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Automated Measurement of Maize Stalk Diameter and Plant Spacing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2017

J. S. Schepers ,
K. H. Holland  and
D. D. Francis
J. S. Schepers*
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS retired, 3820 Loveland Dr., Lincoln, Nebraska 68506, USA
K. H. Holland
Affiliation:
Holland Scientific, 6001 S. 58th St., Lincoln, Nebraska 68506, USA
D. D. Francis
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS retired, 3820 Loveland Dr., Lincoln, Nebraska 68506, USA
*
†E-mail: james.schepers@gmail.com
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Abstract

Crop phenotype is usually expressed in terms of characteristics like plant height, leaf architecture and leaf area index (LAI). In the case of maize, stalk diameter is seldom quantified because its measurement does not readily lend itself to automation. Justification for automating the measurement of stalk diameter and plant spacing is based on the finding that stalk diameter was able to account for about 65% of the variability in maize yield per plant in three irrigated field studies. A high-speed reflectance sensor and simulation apparatus was developed to explore the potential for automating maize stalk diameter assessment. The prototyped system accurately measured both stalk diameter and plant spacing in the laboratory at simulated velocities up to 12 km/h.

Keywords

maizestalk diameterplant spacingelectronic sensing
Type
Crop Sensors and Sensing
Information
Advances in Animal Biosciences , Volume 8 , Special Issue 2: Papers presented at the 11th European Conference on Precision Agriculture (ECPA 2017), John McIntyre Centre, Edinburgh, UK, July 16–20 2017 , July 2017 , pp. 220 - 223
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

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