BIOGRAPHY

Prof Abdul M. Mouazen is a Senior Full Professor in precision soil and crop management and a group leader of the Precision SCoRing Group, Ghent University, Belgium. He has background in the application of engineering principles to soil and water management, with specific applications in soil dynamics, tillage, traction, compaction, mechanical weeding, soil remediation and management, with over 20-years' experience in the use of proximal soil sensing technologies for precision agricultural applications, he is a member of the working group on proximal soil sensing (WG-PSS) under the international union of soil science (IUSS). Prof Mouazen continues to coordinate several major projects and is a partner in several national and international projects. Also, a member of Editorial Boards of Soil & Tillage Research, Soil Research, Biosystems Engineering, Remote Sensing, Soil Systems and Geomatics, he has published over 200 papers in WoS journals, with a h-index of 42.  

SUMMARY

Proximal soil sensing, together with remote sensing technologies have shown to be valuable tools in precision agriculture. Other spectroscopy techniques, like visible and near infrared, is proven as the best candidate for in situ and on-line sensing modes, enabling large amount of data to be captured per unit area. When fused with crop and auxiliary data, recommendations for variable rate applications can be optimized for maximum crop yield and minimum environmental footprint. Even though advanced sensing, modelling and control technologies have been developed and are successfully demonstrated in arable farming, the adoption rate of precision agriculture technologies is still limited, because of scattered results on the socio-economic and environmental benefits. The potential of spectroscopy applications to optimize recommendations for variable rate applications will be presented. A gross margin range between 50 – 400 EUR/ha was calculated for variable rate fertilization, manure application and seeding in cereals and potato production systems. These proven economic profits are essential to increase farmers interest in adopting precision agriculture solutions in the short and mid-terms. Environmental benefits are also possible, particularly for variable rate manure applications and fertilization. The webinar will demonstrate how field spectroscopy plays a key role in achieving these targets with clear societal impacts. 

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