What challenge does "Corn Nitrogen Decision Support System that Incorporates Soil Moisture Interactions" address?

Low fertilizer nitrogen (N) use efficiency in corn (less than 50 percent) is an economic inefficiency with environmental consequences. Optimal fertilizer N rate in corn varies from year to year and in different areas, making it difficult to predict. Large temporal variation is demonstrated using data from an ongoing, long term trial. Low rates result in economic loss, while rates that are too high result in both economic losses and negative environmental impact. Existing corn N decision support tools have had little success in predicting spatial and temporal variation in N requirement, in large part because they do not consider moisture interactions, as variation in moisture is associated with optimal N rates.

Historically, data required to develop/test/validate improved corn decision support tools has been generated by researchers associated with academic institutions or government. Due to limited resources, development of the substantial data required is slow when this approach is used. Technologies are emerging that will enable farmers to participate in rapid generation of large amounts of nitrogen response data.