IRELAND'S cereal farmers may soon be using satellite information to grow their crops more efficiently, according to researchers at Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority.
The work is being carried out at the Oak Park Research Centre in Carlow by Prof Ralf Alcock, from the US, who is examining the suitability of this technology for Ireland.
It is known that even when wheat or barley crops appear uniform, grain yields can vary by a factor of above four from place to place within a field. Yet farmers continue to apply the same amount of fertilisers to all parts.
Prof Alcock is trying to develop a system which will enable farmers to apply fertiliser or other crop chemicals in sections of crops within a field using information from satellites.
"If machines are fitted with special signal receivers they can adjust the amount of fertiliser according to the requirements of any section within the field," he said.
He added that the satellite based technology could also be used for other inputs, such as chemicals used to control weeds, diseases and insects. These developments could lead to a drop in the costs of growing crops and less use of chemicals.
A yield monitor computer programme which translates the information supplied by satellite has been developed in the US and is already being used in crop growing there.