Posts Tagged: precision agriculture

Hand-held electronic devices help you make better nitrogen fertilizer decisions

This is the third post in a blog series focused on improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency in California small grains. This post discusses two hand-held devices that indicate plant N levels in small grains to help optimize fertilizer decisions. The tools...

Implementing N-Rich Reference Zones to Inform In-Season N Fertilization Practices

This is our second in a series of blog posts on improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency in California small grains. This post focuses on the use of N-rich reference zones to assess in-season N status and make management decisions based on crop need. Our...

New resources available for conducting and interpreting soil nitrate quick tests

Measuring soil nitrogen (N) prior to fertilizing can improve N fertilizer management. The soil nitrate quick test is a simple and low-cost test. It provides a ballpark estimate of the soil nitrate-N concentration in the rootzone. Nitrate is a highly...

Adapting in-season N rates for wheat during a dry year

After almost 6 weeks without a substantial rainstorm, there is finally some precipitation starting to appear in the 10-day forecast for the Sacramento Valley. The lack of rain thus far has made it difficult to proceed with N fertilizer topdress...

Start planning your nitrogen management strategy for fall-planted wheat now (and consider using a N-rich reference strip to manage your N more precisely)

Recent UCCE research has illustrated the value of in-season applications of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, particularly applications made at the early vegetative growth stages. This is typically the stage of growth when N demand from the crop is...