Application of Sensors to Assess Soil Conditions in a Korean Paddy Field

Precision agriculture, also called as site-specific crop (or field) management, is a recent trend in crop production that uses field information collected at different within-field locations to optimize amount, timing, and location of agricultural inputs according to the site-specific requirements. Recent development of soil property sensors has facilitated sensor-based data collection for SSCM in many countries around the world. In this study, commercial soil strength, electrical conductivity, and water content and temperature sensors were applied to a Korean rice (Oriza Sativa L) field and spatial and non-spatial statistical techniques were used to assess soil conditions and the variability, and investigate optimum sampling intensity. Results of the study would be useful for establishment of data collection schemes and better application of soil property sensors to Korean paddy fields for successful precision agriculture.