Global Potential for Adaptively Managing Nitrogen Using Active Sensors.

The global potential for integrating active canopy sensors into nitrogen management relies heavily on our ability to introduce the technology into the developing world.  Sensors and other precision agriculture technologies have often been viewed as irrelevant to small-holder systems because of the lower profitability, lack of education and training opportunities, and grower resistance.  For some technologies, this philosophy may be somewhat true, but in the case of active sensors an argument can be made that their introduction into developing world agriculture is even more critical to the sustainability of the systems than in developed nations.  Precision agriculture or site-specific nutrient management or integrated soil fertility management, whatever terminology is used, all mean basically the same thing – incorporating as much local information as possible into the management decision-making process.  Working from this philosophy, it is clear that the lack of information, particularly regarding spatial and temporal variability, and the subsequent risk of mismanagement of resources is much greater in the developing world. This presentation will review ongoing efforts to include spatial and temporal information as part of the nutrient management process in developing nations and identify opportunities to enhance the endeavors using optical sensors.