What Is Crop Production Management?

Almost every activity or process that is done in order to have a successful production is considered to be crop production management.

Each crop has its own specifications, needs and techniques for growing, therefore crop management can vary greatly. One of the simplest divisions of these processes that is applied to almost every commercially grown crop is the following: planning of crop rotation, soil cultivation, crop protection, crop nutrition, crop irrigation and harvesting.

Crop rotation is the first crucial challenge in crop production management processes. The choice of which crop should be planted on a particular field is dictating the success of every other agri-technological operation. Every field has its own characteristics starting from the physical characteristics up to the number and the types of microorganisms present in the fields’ soil profile. Every producer must carefully choose a crop that can adapt to the field characteristics and the specific climate conditions that describe each agricultural plot. The next crop management activity is soil cultivation but not so much in the terms of basic soil tillage but to operations such as weeding, furrowing and other crop-specific operations that directly improve the performance of the planted crop. After crop emergence from the soil, there is a need for different kinds of operations that must be done simultaneously or in a certain order that is previously determined. Crop protection is a process that keeps the plants healthy, either by acting preventive or symptomatic. It means applying crop protection products that can be in a form of a liquid, granule, powder, gas, or emulsions and with quite different origins i.e., organic, or chemical. Crop nutrition refers to applying fertilizers for improving the soil nutritional content, thus allowing the crop to utilize the applied fertilizers to some extent. This process gives one of the most noticed reactions in crop production management, wherein a short period of time the crops start to look healthy, strong and “happy”. Crop irrigation refers to a process of precisely determined sequences of watering the plants during the whole production season. It can be done by implementing various systems that have different applications depending on which type of crops are grown (cereals, fruits, vegetables and others).

How crops can be managed better The crop management can be done better as long as the producer is familiar with the real conditions on the field regarding the soil, climate, and crops. Based upon these sources of information, the producer is able to undertake informed decisions in the crop management decision-making process. Nowadays, such information can be found by utilizing satellite data given in a form of satellite imagery with the ability to implement several indices. Spectral indices are combinations of spectral reflectance from two or more wavelengths to indicate features of interest. Vegetation indices are obviously commonly used in agriculture, but other indices are available for burned areas, man-made (built-up) features, water, and other geologic features. Usable spectral indices in plant production include: • NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) • EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) • RENDVI or NDRE (Red Edge Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) • GNDVI (Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) • MSI or NDWI (Moisture Stress Index) The imagery provides accurate and reliable data – in real-time – on various measures and over large areas that directly support more efficient and effective decision-making on the farm. GEOpard uses this method of crop management. You can easily monitor your crop by relying on the latest satellite imagery and making informed decisions for improving your yield. When it comes to satellites, every producer must use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to improve crop management and secure high yields. GPS consists of a ‘constellation’ of satellites transmitting radio signals to users. GPS satellites fly in medium Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km, with each satellite circling the Earth twice a day. GPS boosts productivity across a wide swath of the economy, including farming, construction, mining, surveying, package delivery, and logistical supply chain management. Diverse areas of farming operation – such as farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping - are made possible through GPS-based applications. GPS applications and crop manager software can even allow farmers to work during unpleasant weather conditions such as rain, dust, fog, and darkness where visibility of the field is minimal.