OpticMapper

About the maps: Veris sensors now map organic matter and soil texture variability

Organic matter matters. It’s a critical factor in productivity, as it affects water and nutrient-holding capacity, nitrogen availability, crop health, herbicide action, and more. Now it can be mapped precisely on-the-go with the Veris OpticMapper. The sensor readings correlate well with lab-analyzed OM results.

Collecting a few lab samples calibrates the OpticMapper—the result is a precise, detailed map of organic matter. This information, especially when coupled with an EC layer, accurately delineates productive potential soil zones, making it ideal for varying seed population rates, nitrogen, and other inputs. Because the OpticMapper readings are calibrated to actual OM levels, it can be used to evaluate responses to various inputs across a farm or even across a region.

About the machine: Veris OpticMapper collects high-quality data--easily, rapidly, profitably

The Veris OpticMapper has a dual-wavelength optical sensor mounted within a specially-configured planter row unit—mapping soil underneath crop residue and dry surface soil. Soil measurements are acquired through a sapphire window on the bottom of a furrow ‘shoe’. Readings are collected once per second and matched to their GPS location. The row unit design with side depth-gauging wheels assures consistent depth—adjustable from 1 to 3 inches. OpticMapper is typically combined with Soil EC sensing on the Mobile Sensor Platform, so variations of two critical soil properties are mapped at once—soil texture and organic matter.

Veris Technologies recently received an AE50 award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) for the OpticMapper. AE50 winners represent the premier innovations introduced in 2010 for the agricultural, food, and biological systems industries.

The Veris OpticMapper is built on the Mobile Sensor Platform (MSP). This means other sensor modules-such as pH, can be added to the platform. Customers can get started using the MSP with EC-only, and add the OpticMapper or pH Manager in the future. The MSP implement can be configured as a 3-point tractor mounted unit, or equipped with a front tongue in a pull-type mode.

Applications

Application #1: improve yields by varying corn population—increasing rates on the best producing soils, and decreasing corn population on poorer soils.
The Challenge: identifying those soils properly; mistakenly over-populating soils that can’t handle high populations wastes expensive seed—and can cause yield losses. Mistakenly under-populating highly productive soils means missing out on yield opportunity. Planting 30,000 seeds/acre on soil that will respond to 36,000 could mean leaving more than $200/acre on the table! The map below illustrates the discrepancies on most soil surveys: lab-tested OM varies from 2.1 to 3.4 within the poorest soil type on this field; and from 2.2 to 3.6 within the most productive soil type on the field. Note also that the Veris OpticMapper map correlates well with lab-analyzed OM. Click here to read the warning posted by NRCS when downloading a digital field-scale soil survey

Application #2: set up management zones for sampling.
The Challenge: identifying zones where historical productivity differences have resulted in nutrient variability. Remote imagery and yield maps show annual crop patterns, but where is the productivity truly inherently different?
Soil texture and soil organic matter affect CEC, water and nutrient holding capability, rooting depth, pH, and more. These are the key factors, along with topography, that determine crop growth and nutrient removal. The maps below show how soil EC, soil OM, and topography can be clustered together to create suggested sampling zones.

Application #3: create a variable rate nitrogen Rx.
The Challenge: accurately identifying zones where soil organic matter levels vary—and creating an Rx that varies N rates based on the nitrogen expected to be mineralized by that OM. The yield penalty for under-applying nitrogen can be significant, so Rx maps must be precise. The OM on the field above ranges from just under 2% to nearly 4%. A university algorithm adjusts for nitrogen that will become available during the growing season from soil organic matter. A nitrogen Rx using that allowance applied using an OpticMapper map would generate over $40/acre in savings versus no adjustment. And over $10/acre advantage versus a flat 2% OM adjustment. Soil EC data could help fine-tune that Rx: for example, a silt-loam soil with 3% OM will hold, use, and lose N differently than a silty-clay soil.