Today is the World soil day. This date is celebrated from 2002 on the initiative of the International Congress of soil scientists. The goal of World Soil Day is soils protection from depletion and degradation.

Ukraine has more than 9% of world reserves of black soils

Soils rightly are considered as one of the main natural resources of the state. Ukraine has more than 9% of international and 30% – European reserves black soil. About 25% of  black soils of Ukraine have suffered from erosion due to the intensive land using, failure to comply with the recommended technologies for growing, insufficient or, conversely, excessive fertilization.

Some countries have already used technologies, that take into account the natural potential of soil and accurate needs of each meter of field in certain fertilizers. These technologies protect soils from depletion and renew their fertility. Its called precision farming technology.

The soil analysis is foundation of precision farming

The foundation for the implementation of precision farming is a quality agrochemical soil analysis. To build an effective system of fertilizing crops is impossible without it. When there is a lack of information about soil nutrition properties and their availability, expensive mineral fertilizers are only waste of money. Scouting the field and estimating its conditions make it possible to maximize crop production management technology while avoiding mineral fertilizer cost-inefficiency.

For successful agronomy, it is important to understand that you need to know both the amounts of fertilizers and their proper allocation to match the soils and to maximize zone potential for profitable precision farming strategic planning. Soil nutrition properties require laboratory examination the results of which are considered to be fundamental for planning plant nutrition systems in all the countries of the world. A complex laboratory analysis of the soil including a list of quantitative and qualitative assessments (its grain size, active (current) acidity, exchange acidity, hydrolytic acidity, conductivity, combination of absorbed cations, cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter (humus), hydrolyzing nitrogen compounds, mineral nitrogen compounds, mobile compounds of phosphorus and potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, boron, sulfur, molybdenum, the value of metabolic calcium, magnesium, and sodium, the type and the degree of the soil salinity by cation-anion composition of water extraction, dry residue, the value of chlorides, sulfates, carbonates, and bicarbonates, the value of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in the water extract).

The efficiency increases to 50%

Soil analysis and assessment of the potential of each field can to optimize the technology of cultivation and to increase resource efficiency by 20-30%. And this is only the first step. You can achieve significantly better economic benefits due to implementing of certain elements of precision ag. And in the same time you will protect the soils from exhaustion.

For example, the technology of variable seeding norm allows to calculate the density of plant growth in the field, depending on the fertility of the soil moisture reserves and landform. Sowing machine with a differentiated system of sowing seed increases the sowing rate on more productive areas, and reduces where plants grow worse. Differential fertilizer technology helps to distribute the fertilizer on the field effectively. Each section gets the needed amount of fertilizers. Depending on the particular field saving of fertilizers can be 40%.

The implementation of precision agriculture technologies – its not only economically profitable for producers, but also ecologically important for the state. Only a scientific approach to agriculture can save the soil from depletion and degradation.