NAICC

N Sensor Technology
Jim Schepers
USDA-ARS (retired) Agronomy and Horticulture Dept University of Nebraska

Approach to Sensor Evaluation

Think about the intended applications Determine the crop parameters to be evaluated (identify appropriate proxies) Consider sensor characteristics and identify possible problems

Consider this :
50 to 70% of the N in living vegetation is contained within chlorophyll molecules MORE for young plants LESS for maturing grain crops ~ 30% of N uptake remains in corn stover

Photosynthesis
Chlorophyll

Biomass

Productivity is proportional to : Chlorophyll Content

times

Incoming Radiation

Linkages

Photosynthesis

Chlorophyll

N Status

Vigor Biomass

Yield

Linkages

BUT - other nutrients can affect leaf chlorophyll content AND - plants can take up nitrogen in excessive amounts

Photosynthesis

Chlorophyll

N Status

Vigor Biomass

Yield

Linkages
Luxury Consumption

Chlorophyll is the DRIVER

Photosynthesis

Chlorophyll

Plant N

Vigor Biomass

Yield

The green color in leaves is caused by chlorophyll

What About ? N Status

?
deficient

S Fe Zn Mn ? ? ?
t etec ot d es ! n ca n n l e a v i e with S s tern pat

Yellowish colors mean less chlorophyll sors n

Spectral Opportunities
70 60

Reflectance (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0

Photosynthesis

Biomass Near Infrared Living Vegetation

Visible

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Wavelength (nm)

Leaf Anatomy & Spectral Interaction

Green Near IR Blue/Red
Chlorophyll Lower Epidermis Palisade Cells Spongy Mesophyll Stoma

Air Space

70 60

Reflectance (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0

Young Plant

S o il Bare
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Wavelength (nm)

70 60

Healthy Plant Stressed Plant

e Soil Bar
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Reflectance (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0

Wavelength (nm)

N Stress Detection
Color Comparison

Minolta SPAD Chlorophyll Meter

Imagery Passive Devices (natural light) Active Sensors (self illuminating)

Active Sensors
GreenSeeker (red & NIR) GreenSeeker (green & NIR) Crop Circle (amber & NIR) Crop Circle (three-band)

Other Active Sensors

Yara (laser)
CropSpecTM
Plant Nutrition Sensor

Fluorescence
Measure of unprocessed radiation

activate photosynthesis

heat

Active Sensor Experiences

Assign variability to:
Optics Electronics Physics Crop

How to interpret data

Portable GreenSeeker

Width ~0.25

18

24

Sensor 18 above target

24

GreenSeeker foot-print

LED Sources - Modulation Techniques

TARGET Detector Hysteresis Concerns
70 60

Different Fields of View

Reflectance (%)
50 40 30 20 10 0

Healthy Plant Stressed Plant

Soil Bare
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Wavelength (nm)

LED1

LED2

Photodetector

SENSOR

Crop Circle

Distance = 36

20

ACS-210

Polychromatic LED Emission Graph Visible

LED Output Intensity

NIR

400nm

CWL1

700nm

CWL2

900nm

ACS-210

Wavelength (nm)

Modulation/Demodulation Using Polychromatic LEDs

TARGET Identical Fields of View No detector hysteresis

SENSOR
LED PD1, <700nm PD2, >700nm

ACS-210

ACS-470

Foot-Print
Distance = 24

24

Modulation/Demodulation Using Polychromatic LEDs

TARGET Identical Fields of View User Selected Filters

LED

PD1

PD2

PD3

ACS-470

SENSOR

Field of View
GreenSeeker
Collimated to ~0.25 x 24 Most intense in the center
(~75% in center 10-12)

Crop Circle (ACS-210)

Field of view increases with distance Nearly uniform across field of view

GreenSeeker Lateral Measurement Sensitivity

0.8

+/-20% variation +/-20% variation across FOV across FOV

0.6

0.4

24 Foot-print
NDVI
0.2

0 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 101 105 109 113 117 121 125 129

-0.2

-0.4

Samples

Crop Circle Lateral Measurement Variation

0.8

0.7

<+/- 5%variation <+/- 5%variation across FOV across FOV

0.6

24 Field of View
0.5

NV DI

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

1 3

1 7

2 1

2 5

2 9

3 3

3 7

4 1

4 5

4 9

5 3

5 7

6 1

6 5

6 9

7 3

7 7

8 1

8 5

8 9

9 3

9 7

11 0

15 0

19 0

13 1

17 1

11 2

15 2

19 2

Samples

13 3

Sensor Noise Comparison

0.8

rf Tu

0.7

0.6

0.5

Output

Greenseeker 0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

ode M ary i on tat S

1 9 17 25 33 41 49 57 65 73 81 89 97 105 113 121 129 137 145 153 161 Samples

Crop Circle

0 169 177 185 193 201 209 217

Crop Circle sensor on garage-door opener

GreenSeeker

Distance from Target

Screw-type garage door opener

Reflectance
1 distance2

Sensor Distance from Target

1.4 1.2 1

NIR

Output

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 50 100 150 200 250

Amber

Distance (cm)

Sensor Distance from Target

1.4 1.2 1

NIR

Output

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

Amber

NDVI

CV = 1.6%
0 0 50 100 150 200 250

Distance (cm)

Sensor Distance from Soil

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

CC

GS GS

NDVI

0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 0 50 100 150

200

250

Distance (cm)

Sensor Distance from Turf

5

NIR

Output

Amber
1

NDVI

50

100

150

200

250

Distance (cm)

Sensor Distance to Turf

1 0.8 0.6

CC

GS

NDVI

0.4 0.2 0

GS

-0.2 0 50 100 150 200 250

Distance (cm)

Crop Circle

GreenSeeker
red green

red

amber

Crop Circle (amber)

0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 CC 2 mph CC 4mph CC 8 mph 0.3 0.2 0.1 0
-98.764

-98.77

GreenSeeker (red)
-98.769 -98.768

-98.767

-98.766

-98.765

0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

GS 2 mph GS 4 mph GS 8 mph

0.2 0.1
-98.764

-98.77

-98.769

-98.768

-98.767

-98.766

-98.765

Greenhouse Studies
Determine how sensors respond to:

Nitrogen status Field of view Depth of field

Seong-Soo Kang
visiting scholar

Replication 4

St raw 100 g

St raw 75 g

St raw 50 g

St raw 25 g

St raw 0g

How deep does modulated light penetrate into the canopy ?

Energy decreases with distance ! Which leaves are monitored ?

St raw 100 g

St raw 75 g

St raw 50 g

St raw 25 g

St raw 0g

Perpendicular vs. Parallel Crop Circle

0. 8

Am ber -NDVI
0. 7

NI r l ance R ef ect

Am berr l ance ef ect

Am ber -ND VI / Ref ect l ance

0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0 0 200 400 600

(Amber version)

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Count over t cor pl s he n ant

Po No 14 t . a R2 G t rowt S . h tage

Low N

Remove Bottom Leaves First

High N

Active sensor output is proportionate to living vegetation in the field of view

Active sensors only penetrate the top 5 to 6 layers of corn leaves

Analyzing Sensor Data

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

NDVI

70 60

Healthy Plant
Saturated
V10 stage

Reflectance (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0

Responsive

LAI ~2.0

Non-responsive
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Wavelength (nm)

Sensitivity of Vegetation Indices To Various Chlorophyll Levels

Adapted From Gitelson et al. (1996)
0.9 0.8 0.7
Vegetation Index

LAI >~2.0

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Chlorophlyll (ug/cm2)

NDVI GNDVI

NDVI vs. (RNIR / Rgreen)-1 Green Biomass Estimation

Soybean rainfed

Suggestion Select a sensor that provides

data for individual wavebands !

NDVI

(RNIR / Rgreen) -1
AISA imagery, July 27, 2004

95% Sufficiency Index

110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 500 1000 1500

GDD vs Relative SPAD

Yield

Relative SPAD

kg N/ha
0 50 100 150 200

Translate into fertilizer N recommendation

2000

2500

3000

GDD

Calibration
N-Rich strips were proposed to provide a relative comparison (Sufficiency Index) Commercial approaches that use remote sensing acknowledge the concept but find NRich strips unworkable Other calibration strategies are under development What other kinds of information can be extracted from an N-Rich strip ?

Producer Question ?
What conclusions can be made if the vigor within an N-Rich strip is not uniform ?
er at w ce en rg me lo es ss lit y ti fer

Use selective soil sampling and tissue analysis to determine if other nutrients are limiting yield potential

Concerns
Will the crop be responsive at the time of sensor data collection ? (show a STRESS) Will sensor data represent the field variability ? Does sensor data integrate N mineralization ? Will vegetations patterns extend to harvest ?

(soil and vegetation . . . . . . . . yield)

How to integrate soil properties and spatial variability into management decisions ?

Jim Schepers
402-472-1513 Jim.Schepers@ars.usda.gov

Putting the Squeeze on

Photosynthesis Biomass Yield

What are the yardsticks ? ?

Photosynthesis
Chlorophyll

Biomass

Vegetation Index Sufficiency Index

Factors
Height

that affect sensor results

Position over crop

Electronic noise Data analysis Operational characteristics

Recognize that remote sensing is a bit like learning a new language.

It takes time to learn enough to put it all together. Some of the subtle aspects can get you in big trouble. Some sources of information might omit important details. Dont be afraid to ask questions.

Exploring Another Paradigm

Current - Doing something to address a problem
Apply pesticide Apply N fertilizer Irrigation Chisel no more weeds no yellow plants reduce drought stress improve root distribution

Reality - Being informed and having a sense of control New - Identifying and characterizing a situation so that you can explore options figure out what to do

Green NDVI vs N Rate over Time

Irrigated Corn
0.8 GNDVI 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4
6/12 6/26 7/10 7/24 Date 8/7 8/21 9/4
kg N/ha
N-0 N-50 N-100 N-150 N-200

Field Calibration
Reference Reference

Direction of travel

Sufficiency Index
Reference

Field Reference

You Survived

!!!

How deep does the light from an ACTIVE sensor penetrate into the canopy ???

Remove Leaves

Sensor Output
0.5 1.5 2.5 0
1 78 155 232 309 386 463 540 617 694 771 848 925 1002

Hybrid 1 Hybrid 2

NDVI

1079

1156

Crop Circle

Distance
1233 1310 1387 1464 1541 1618 1695 1772 1849 1926 2003 2080 2157 2234 2311

Hybrid 3

6 N rates

Hybrid 4

Sensor Output
0.5 1.5 2.5 0
1 79 157

Visible
Crop Circle

235 313 391 469 547 625 703 781 859 937 1015 1093

Distance
1171 1249 1327 1405 1483 1561 1639 1717 1795 1873 1951 2029 2107 2185 2263

NDVI NIR

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

70 60

NDVI = (NIR Red) / (NIR + Red)

Reflectance (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0

LAI (forest) Reflectance data (aircraft)

Near Infra-Red

GNDVI = (NIR Green) / (NIR + Green)

400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Wavelength (nm)