N-Sensor™, how does it work?

The N-Sensor™ is the fruit of agronomic and technologic research performed at the Yara Research Center in Hanninghof, Germany.

More than a thousand Yara N-Sensor units are currently in use throughout the world. Farmers choose the N-Sensor for its reliability and documented benefit. But how does it actually work?

Working principle

The Yara N-Sensor™ is an optical device. It measures light reflectance from the crop canopy in different spectral ranges, using either ambient light (classic N-Sensor) or in-built light sources (N-Sensor™ ALS). The system is designed to work continuously at normal tractor speed, scanning two strips of approximately 3 meters width on both sides of the tractor.

The N-Sensor provides reliable and representative readings. The artificial light sources on the N-Sensor ALS make it suitable for nighttime operations. The measured reflectance contains information on chlorophyll content and biomass. Both indicators are used to calculate nitrogen uptake and optimum application rates. The information is sent to the spreader controller. Spreading rate is adjusted instantaneously to actual crop needs.