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September 17, 2018

Understanding protein variability in Canadian fields

by Phil Clancy, Next Instruments, Australia

Plants produce seeds in order to propagate themselves, i.e. reproduce themselves. Seeds are composed of carbohydrates, which includes sugars, starches and fibre, as well as proteins, oil and moisture.


Proteins are made up of amino acids which contain Nitrogen and Sulphur. As such measuring protein in seeds provides a measurement of the amount of Nitrogen in the seeds. Approximately 17 percent of the proteins is Nitrogen and 3.5 percent Sulphur. For every tonne of seeds stripped from the field, then there is approximately 15 to 50kg of Nitrogen and two to seven kg of Sulphur removed from the soil.
 

Understanding the variability of protein across the field relates directly to the amount of Nitrogen that was available for the plant’s growth and seed development. By measuring the protein and yield in real time as the seeds are stripped in the field, then maps can be generated for Protein, Yield, Nitrogen Removal and Protein/Yield Correlation. These maps and the associated data provide the ability to develop more accurate Variable Rate Nitrogen and Sulphur Fertilization prescription maps.

However, many farmers have never seen data that shows how much variability in protein actually exists within their fields. This paper presents examples from three Canadian farms showing Protein, Yield, Nitrogen Removal and Protein/Yield Correlation Maps.

Description
The CropScan 3000H On Combine Analyser is the new piece of the Precision Agriculture puzzle. Yield Maps have been available for more than 10 years but few farmers use them to develop VRF prescriptions. Yield by itself does not provide a complete understanding of the availability and uptake of Nitrogen and Sulphur by the plants. By combining Yield with Protein, then a more complete picture of how the plant has used the available Nitrogen is available and thereby a more accurate VFR prescription can be developed.

Steve Larocque, Beyond Agriculture, Calgary, Alberta, has used the CropScan 3000H to measure protein in barley. As a leading agronomist, Steve has pointed out that to achieve the correct Yield in wheat and barley, then the Protein in the seeds should be between 11.5 -12.5 percent. 


Read the full article in the Milling and Grain website, HERE.
 

The Global Miller
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which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


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