Paper · 2025 · Smart Agricultural Technology

Improving wheat yield prediction through variable selection using Support Vector Regression, Random Forest, and Extreme Gradient Boosting

Juan Carlos Moreno Sánchez; Héctor Gabriel Acosta Mesa; Adrián Trueba Espinosa; et al.

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31
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Open access · cc-by-nc-nd

Abstract

• A feature selection process was conducted to identify the most significant factors influencing wheat yield prediction. This process involved correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). • Numerous experiments were carried out, evaluating various combinations of variables in the training set, using support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) models. • While climatic variables such as precipitation rate, rainfall, and cooling and heating degree-days can influence wheat yield, their impact is less pronounced in irrigated systems. Nevertheless, monitoring these indicators is recommended to better understand crop conditions. • Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), biomass (BM), and harvest index (HI) are proposed as the most suitable indices for improving the accuracy of wheat yield prediction. Plant breeding centers, in their relentless pursuit of more productive and resilient wheat varieties, have generated vast data repositories that are fundamental to ensuring global food security. This study uses these data to develop a wheat grain yield (GY) prediction model, using machine learning techniques such as Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield. One of the major challenges of this research was to find the most relevant variables for predicting wheat yield. Using clustering, feature selection, and variable combination techniques, particularly agronomic variables such as harvest index (HI) and biomass (BM), provided complementary information to the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This combination, analyzed through the XGBoost model, resulted in an exceptional performance, with an RMSE of 28.5082 (grams/square meter) and an R² of 0.9156, showing the constructive collaboration between these indicators. After a thorough analysis, it was discovered that daily clustering and filtering of climatic variables, especially precipitation rate, were favorable in these types of models.

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Claims 7

Method / resourceobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

The XGBoost model using NDVI, biomass and harvest index gave an RMSE of 28.5082 grams per square meter for wheat yield prediction.

Outcome
RMSEe1
Value
28.5082 (grams/square meter)e1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1289–1394 · show in text ↑
e1

“This combination, analyzed through the XGBoost model, resulted in an exceptional performance, with an RMSE of 28.5082 (grams/square meter)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1750–1888 · show in text ↑
Method / resourceobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

The XGBoost model using NDVI, biomass and harvest index gave an R² of 0.9156 for wheat yield prediction.

Outcome
R²e2
Value
0.9156e2

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1289–1394 · show in text ↑
e2

“and an R² of 0.9156, showing the constructive collaboration between these indicators”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1889–1973 · show in text ↑
Recommendationauthor interpretationoriginal resultbasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

NDVI, biomass and harvest index are the most suitable indices for improving the accuracy of wheat yield prediction.

Outcome
accuracy of wheat yield predictione3

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1289–1394 · show in text ↑
e3

“Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), biomass (BM), and harvest index (HI) are proposed as the most suitable indices for improving the accuracy of wheat yield prediction”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 697–875 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

RF and XGBoost-based models accurately predict wheat yield.

Outcome
predict wheat yielde0
Qualifier
RF and XGBoost-based modelse0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1289–1394 · show in text ↑
Associationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Daily clustering and filtering of climatic variables, especially precipitation rate, were favourable for these models.

Treatment
daily clustering and filtering of climatic variablese4
Outcome
these types of modelse4
Direction
favorablee4
Qualifier
especially precipitation ratee4

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The results obtained prove the potential of RF and XGBoost-based models to accurately predict wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1289–1394 · show in text ↑
e4

“daily clustering and filtering of climatic variables, especially precipitation rate, were favorable in these types of models”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 2025–2149 · show in text ↑
Associationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

The impact of climatic variables on wheat yield is less pronounced in irrigated systems.

Treatment
climatic variables such as precipitation rate, rainfall, and cooling and heating degree-dayse5
Outcome
wheat yielde5
Direction
less pronouncede5
Setting
irrigated systemse5

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e5

“While climatic variables such as precipitation rate, rainfall, and cooling and heating degree-days can influence wheat yield, their impact is less pronounced in irrigated systems”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 420–598 · show in text ↑
Recommendationauthor interpretationoriginal resultbasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

Monitoring climatic and crop indicators is recommended to understand wheat crop conditions.

Outcome
monitoring these indicatorse6

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Triticum aestivum
Triticum aestivum · TaxonRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e5

“While climatic variables such as precipitation rate, rainfall, and cooling and heating degree-days can influence wheat yield”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 420–544 · show in text ↑
e6

“monitoring these indicators is recommended to better understand crop conditions”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 614–693 · show in text ↑