Yara expands the features of the Atfarm application and implements an unprecedented nitrogen absorption map

Developed in 2019 by Yara, a plant nutrition company, Atfarm, a digital tool for monitoring crops and applying nitrogen fertilizers at a variable rate, has just been improved with the new “Biomass Comparison” function.

The new resource provides a comparison of the plot to detect changes in biomass during a determined period, making it possible to monitor the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization on the transformation of biomass.

The comparison can be presented by “N-Uptake”, a new map on the market, developed by the Company to visually show the accumulated absorption of nitrogen by plants on a specific day. The map contains different colors that indicate whether the nitrogen level in each location is high or low, helping to identify anomalies in crops and bringing more precision and assertiveness in the use of fertilizers.

“Better understanding the demand for nitrogen in different parts of the field allows the farmer to be more productive within the same active hectare. And this is our mission at Yara, to help producers produce more, optimizing resources and contributing to a more sustainable food future”, says Rafael Tabasnik, Senior Incubation Manager at Yara Brasil.

The “N-Uptake” map is available for several crops, such as sugar cane, wheat, corn, oats, barley, cotton and potatoes. For each crop there are specific stages where N absorption values ​​are most needed.

The calculation of nitrogen absorption in the field measured in kilos of N per hectare (kg N/ha) is made from satellite images, without clouds. “N-Uptake” shows the nitrogen absorption of the field, where each pixel is associated with a concentrated value of the nutrient, which allows identifying the variation in nitrogen absorption within a field, an innovative function on the market.

“The proposal is not to show the exact amount of N in each point of the plot, but to indicate whether the variability is high, represented on the map with more colors, or low, with a greater predominance of a single color”, adds Tabasnik.

Atfarm's new feature is complementary to the N-Sensor monitoring system, an algorithm developed with Yara's expertise and which allows for more precise images, facilitating field analysis and the creation of nitrogen fertilizer application maps at variable rates.

For more information about the Atfarm precision agriculture app and its features, visit the app clicking here.