By Blake Jackson
On-farm research provides valuable insights for crop management, yet traditional designs like randomized complete block trials can be challenging to implement due to labor, equipment, and time constraints.
With modern yield monitors, the Single-Strip Spatial Evaluation Approach (SSEA) offers a practical alternative, comparing a single field-length treatment strip to two control strips using a spatial model.
This method accounts for current-year yield and existing field variability, reporting results by yield stability zones: Q1 (high, stable), Q2 (high, variable), Q3 (low, variable), and Q4 (low, stable).
Previously, SSEA analyses required support from NMSP staff. To make the method more accessible, a new free web-based tool (https://ssea-nmsp-tool.shinyapps.io/SSEA-tool-CornellNMSP/) automates analysis, provides visual outputs, and generates downloadable reports.
Developed with input from a statewide advisory committee, the tool includes four tabs: Inputs & Analysis, Results, Report, and About. Users upload strip locations, yield stability zone maps, temporal average yield layers, and current-year yield data. The interface features a satellite basemap, zoom tools, and layer checkboxes for easy navigation.
Once data is uploaded, the tool produces a donut plot showing the distribution of yield stability zones and a confidence chart summarizing the likelihood of yield gain or loss in each zone. Results are auto-interpreted in editable text boxes within a two-page report.
A case study in central New York demonstrated the tool’s effectiveness. A corn silage field trial showed the tested product increased yields in lower-yielding zones (Q3 and Q4) but not in higher-yielding zones (Q1 and Q2). Farmers can evaluate the economic value by combining yield benefits, field zone distribution, and application costs.
The SSEA tool enables growers to conduct more trials, target management changes effectively, and make data-driven decisions, helping improve on-farm research adoption and crop productivity over multiple fields and years.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-scharfsinn86
Categories: New York, Crops, Corn, Education