Spatially variable in-season nitrogen loss: Quantifying corn yield loss using satellite imagery

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Spatially variable in-season nitrogen loss:
Quantifying corn yield loss using satellite imagery.
Contacts: Peter Scharf, Jim Hipple, Glenn Davis and Newell Kitchen
MU Departments of Agronomy, Geography, Biological Engineering and USDA-ARS

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is generally applied to corn at or before planting time. The period of rapid N uptake by the crop usually does not begin until 6 to 8 weeks after planting and continues for about a month. When wet weather occurs between N fertilizer application and the end of the rapid uptake period, N losses and crop N stress can occur. Nitrogen-stressed corn appears light-green or yellow-green and may experience substantial yield loss. The objectives of this study are to correlate mid-season corn color with yield in at least ten Missouri corn fields from past years/regions with higher-than-average rainfall in May and June; use these correlations to quantify yield loss associated with in-season N loss; and to develop algorithms for making N rate recommendations from mid-season corn color measurements.

2001 MPAC Funded Projects