Method of fertilizer application
AssigneeIboco, Inc.
InventorsAndrey V. Skotnikov, Donald E. McGrath
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic soil sampler (10) removes soil samples (65) at known locations and transfers the samples to a packaging station (23) where the samples are packaged and identified. The packages (87) are left in a strip and moved to an analysis workstation (219) for analysis of soil. The results of analysis of each soil sample (65) is used for determining applications of a materials such as fertilizer in that same local region as the region where the soil sample was taken with an applicator (11B) moving over the same field.
Claims10
A method of determining material to apply to and in soil, such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and seed, by first operating a machine which has a probe for obtaining soil samples and a packaging mechanism on the machine for receiving the obtained soil samples as the machine is moved along the ground, the soil samples being removed along paths at known, identifiable repeatable locations in a field at close intervals to obtain individual soil samples at each of the repeatable locations;
- operating the packing mechanism to receive each soil sample sequentially from the probe and automatically individually packaging each sample from each location in a closed package formed on the machine;
- collecting the packages and providing an identifier for each package to the identifiable location from which the respective soil sample was obtained;
- transporting the packages to a soil analyzer station;
- analyzing each sample at the automated soil analyzer station and determining the needs of each soil sample of a selected material to be applied for the soil to reach a desired condition for the particular material;
- statistically processing information from the analyzing and determining steps and creating of a program of applying determined quantities of application of the selected material while maintaining the identifier for the identifiable location;
- and
- applying the material in a local region of a field substantially along the first mentioned paths based on the identifier for the identifiable for each soil sample location along the respective path of each soil sample as a function of the program created.
A method of selectively applying material such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and seed, to soil in a field comprising the steps of:
- sampling the soil along a series of paths in the field at identifiable, known sequential locations at close intervals to obtain individual identifiable soil samples for each location in a sequence with a sampling machine that moves over the ground;
- depositing the soil samples between two sheets of movable heat sealable material mounted on the sampling machine and individually packaging the samples from each sequential location while maintaining packages in the sequence and identified with respect to the identifiable location, including the steps of merging said sheet portions of material together, and the packaging step including heat sealing the sheet portions to enclose the soil sample in an individual identifiable sealed package on the machine;
- moving the packages to an analyzer and analyzing each soil sample to determine the needs of each soil sample of a selected material to be applied for the field to reach a desired condition for the selected material in the identifiable location of the soil samples;
- statistically processing information relating to the determined quantities of application of the selected material and creating a control program of applying material at each location in the field using a material applying vehicle responsive to the control program;
- and
- retracing the path and applying the material under control of the control program in a local region of the field at the identifiable location where each respective soil sample was obtained.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.