Yield Data Management in Rice Cultivation: The Greek Paradigm

In this work, a protocol for rice yield data management was established, comprising phases and routines for data collection, cleansing, calibration, homogenization, filtering, analysis, and visualization. Establishment of a protocol was found necessary, considering the different data sources, conditions, regulations, methods, and units employed each time for monitoring rice yield. The data were collected from yield monitors mounted on harvesters, covering extensive cultivated areas in the Axios River Plain, Greece, over a period of eight years. The data were stored, processed, and analyzed within a geographic information system (GIS), while the resulting enhanced yield maps were communicated to the farmers through a farm management information system (FMIS) available on the web. Analysis of the yield data indicates higher yields -both in production and monetary terms- in those rice farms where site-specific fertilization was applied, compared to the farms with conventional, uniform fertilization. The resulting protocol has become a functional part of a commercial precision agriculture service.