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a Dep. of Soil and Crop Sci., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523
b Dep. of Agric. and Resour. Econ., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523
* Corresponding author (rkhosla{at}colostate.edu)
Received for publication August 25, 2003. Variable-rate technology (VRT) has been developed to variably apply crop inputs to manage in-field variability. Although growers have begun to adopt VRT, its profitability is uncertain in N management. The objective of this study was to assess the economics of uniform vs. variable-rate N fertilizer application under two N application scenarios (farmer vs. custom applications). On-farm studies were conducted on two continuous corn (Zea mays L.) fields in northeastern Colorado under furrow and center-pivot irrigation during the 2000 and 2001 growing seasons. The N management strategies were uniform, grid-based, site-specific management zone–constant yield goal (SSMZ-CYG) and site-specific management zone–variable yield goal (SSMZ-VYG). "Profit and loss" software was used to analyze the economics of each N management strategy and determine which N strategy was most profitable. Results from three site-years consistently indicated that less total N fertilizer (6–46%) was used with the SSMZ-VYG N management strategy when compared with uniform N management. Net returns from the SSMZ-VYG N management strategy were $18.21 to $29.57 ha–1 more than uniform N management. Results of this study suggest variable-rate N application utilizing site-specific management zones are more economically feasible than conventional uniform N application.
Abbreviations: GIS, geographic information systems • OM, organic matter • SSMZ, site-specific management zone • SSMZ-CYG, site-specific management zone–constant yield goal • SSMZ-VYG, site-specific management zone–variable yield goal • VRT, variable-rate technology
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