Author
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Colvin, Thomas |
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Submitted to: Integrated Crop Management Newsletter
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 5/31/1999 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Users need confidence in the performance of yield monitors. The calibration procedures for yield monitors normally use areas of one acre or more. This translates to lengths up to 1/2 mile depending on the width of the combine head. Studies have shown that loads of this size compare very well with scale measurements following careful calibration. Yield maps, on the other hand, normally are made from measurements recorded as often as 7 feet apart depending on the speed of the combine. This study compared measurements made with a scale on plots that were 300 feet long to measurements of the same corn made with a yield monitor. The yield monitor agreed very well with the scale when the plot yields were close to 130 bu/ac which was the yield of the area used for calibration. In this experiment, when the yield was higher (145 bu/ac) the yield monitor tended to record a higher yield than the scale. In plots with 80 bu/ac yields, the yield monitor recorded a lower yield than the scale. This magnified the differences but would tend to leave the order of performance of the treatments the same. However, the statistical comparisons of those results might not be the same. If, for some reason, the effect was reversed, the order of performance might be changed. Careful operation and good calibration over the range of conditions that will be measured is important to accurate measurements with a yield monitor. |
