Authors: F. V. EROSHENKO, doctor of biological sciences, head of the plant physiology department, I. G. STORCHAK, candidate of agricultural sciences, senior research fellow, department of plant physiology, I. V. CHERNOVA, candidate of geography, Senior researcher, laboratory of environmental assessment of agrocenoses, North-Caucasian Federal Scientific Agrarian Center (49 Nikonova Str., 356241, Stavropol Territory, Mikhailovsk; phone: +7 962 454-14-96, +7 918 747-02-56, +7 918 885-79-35; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Keywords: express diagnostics, optical properties of plants, chlorophyll, nitrogen content.
Abstract: The ability to quickly make decisions on the use of technological methods in growing crops, which allows to control the production process, dictates the need to develop methods of diagnostic state of plants that, with a high degree of efficiency, would allow to give recommendations on the measures taken by agricultural producers. Such methods include methods of rapid diagnosis. A review is presented of both literature data and the results of our own long-term studies using methods for assessing the state of plants related to their optical properties. So the method of delayed fluorescence can be used to characterize photosynthetic activity. In the authors’ research, a high correlation was established between the quenching rate of delayed fluorescence and nitrate reductase activity (the correlation coefficient was 0.88 and 0.97 in high and low-growing winter wheat varieties during the grain loading period, respectively). Studies to establish patterns of nitrogen absorption by plants of winter wheat after late non-root dressing, when along with the nitrogen content the chlorophyll concentration and N-tester readings were determined, it was possible to estimate the need for winter wheat nitrogen feeds with this instrument (correlation coefficient between readings Т-tester and nitrogen content was 0.77). When studying the relationship of the NDVI vegetation index with the conditions of nitrogen nutrition, it was shown that it is possible to use ERS data to estimate the plant’s need for nitrogen nutrition (the correlation coefficient between NDVI and the nitrogen content in plants was 0.77). You can use the GreenSeeker handheld scanner as a vegetation index meter for individual fields. Based on the analysis, the authors conclude that indicators, including those characterizing the optical properties of plants, obtained using express diagnostics devices, should be used only in conjunction with other characteristics of crops when assessing their physiological state to develop recommendations for the scientific support of production crops.
