PotatoLink team member Frank Mulcahy discusses historical mapping and crop conformance, redictive crop modelling, pioneering Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) on farm and results from finished 2 year project on spatial variability in potato crops.

This poster provides a snapshot of variable rate application, the options available, why and how to do it, key questions to keep in mind and more information on the practical tips and tools available.

This NSW case study has shown that IrriSAT satellite images, used to monitor irrigation, can also help potato growers identify soil and irrigation problems across the pivot. Fixing the problems identified in this case study would have increased yield and revenue by between $7,600 and $10,800 under this half pivot.

This case study explains how the irrigation tool, IrriSAT, combined with soil moisture monitoring, provided important information to the grower about crop water requirements and actual soil moisture levels. This enabled him to manage his crop irrigation to maximise yield and quality.