As a general rule, colour differences in a standing crop of wheat usually mean a difference in the yield and a variation in the quality of grain. And in any fields with varying soil types, the difference can be very noticeable. This was certainly the case when we caught up with Crivitz Agricultural in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in North East Germany, where a New Holland CR8.90 was busy at work.
Not only was the combine equipped with a GNSS receiver and yield mapping software, but the rotary harvester was also fitted with the NutriSense NIRS system — the key reason for our visit. On the IntelliView IV display, we could see how both the yield and protein content varied within the field: there were patches where the yield dipped to around 2t/ha and others where it peaked at 7t/ha — admittedly not big yields, but this is
