ing to false reading.
Figure 3 below compares the
same potato field NDVI for a satellite (on the left) and drone image. As can be seen, the data is
the same but the drone image
gives substantially higher resolution and accuracy.
Conclusion
It is clear that drone technology
has much to offer agriculture. The
near future will see increasing
adoption of this technology by
farmers, agronomists and soil scientists. The cost savings through
timeous intervention and saving
of fertilizer, water, pesticid e and
herbicide will be significant. The
data will also allow saving and
more efficiency through accurate
prediction of biomass and hence
yield planning will be possible.
[email protected]
Figure 3: Satellite vs Drone NDVI (satellite source: Fruitlook; drone
source: AgriDrone)
John Stuart is an economist and tech entrepreneur. He launched his agricultural drone start up – www.agridrone.co at the Agri Mega Trade Fair in
Bredasdorp in September 2014. This drone system is a fully-contained,
subscription-free solution, enabling famers and agronomists to obtain up
to date, high resolution vegetation index imagery of their fields and crops.