Crops fertilised according to needs
An invention by scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences means crops can be fertilized according to their needs instead of according to a quota, benefiting the environment as well as agriculture.
The invention is a new prize-winning dual function mobile sensor. The sensor, called MobilLas, can help the farmer determine if it is necessary to fertilize with nitrogen in a given small area.
This is done using spectral reflection, which says something about plant chlorophyll content, and laser measurement, which can indicate plant density and plant size. In other words, the sensor can tell the farmer how much plant cover there is in a particular spot in the field and how green it is – i.e. if it necessary to spread nitrogen fertilizer or not. MobilLas also contains a GPS so that it can indicate precisely where in the field the plants are.
- The sensor has the potential to ensure a relatively high yield and a high level of nitrogen utilisation, says senior scientist Anton Thomsen from the Department of Agroecology and Environment at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and inventor of MobilLas.
MobilLas can be used independent of sunlight at all hours of the day or night. This is crucial with regard to its practical use and data quality.
- I believe that the portended additional limits to the nitrogen quota in sensitive land areas and the tightening of regulations regarding the aquatic environment in general will increase the interest in a sensor such as MobilLas, says Anton Thomsen, who hopes to find a producer who is interested in developing and producing the sensor so it can be put to good work on commercial farms.
Expectations to the new dual instrument are that it can increase the financial value and the environmental effect of graduated fertilization. There is also a wide range of other potential uses for MobilLas. For example, the newly developed technology for carrying out mobile measurements of plant height and leaf area can lay the groundwork for further development of requirement-based plant protection. The farmer can optimise his fungicide spraying thus saving himself and the environment from overuse of fungicides.
MobilLas was one of the winners of the Agro Business Park Innovation Prize 2010. There is a patent pending for the sensor. The project was supported via funds from the the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and by the fund Jullerup Fonden.
