Precision Agriculture in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Biofortified with Selenium

Remote sensing data is a powerful tool that contributes to sustainability and efficiency in crop management. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is widely recognized as one of the most important crops in terms of economic and social impact. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in two rice varieties (Ariete and Ceres) submitted to a biofortification workflow with two types of selenium (sodium selenate and sodium selenite) in providing valuable information regarding plant health and status. In this context, through the use of an UAVs synchronized, the state of the culture was further assessed, digital elevation model, water lines, slope classes / infiltration suitability and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were considered. Additionally, leaf gas exchange measurements were conducted during the biofortification process and Se content in rice was quantified. The NDVI index ranged from 0.76 to 0.80 without significant differences regarding control. It was observed that the water drainage pattern following the artificial pattern created by grooves between plots. Furthermore, selenite application up to 100 g Se.ha⁻¹ did not exhibit toxicity effects on the biofortified plants and presented a grain enriched of 16.09 µg g^-1 (Ariete) and 15.46 µg g^-1 (Ceres). In conclusion, through precision agriculture techniques and utilizing data from leaf gas exchanges allows an efficient monitoring of the experimental field conditions and is a highly useful tool in decision making.