New Sampling System Helps Growers Learn About Their Fields
Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2004) —
A new cotton sampling system developed by Agricultural Research Service
scientists helps growers determine the different fiber qualities produced by
their cotton plants throughout a harvested field.
ARS plant physiologist Gretchen Sassenrath worked with
technician Ray Adams in the ARS Application and Production Technology Research
Unit at Stoneville, Miss., to design a method of spatially sampling cotton
during harvesting operations. The system helps determine what underlying
factors, such as soil moisture, may be affecting the fiber properties.
Soil properties will alter the moisture and temperature in a
small area
of a field, changing the individual microclimate for that area. For instance, if
areas of a field have changes in soil quality, varying temperatures or different
amounts of water collecting throughout it due to terrain features, cotton fiber
properties may vary.
Adams built a cotton sampler that attaches to the picker's
chute. A
lever switches a paddle gate in the picker chute and, every 20 seconds,
diverts some of the harvested cotton into a sampler chute for collection
and later analysis. The cotton sample is harvested from a known area of
the field. Fiber properties are then incorporated with the position data
and entered into the database for spatial analysis.
The system works alongside the cotton yield monitor, a device
that
measures the quantity of cotton at any given position in the field. The
yield monitor is equipped with a Global Positioning System receiver to
compute position, speed and time.
The data from the yield monitor and the fiber properties are
then
entered into the geographic information system (GIS), a database that
processes geographically-based information. A GIS map shows growers
which areas of their fields need more attention and which areas are
producing cotton bolls with the best fiber properties. Once the cotton
fiber properties have been determined, the value of the cotton lint is
calculated from the same tables that farmers use when selling their
cotton.
Contact:
Jim Core,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
(301) 504-1619
jcore@ars.usda.gov
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