We review the various methods of measuring crop health and how to ensure accurate results to improve yields. But first, let’s start with a little background on the main method of measuring crop health – the NDVI algorithm.

Since agronomists and scientists began using it in 1973, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has become one of the most successful tools to easily and quickly assess plant and crop health. Fast forward to today, NDVI is the most common vegetation index captured with drones and used in precision agriculture.

Drones don’t just take pictures, they capture a wealth of data about your crops’ health. But how do you know which data is best to use? In this post, we will compare RGB and NIR imagery and explain which we prefer to help you keep your fields healthy and improve yields.

Drones, like tractors of the sky, are changing agriculture. They save you time and help you work more efficiently. They can quickly cover more ground by air than by land, while being less disruptive to crops and livestock. Spending fewer hours surveying your field leaves more time to focus on other important tasks. Drones also provide a very different perspective of your land from above than you might be used to seeing from the window of your pickup. And with drone software to process the aerial imagery, the applications are even more numerous.