A Simple Method for Measuring Crop Canopy

Crop canopy cover data is used to study canopy structure and crop growth analysis. This study was conducted to determine the easiest and most reliable method of calculating crop canopy cover. Using Decagon Sunfleck Ceptometer was compared with the traditional method (tape measure) of retrieving crop canopy cover data. Data was collected on silage corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max L.). The method of collecting data using the ceptometer was simple and quick compared to the traditional method. The ceptometer, even with human variability, was found to be ≈99% accurate. The traditional method was found to have >10% variability. The ceptometer is a much quicker and more reliable tool to use. It appears to decrease the variability in the collection of crop canopy cover data.