Monitoring Nitrogen Uptake and Grain Quality in Ponded and Aerobic Rice with the Squared Simplified Canopy Chlorophyll Content Index

Remote sensing tools have been proposed to assist with rice crop monitoring but have been developed and validated on ponded rice. This two-year study was conducted on a commercial rice farm with irrigation automation technology aimed to (i) understand how canopy reflectance differs between high-yielding ponded and aerobic rice, (ii) validate the feasibility of using the squared simplified canopy chlorophyll content index (SCCCI2) for N uptake estimates, and (iii) explore the SCCCI2 and similar chlorophyll-sensitive indices for grain quality monitoring. Multispectral images were collected from an unmanned aerial vehicle during both rice-growing seasons. Above-ground biomass and nitrogen (N) uptake were measured at panicle initiation (PI). The performance of single-vegetation-index models in estimating rice N uptake, as previously published, was assessed. Yield and grain quality were determined at harvest. Results showed that canopy reflectance in the visible and near-infrared regions differed between aerobic and ponded rice early in the growing season. Chlorophyll-sensitive indices showed lower values in aerobic rice than in the ponded rice at PI, despite having similar yields at harvest. The SCCCI2 model (RMSE = 20.52, Bias = −6.21 Kg N ha−1, and MAPE = 11.95%) outperformed other models assessed. The SCCCI2, squared normalized difference red edge index, and chlorophyll green index correlated at PI with the percentage of cracked grain, immature grain, and quality score, suggesting that grain milling quality parameters could be associated with N uptake at PI. This study highlights canopy reflectance differences between high-yielding aerobic (averaging 15 Mg ha−1) and ponded rice at key phenological stages and confirms the validity of a single-vegetation-index model based on the SCCCI2 for N uptake estimates in ponded and non-ponded rice crops.