Conservation agriculture and sustainable agronomic principles include several management practices such as cover cropping, no-till, and alternative fertilization rates. Each of these practices can result in changes among agricultural productivity, sustainability for future farming, and protections for the environment. These management practices are important concepts that can be applied in the production of maize (., corn). The aim of this three-year study (2018–2020) was to compare maize health across two fields located in Riesel, TX under varying management approaches and precipitation conditions. The first field utilized ‘business as usual’ operations characterized by the implementation of tillage, fertilization at a maximum rate (10.06 Mg/ha), and no cover crops. The second field utilized ‘aspirational’ cultivation techniques categorized by no tillage, cover crops, and an alternative method for rate of fertilization. Each field was subject to satellite-based remote sensing methods incorporating Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Difference Red Edge (NDRE). Indices were subject to sensitivity analyses to determine the most sensitive index for maize under various managements and precipitation conditions. The most sensitive index (EVI) served as a proxy for time series analysis for maize health under the varying managements and rainfall conditions. The results suggest improvements to maize health are experienced over time when aspirational managements are employed, even though business as usual management resulted in higher yields. However, studies with greater duration could point to these perceived benefits over a long-term implementation. Nevertheless, productivity comparisons considering amount of input (i.e. fertilizer) suggests an increase in efficiency each year for the aspirational management. These findings suggest factors such as improved soil health from implementation of no-till and cover crops contribute to field health, efficiencies, and resiliency across varying precipitation conditions.

中文翻译：

---

实施植被指数敏感性分析来评估玉米（Zea mays L.）管理实践


保护性农业和可持续农艺原则包括多种管理实践，例如覆盖种植、免耕和替代施肥率。这些做法中的每一种都可能导致农业生产力、未来农业的可持续性和环境保护之间的变化。这些管理实践是可应用于玉米生产的重要概念。这项为期三年的研究（2018-2020）的目的是比较位于德克萨斯州里塞尔的两个田地在不同管理方法和降水条件下的玉米健康状况。第一个田地采用“一切照旧”操作，其特点是进行耕作、最大施肥量（10.06 毫克/公顷），并且不种植覆盖作物。第二块田地采用了“理想”耕作技术，包括免耕、覆盖作物和另一种施肥率方法。每个田地均采用基于卫星的遥感方法，包括归一化植被指数 (NDVI)、增强植被指数 (EVI) 和归一化植被指数 (NDRE)。对指数进行敏感性分析，以确定玉米在不同管理和降水条件下最敏感的指数。最敏感指数（EVI）作为不同管理和降雨条件下玉米健康时间序列分析的代理。结果表明，尽管照常管理带来了更高的产量，但当采用理想管理时，随着时间的推移，玉米健康状况会有所改善。然而，持续时间更长的研究可能会指出长期实施的这些可感知的好处。尽管如此，考虑投入量（即e.化肥）表明理想管理的效率逐年提高。这些发现表明，实施免耕和覆盖作物改善土壤健康等因素有助于不同降水条件下的田间健康、效率和弹性。