On-the-go acquisition of hyperspectral data on a durum wheat field - A methodological approach

Hyperspectral proximal sensors, operating in the Vis-NIR-SWIR ranges, are usually employed for static recording. The availability of data at a fine spatial resolution through on-the-go spectra collection would open new frontiers to this field of study, allowing in real time the acquisition of a huge amount of information related to plant response. In this paper we describe a methodological approach for analysing on-the-go hyperspectral data in order to delineate homogeneous zones in an agricultural field cropped with durum wheat. HS data were acquired in southern Italy at shooting stage of durum wheat. Spectral readings were recorded using a high resolution spectroradiometer, FieldSpec 4 (350-2500 nm). The sensor was mounted on a plot seeder. Collected data were subjected to pre-processing and then analysed through principal component analysis. Afterwards, retained factors were analyzed through block co-kriging to produce continuous maps. The method was very effective to disclose differences in the spectral response of the plants; however, the interpretation of the results in terms of agronomical behaviour of the wheat needs more survey and investigation.