ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Plant-Soil Interactions
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Technologies for Sustainable Crop ProductionView all articles
Active Crop Canopy Sensors Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Dryland Maize
Provisionally accepted
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, United States
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Active crop canopy sensor commercialization has provided technology to producers that vary nitrogen (N) applications in real-time based on crop reflectance measurements. Challenges with active crop canopy sensor technology adoption still exist due to inconsistent results, potential yield losses, and lack of information from field-scale trials under different management strategies. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the capabilities of an active crop canopy sensor system (OptRx™, Ag Leader, Ames, IA) in field trials on nine non-irrigated sites in eastern Nebraska where rainfall is often a yield-limiting factor (2019-2020) in maize (Zea mays L.) production. The sensor-based approach was compared to each site's grower treatment to examine how N base rate, application timing, spatial variability overall influenced the performance of the technology. Overall, the active sensor N management treatment resulted in an average of 38.7 ± 20.8 kg N ha-1 less N applied with no yield penalty in 77% of the sites (n = 9). The base rate of N applied prior to the in-season, sensor-based application rate in-season, and timing of the in-season application influenced the N use efficiency (NUE) of active sensor N management approach. Partial factor productivity of N was improved by 16.8 ± 8.4 kg grain kg N-1 relative to growers' current management. In terms of profit, 35% of sites demonstrated a profit advantage in sensor-based treatments. Field-scale research is essential to establish when active canopy sensors contribute to improved nitrogen management and enhanced grower profitability.
Keywords: Estimated Nitrogen Optimal Rate, N3, NDRE5, nitrate, Nitrogen, nitrogen use efficiency, NO34, Nopt7
Received: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kortbein, Bathke, Luck, Puntel, Thompson and Balboa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joe Luck
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