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Using Soil Electrical Conductivity to Map Nematode-Prone Areas in Agricultural Fields

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  061052,  2006 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.20585) @2006
Authors:   Calvin Perry, George Vellidis, Keith Rucker, Dana Sullivan
Keywords:   Precision agriculture, electrical conductivity, nematode

The root knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne incognita, is a damaging pest that causes major losses to the cotton industry annually. In Georgia, 60-70 percent of cotton fields are infested with this pest. Because application of nematicides is expensive and environmentally controversial, farmers put off applying the necessary chemicals. But RKN are not evenly distributed across fields. RKN populations have been shown to be higher in areas with higher sand content. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) can be used to characterize soil differences including soil texture. In 2005, a study was begun to determine if data from a Veris 3100 soil EC sensor could be used to identify nematode hot spots in cotton fields in south Georgia. First year results were mixed. EC data compared reasonably well with lab texture results, but did not correlate well with nematode counts in the fields (R values between 0 and 0.37). Additional analysis of collected data as well as additional data may be required before hot spots can be reliably identified.

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