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Hyperspectral Imaging Assisted Evaluation of Diverse Crop Residue and Nitrogen Management Practices in Wheat Crop

Vicky Singh, RK Gupta, Seema Sepat and Mehra S Sidhu

2025/01/20

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14698729

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ABSTRACT

The study reports our evaluation of high resolution, hyperspectral leaf reflectance and pigment measurement as a potential tool to aid in identifying and delineating the effect of crop residue management and macronutrients on chlorophyll content and crop health of wheat crop (T. aestivum). The split–plot design was employed for the experiment with rice straw management practice as the main plots, while 4 sub treatments include an increase in N % from 23 % to 50 % compared to the control. Hyperspectral reflectance data (350-1000 nm) at 5 nm resolution were collected after 2nd irrigation and N % dose application at about 85 days of crop maturity using a SPECIM camera under natural light conditions from ~1200-1500 hrs. The reflectance was measured at ~60 cm from the plant tip and the variance and multivariate mean separation among the various treatments. There was a significant increase (~1.5 fold) in reflectance for the T4 treatment compared to the control (T1), and a corresponding increase in chlorophyll content was observed with the T4 treatment compared to the control. The increase in chlorophyll was also correlated with the content of mineral N soil (mg/kg). With the addition of additional N % along with residue-managed plots, there is a linear increase in chlorophyll content, which is also compared with SPAD and green seeker (NDVI) data taken simultaneously at the time of HSI imaging. This is the first observation where the HSI technique is successfully employed to study the impact of crop residue management on crop health.

AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS

1 Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141004, India
2 Indian Institute of Maize Research, Ludhiana - 141004, India
3 Electron Microscopy and Nanoscience Lab, Directorate of Research, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141004, India

CITATION

Singh V, Gupta RK, Sepat S and Sidhu MS (2025) Hyperspectral Imaging Assisted Evaluation of Diverse Crop Residue and Nitrogen Management Practices in Wheat Crop. Environmental Science Archives 4(1): 59-71.

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