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Title: ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS OF CORN: NON-DESTRUCTIVE ESTIMATION OF LEAF CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT

Author
item CIGANDA, V - U OF NE/GRAD STUDNT
item VINA, A - UNIV OF NE/LINCOLN
item DALL'OLMO, G - UNIV OF NE/LINCOLN
item GITELSON, A - UNIV OF NE/LINCOLN
item Schepers, James

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2003
Publication Date: 10/1/2003
Citation: Ciganda, V.S., Vina, A., Dall'Olmo, G., Gitelson, A.A., Schepers, J.S. 2003. Assessment of physiological status of corn: non-destructive estimation of leaf chlorophyll content. Agronomy Abstracts. 415294. CDROM

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Leaf chlorophyll content provides valuable information about the physiological status of plants. Measurement of leaf spectral reflectance provides a non-destructive technique for chlorophyll estimation. A large number of spectral indices have been developed for the estimation of leaf chlorophyll content. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of different reflectance vegetation indices as well as a hand-held chlorophyll meter (SPAD) in the assessment of corn chlorophyll content. At the vegetative stage of six leaves, reflectance measurements from the youngest visible-collar leaf of 70 corn plants were gathered with a hyperspectral radiometer. Simple ratio indices, besides more complex ones, as those that use first derivative or integral of reflectance, were calculated and compared with chlorophyll measured analytically. Reflectance indices were found to be better indicators of chlorophyll content than the indices given by the hand-held chlorophyll absorbance meter SPAD. The discussion includes the limitations and advantages of each index and also underlines the reasons that determine their different behavior.