Effects of Field Geometry and Operator Influence on Double-Planted Areas in Crop Fields

Recent developments in precision agriculture have included the introduction of Automatic Section Control (ASC) technology for planters. ASC technology utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) and coverage maps to turn on or off individual planter row units or sections of planter row units within predefined field boundaries, no-plant zones, and previously planted areas in order to eliminate double-planting. Producers are interested in rate of return on investment they can expect after purchasing this technology, which depends on several factors such as planter width and field size and geometry. A two year study has been conducted that focused on two objectives: 1) Identify relationships between percentage of double-planted area in fields based on field size and geometry, and 2) Determine the influence that operators have on actual over-planting at the beginning and end of each planter pass. Real-Time-Kinematic (RTK) GPS position of the planter and planter status (i.e. raised or lowered) was recorded every 1/10^th of a second in 52 fields across the state of Tennessee that totaled 1725 acres. Planting maps were generated in ESRI’s ArcGIS software to calculate the minimum double-planted area that occurred in each field. Percentages of minimum double-planted area ranged from as low as 0.1% to as high as 15.6% with an average of 4.6%. The total minimum double-planted area across all fields was determined to be 54.7 acres. Results from the operator influence analysis show an average over-planting distance of 15.2 feet per planter pass, which translated to an additional increase in double-planted area of 0.013 acres per planter pass. Based on the 1518 planter passes that were required to plant these 52 fields, a 36% increase in double-planted area was observed due to operator influence, resulting in an additional 19.7 acres in double-planted area.