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Maize On-Farm Stressed Area Identification Using Airborne RGB Images Derived Leaf Area Index and Canopy Height

Author

Listed:
  • Rahul Raj

    (Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, IITB-Monash Research Academy, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India)

  • Jeffrey P. Walker

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne 3800, Australia)

  • Adinarayana Jagarlapudi

    (Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India)

Abstract

The biophysical properties of a crop are a good indicator of potential crop stress conditions. However, these visible properties cannot indicate areas exhibiting non-visible stress, e.g., early water or nutrient stress. In this research, maize crop biophysical properties including canopy height and Leaf Area Index (LAI), estimated using drone-based RGB images, were used to identify stressed areas in the farm. First, the APSIM process-based model was used to simulate temporal variation in LAI and canopy height under optimal management conditions, and thus used as a reference for estimating healthy crop parameters. The simulated LAI and canopy height were then compared with the ground-truth information to generate synthetic data for training a linear and a random forest model to identify stressed and healthy areas in the farm using drone-based data products. A Healthiness Index was developed using linear as well as random forest models for indicating the health of the crop, with a maximum correlation coefficient of 0.67 obtained between Healthiness Index during the dough stage of the crop and crop yield. Although these methods are effective in identifying stressed and non-stressed areas, they currently do not offer direct insights into the underlying causes of stress. However, this presents an opportunity for further research and improvement of the approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Rahul Raj & Jeffrey P. Walker & Adinarayana Jagarlapudi, 2023. "Maize On-Farm Stressed Area Identification Using Airborne RGB Images Derived Leaf Area Index and Canopy Height," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:7:p:1292-:d:1178270
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dorijan Radočaj & Ante Šiljeg & Rajko Marinović & Mladen Jurišić, 2023. "State of Major Vegetation Indices in Precision Agriculture Studies Indexed in Web of Science: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Han, Ming & Zhang, Huihui & DeJonge, Kendall C. & Comas, Louise H. & Trout, Thomas J., 2016. "Estimating maize water stress by standard deviation of canopy temperature in thermal imagery," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 400-409.
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