Nitrogen (N) management is critical for corn production. On the other hand, N leaching into the groundwater creates serious environmental problems. There is a demand for sensors that can assess the plant N deficiency throughout the growing season to allow producers to reach their production goals, while maintaining environmental quality. This paper reports on the performance of a vision-based reflectance sensor for real-time assessment of N stress level of corn crops. Data were collected representing the changes in crop reflectance in various spectral ranges over several stages of development in the growing season. The performance of this non-contact sensor was validated under various field conditions with reference measurement from a Minolta SPAD meter and stepped nitrogen treatments.