Improving Nutrient Management for Enhanced Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Yields and Grain Quality using Advanced Remote Sensing Technology

大麦（Hordeum vulgare L.）自古以来一直是最重要的粮食作物之一（Elk等人，2013年），其驯化历史存在争议，但在大约10，000年前在美索不达米亚的肥沃新月中被广泛承认（Lev-Yadun et al.，2000年）。就面积和数量而言，它被列为世界上种植最广泛的第四种谷物（Elk et al.，2013年），而英国（UK）被列为全球第九大大麦生产国，在138.8万公顷的土地上生产811.7万吨（UK National Statistics，2020年）。苏格兰春大麦和冬大麦的产量分别约为149万吨和36.5万吨（Steve，2017），产量为28.8万公顷，占苏格兰耕地作物总面积的50%（SRUC，2018）。苏格兰大麦主要作为饲料谷物和用于制麦芽而生产（丹尼尔等人，2021年），估计有47%的总产量用于制麦芽。对大麦及其产品的需求正在增加，并将继续增加，由于人口和牲畜数量的增加。为了满足不断增长的人口（人和牲畜）的需要，必须明智地集约化现有土地和资源，包括使用农业投入，以最大限度地提高大麦的生产力（数量和质量）。

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been one of the most important food crops since ancient times (Elk et al., 2013), with the history of its domestication debatable but widely acknowledged at about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia (Lev-Yadun et al., 2000). It is ranked as the fourth most widely cultivated cereal in the World in terms of area and quantity (Elk et al., 2013), whereas the United Kingdom (UK) is ranked as the ninth major global producer of barley, producing 8.117 million tonnes on 1.388 million ha (UK National Statistics, 2020). Scottish barley production is around 1.49 million and 365,000 tonnes for spring and winter barley, respectively (Steve, 2017), produced on 288,000 ha, accounting for fifty per cent of the total area devoted to arable crops production in Scotland (SRUC, 2018). Scottish barley is predominantly produced as a feed grain and for malting (Daniel et al., 2021), with an estimated forty-seven per cent of the total production used for malting. Demand for barley and its products is increasing and will continue to increase due to the rise in human and livestock populations. To satisfy the need of the rising population (human and livestock), judicious intensification of available land and resources, which includes the use of agricultural inputs, must be put in place to maximize the productivity (quantity and quality) of barley.