Spatial variability and yield monitor evaluation for carrots and wild blueberries

This study was a preliminary investigation to assess opportunities for precision farming for carrots and wild blueberries in Central Nova Scotia. Specifically, spatial variability and yield monitor evaluation were completed for both crops.;The spatial variability among soil samples in four carrot fields under study appears to be restricted to approximately 75--100 m. A grid of such size could therefore describe most of the manageable variability in a carrot field.;CERES II RCYM accuracies were more accurate in 1998 when load cells were mounted on a short horizontal elevator than in 1999 when mounted near the middle of the incline elevator on a carrot harvester.;The spatial variability of soil fertility, leaf nutrient status and stem yield potential as expressed in two wild blueberry fields under study was smaller than 30 m.;Yield monitor accuracy of a CERES II yield monitor mounted on a mechanical wild blueberry harvester was acceptable (<5% error) in the second year of study although the yield monitor overestimated yields in high yielding areas and on topographical inclines.;Two 30 m x 30 m blocks were selected in a well established commercial wild blueberry field with the objective to determine the optimum sampling strategy for determining yield. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...