Soil Acidity Differences in Cotton

 The seven color classified image above shows a cotton field in North Alabama. This field is under pivot irrigation with nitrogen water. The pH tends to drop faster under the pivot compared to outside of the pivot. The areas marked in the image shows areas that have been watered by the end-gun of he pivot system. Not all brown or beige spots in the field are related to low pH.
       To correct the low pH problem the grower will apply higher rates of lime under the pivot compared to outside the pivot. However, this image shows that the lime application in the areas indicated by the arrows have not been enough to correct the problem. The grower has not extended the lime application far enough outside the pivot to account for the end-gun.
       In the field it would have been hard to detect these spots unless someone covered the whole field. An image like this can help growers to optimize crop production in a far more time and cost efficient way than ever before.

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