Abstract
Global nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) for cereal production is marginal and is estimated to be about 33%. Remote sensing tools have tremendous potential for improving NUE in crops through efficient nitrogen management as well as the identification of high-NUE genotypes. The objectives of this study were (i) to identify and quantify the variation in NUE across 24 winter wheat genotypes (Triticum aestivum L.) and (ii) to determine if the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) could characterize the variability in NUE across wheat genotypes. This study was conducted in 2010 and 2011 in the semi-arid climate of Northeastern Colorado across dryland and irrigated conditions. Our results indicate significant variation in the NUE among genotypes across two irrigation conditions. We observed a strong relationship between the NDVI and NUE—as PFP (partial factor productivity) and PNB (partial nitrogen balance)—across the 24 wheat genotypes under dryland conditions (average R2 for PFP and PNB = 0.84) at Feekes growth stage 11.1, for site year II. However, poor association was observed under irrigated conditions (average R2 for PFP and PNB = 0.29) at Feekes growth stage 3 to 4 for site year II. This study demonstrates the potential and limitations of active canopy sensing to successfully characterize the variability in NUE across wheat genotypes.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development [1,2,3] Global N fertilizer consumption has increased in recent years to meet the ever-growing need for food production [4] only about 33% of the N fertilizer applied worldwide translates into grain in cereal production [5,6,7,8]; wheat remains the least efficient nitrogen user among major crops [9,10]
For site year I, the highest R2 between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) as partial factor productivity (PFP) and partial nitrogen balance (PNB) was observed at the mid grain filling stage, which corresponds to the Feekes growth stage 11.1 (Zadoks scale 70–77), while the lowest R2 was observed at the jointing stage, which corresponds to the Feekes growth stage 6 (Zadoks scale 30–39), under dryland conditions
The highest R2 between the NDVI and NUE as PFP and PNB was observed at the early spring stage, which corresponds to Feekes growth stage 3 to 4 (Zadoks scale 26–29), while the lowest R2 was observed at the jointing stage, which corresponds to the Feekes growth stage 6
Summary
Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development [1,2,3] Global N fertilizer consumption has increased in recent years to meet the ever-growing need for food production [4] only about 33% of the N fertilizer applied worldwide translates into grain in cereal production [5,6,7,8]; wheat remains the least efficient nitrogen user among major crops [9,10]. It is estimated that a mere 1% increase in crop nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Improving NUE through genotype selection and/or crop management while increasing crop production and reducing environmental impact is a significant challenge for agronomists and plant breeders.
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