Serving West Texas & New Mexico

NDVI & NDRE Crop Health Analysis

See crop variability that isn't always visible from the ground.
 

Tx. Red Dirt Drone Service provides multispectral crop-health mapping using specialized aerial imagery to identify differences in crop vigor, canopy development, and vegetation response across a field.

Using multispectral drone technology, we collect visible and non-visible wavelengths of light—including Red, Red Edge, and Near-Infrared (NIR) data—to create detailed NDVI and NDRE maps. These maps allow producers, crop consultants, and agronomists to quickly locate areas that may require closer inspection. The DJI Mavic 3M uses dedicated Green, Red, Red Edge and NIR sensors rather than attempting to estimate these values from ordinary photographs.
 

What Is NDVI?

NDVI — Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

NDVI compares reflected red and near-infrared light to show differences in vegetation response across the field.

NDVI mapping can help identify areas of:

• Uneven crop development

• Reduced vegetation vigor

• Differences in canopy coverage

• Poor or inconsistent stands

• Areas requiring additional field scouting

• Changes in crop conditions between flights

Remote-sensing data such as NDVI can help direct scouting toward areas of concern rather than relying solely on walking or driving the entire field. 
 

What Is NDRE?

NDRE — Normalized Difference Red Edge Index

NDRE uses Red Edge and Near-Infrared (NIR) wavelengths to evaluate differences in vegetation response.

Because NDRE uses the red-edge portion of the spectrum rather than the standard red band used by NDVI, it provides an additional layer of information for evaluating crop variability.

Using NDVI and NDRE together provides a more complete picture of differences occurring throughout the field.

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Your Crop Health Analysis can include:

High-Resolution RGB Orthomosaic
A detailed aerial map of the entire field for visual inspection and documentation.

NDVI Crop-Health Map
Color-coded vegetation-index mapping showing relative differences in vegetation response throughout the field.

NDRE Crop-Health Map
Red-edge vegetation analysis providing an additional view of crop variability.

Identified Areas of Concern
Areas showing significantly different vegetation response can be identified for targeted ground scouting.

Acreage & Area Measurements
Measure the approximate acreage of identified zones instead of simply showing their location.

Georeferenced Locations
Maps can help producers, consultants, or agronomists locate specific areas for field inspection.

Digital Map Files
Processed mapping products can be provided digitally for recordkeeping, comparison, and compatible agricultural/GIS workflows.

DJI Terra supports multispectral reconstruction, vegetation-index mapping, reflectance maps and agricultural prescription-map workflows from Mavic 3M data. DJI

Find the Problem Areas Faster
 

Instead of scouting an entire field looking for inconsistent crop development, multispectral mapping provides a field-wide view that can help identify where conditions differ.

For example, a 120-acre pivot may appear relatively uniform from the road while multispectral imagery identifies several acres with a noticeably different vegetation response.

Those areas can then be inspected on the ground to determine the cause.

This can help focus attention on potential issues involving:

Irrigation • Nutrients • Disease • Insects • Soil Conditions • Compaction • Poor Emergence • Weather Damage

Importantly, the imagery identifies variability—it does not by itself diagnose the cause. Soil conditions, water availability, pests, disease and nutrient status can produce similar crop responses, so abnormal areas should be ground-truthed by the producer or agronomist before treatment decisions are made. Extension guidance likewise emphasizes combining aerial sensing with field scouting and other diagnostic information.