ARS | Publication request: On-combine Sensing Technique for Mapping Straw Yield within Wheat Fields

Submitted to: International Conference on Precision Agriculture Abstracts & Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: November 19, 2009
Publication Date: July 18, 2010
Citation: Long, D.S., Mccallum, J.D., Huggins, D.R. 2010. On-combine Sensing Technique for Mapping Straw Yield within Wheat Fields. In R. Khosla (ed.) 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Abstracts & Proceedings.

Interpretive Summary: The use of straw as a feedstock for biofuels is increasing, but returning straw to wheat fields is important for soil carbon sequestration. County and state-wide data do not account for variability in straw yield within farm fields. This study describes a technique that applies information from grain yield and grain protein maps to map levels of straw within farm fields. This information will be useful for identifying smaller areas with fields where straw is in excess of that needed for soil protection and can be safely removed.

Technical Abstract: Straw from production of wheat is available for conversion to bioenergy. However, not all of this straw is available for conversion because a certain amount must be returned to the soil for conservation. County and state-wide inventories do not account for variation within farm fields. In this study, a technique is described that applies information from on-combine crop sensors into estimation of straw yield across fields. Straw yield could be predicted to within 350 kg ha-1 (R2 > 0.90) using grain yield, grain protein, and crop height as regression estimators. When validated in the field, the straw yield model provided a modest fit to the data (R2 = 0.58). Further testing and development is needed to improve this technique and draw conclusions.