What is Multispectral Analysis?
Vegetation Indices (VI)
Broadly, vegetation indices represent plant health.
Specialised cameras, such as those found on our drones, can capture light wavelengths outside of what the human eye can see. These wavelengths can then be measured and converted into an image like the one to the left. The resulting qualitative image displays problems spots, varying plant health and other information about the field
NDVI & NDRE
Two wavelength bands that are relevant for agriculture are ‘Near Infrared’ (NIR) and ‘Red Edge’ (RE).
Both NIR and RE are reliable indicators for plant health while removing factors such as soil background reflectance.
Colour maps simplify the data so that farmers have easy, actionable information.
NDRE has shown success in viticulture as it is able to see through the canopy and get a better overview of the vigor within a row.
Prescriptive Dosing
Using an index such as NDRE in viticulture we are able to get an accurate value of the chlorophyll content within the rows.
Using software, we can then map variable applications of fertiliser so that the areas that need it most get a higher dose and the healthier areas get a lower dose. This helps to save on fertiliser costs and reduces waste.
These application rates can be uploaded to the drone’s sprayer or spreader and the application process is then automated.
Targeted Spraying
As seen in this image, software is able to determine unhealthy areas of the field and design a spraying mission so that only the areas that require fertiliser are sprayed.
This significantly reducing the amount of fertiliser used as well as the time taken.
