Authors: Robert "Bobby" Grisso, Extension Engineer, Biological Systems Engineering; Mark Alley, Extension Agronomist & Professor, Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences; Phil McClellan, President, MapTech, Inc., Blacksburg, VA; Dan Brann, Extension Grain Specialist, Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences; and Steve Donohue, Extension Agronomist & Professor, Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences; Virginia Tech
Publication Number: 442-500, posted August 2002
Table 1. Glossary of some precision farming terms.
Application map - Map that shows the different application rates over a field. The variable rate controller to meter out the appropriate chemicals uses the application map.
Class post mapping - Class post maps identify different ranges of data by automatically assigning a different symbol (color) to each data range
Geo-Referencing - Associating some piece of information (yield, pH, soil nitrogen etc.) with field position in two dimension space (Lat, Long).
GIS (Geographical Information Systems) - Software that imports, exports, and processes data that are spatially and temporally distributed.
GPS (Global Positioning Systems) - A set of 24 satellites in earth orbit that send out radio signals that can be processed by a ground receiver to determine the receiver's position on earth.
Grid sampling - A method of breaking a field into square grids that generally range from 1 to 2.5 acres, and sampling soils within those grids to determine appropriate application rates.
Kriging - A statistical method of smoothing or "averaging" geo-referenced data.
Management zone - A sub-field area defined by some common characteristic or set of characteristics such as soil type.
"On-the-go" sensing - Sensors that measure soil, plant, or pest properties as the tractor travels over the field.
Pixel - Smallest unit of information in a map or scanner image.
Precision farming - Farm management strategy, which utilizes precise information and information gathering technology to increase profit and reduce environmental impact.
Remote sensing - A sensor that measures the characteristics of a field (soil or plant) without having contact with the characteristic being sensed (includes aerial photographs, satellite imaging, and other non-intrusive sensing methods).
Scouting - Going through a field and making observations, documenting impacts and collecting data to determine levels of pest infestation and/or crop development.
Smoothing - A method of filtering, interpolating, and extrapolating to smooth raw data into a map (one smoothing technique is kriging).
Spatial resolution - The spacing between points in a field, such as the spacing between soil sampling points. The closer the points are to one another, the higher the spatial resolution.
VRT (Variable Rate Technology) - Application equipment that includes the controllers used to vary fertilizer, pesticide and lime outputs as prescribed by an application map or the measurement made by an "on-the-go" sensor.
Yield map - Map created using yield monitor and GPS data to reveal the spatial variation in yield within a field.
Yield monitor - A device on harvesting equipment used to measure crop yield and field position during harvest.