The use of precision agriculture tools implies on managing resources aiming to improve yield with the same amount or with reduction on inputs. Among the techniques for variable rate application, one is based on the spatial variability of available nutrients in the soil. The objective of this research is to adapt and test a methodology to evaluate the usefulness of application zones for fertilizer and seed rates for corn, done with a planter properly equipped and test it against a fix rate in terms of yield improvement and input savings. Three experiments were conducted. In two of them the rate of a NPK formula was applied with different strip width methodologies and in the third experiment the seed rate was varied. Results demonstrated that the use of wide strips is more practical than plancter width strips and controllers have to be connected to a GPS receiver for automatic rate changes. Also, the application of NPK formulas, considering just one element for recommendation caused nutritional unbalances to the crop.
precision agriculture; zone management; variable rate technology
