Phenotyping of wheat in heatand drought-stressed environments using UAVs

To assess the effects of climate change on cereal production and identify wheat varieties that can withstand heat and drought, a field trial was performed during the growing seasons 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 at Bălţi in Moldova, where summers are hot and, very often, dry. Finding varieties suitable for breeding for future climatic scenarios requires detailed information about physiological responses to abiotic stress. The field trial tested 40 wheat varieties from Germany and Eastern Europe. Thermal and multispectral measurements were made using hand-held and aerial instruments and corroborated by destructive plant sampling. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can gather a lot of information about the performance of the crop in a short time and without the need for laborious analyses; information that can help to improve farming decisions. Preliminary results show significant differences between German and Eastern European varieties; unsurprisingly, the Eastern European varieties are better adapted to the prevailing conditions and, therefore, less stressed by heat and drought. Vegetation indices, temperature data, and yield parameters can help to identify varieties with advantageous genetic constitution.