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Press Release
December 5, 2003
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Related Contact:
Bruce Lewis
NTech Industries, Inc.
1-707-964-3844
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Researchers Will Demonstrate Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Winter Wheat
Lexington, Kentucky - University of Kentucky agronomists have purchased the USDA award-winning GreenSeeker variable rate fertilizer application system in an effort to boost nitrogen use efficiency in cooperators' wheat fields in the western part of the state.
"GreenSeeker is one of the only precision agricultural device on the market today that senses a plant's need and makes a decision in real time to apply fertilizer," explained Greg Schwab, Ph.D., an Extension Soil Management Specialist at the University of Kentucky. "Other devices are used to gather information, including satellite data, but require going back to a desk and making calculations to determine optimal nitrogen application rates."
Schwab said he will use GreenSeeker this spring when winter wheat is jointing to determine if grain yield can be increased with less nitrogen. "There are both agronomic and environmental reasons to strive for maximum nitrogen efficiency in Kentucky wheat," said Schwab.
In 2002, USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman hailed GreenSeeker as "the most revolutionary method for fertilizing crops in a century." and presented her Secretary's Award to the GreenSeeker development team at Oklahoma State University (OSU).
Schwab said the University of Kentucky purchased a hand-held GreenSeeker unit for small scale crop research and a 20-foot field unit with eight GreenSeeker optical sensors for applying fertilizer in cooperators' wheat fields.
About GreenSeeker
GreenSeeker emits and captures infrared and near infrared beams of light that measure the color and health of crop plants, then delivers, in a fraction of a second, the precise amount of fertilizer needed for maximum yield. The system works equally well day or night when reduced wind drift eliminates over spraying.
"GreenSeeker has been tested in farmer winter wheat fields with nitrogen use efficiencies improved by more than 20% and farmer revenue increased by $10-18 per acre," says Bill Raun, Ph.D., an OSU agronomist who helped develop GreenSeeker. "In addition to the savings in fertilizer, GreenSeeker, which recognizes and treats each two-foot-square area in farmer fields based on a predicted yield potential, can actually increase cereal grain yields using less nitrogen."
The current methods of applying fertilizers in farmer fields is to apply a flat or uniform rate to the entire field based on a yield goal or the amount of crop you hope to grow, according to Raun.
NTech Industries, headquartered in Ukiah, California, is the world leader in optical sensors for agricultural research, precision fertilizer applications, and weed and pest control for farm, military and civilian uses. NTech products represent break-through technology with important revenue generation and environmental benefits.
Information on the company and its products are available on the Internet at www.ntechindustries.com.
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