Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia

Dmitry Borshchev; Vasily Rashkovich; Dmitry Rukhovich; Dmitry Shapovalov

doi:10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469

VAK Russia 4.1.3 UDC 631.4 UDC 631.8 UDC 528.8 UDC 004.8

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DELINEATION OF STABLE WITHIN-FIELD MANAGEMENT ZONES BASED ON REMOTE SENSING FOR PRECISION CROP PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY FROM THE FOREST-STEPPE ZONE OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia

АА Аа

Published in INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL · Issue 4 · Pages 469–474 · Rubric: Land relations and land management

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469

Received: 10.06.2026 Accepted: 22.07.2026 Published: 15.08.2026

Authors

Dmitry Borshchev

ORCID SPIN

Vasily Rashkovich

ORCID SPIN

Dmitry Rukhovich

ORCID SPIN

Dmitry Shapovalov

ORCID SPIN

Dmitry Borshchev

V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute; Agronaut LLC postgraduate student; chief technology officer · Russian Federation · Moscow

ORCID SPIN

Vasily Rashkovich

V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute; Agronaut LLC postgraduate student; head of agrotechnologies and geoanalytics department · Russian Federation · Moscow

ORCID SPIN

Dmitry Rukhovich

Academic degree: candidate of sciences in biology

V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute head of laboratory; leading researcher · Russian Federation · Moscow

ORCID SPIN

Dmitry Shapovalov

Academic degree: doctor of technical sciences

State University of Land Use Planning professor · Russian Federation · Moscow

ORCID SPIN

ABSTRACT

The article presents an approach to delineating stable within-field management zones based on multi-temporal remote sensing data, soil-landscape verification and farm-scale trials. The study was carried out on arable land of the Biryukov farm in the Bazarno-Karabulak district of the Saratov region in 2021–2025. The methodology included processing Landsat and Sentinel-2 data, constructing a stable within-field soil fertility heterogeneity map based on the ASF-index, using a bare soil surface map based on the C coefficient of the multitemporal soil line, soil-landscape survey, agrochemical verification and generation of prescription maps. The results showed that stable within-field zones differed not only in production potential but also in their response to technological inputs. Farm-scale trials confirmed that increasing or decreasing urea-ammonium nitrate and seeding rates was economically justified only when the fertility zone, crop and limiting factors were taken into account. Prescription maps showed the possibility of saving maize seed by 7.25–14.01%, sunflower seed by 10.65–14.35%, and redistributing fertilizers between zones without a significant change in total application volume. The proposed approach makes it possible to move from average field-level management to management of stable within-field zones, while yield measurements provide feedback for further adjustment of rates and refinement of zone ratings.

KEYWORDS

precision agriculture, remote sensing, ASF-index, within-field zones, bare soil surface, multitemporal soil line, variable-rate fertilization, variable-rate seeding

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Issue Editor

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Literary Editor

Marina G. Fomina

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GOST

Borshchev D. G., Rashkovich V. N., Rukhovich D. I., Shapovalov D. A. Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia // INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 2026. no. 4. pp. 469-474. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469. (Date of access 12.10.2026).

MLA

Dmitry Borshchev, Rashkovich V. N., Rukhovich D. I., Shapovalov D. A.. "Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia." INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL.4 (2026): 469-474. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469.

APA

Borshchev D. G., Rashkovich V. N., Rukhovich D. I., Shapovalov D. A. (2026). Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL(4), 469-474. https://doi.org/10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469

Chicago

Dmitry Borshchev, Rashkovich V. N., Rukhovich D. I., Shapovalov D. A.. "Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia." INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, no. 4 (2026): 469-474. https://doi.org/10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Borshchev D. G., Rashkovich V. N., Rukhovich D. I., Shapovalov D. A. | title = Delineation of stable within-field management zones based on remote sensing for precision crop production management: a case study from the forest-steppe zone of European Russia | journal = INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL | year = 2026 | issue = 4 | pages = 469-474 | doi = 10.55186/25876740_2026_69_4_469 }}

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