John SolieIvan Ortiz-Monasterio Bill RaunCIMMYT Marv Stone Oklahoma State University John SolieIvan Ortiz-Monasterio Bill RaunCIMMYT Marv Stone Oklahoma State University National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

 The science and art of obtaining information about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in contact with object, area, or phenomenon under investigation. Generally, but not exclusively, in the form of electromagnetic radiation  Remote sensed measurements are primarily indirect and consequently confounded

 Useful for “Big Picture” management decisions  Predicted yield at county to country level  Management of natural resources  Land use  Drought management  Wild fire management  Few,minor farm applications  Delays required to process and transmit information do not permit “real-time” decision making  Information without applications that increase net returns is useless  Farmers will not pay for this information

 Allows real-time decision making.  Can be interfaced with agricultural machinery to variably apply inputs in real-time

 Malakoff (Science, 1998)  $750,000,000, excess N flowing down the Mississippi River  Africa expenditure on fertilizer N, cereals  $706,000,000  Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) World 33%  20% increase  Worth $10.8 billion US annually

Misuse of Nitrogen Fertilizer is a World Wide Problem

Raun and Johnson, Agron J. 91:

 1989-present

 April 16, 2007 Dr. Norman Borlaug Ciudad Obregon, MX

 Units: biomass, kg/ha/day, where GDD>0 Winter Wheat  Yield Prediction  INSEY = NDVI(F5)/Days from planting to sensing, GDD>0

CORN  INSEY = NDVI/Cummulative GDD

Wavelength (nm) Reflectance (%) 0.25 Visible Near Infrared Plant Reflectance

 Calculated from the red and near-infrared bands  Equivalent to a plant physical examination  Correlated with:  Plant biomass  Crop yield  Plant nitrogen  Plant chlorophyll  Water stress  Plant diseases  Insect damage

Light generation Light signal Light detection Valve settings  Calculate NDVI  Lookup valve setting  Apply valve setting  Send data to UI “Sensor” Valves and Nozzles

SBNRC Mexico India Turkey China Zimbabwe Argentina Australia Canada Uzbekistan

Crop Derived Algorithm to Determine Accurate N Rates  Yield potential or YP0 (changes each year)  N Responsiveness or Response Index, RI (changes each year)  YP0 and RI are independent of one another  Using yield prediction and N responsiveness we can predict accurate mid-season fertilizer N rates  Fertilizer Rate = N uptake at YPN – N uptake at YP0/Efficiency Factor

Ciudad Obregon, Mexico

N Rate, lb/ac RAMP Calibration Strip

0 N 195 N

 Optical Pocket Sensor  3 rd world  Common Farmer Tool $4000 US $100 US

SAAUSA  Population, million  Cereals, million ha 8856  Production, million tons97364  Yield, tons/ha  Fertilizer N, million tons  Avg. N rate, kg/ha452  % of world N consumed1.413  % of world population104

 SSA averages 4 kg N/ha for cereal production  Seed distribution systems have been a chronic problem associated with hybrid maize in SSA (CIMMYT)  More than 1/3 of all African countries have an economic growth of >5% (not all are Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe and DRC)  CIMMYT’s stress breeding hybrids are better than private company hybrids at all yield levels (Marianne Banziger)  Imidazolinone-resistant maize seed coated with the herbicide have shown good Striga hermonthica control  Production package must be integrated (seed, fertilizer, herbicide, tillage, mechanization, etc.)

 Affordable N fertilizer  Zero-reduced tillage, build organic matter, soil nutrients  Affordable easy-to-use optical pocket sensor  Production sensitive hybrids from CIMMYT drought stress breeding program, IR resistant seed  Sensor-based N rate algorithms tailored by region and crop, based on predicted yield potential and N responsiveness  Environmentally sensitive system approach  Aggressive education/extension program

Farmer training, Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, January 2007

 The foundation's Global Development Program is working with motivated partners to create opportunities for people to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. Our strategy is focused. Because most of the world's poorest people rely directly on agriculture, we support efforts to help small farmers improve crop production and market access. Because loans, insurance, and savings can help people weather setbacks and build assets, we facilitate access to financial services for the poor. And because information can change lives, we support free public access to computers connected to the Internet.