Spectroscopic Determination of Wheat Water Status Using 1650-1850 Nm Spectral Absorption Features

Wheat leaves were measured radiometrically in order to spectrally characterize the water deficiency symptoms. In this study, a FieldSpec-FR was used for measuring wheat leaf spectra. After the spectral analysis using a spectral normalizing technique, the spectral absorption feature parameters: wavelength position (nm), depth and area (relative value) were extracted from each wheat leaf spectrum. The relative water content (RWC) was measured for each wheat leaf sample. A linear regression analysis was conducted between the spectral absorption feature parameters and corresponding RWCs. The experimental results from 110 samples indicated that reflectance spectra of wheat leaves in the 1650-1850 nm region were dominated by water content. With a decrease in wheat leaf RWC, the 1650-1850 nm spectral absorption features gradually become obvious. The relative errors of predicted RWCs and the absolute error of predicted wavelength positions were calculated from 12 validation samples by established regression equations. The relative errors of predicted RWCs and the absolute error of predicted wavelength position (nm) were both low (