Optimum Nitrogen Fertilization of Winter Wheat Based on Color Digital Camera Images

Abstract

Site‐specific nitrogen (N) fertilizer management based on soil N_min (soil mineral N) and the plant N status (sap nitrate analysis and chlorophyll meter (SPAD) reading test) has been shown to be effective in decreasing excessive N inputs for winter wheat in the North China Plain, but the multiple sampling of soil and plants in individual fields is too time‐consuming and costly for producers and farmers. In this study, a color digital camera was used to capture wheat canopy images at a specific growth stage to assess N needs. Treatments included a farmer's N treatment (typical farmer practice), an optimum N treatment (N application based on soil–plant testing), and four treatments without N (one to four cropping seasons without any N fertilizer input). Digital images were analyzed to get red, green, and blue color‐band intensities for each treatment. Normalized intensities of the red, green, and blue color bands were well correlated with soil N_min, SPAD readings, sap nitrate concentration, and total N concentration of winter wheat. This research indicated the potential of using a digital camera as a tool combined with an improved N_min method to make N fertilizer recommendations for larger fields.

Keywords:

• Green intensity
• image analysis
• nitrogen‐use efficiency
• wheat

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, P. R. China (Project number: 30390084) and the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).