Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach
Understanding the spatial pattern of soil chemical properties along with the topologic indicators is essential for site-specific agriculture management. A study was conducted on a 50 ha field to investigate the effect of selected topographic indicators, including elevation (DEM), slope (SL), flow ac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/12/2918 |
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| author | Rangaswamy Madugundu Khalid A. Al-Gaadi ElKamil Tola Ahmed M. Zeyada Ahmed A. Alameen Mohamed K. Edrris Haroon F. Edrees Omer Mahjoop |
| author_facet | Rangaswamy Madugundu Khalid A. Al-Gaadi ElKamil Tola Ahmed M. Zeyada Ahmed A. Alameen Mohamed K. Edrris Haroon F. Edrees Omer Mahjoop |
| author_sort | Rangaswamy Madugundu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the spatial pattern of soil chemical properties along with the topologic indicators is essential for site-specific agriculture management. A study was conducted on a 50 ha field to investigate the effect of selected topographic indicators, including elevation (DEM), slope (SL), flow accumulation (FA) and Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) on forage crop production. The soil samples and yield data were obtained from the field inventory. Topographical parameters of elevation and slope were estimated with the use of a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK-GPS), and then the DEM was generated. The collected soil samples were analyzed for pH, EC, nitrogen and soil organic carbon. Sentinel-2 images were for the creation of yield maps of alfalfa and Rhodes grass. Subsequently, on the basis of DEM, the generated elevation, slope and FA model were then compared with the yield and soil chemical properties. Statistical analysis revealed that the SL, FA and TWI, which are associated with water distribution, were significantly related to crop yields. The FA showed a medium-to-non-significant correlation with the productivity of both alfalfa (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.586; <i>p</i> = 0.015) and Rhodes grass (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.578; <i>p</i> = 0.01). A significant inverse correlation was recorded between the SL and the yield of both crops (R<sup>2</sup> = −0.591 to −0.617; <i>p</i> = 0.01). The yield map revealed that the majority of the area (37.56%) of the experimental field was occupied by the medium-yield class, followed by the high-yield class (33.03%). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:25:50Z |
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| id | doaj.art-4035e1d27e444511b17b39dbd9721e0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:25:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-4035e1d27e444511b17b39dbd9721e0e2023-11-24T12:43:18ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-11-011212291810.3390/agronomy12122918Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS ApproachRangaswamy Madugundu0Khalid A. Al-Gaadi1ElKamil Tola2Ahmed M. Zeyada3Ahmed A. Alameen4Mohamed K. Edrris5Haroon F. Edrees6Omer Mahjoop7Precision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaUnderstanding the spatial pattern of soil chemical properties along with the topologic indicators is essential for site-specific agriculture management. A study was conducted on a 50 ha field to investigate the effect of selected topographic indicators, including elevation (DEM), slope (SL), flow accumulation (FA) and Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) on forage crop production. The soil samples and yield data were obtained from the field inventory. Topographical parameters of elevation and slope were estimated with the use of a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK-GPS), and then the DEM was generated. The collected soil samples were analyzed for pH, EC, nitrogen and soil organic carbon. Sentinel-2 images were for the creation of yield maps of alfalfa and Rhodes grass. Subsequently, on the basis of DEM, the generated elevation, slope and FA model were then compared with the yield and soil chemical properties. Statistical analysis revealed that the SL, FA and TWI, which are associated with water distribution, were significantly related to crop yields. The FA showed a medium-to-non-significant correlation with the productivity of both alfalfa (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.586; <i>p</i> = 0.015) and Rhodes grass (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.578; <i>p</i> = 0.01). A significant inverse correlation was recorded between the SL and the yield of both crops (R<sup>2</sup> = −0.591 to −0.617; <i>p</i> = 0.01). The yield map revealed that the majority of the area (37.56%) of the experimental field was occupied by the medium-yield class, followed by the high-yield class (33.03%).https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/12/2918alfalfaRhodes grassRTK-GPSkrigingtopographic indicators |
| spellingShingle | Rangaswamy Madugundu Khalid A. Al-Gaadi ElKamil Tola Ahmed M. Zeyada Ahmed A. Alameen Mohamed K. Edrris Haroon F. Edrees Omer Mahjoop Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach Agronomy alfalfa Rhodes grass RTK-GPS kriging topographic indicators |
| title | Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach |
| title_full | Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach |
| title_short | Impact of Field Topography and Soil Characteristics on the Productivity of Alfalfa and Rhodes Grass: RTK-GPS Survey and GIS Approach |
| title_sort | impact of field topography and soil characteristics on the productivity of alfalfa and rhodes grass rtk gps survey and gis approach |
| topic | alfalfa Rhodes grass RTK-GPS kriging topographic indicators |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/12/2918 |
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