US-12620096-B2 - Crop yield component map

US12620096B2US 12620096 B2US12620096 B2US 12620096B2US-12620096-B2

Abstract

Embodiments relate to a system that generates a crop yield component map for a field. The system determines amounts of nitrogen applied to each portion of the field by a set of nitrogen applicator farming machines. The system accesses crop yield data associated with a crop that was grown in the field. The crop yield data was generated by a set of harvester farming machines that travelled through the field and harvested plant parts of the crop. The system determines, by analyzing the crop yield data, plant part metrics for the harvested plant parts in each field portion. The system generates a crop yield component map that maps, for each field portion, a plant part metric associated with the field portion and an amount of nitrogen applied to the field portion. The component map may then be provided for display.

Inventors

William Louis Patzoldt
Lee Kamp Redden
John Chadwick Yagow

Assignees

DEERE & COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240723

Claims (16)

1 . A method comprising: receiving data of a crop yield component map that maps, for a field portion in a field, plant part metrics corresponding to harvested plant parts in the field portion and amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during a first agricultural cycle including sprouting and harvesting of a crop in the field; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a first amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a first sub-time period of a second agricultural cycle, wherein the second agricultural cycle occurs after the first agricultural cycle; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a second amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle, wherein the second sub-time period occurs after the first sub-time period; and at least one of: wherein the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle occurs before seeds of the crop sprout; or wherein the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle occurs after seeds of the crop sprout.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising instructing a farming machine to apply the first amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising instructing the farming machine or another farming machine to apply the second amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: instructing an agricultural manager of the field (a) to apply the first amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle and (b) to apply the second amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
5 . A method comprising: receiving data of a crop yield component map that maps, for a field portion in a field, plant part metrics corresponding to harvested plant parts in the field portion and amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during a first agricultural cycle including sprouting and harvesting of a crop in the field; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a first amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a first sub-time period of a second agricultural cycle, wherein the second agricultural cycle occurs after the first agricultural cycle; and determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a second amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle, wherein the second sub-time period occurs after the first sub-time period, wherein the amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during the first agricultural cycle of the crop yield component map includes: a third amount of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion by a first farming machine during a first sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle, wherein the first sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle occurred before sprouting of the crop in the field; and a fourth amount of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion by a second farming machine during a second sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle that occurred subsequent to the first sub-time period, wherein the second sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle occurred after sprouting and before harvesting of the crop in the field.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the first amount of nitrogen is determined based on (a) a first metric of the plant part metrics and (b) the third amount of nitrogen.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the second amount of nitrogen is determined based on (a) a second metric of the plant part metrics and (b) the fourth amount of nitrogen.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein: the crop is corn; the first metric is the average number of kernels on a cob; and the second metric is the average weight or size of each kernel.
9 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, causes the computer system to perform operations comprising: receiving data of a crop yield component map that maps, for a field portion in a field, plant part metrics corresponding to harvested plant parts in the field portion and amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during a first agricultural cycle including sprouting and harvesting of a crop in the field; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a first amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a first sub-time period of a second agricultural cycle, wherein the second agricultural cycle occurs after the first agricultural cycle; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a second amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle, wherein the second sub-time period occurs after the first sub-time period; and at least one of: wherein the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle occurs before seeds of the crop sprout; or wherein the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle occurs after seeds of the crop sprout.
10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , further comprising instructing a farming machine to apply the first amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , further comprising instructing the farming machine or another farming machine to apply the second amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , further comprising: instructing an agricultural manager of the field (a) to apply the first amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the first sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle and (b) to apply the second amount of nitrogen to the field portion during the second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle.
13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, causes the computer system to perform operations comprising: receiving data of a crop yield component map that maps, for a field portion in a field, plant part metrics corresponding to harvested plant parts in the field portion and amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during a first agricultural cycle including sprouting and harvesting of a crop in the field; determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a first amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a first sub-time period of a second agricultural cycle, wherein the second agricultural cycle occurs after the first agricultural cycle; and determining, based on the data of the crop yield component map, a second amount of nitrogen to apply to the field portion during a second sub-time period of the second agricultural cycle, wherein the second sub-time period occurs after the first sub-time period, wherein the amounts of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion during the first agricultural cycle of the crop yield component map includes: a third amount of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion by a first farming machine during a first sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle, wherein the first sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle occurred before sprouting of the crop in the field; and a fourth amount of nitrogen previously applied to the field portion by a second farming machine during a second sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle that occurred subsequent to the first sub-time period, wherein the second sub-time period of the first agricultural cycle occurred after sprouting and before harvesting of the crop in the field.
14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the first amount of nitrogen is determined based on (a) a first metric of the plant part metrics and (b) the third amount of nitrogen.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the second amount of nitrogen is determined based on (a) a second metric of the plant part metrics and (b) the fourth amount of nitrogen.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein: the crop is corn; the first metric is the average number of kernels on a cob; and the second metric is the average weight or size of each kernel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/583,110, filed Jan. 24, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,067,718, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/294,050, “Crop Yield Component Map,” filed on Dec. 27, 2021, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure This disclosure relates to applying nitrogen to portions of a farming field, and, more specifically, to generating and using a crop yield component map to determine amounts of nitrogen to apply to the field. Description of the Related Art Growing and cultivating a crop in a farming field typically includes applying nitrogen (e.g., in fertilizer) to the field. This can help plants grow faster and produce more crops. The nitrogen is typically applied once during an agricultural cycle. It is also typically applied equally across a field. However, nitrogen is expensive and can account for a significant portion of the expenditures for growing a crop. Thus, applying nitrogen equally across the field may be an inefficient use of the nitrogen and other resources. SUMMARY To increase the efficiency of nitrogen usage for an agricultural cycle, a system generates a crop yield component map based on data from a past agricultural cycle. To generate the component map, the system determines amounts of nitrogen applied to each portion of a field by a set of nitrogen applicator farming machines during a first time period. The system also accesses crop yield data associated with a crop that was grown in the field during the past agricultural cycle. The crop yield data was generated by a set of harvester farming machines that travelled through the field and harvested plant parts of the crop during a second time period subsequent to the first time period. The system determines, by analyzing the crop yield data, metrics for the plant parts that were harvested in each field portion. For example, the system determines metrics that may include the sizes of the plant parts, the weights of the plant parts, and the total number of plant parts harvested from each field portion. Using the nitrogen amounts and the plant part metrics, the system generates a crop yield component map that maps, for each field portion, one or more plant part metrics associated with the field portion and an amount of nitrogen applied to the field portion. The crop yield component map allows an agricultural manager of the field to compare, for each field portion, plant part metrics with the amounts of nitrogen applied. This allows the manager to better understand the agricultural cycle for the harvested crop. It also allows the manager to make informed farming decisions for subsequent agricultural cycles. In some embodiments, nitrogen is applied multiple times during the first time period to promote additional growth. For example, a set of farming machines apply nitrogen during a first sub-time period (e.g., before the seed is planted) and apply addition nitrogen at a second sub-time period (e.g., after the crop has sprouted). In these embodiments, the system may determine the amounts of nitrogen applied during each of the sub-time periods, and the crop yield component map may map the amounts of nitrogen applied during each of these sub-time periods. This allows the agricultural manager to determine how much nitrogen was applied during each sub-time period (instead of just the total amount of nitrogen applied). Applying nitrogen at different phases of the agricultural cycle may influence plant part metrics of the crop differently. For example, a first plant part metric may be strongly influenced by the amount of nitrogen applied during the first sub-time period and different plant part metric may be strongly influenced by the amount of nitrogen applied during the second sub-time period. To give a more specific example, if the crop is corn, the number of kernels on a cob may be influenced by the amount of nitrogen applied during the first sub-time period and the size and weight of each kernel on a cob may be influenced by the amount of nitrogen applied during the second sub-time period. Thus, if the crop yield component map maps the amounts of nitrogen applied during each of these sub-time periods, the agricultural manager can better understand the influence of nitrogen on different plant part metrics and can apply nitrogen more intentionally and efficiently during future agricultural cycles. For brevity, this disclosure describes the application of nitrogen. However, embodiments described herein may be applicable to other applied substances, such as growth promoters and growth regulators. Embodiments described herein may also be applicable to other agricultural considerations, such as planting density. For example, an agricultural manager may better understand the influence of planting density (e.g., the number of seeds planted per acre) on different plant part metr