Response of different varieties of maize to nitrogen stress and diagnosis of leaf nitrogen using hyperspectral data

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 5890 - 9
• Main Authors: Lu, Yanli, Zhang, Xiaoyu, Cui, Yuezhi, Chao, Yaru, Song, Guipei, Nie, Caie, Wang, Lei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.04.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/449; 639/624/1107/527; Agriculture; Algorithms; Chlorophyll; Corn; Correlation analysis; Crops; Decision making; Efficiency; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Humanities and Social Sciences; Laboratories; Leaves; multidisciplinary; Nitrogen; Nutrition; Phosphorus; Potassium; Remote sensing; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Wheat; Zea mays
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31887-z

Spectral technology is theoretically effective in diagnosing N stress in maize ( Zea mays L.), but its application is affected by varietal differences. In this study, the responses to N stress, leaf N spectral diagnostic models and the differences between two maize varieties were analysed. The variety “Jiyu 5817” exhibited a greater response to different N stresses at the 12-leaf stage (V12), while “Zhengdan 958” displayed a greater response in the silking stage (R1). Correlation analysis showed that the spectral bands more sensitive to leaf N content were 548–556 nm and 706–721 nm at the V12 stage in “Jiyu 5817” and 760–1142 nm at the R1 stage in “Zhengdan 958”. An N spectral diagnostic model that considers the varietal effect improves the model fit and root mean square error (RMSE) with respect to the model without it by 10.6% and 29.2%, respectively. It was concluded that the V12 stage for “Jiyu 5817” and the R1 stage for “Zhengdan 958” were the best diagnostic stages and were more sensitive to N stress, which can further guide fertilization decision-making in precision fertilization.