Abstract
Corn stalk lodging is caused by different factors, including severe wind storms, stalk cannibalization, and stalk rots, and it leads to yield loss. Determining how to rapidly evaluate corn lodging resistance will assist scientists in the field of crop breeding to understand the contributing factors in managing the moisture, chemical fertilizer, and weather conditions for corn growing. This study proposes a non-destructive and direction-insensitive method, using a strain sensor and two single axis angle sensors to measure the corn stalk lodging resistance in the field. An equivalent force whose direction is perpendicular to the stalk is utilized to evaluate the corn lodging properties when a pull force is applied on the corn stalk. A novel measurement device is designed to obtain the equivalent force with the coefficient of variation (CV) of 4.85%. Five corn varieties with two different planting densities are arranged to conduct the experiment using the novel measurement device. The experimental results show that the maximum equivalent force could reach up to 44 N. A strong relationship with the square of the correlation coefficient of 0.88 was obtained between the maximum equivalent forces and the corn field’s stalk lodging rates. Moreover, the stalk lodging angles corresponding to the different pull forces over a measurement time of 20 s shift monotonically along the equivalent forces. Thus, the non-destructive and direction-insensitive method is an excellent tool for rapid analysis of stalk lodging resistance in corn, providing critical information on in-situ lodging dynamics.
Highlights
Stalk lodging resistance has always been an important aspect of plant quality in corn
The original pull force F, by theprocess strain sensor (JLBS-5Kg), and angle β, obtaineddevice, by the where single the Slaver unit was fixed on a corn stalk with an inelastic belt, which was connected to the axis angle sensor 1 (SCA60C-N1000060) mounted inside the Master unit, were processed by strain using sensor by a hook during the field measurement
This study demonstrated a non-destructive and direction-insensitive method to evaluate the stalk lodging properties of corn by their measured equivalent forces
Summary
Stalk lodging resistance has always been an important aspect of plant quality in corn. There is little accurate information on corn stalk lodging resistance due to experimental restrictions [1,2]. Stalk lodging is the breakage of the stalk at or below the ear, which may result in a loss in the yield at harvest [3,4]. The tissue of the corn stalk is destroyed in the process of stalk lodging, which affects water and nutrient transportation and photosynthetic efficiency [5,6,7]. It is generally known that lodging is largely influenced by the strength of the stalk, which is determined by the diameter of the internodes, the internodes’ distance, and plant height [8,9].
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