Search

Cleaning yield monitor observations to remove erroneous points can improve the accuracy of yield estimates used for farm record keeping or on‐farm research data collection, but current practices are time‐intensive and cumbersome. cleanRfield is an open‐source R package to improve the efficiency of processing spatial agricultural data such as yield maps. Compared with current standard yield monitor data cleaning solutions, cleanRfield can read and interpret a broader range of input data formats. Other key features of cleanRfield include automatic field boundary delineation and batch processing of data from multiple fields. In this Scientific Note, we overview functions within the cleanRfield package and introduce an integrative pipeline to evaluate and visualize yield monitor data. The package is being distributed under the GNU General Public License 2, and a more detailed tutorial including downloading instructions is available at https://github.com/filipematias23/cleanRfield. Core Ideas: cleanRfield is an open‐source tool for cleaning and filtering yield maps using R language.cleanRfield easily builds vector polygon files and rasters of field boundaries from yield maps.cleanRfield reads and interprets shapefiles, CSVs, or text files.cleanRfield provides an integrative pipeline to evaluate and visualize yield monitor data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting no-till planting can have many soil health benefits and cost savings but may present challenges with respect to planter performance. Aftermarket attachments such as hydraulic row unit down force and closing wheels have been hypothesized to overcome the challenges of uneven planting depth and poor furrow closure due to residue within the field. In addition, starter fertilizer could improve early season growth in cooler soil conditions. This study evaluated the effect of closing wheel type, row unit down force, and starter fertilizer on corn (Zea mays L.) emergence and yield across soil types and micro-climates within Wisconsin. Aftermarket closing wheels were compared to a standard (rubber) factory provided one, within two down force settings (Low at 333 N and High at 667 N) and liquid starter fertilizer (0 and 47 L ha-1 of 7-21-7). The standard rubber closing wheel with high down force resulted in lower emergence compared to the low setting (p = .013). No effect of starter fertilizer was observed on either emergence or yield. Aftermarket wheels resulted in greater emergence regardless of down force setting, which might appear to be an advantage from an operator point of view, but greater corn emergence did not result in greater yield. These and other factors should be considered when selecting closing wheels for a particular set of seeding conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]