advancement of precision agriculture technologies for practical applications.

Minzan Li

Dr. Li Minzan is a professor on Agricultural Informatics in the College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University. He is currently the Director of the Key Laboratory on Precision Agriculture, Ministry of Education, China. He has published more than 200 referred papers and filed more than 20 patents in agricultural informatics and spectroscopy. He is a Vice-chairperson of the Committee of Basic Technologies, Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery (CSAM) and a Vice-chairperson of the Committee of Agricultural Aviation, Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering (CSAE). He has served as an Associate Editor for the journals of the Transaction of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (Agriculture Edition, Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering), International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Transactions of the CSAE, Transactions of the CSAM, Journal of China Agricultural University, and Journal of Zhejiang University. His research interests include the development of soil nutrient sensors with spectroscopy, soil EC measurement system, sensing system on crop growth status with spectral analysis and remote sensing, yield monitor and yield mapping system, and application of agricultural IoT. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from China Agricultural University in China and his Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Engineering in 2000 from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan.

Chenghai Yang

Dr. Chenghai Yang is a Research Agricultural Engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service’s (USDA-ARS) Aerial Application Technology Research Unit in College Station, Texas. Dr. Yang has been conducting research on the development and application of remote sensing technologies for precision agriculture and pest management since 1995. He has authored or coauthored over 160 peer-reviewed journal articles and 16 books or book chapters. Dr. Yang has served several professional societies, including the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) for which he has chaired the Precision Agriculture Committee and four other technical committees. He has also served as a Division Editor or Associate Editor for five technical journals, including International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Transactions of the ASABE, and Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. Dr. Yang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural engineering from Northwest A&F University in China and his Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from the University of Idaho. He is an ASABE Fellow and serves as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University and a guest professor at multiple universities.

Qin Zhang

Dr. Qin Zhang is the Director of the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS) of Washington State University (WSU), and a Professor of Agricultural Automation in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, WSU.  His research interests are in the areas of agricultural cybernetics, agricultural robotics, and off-road equipment mechatronics.  Prior to his current position, he was a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, worked at Caterpillar Inc., and taught at Zhejiang Agricultural University in China. Based on his research outcomes, he has authored/edited eight books, edited three conference proceedings, written more than 20 book chapters, published over 180 peer reviewed journal articles, and been awarded 11 U.S. patents.  He is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief for Computers and Electronics in Agriculture.  Dr. Qin Zhang received his B.S. degree in engineering from Zhejiang Agricultural University, China; M.S. degree from the University of Idaho and Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. Qin Zhang is a member of Washington State Academy of Sciences, an ASABE Fellow, and is serving or served as a guest or an adjunct professor for nine other universities in different countries.