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Archives of Agriculture Research and Technology
[ ISSN : 2832-8639 ]


Assessment of Corn (Zea mays) Emergence using High-Resolution Spatial UAV-Based Remote Sensing

Research Article
Volume 6 - Issue 1 | Article DOI : 10.54026/AART/1079


Jonathan Wall1, Ronnie Heiniger1, David Jordan1*, Lori Unruh-Snyder1 and Stacy Nelson2

1Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
2Stacy Nelson, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Corresponding Authors

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

Keywords

Hybrid testing; Plant competition; Remote sensing; Seedling emergence

Received : April 09, 2025
Published : April 22, 2025

Abstract

Timing and uniformity of seedling emergence can affect corn growth and development through interplant competition. Assessing uniformity of emergence can be time consuming when done visually by researchers. Research was conducted to compare accuracy of a UAV platform used to estimate corn stand within the first five days of emergence compared with hand counting emerged seedlings. Analysis of UAV-derived estimates of emergence fit a linear regression model for seedlings emerging one (R = 0.45) and two (R = 0.75) days after the first seedlings were observed in a trial with multiple corn hybrids across multiple locations. By days 3 and 4 after initial seedling emergence, virtually all seedlings had emerged and no further improvements in the relationships between UAV vs hand counted measurements were found. These data suggest that UAV-derived data can be used to determine the uniformity of emergence of corn in a manner similar to collecting data using the traditional method of hand counting but with less time and therefore increases the likelihood that this important measurement for hybrid comparisons will be used.