Armin Werner

Lincoln Agritech Ltd. · Precision Agricultural Sciences

To determine the impact of potential reductions of terrain-targeted nitrogen (N) fertilisation rates on N losses a simulation study was carried out using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM). To simulate N runoff a simple approach was used, in which runoff is based on the N concentration in the soil solution and an extraction coeff...

In established vineyards, node number retention at winter pruning is the first step to achieving and maintaining vine balance. Balanced vines exhibit timely and quasi-uniform 100 percent budburst. To understand how vine capacity and balance are expressed before flowering, mature Sauvignon blanc vines were pruned according to a 5 [total node numbers...

The shortage of skilled pruners portends automation as an alternative. To train an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system in cane pruning, the attributes of grapevine dormant shoots were characterised. Eight attributes of dormant shoots, diameter, length, vertical and horizontal distance, node number, internode length, origin and position relative to...

Nitrogenous fertilisers – especially urea – are key inputs into many farming systems. With increasing restrictions on nitrogen fertiliser application, there is an urgent need to ensure that nitrogen is used effectively. One technology that has been developed to contribute to this challenge is variable-rate application (VRA) of fertiliser. The theor...

Vine pruning in vineyards is an important canopy management activity. It requires skill and experience to perform well and poor pruning results in low yield and can have a long‐term effect on the productivity of the vine. Automated systems usually rely on simplified pruning rules that need to be specified before operation and largely prune all vine...

New tools are required to provide estimates of pasture biomass as current methods are time consuming and labour intensive. This proof-of-concept study tested the suitability of photogrammetry to estimate pasture height in a grazed dairy pasture. Images were obtained using a digital camera from one site on two separate occasions (May and June 2017)....

A series of S-band radar scans of grape vines conducted over the growing season is presented. Despite covering the time frame from early development of grape berries to harvest, there is minimal observable change in the radar imagery. This observation along with theory of scattering demonstrate that microwave glare from shoots is the dominant featu...

Background: In-field measurement of yield and growth rate in pasture species is imprecise and costly, limiting scientific and commercial application. Our study proposed a LiDAR-based mobile platform for non-invasive vegetative biomass and growth rate estimation in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). This included design and build of the platfo...

Body condition score (BCS) is considered as one of the most important indices for managing dairy cows, which is used to evaluate fat cover and changes in body condition. Dairy farmers should be aware of their cows BCS to be able to identify the patient cows on time and manage diets when needed. In this study, we have introduced a new index which us...

Body condition score (BCS) is considered as one of the most important indices for managing dairy cows, which is used to evaluate fat cover and changes in body condition. Dairy farmers should be aware of their cows BCS to be able to identify the patient cows on time and manage diets when needed. In this study, we have introduced a new index which us...

Maize is grown predominantly for silage or gain in North Island, New Zealand. Precision agriculture allows management of spatially variable paddocks by variably applying crop inputs tailored to distinctive potential-yield limiting areas of the paddock, known as management zones. However, uptake of precision agriculture among in New Zealand maize gr...

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is the most important forage species in New Zealand and one of the most important species in Europe and Australia. A LIDAR-based tool for non-invasive estimation of plant biomass in perennial ryegrass field plots was developed with the aim to measure the variation for plant foliage yield among 12 cultivars. Ph...

To assess the variability of total soil nitrogen (TN) on grazed and irrigated pastures, TN was quantified from spatially distinct "areas" within the paddock (irrigated and non-irrigated areas, around the gates, and around the troughs) on two dairy farms located in Canterbury, New Zealand. During soil sampling, each area was subdivided and multiple...

Properties such as soil apparent electric conductivity (ECa), topography and other site-related data (e.g. canopy reflectance from aerial images) vary across field. The agronomic effects of such variability can sometimes be seen in the spatial variations of crop yield on that field. However, yield maps do not always represent the natural boundaries...

The quantification of spray mass has historically been accomplished by means of fluorescent dyes and various string and ground samplers to capture the dye-laden spray. However, these methods are typically not used in close proximity to orchard sprayers and are prone to many sources of error. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of...

In grazed dairy pastures, the largest N source for both nitrate (NO3−) leaching and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions is urine-N excreted by the animals. Additional application of N on urine patches as fertilizer may increase these losses. Identification of urine patches could reduce N losses in grazed pastures through more efficient fertilizer applica...

It is essential to know the movement of droplets in time and space (i.e. flux) when measuring and/or predicting spray drift in agricultural application. A study was performed to assess the flux measurements of a phase Doppler system against a standard monofilament system in a wind tunnel. The primary objectives of the study were to compare flux fro...

Reducing the amount of nitrogen (N) fertiliser applied to dairy pastures down to agronomically optimised levels would have positive economic and environmental results. The ability of commercially available optical sensors to estimate biomass yield and foliar-N uptake in pastures was investigated. Vegetative indices (Simple Ratio, SR; Water Index, W...

For precision nitrogen (N) fertilisation of grazed dairy paddocks, soil N distribution needs to be quantified. It is expected that farm infrastructure will affect inorganic-N distribution due to its influence on cow grazing behaviour. Surface soil from four spatially distinct areas (main gate, water troughs, non-irrigated and the remaining pasture)...

Knowing the water status of plants is required for precise irrigation. Evaporation of water through stomata cools the plant leaf while in low water status plants tend to restrict the evaporation which in turn increases the temperature of the plant. In this study it was tried to determine the possibility of recognition of the plant status via its th...

Spectral characteristics of barley were measured at five events during the growing season. Effects of the crop variety (two barley breeds) and three irrigation schemes (variation in the water supply in phases during the crop growth) caused variations in the measured data. Spectral sensors used in this study were TEC5 (Yara) sensor and JAI multispec...

The mass balance of orchard air-blast sprayers has historically been assessed using an array of samplers to capture airborne particles. However, these methods only provide an idea of flux with no other information which is pertinent to understand the movement of droplets and their potential to drift. While droplet analysis for agricultural sprayers...

Urban agriculture of the future – on inner-city buildings Urban agriculture is a major trend throughout the world at present – also in Germany. Within the “ZFarm” research project, researchers from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) joined forces with its partners Institute for Urban and Regional Planning (ISR) of Techni...

Commercial units of Active Optical Sensor (AOS) systems are designed for sensing arable crops to estimate the required amount of nitrogen fertiliser and are well established in intensive arable cropping systems in Europe. A research version AOS (RU-AOS) of a commercial system was tested as a potential canopy sensor for New Zealand dairy pastures. T...

Innovative forms of green urban architecture aim to combine food, production, and design to produce food on a larger scale in and on buildings in urban areas. It includes rooftop gardens, rooftop greenhouses, indoor farms, and other building-related forms (defined as “ZFarming”). This study uses the framework of sustainability to understand the rol...

The chapter introduces the peri-urban as a specific morphological type and explores the different dimensions of its dynamics. Scenarios for future possible development directions were also explored. This peri-urban zone is intimately associated with the transition from a completely urban structure to that of a rural nature and since it also involve...

Nach der EU-Richtlinie 2001/18/EC (European Community 2001) soll eine Koexistenz zwischen konventionell, ökologisch und mit Mitteln der Gentechnik erzeugtem Mais (GV-Mais) gewährleistet werden. Für den Anbau und für die Weiterverarbeitung soll die Entscheidungsfreiheit der Landwirte und Verbraucher offen gehalten werden. Somit muss in der Agrarland...

The assessment of the impacts of growing genetically modified (GM) crops remains a major political and scientific challenge in Europe. Concerns have been raised by the evidence of adverse and unexpected environmental effects and differing opinions on the outcomes of environmental risk assessments (ERA). The current regulatory system is hampered by...

Site-specific soil moisture and groundwater levels are key input parameters for ecological modeling. Obtaining such information in a comprehensive manner is difficult for large regions. We studied a floodplain region in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany, to examine the degree to which the average depth of groundwater tables can be derived f...

The assessment of the impacts of growing genetically modified (GM) crops remains a major political and scientific challenge in Europe. Concerns have been raised by the evidence of adverse and unexpected environmental effects and differing opinions on the outcomes of environmental risk assessments (ERA). The current regulatory system is hampered by...

The aim of this paper is to present the descriptive results of the survey responses that explore the perception of advanced information systems among four European countries: i.e. Denmark, Finland, Germany and Greece. The study evaluates the potential time savings associated with office tasks for information management and the likely adoption of ad...

DEUTSCH: Innovationen werden immer öfter als Motor der Regionalentwicklung angesehen und verwendet, um Regionen hinsichtlich Attraktivität, Marktpositionen, Investitionen, Arbeitsplätzen, Einwohner und Touristen zu entwickeln. Auch kann die Realisierung von Innovation den Regionen helfen, eine Abhebungsstrategie im überregionalen Wettbewerb zu real...

This study presents an integrated assessment approach for the sustainable development of agricultural landscapes. The approach evaluates single agricultural production practices by means of environmental, economic and social indicators. To implement the approach, a mixed method was employed that combines modelling techniques and survey methods. The...

The understanding of actual and potential data-flows in the practice of precision agriculture (PA) is an essential prerequisite for the optimisation and automation of information management in this field. As a contribution to this process, this paper presents an analysis of the data-flows within the work of a collaborative research project concerne...

Oxidation of pyrite by nitrate (autotrophic denitrification) was identified as the main cause for sulfate increase in drinking water wells in an agriculturally used watershed, located in the north of Lower Saxony (Germany). Nitrate, which inducts this microbial catalyzed process, is drained into ground water predominantly from agricultural fertiliz...

The suitability of randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD) for differentiation at the varietal and intravarietal level was tested on several hundred isolates of the Gaeumannomyces-Phialophora (G-P) complex from different geographic locations and host plants. Amplification products obtained using two decamer primers allowed differentiation betwee...

To facilitate weed suppression, oilseed rape or canola (Brassica napus) has been genetically modified (GM) over the last two decades to incorporate herbicide tolerance (HT). The introduction of oilseed rape in commercial agriculture raises concerns about potential adverse agronomic and environmental effects linked to both the genetic modification a...

According to EC regulations the deliberate release of genetically modified (GM) crops into the agro-environment needs to be accompanied by environmental monitoring to detect potential adverse effects, e.g. unacceptable levels of gene flow from GM to non-GM crops, or adverse effects on single species or species groups thus reducing biodiversity. The...

Als Hauptursache für den Sulfatanstieg in den Förderbrunnen konnte für ein Wasser-Einzugsgebiet die Pyritoxidation durch Nitrat identifiziert werden. Die ansteigenden Sulfatgehalte der Brunnenwässer im Untersuchungsgebiet können nur durch eine Verringerung der Nitratauswaschung in das Grundwasser aufgehalten werden. Auf der Basis von Simulationsrec...

Starting out from the results of extensive grassland experiments made in 40 years of professional work and from search in the relevant literature, an attempt was made to draw up a yield and quality model for grassland sites in the North-East German lowland area. For this, major influencing factors were evaluated and combined in a module by joining...

The oxidation of pyrite by nitrate was identified as the main cause of the increase in sulphate in wells for a watershed. The increasing concentration of sulphate in the wells of the investigated area can only be haltered by diminishing the nitrate leaching into the groundwater. On the basis of simulative calculations, scenarios were developed that...

The extent of damage to the host plant caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt) and var. graminis (Ggg) is a result of a net effect of host susceptibility and mycelium infectivity. The disease severity on cereal roots caused by G. graminis (Gg) fungi varies considerably depending on the genetic subtypes. Results of our rhizobox placemen...

A 6-year trial was laid out with varied PK fertilization on fen soil and analysed for the capability of undersown clover species to fix atmospheric nitrogen. No mineral nitrogen was applied. On an average of the six test years, the share of white clover in the total crop yield of the sward was 17% after sowing once and that of red clover or Swedish...

The identification of sustainable pathways for proper land use development will play a crucial role in future management of rural landscapes. While in the past, agriculture and forestry have been the predominant types of land use in most arable areas, an increasing number of further demands on land use and landscape functions have to be integrated...

In einem siebenjährigen Feldversuch wurde bei Grünlandflächen auf Niedermoor die Wirkung des Mulchens gegenüber der Mahd mit Flächenabräumung verglichen. Das durch Mulchen auf der Fläche verbleibende Mulchgut verrottet und führt die freigesetzten Nährstoffe dem Nährstoffkreislauf am Ursprungsort der Aufnahme zu. Das bewirkte Ertragserhöhungen der f...

This paper compares the results of simulations and measurements of evapotranspiration from cultivated fields in Middle Europe. The modelling system THESEUS (i.e. toolbox for hydro-ecological simulation and evaluation utilities) from and was used in this study. Evapotranspiration was also calculated from the latent heat flux density (LE) measured us...

The processes of energy and water exchange between the earth surface and atmosphere have a very significant influence on the microclimatic conditions and consequently, on plant production. Evapotranspiration is one of the most important processes that connect energy and water balance of a cultivated field with plant growth. This paper compares the...

A new group of darkly pigmented root-infecting fungi was isolated from cereal roots obtained from six different locations in northeastern Germany. Similar random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) patterns and restriction profiles of amplified rDNA were used as a basis for classifying the isolates in a separate group. The isolates demonstrating myceli...

The Guide will be overworked based on observations and experiences of chosen users to ensure a broad as possible practical relevance. Experiments which have already been implemented to address various questions cover the diversity of possibilities which result through that kind of approach for practice and advising.

The modelling system THESEUS (= Toolbox for Hydro-Ecological Simulation and Evaluation Utilities) from Wegehenkel (1997 a, 1998) was used in this study. Using this model, it is possible to estimate the evapotranspiration of a chosen agricultural field (or landscape) with one day time step. The value of evapotranspiration obtained by the model were...

The management systems of organic and integrated farming were analysed by scenario simulations with the integrated soil-crop model HERMES for 3 different soils and 2 sites with different climates regarding seepage, nitrogen leaching and nitrate concentration of the percolate. The results were used to estimate the effect of a successive extension of...

Die Steigerung der naturalen Erträge unserer Kulturpflanzen ist gegenwärtig kein wissenschaftlicher Arbeitsgegenstand der produktionsorientierten landwirtschaftlichen Forschung. Es bestehen häufig Bedenken, daß mit einer zunehmenden Ertragshöhe unerwünschte Wirkungen auf die Umwelt verbunden sind.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a method that includes explicit aims of both nature conservation and environmental protection in the management strategies of agricultural systems. Following methods of land use planning and farming systems analysis a decision support system was developed to simulate site specific cropping practices and asses...

A sustainability of land use systems can only be discussed, if biotic aspects of the landscape as well as regional, social, and economic aspects are integrated. Therefore, agriculture in the classical borders of fields or farms cannot be sustainable The goals for sustainability in a region can be defined, but there is not yet sufficient knowledge c...

Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden Ergebnisse eines langjährigen N‐Düngungsversuches auf Niedermoorgrünland dargestellt, wobei gestaffelte Stickstoffdüngung über 35 Jahre keinen gesicherten Einfluß auf einzelne Bodenkennwerte erkennen ließ. Bilanz‐ und Trendberechnungen zeigen, daß bei mittlerer N‐Düngung nur 60% des durch Pflanzen entzogenen Kaliums d...

The ongoing changes in agriculture are accompanied by changing objectives of land use due to increasing demands of non-agricultural functions of the rural environment, e.g. recreation, nature conservation, protection of natural resources, non agricultural economic goals, social issues etc. Therefore, in order to find 'best solutions', planning proc...

The effects on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Mario) of nine isolates of the Gaeumannomyces/Phialophora complex, ranging from non-pathogenic to pathogenic, were studied under different conditions of soil moisture, soil temperature, and photoperiod in growth chambers which simulated different autumn weather conditions. The experimental cond...

When considering the groundwater recharge rate in a landscape, conflicts between goals of land use (agriculture, forestry) and ecology become very distinct. On the other hand, existing knowledge about interactions between land use and groundwater recharge provides suitable preconditions to solve such conflicts. The potential groundwater recharge ra...

Neben der Gewinnung geogener Rohstoffe führt die land-und forstwirtschaftliche Landnutzung zu den bedeutendsten Eingriffen des Menschen in die oberste Erdkruste. So stellt mit 49% der Landesfläche in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland die Landwirtschaft den Hauptnutzer der Böden dar (Anonym 1995). Die von der Landwirtschaft auf diesen Böden durchgeführ...

Condensed abstract: The 'precision technologies' are an essential set of tools for local resource management, actually developed for modern agricultural land use. This approach basically provides information driven man-agement and it is judged as a key technology in developing sustainable land use systems. Not only will it provide site adapted econ...

Condensed abstract: The 'precision technologies' are an essential set of tools for local resource management, actually developed for modern agricultural land use. This approach basically provides information driven man- agement and it is judged as a key technology in developing sustainable land use systems. Not only will it provide site adapted eco...

This investigation aims in an estimation of potentials for the use of Precision Farming (PF) on regional scale in Europe. A potential analysis was conducted with the aid of literature and Europe-wide statistical data resulting in PF-potentials. Literature, which investigates the regional distribution of Precision Farming, is in the main focussing o...

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG In den Jahren 2008 bis 2010 wurden in Brandenburg, im Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V. in Müncheberg, N-Düngungsversuche mit Winterweizen und Winterroggen durch-geführt. Untersucht wurde, inwieweit Kornertrag und Stärkegehalt von Menge und Zeitpunkt der Düngung sowie der Art des Stickstoffdüngers abhängen. G...