Remote Sensing and Kriging with External Drift to Improve Sparse Proximal Soil Sensing Data and Define Management Zones in Precision Agriculture

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article entitled "Remote sensing and kriging with external drift to improve sparse proximal soil sensing data to define management zones in precision agriculture" is well written and the scientific methods and statistics are sound. Minor revision is needed in English writing, but I suggest a proofreading will be needed. 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The article entitled "Remote sensing and kriging with external drift to improve sparse proximal soil sensing data to define management zones in precision agriculture" is well written and the scientific methods and statistics are sound. Minor revision is needed in English writing, but I suggest a proofreading will be needed. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer.

Thanks for the review. We have prepared a dedicated document to present our response to you. Also, please note in the submitted version our in-text corrections considering your suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors of the article titled Remote Sensing and Kriging with External Drift to Improve Sparse Proximal Soil Sensing Data to Define Management Zones in Precision Agriculture addressed the issue related to precision agriculture.

Real-time soil quality measurements are the subject of research by many scientists. And their accuracy affects not only yields, but also soil quality and, therefore, environmental protection.

In the work, the authors presented the obtained research results in a clear form of charts, maps and tables.

The question is whether these sensors only work in Brazilian conditions or can they be used in soils all over the world? I think it is worth making this remark in the summary of the work.

Author Response

Dear reviewer.

Thanks for the review. We have prepared a dedicated document to present our response to you. Also, please note in the submitted version our in-text corrections considering your suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

General Comment

Before submission, authors need to check the Checklist:

- Review the structure and organization of the article (Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions that meet the objectives).

- Tables and figures should be self-explanatory and correctly mentioned in the text.

- Is the discussion current and sufficient?

- Make sure the conclusions highlight the research.

- Check that all references are in the text

 General comment to the authors of this article

The article is quite interesting and falls within the scope of the journal.

The structure and presentation of the article needs improvement, following the reviewer's recommendations.

The introduction does a good job of reviewing the literature, but it is a little lacking in objectivity and could present the aim of the study more directly.

In the Introduction - line 50 to expand the context and include reference to Brazil - ...regulation of soil, fertilizer, water use, animal production, and social and economic equity [2, Cesca].

Cesca, R. S., Santos, R. C., Goes, R. H. D. T., Favarim, A. P. C., Oliveira, M. S. G. D., & Silva, N. C. D. (2021). Thermal comfort of beef cattle in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Ciência e Agrotecnologia, 45. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-7054202145008321

 The methodology is very detailed, but the sections could be summarized to make reading more fluid. It contains unnecessary information.

 Line 286 – (to better justify two mappings)

As observed by Silva et al. (2020), different interpolation methods can generate more reliable thematic maps to represent specific areas, especially in locations with limited sampling units. Thus, two sections …

 Silva, N. C. D., Santos, R. C., Zucca, R., Geisenhoff, L. O., Cesca, R. S., & Lovatto, J. (2020). Enthalpy thematic map interpolated with spline method for management of broiler chicken production. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 24, 431-436. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n7p431-436

 Enhance conclusions. The conclusions are too long and repetitive. And there are no clear indications of the implications of the results and the practical applicability of the study.

Insert some current citations that I'm providing to make the article more robust.

Some of the pictures have a very different font size than that recommended by the magazine.

“…in similar studies by Fulton et al. (2011) and Islam et al. (2011) [61,62].” – line 498?

Line 587 - Figure 71? And where is Figure 7?

Does the article only have "Results"? Where are the "Discussions"? The Discussion. section of this article needs to be significantly improved with current references.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The article has some grammatical slips, mainly in the use of articles, prepositions, and verb agreement. The choice of words could also be more fluent and idiomatic to be closer to the native speaker.

Author Response

Dear reviewer.

Thanks for the review. We have prepared a dedicated document to present our response to you. Also, please note in the submitted version our in-text corrections considering your suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf