New technology accurately measures heat flux in maize fields for better agriculture.
Researchers measured heat flux in a maize field using a large aperture scintillometer (LAS) to calculate latent and soil heat fluxes. They found that LAS was accurate in measuring sensible heat flux compared to other systems, especially during the daytime in plant canopies. Sensible heat decreased while evaporation peaked at midday. LAS is a better choice for accurate and area-average measurements in agricultural meteorology.