Plant Sciences Commons^™

Transmittance And Reflectance Measurements Of Corn Leaves From Plants With Different Nitrogen And Water Supply, James S. Schepers, T. M. Blackmer, Wallace Wilhelm, M. Resende

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen is essential for crop production, but also contributes to eutrophication of surface water and degradation of drinking water quality. Modern corn production requires relatively large quantities of N, which are generally supplied by fertilizers. Over-application of N fertilizers and animal wastes frequently results in nitrate leaching. Synchronizing N availability with crop N need offers the potential to protect the environment without sacrificing production. Tools are needed to rapidly and easily monitor crop N status to make timely decisions regarding fertilizer application. Analytical and optical techniques were evaluated with greenhouse grown corn at silking to evaluate several methods to monitor …