AUTHOR=Zhao Yu , Wen Zeyang , Wang Chao , Xiao Lujie , Li Zhenhai , Feng Haikuan , Li Guoqiang , Yang Wude , Feng Meichen 

TITLE=Optimizing nitrogen topdressing for winter wheat by coupling remote sensing data with the DSSAT model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1658254

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2025.1658254

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=IntroductionExcessive fertilization not only causes environmental pollution and degrades water and soil quality but also increases production costs and reduces agricultural sustainability.MethodsBased on two consecutive years of field experiments, this study developed a two-step data assimilation strategy for nitrogen (N) topdressing recommendations for winter wheat. First, a data assimilation system was established by minimising the discrepancy between aboveground dry biomass (AGB) estimated from remote sensing and that simulated by the crop growth model using a particle swarm optimization approach. Second, target yields under varying growth conditions were constructed using the DSSAT model and N economic return curves to enable optimised N fertilization recommendations.ResultsAGB monitoring model was developed, achieving satisfactory results in both the calibration and validation datasets, with determination coefficient (R²) (normalised root mean square error (nRMSE)) values of 0.94 (13.62%) and 0.82 (15.42%), respectively. Based on the data assimilation system, the data assimilation stability for AGB and yield are relatively high. The nRMSE values for AGB are 11.20% and 19.44% for the training and validation datasets, respectively. The nRMSE values for yield are 6.35% and 11.22% for the training and validation datasets, respectively. The data assimilation-based recommended fertilization shows a negative power-law relationship with AGB at the jointing stage (R² = 0.65). Under different yield levels, fertilization was reduced by 6.69%–34.08% compared with that under high yield levels.ConclusionThis study balances yield and production costs by developing a data assimilation strategy for N fertilization recommendations, which can maintain high productivity and sustainability.