1. Feasibility of Estimating the Leaf Area Index of Maize Traits with Hemispherical Images Captured from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Feeding a global population of 9.1 billion in 2050 will require food production to be increased by approximately 60%. In this context, plant breeders are demanding more effective and efficient field-based phenotyping methods to accelerate the development of more productive cultivars under contrasting environmental constraints. The leaf area index (LAI) is a dimensionless biophysical parameter of great interest to maize breeders since it is directly related to crop productivity. The LAI is defined... M. Perez-ruiz, E. Apolo-apolo, G. Egea, J. Martinez-guanter, C. Marin-barrero