Relationship between the vegetation index and winter wheat productivity in the arid zone of the Stavropol territory

Abstract

The main grain crop of the Stavropol Territory is winter wheat, cultivated on an area of 1,798.5 thousand hectares. In the arid zone of the region, the proportion of winter wheat varies from 81.9 to 95.4%. On average, the crop yield in the arid zone is 30.2 100kg/ha. Direct sowing technology is widespread in the arid zone of the region. The technology assumes leaving plant residues on the surface of arable land in order to improve the structure of the soil, protect winter crops from the effects of low temperatures, accumulate nutrients, etc. In the cultivation of winter wheat, moisture availability is the main limiting factor. Consequently, the best predecessors for a winter crop are those after which, at the beginning of sowing, a sufficient amount of productive moisture remains or accumulates in the topsoil. Optimization of mineral nutrition is one of the most effective ways to increase the productivity and quality of winter wheat grain. Before sowing, soil diagnostics are carried out to determine the need of plants for fertilizers and, based on the data obtained, they give recommendations on the use of forms, timing and doses of fertilizing. To obtain information on the physiological state of crops and to draw up recommendations for care measures, ground types of survey work are used, which is a laborious event, and due to large arable areas, it is not always reliable. Therefore, the use of optical-biological assessment methods based on remote sensing of the Earth, which are more objectivity and efficiency, are more in demand.