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Fine tuning N recommendations requires an understanding of crop N status and yield potential early enough in the growing season when changes to N management can influence yields. Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to assess crop N status and predict yield in wheat (Tricticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.); however, there has been relatively little such research on rice (Oryza sativa L.). The objectives of this study were to determine how well NDVI measured at the panicle initiation (PI) rice growth stage assesses crop N status and predicts final grain yield. Nitrogen response trials were established over a 4‐yr period (10 site‐years) at various locations throughout the Sacramento Valley rice growing region of California. Additionally, the relationship between NDVI and crop N status was characterized across 28 on‐farm plots representing a range of environmental conditions and management practices. The NDVI at PI was best correlated with total N uptake (NUP, r2 = 0.66), followed by N concentration (NCONC, r2 = 0.54), and aboveground biomass (AGB, r2 = 0.51). The utility of NDVI was greatest at lower values of crop N status, whereas at higher values, NDVI saturated. The NDVI at PI was positively correlated with final grain yield (r2 = 0.58) indicating utility for developing in‐season yield predictions. While NDVI is a potentially useful tool to improve N fertilizer management and develop in‐season yield predictions in rice, alternative indices that do not saturate would likely provide a basis for a better tool. Core Ideas The ability of NDVI to assess rice N status and predict final grain yield was evaluated across 38 sites and four years. NDVI at panicle initiation was most closely related to crop N uptake. At high values of crop N status NDVI had limited utility due to saturation. NDVI at panicle initiation was positively correlated (r2 = 0.58) with final grain yield. NDVI of 0.66 at panicle initiation indicated sufficient crop N uptake to achieve average maximum grain yield.

Intercropping corn and palisade grass is a technique to increase straw production, soil C contents, nutrient cycling and crop yield. However, concerns arise from nitrogen (N) uptake by the intercropping crop causing reduction in the yield of the corn. Our objective was to evaluate N recovery efficiency (NRE), and the N dynamics in the soil-plant system in corn intercropped with palisade grass. A field trial was carried out in Bahia, Brazil, evaluating two cropping systems: corn (monoculture) and corn intercropped with palisade grass sowed between rows on the same day as the corn crop, with four replicates in a completely randomized block design. Nitrogen

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