61-2 Satellite and Related Success Stories.



Monday, October 17, 2011: 2:30 PM
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 217D, Concourse Level

David W. Franzen, School of Natural Resource Sciences, Soil Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
The most profitable sugarbeet production for both the grower and processor requires enough N to produce high root yield; however, higher N than required to achieve yield lowers the concentration of sugar in the root. High late season N is transferred to sugarbeet leaves, which are returned to the soil during the harvest procedure and contribute to the available N reserve for the subsequent crop. Sugarbeet is grown in a rotation with other crops. If the rotational crops are over-fertilized, it is difficult to manage N in the sugarbeet crop, since sugarbeet roots grow nearly 3 m deep and recover much of the excess N from previous crops. Satellite imagery can be used and has been used to identify areas in sugarbeet fields where excessive N was available. Although the technology has not been used to aid the current crop, it is useful to reduce N to subsequent crops and helps to reduce excess N the next time that sugarbeets are grown in the field. Over 40 percent of sugarbeet acres in the Red River Valley currently use satellite imagery to provide improved N nutrition to their sugarbeets and other rotational crops.
See more from this Division: ASA Section: Agronomic Production Systems
See more from this Session: Symposium--In-Season Nutrient Management