Using multispectral imaging for indicating the water status of barley

Abstract

Spectral characteristics of barley were measured at five events during the growing season. Effects of the crop variety (two barely breeds) and three irrigation schemes (variation in the water supply in phases during the crop growth) caused variations in the measured data. Spectral sensors used in this study were TEC5 (Yara) sensor and JAI multispectral camera. Results showed that all sensors were able to identify variations of reflectance characteristics of crops caused by irrigation in all measured situation (except shortly pre harvest). Although most of the measurement situations were able to identify variations due to irrigation schemes, some events showed higher correlation between the spectral signature of the crops and irrigation treatments. It was concluded from the results that main factors (variety, irrigation scheme), as well as the interaction of both factors, had significant influences at most measuring events. The Norrmalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) showed variations between varieties moderated by the irrigation scheme and Water Index as well as the Simple Ratio can show significant differences between the treatments.