Association of canopy spectral reflectance indices and yield components of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Grain yield of wheat is a complex trait made up of the interaction between different yield components and environmental effects. Due to the importance of yield traits, breeders need efficient and precise methods to measure differences among genotypes. Since that spectral proximal sensing is promising for high-throughput non-destructivephenotyping, recent findings suggest that multispectral proximal sensors can be used in place of labour intensive methods to estimate specific plant traits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different spectral reflectance indices (SRIs) in assessing stem height and spike length in 4 winter wheat genotypes grown in different conditions of seed priming. Seeds of each winter wheat genotypes were primed with different concentrations of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and after sown in soil pots. Spectral reflectance from the plants at different growth stages during vegetation was measured using an active multispectral, optical sensor namely Plant-O-Meter. Since that device provides four indicative wavelengths between 465, 535, 630 and 850 nm, several SRIs were calculated. The results revealed that most of SRIs measured at full flowering stage (BBCH 65) of wheat were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with stem height of wheat, with r values of up to 0.674. For the trait spike length of wheat the greatest positive association was found at medium milk grown stage (BBCH 75) of wheat under each treatment, with r values of up to 0.798. Overall, statistically significant correlations were more influenced by the phenological stage of estimation and the index used.Acknowledgments:The authors acknowledge financial support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Grant No. 451-03-68/2020-14/ 200358; 200032) and DRAGON GA 810775 (Data Driven Precision Agriculture Services and Skill Acquisition), H2020-WIDESPREAD-05-2017-Twinning; and bilateral project (MNO&Serbia; 2019-2020): Alternative cereals and oil crops as a source of healthcare food and an important raw material for the production of biofuel; FAO Project (2019-2022): Redesigning the exploitation of small grains genetic resources towards increased sustainability of grain-value chain and improved farmers' livelihoods in Serbia and Bulgaria – GRAINeFIT. (9) (PDF) Association of canopy spectral reflectance indices and yield components of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344296116_Association_of_canopy_spectral_reflectance_indices_and_yield_components_of_winter_wheat_Triticum_aestivum_L [accessed Dec 14 2020]