Study on Rice Yield Estimation Model Based on Quantile Regression

An airborne multi-spectral camera was used in this study to estimate rice yields.The experimental data were achieved by obtaining a multi-spectral image of the rice canopy in an experimental field throughout the jointing stage （July,2017） and extracting five vegetation indices.Vegetation indices and rice growth parameter data were compared and analyzed.Effective predictors were screened by using significance analysis and quantile and ordinary least square （OLS） regression models estimating rice yields were constructed.The results showed that a quantile regression model based on normalized difference vegetation indices （NDVI） and rice yields performed was best for τ=0.7 quantile.Thus,NDVI was determined as an effective variable for the rice yield estimation during the jointing stage.The accuracy of the quantile regression estimation model was then assessed using RMES and MAPE test indicators.The yields by this approach had better results than those of an OLS regression estimation model and showed that quantile regression had practical applications and research significance in rice yields estimation.