Research farm management in agricultural experimental
stations requires effective use of geographical
information on farm layout, field boundaries, location
of buildings, roads, irrigation channels, wells and electric
lines, together with information facilities like farm
machinery, livestock, etc. and the planned crop field
experiments. The field experiment data will include
details of crop and variety information, field preparation
and input applications. Record-keeping of such
information is laborious, time-consuming and cumbersome
process. It also becomes difficult to maintain
these records over time, when evaluating the effectiveness
of changes in management plans. Advances in
information technology allow agricultural experimental
farms to acquire large amount of farm data more
efficiently. Geospatial technologies can enhance the efficacy
incorporating traditional IT information management
tools for farm management. This study
presents the design and application of a web-based
spatial decision support system (SDSS) for experimental
farm management using open-source GIS. This
prototype SDSS allows farm managers, researchers
and students to explore and access land-use options,
fertilizer and pesticide applications, and track and
visualize historical data of weather, input use, pest
infestation and yield by field plots for better farm
management