Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.

Wheat Grain Yield (GY) and quality are particularly susceptible to nitrogen (N) fertilizer management. However, in rain-fed Mediterranean environments, crop N requirements might be variable due to the effects of water availability on crop growth. Therefore, in-season crop N status assessment is need...

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Main Authors: Enric Fernández, Gil Gorchs, Lydia Serrano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211889
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spelling doaj-03d499753e5942f7b1acda78670200c32021-03-03T20:52:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01142e021188910.1371/journal.pone.0211889Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.Enric FernándezGil GorchsLydia SerranoWheat Grain Yield (GY) and quality are particularly susceptible to nitrogen (N) fertilizer management. However, in rain-fed Mediterranean environments, crop N requirements might be variable due to the effects of water availability on crop growth. Therefore, in-season crop N status assessment is needed in order to apply N fertilizer in a cost-effective way while reducing environmental impacts. Remote sensing techniques might be useful at assessing in-season crop N status. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of vegetation indices formulated using blue (B), green (G), red (R) and near-infrared (NIR) bands obtained with a consumer-grade camera to assess wheat N status. Chlorophyll Content Index (CCI) and fractional intercepted PAR (fIPAR) were measured at three phenological stages and GY and biomass were determined at harvest. Indices formulated using RG bands and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were significantly correlated with both CCI and fIPAR at the different phenological stage (0.71 < r < 0.81, P < 0.01). Moreover, indices formulated using RG bands were capable at differentiating unfertilized and fertilized plots. In addition, RGB indices and NDVI were found to be related to both crop biomass and GY at harvest, particularly when data were obtained at initial grain filling stage (r > 0.80, P < 0.01). Finally, RGB indices and NDVI obtained with a consumer-grade camera showed comparable capacity at assessing chlorophyll content and predicting both crop biomass and GY at harvest than those obtained with a spectroradiometer. This study highlights the potential of standard and modified consumer-grade cameras at assessing canopy traits related to crop N status and GY in wheat under Mediterranean conditions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211889
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Enric Fernández
Gil Gorchs
Lydia Serrano
spellingShingle Enric Fernández
Gil Gorchs
Lydia Serrano
Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Enric Fernández
Gil Gorchs
Lydia Serrano
author_sort Enric Fernández
title Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
title_short Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
title_full Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
title_fullStr Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
title_full_unstemmed Use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat N status and grain yield.
title_sort use of consumer-grade cameras to assess wheat n status and grain yield.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2019-01-01
description Wheat Grain Yield (GY) and quality are particularly susceptible to nitrogen (N) fertilizer management. However, in rain-fed Mediterranean environments, crop N requirements might be variable due to the effects of water availability on crop growth. Therefore, in-season crop N status assessment is needed in order to apply N fertilizer in a cost-effective way while reducing environmental impacts. Remote sensing techniques might be useful at assessing in-season crop N status. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of vegetation indices formulated using blue (B), green (G), red (R) and near-infrared (NIR) bands obtained with a consumer-grade camera to assess wheat N status. Chlorophyll Content Index (CCI) and fractional intercepted PAR (fIPAR) were measured at three phenological stages and GY and biomass were determined at harvest. Indices formulated using RG bands and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were significantly correlated with both CCI and fIPAR at the different phenological stage (0.71 < r < 0.81, P < 0.01). Moreover, indices formulated using RG bands were capable at differentiating unfertilized and fertilized plots. In addition, RGB indices and NDVI were found to be related to both crop biomass and GY at harvest, particularly when data were obtained at initial grain filling stage (r > 0.80, P < 0.01). Finally, RGB indices and NDVI obtained with a consumer-grade camera showed comparable capacity at assessing chlorophyll content and predicting both crop biomass and GY at harvest than those obtained with a spectroradiometer. This study highlights the potential of standard and modified consumer-grade cameras at assessing canopy traits related to crop N status and GY in wheat under Mediterranean conditions.
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211889
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