2. Exploiting spatio-temporal variability: intra-parcel modulation

Precision agriculture, as a scientific discipline, has generated knowledge about the spatio-temporal variability of agrosystems. Now that these are recognized, the question arises of how to take them into account in agricultural production systems. In other words, how can we adapt farming practices from "uniform" systems of conduct to more complex systems that recognize and exploit spatial and temporal variability? A clear distinction must therefore be drawn between the scientific discipline – precision agriculture – and the agricultural practices that stem from this discipline, the best known of which is spatial modulation (intra-plot, plot, farm... it all depends on the working scale chosen), i.e. the reasoning behind the production itinerary by following the variabilities observed in the field. This section focuses primarily on the practice of modulation, but many other practices can...