Optical Sensors May Someday Help Pinpoint In-Field Wheat Quality

Over the past decade, a USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agronomist in Pendleton, Ore., has been testing various instruments that may one day help farmers quickly pinpoint the precise location of high-quality wheat.

Dan Long started testing wheat-quality measuring devices while teaching at Montana State University, and he has continued that work at the ARS Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center in Pendleton. He is currently working with two firms to develop and test spectroscopic devices that use fiber optics and near-infrared light to measuring protein concentration of grain. Attached to a combine, the device measures the protein content of wheat during the harvesting operation.

In addition to protein, the optical sensors can measure fat, oil, carbohydrate and moisture levels in grain. By knowing this information, farmers may one day be able to segregate grain during harvest and transfer operations, based on the grain’s specific qualities. As with many other crops, a single field of wheat can produce grain with significant variations in quantity and quality.

Long will continue testing for grain quality and also hopes to use information from the optical sensors to study crop residue levels. The sensors probably will not be commercially available for another year or two.

The sensor-derived information technology may some day help farmers with fertilizer management, since soil nitrogen and protein levels are correlated. They would be able to tell which sections of fields already have enough nitrogen, helping them save money on fertilizer applications and apply precisely what’s needed.

As well, the technology would assist farmers to pinpoint exact locations in their fields that buyers desire, which may help them achieve a price premium.