A Non-Destructive and Direction-Insensitive Method Using a Strain Sensor and Two Single Axis Angle Sensors for Evaluating Corn Stalk Lodging Resistance

Abstract

Corn stalk lodging is caused by different factors, including severe wind storms, stalk cannibalization, and stalk rots, and it leads to yield loss. Determining how to rapidly evaluate corn lodging resistance will assist scientists in the field of crop breeding to understand the contributing factors in managing the moisture, chemical fertilizer, and weather conditions for corn growing. This study proposes a non-destructive and direction-insensitive method, using a strain sensor and two single axis angle sensors to measure the corn stalk lodging resistance in the field. An equivalent force whose direction is perpendicular to the stalk is utilized to evaluate the corn lodging properties when a pull force is applied on the corn stalk. A novel measurement device is designed to obtain the equivalent force with the coefficient of variation (CV) of 4.85%. Five corn varieties with two different planting densities are arranged to conduct the experiment using the novel measurement device. The experimental results show that the maximum equivalent force could reach up to 44 N. A strong relationship with the square of the correlation coefficient of 0.88 was obtained between the maximum equivalent forces and the corn field’s stalk lodging rates. Moreover, the stalk lodging angles corresponding to the different pull forces over a measurement time of 20 s shift monotonically along the equivalent forces. Thus, the non-destructive and direction-insensitive method is an excellent tool for rapid analysis of stalk lodging resistance in corn, providing critical information on in-situ lodging dynamics.

Are Maize Stalks Efficiently Tapered to Withstand Wind Induced Bending Stresses?

“…Such loading conditions produce natural failure types and failure patterns in plant specimens (i.e., failure occurs at the cross-section with the least optimal allocation of structural tissue). Several devices have been recently developed which accomplish this task (Grafius and Brown, 1954; Berry et al ., 2003; Guo et al ., 2018, 2019; Erndwein et al ., 2019; Heuschele et al ., 2019). In particular, they utilize the natural anchoring of the maize roots and apply a point load to a cross-section near the ear (very similar to the loading profile shown in Figure 7).…”

Classification of Corn Stalk Lodging Resistance Using Equivalent Forces Combined with SVD Algorithm

“…Rapid advances in lodging resistance measurement can be attained by establishing new testing procedures that approximate stalk lodging resistance without any influence from environmental factors [29]. A portable instrument for real-time measurement of corn stalk bending strength has been demonstrated successfully [30]. However, in order to solve problems caused by any single factor that was chosen to classify the stalk lodging resistance, the present study proposes a novel method for estimating corn stalk lodging properties by employing the singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm and how it can be used in classifying corn varieties.…”

Field‐based mechanical phenotyping of cereal crops to assess lodging resistance

“…The first device (referred to here as Guo’s device) was developed to non‐destructively measure the forces required to bend maize stalks across a set of discrete angles (Fig. 3C, Table 1; Guo et al, 2018, 2019). In this device, a controller module with a strain sensor is connected by a belt to a second unit fixed to the stalk.…”

“…The controller module is pulled to discrete angles ranging from 0°–45° and the maximum equivalent force is recorded. This force was shown to have a strong negative correlation with the incidence of stalk lodging in maize (Guo et al, 2018, 2019).…”