Electric Sensors Designed To Boost Crop Yields
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Farmer-inventor David Lankford has spent nearly 50 years raising vegetables and crops. For the last 2 decades he’s been conducting research to better understand nutrient and water uptake by growing plants. One of the ideas Lankford advocates is the concept of just-in-time water management. It’s a concept he compares to just-in-time inventory management in manufacturing, where the supply of parts or ingredients arrives precisely when needed.
Lankford says every irrigated farmer he’s met over the years could benefit from more timely application of water and fertilizer. Tests at Clemson University have shown that water applied 2 times a week rather than once on watermelons produced better yields. Other crops have shown similar results when water and nutrients are portioned according to the plant’s needs rather than what’s convenient for the irrigator.
Lankford says supplying water and nutrients to plants isn’t any different than quenching a child’s desire for a drink. When a kid is thirsty, he’s thirsty, and he can’t wait till you think he might be ready. Likewise, when a plant needs water, it’s usually under stress, and eliminating that stress quickly is vitally important. A plant that isn’t stressed is operating at peak efficiency and reaching its true potential.
Lankford and his son Lance have developed a probe system to determine when growing plants ideally need water and nutrients. The probes, which cost $2,500 to $3,000 each, are placed into the soil in white plastic tubing. Sensors on the probes detect plant response across various soil types, various levels of moisture content, and fertility levels at various stages of plant growth.
Lankford says corn growers used to use l lb. of nitrogen as a rule of thumb to produce 1 bushel of corn. That number is now actually closer to .67 lbs. per bushel, which has been determined by several types of research, including Lankford’s.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Agrimeasures, LLC, 29120 Farms Lane, Trappe, Md. 21673 (ph 410 200-0988).
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Electric Sensors Designed To Boost Crop Yields CROPS Miscellaneous Farmer-inventor David Lankford has spent nearly 50 years raising vegetables and crops For the last 2 decades he’s been conducting research to better understand nutrient and water uptake by growing plants One of the ideas Lankford advocates is the concept of just-in-time water management It’s a concept he compares to just-in-time inventory management in manufacturing where the supply of parts or ingredients arrives precisely when needed Lankford says every irrigated farmer he’s met over the years could benefit from more timely application of water and fertilizer Tests at Clemson University have shown that water applied 2 times a week rather than once on watermelons produced better yields Other crops have shown similar results when water and nutrients are portioned according to the plant’s needs rather than what’s convenient for the irrigator Lankford says supplying water and nutrients to plants isn’t any different than quenching a child’s desire for a drink When a kid is thirsty he’s thirsty and he can’t wait till you think he might be ready Likewise when a plant needs water it’s usually under stress and eliminating that stress quickly is vitally important A plant that isn’t stressed is operating at peak efficiency and reaching its true potential Lankford and his son Lance have developed a probe system to determine when growing plants ideally need water and nutrients The probes which cost $2 500 to $3 000 each are placed into the soil in white plastic tubing Sensors on the probes detect plant response across various soil types various levels of moisture content and fertility levels at various stages of plant growth Lankford says corn growers used to use l lb of nitrogen as a rule of thumb to produce 1 bushel of corn That number is now actually closer to 67 lbs per bushel which has been determined by several types of research including Lankford’s Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Agrimeasures LLC 29120 Farms Lane Trappe Md 21673 ph 410 200-0988
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