Service 06
Multispectral crop and vegetation mapping
A multispectral sensor records bands outside human vision, which is what makes stress visible weeks before the eye picks it up. Flying the field puts the map in your hands on the day the decision has to be made.
What you get
- NDVI and NDRE index maps across the full block
- Multispectral orthomosaic in the captured bands
- High resolution visual orthomosaic from the same flight
- Zone boundaries suitable for variable rate work
- Repeat flights through the season for comparison over time
How it is scheduled
- Flight timing set by crop stage and by the decision the map has to support
- Coverage runs at roughly one quarter section per hour
- Large blocks planned as multi day programs rather than guessed at
- Flown to your window instead of waiting for a clear satellite pass
Related case study
Capture reference
- Sensor
- Multispectral, RGB + 4 narrowband
- Coverage rate
- About one quarter section per hour
- Indices
- NDVI, NDRE
- Scheduling
- Your window, not a satellite pass
- Client access
- Live DroneDeploy map link
- Delivery
- 2 to 4 business days
Coverage on the multispectral payload runs at roughly one quarter section per hour, which makes multi thousand acre blocks a planned multi day program with flight timing set around crop stage.
How it works
See how we do the restHow NDVI shows crop stress before you can see it
Read the steps
- What the eye seesTo the eye and a normal camera, the canopy looks evenly green. Early stress doesn't show yet.
- Reflected lightHealthy leaves reflect strongly in near-infrared and absorb red. Stressed plants reflect less near-infrared, long before they turn yellow. A multispectral camera measures both bands.
- The NDVI mapNDVI compares those two bands for every pixel. Green is vigorous growth; yellow and red flag stress from water, nutrients, pests or drainage.
- Zones and scout pointsProblem areas become zones with scout points, exported for your farm software or variable rate application.
- DeliverablesNDVI and NDRE index maps, a zone map with scout points, and files for your farm software or sprayer.
Used for
7 applicationsField crops and agronomy
Emergence, stand establishment and stress zones across full quarters and sections.
Farm land drainage
Where water collects, where it moves and which acres are losing yield to it, read from the surface model and the index maps together.
Golf course and sports turf
Turf stress across greens, fairways and roughs before symptoms are visible from the cart path.
Variable rate zone building
Zone boundaries in formats that import into farm management and controller software.
Hail, wind and flood damage
Dated georeferenced damage extent for an insurance claim.
Reclamation and revegetation monitoring
Establishment tracking across a disturbed area over successive seasons.
Vegetation and weed pressure mapping
Directing scouting and treatment to the acres that need it.
Recognise your project in that list? Send the site and the deliverable and a scoped quote comes back, usually within one business day, with the positioning method and delivery window stated and your licence to use the imagery included.
Get a quote for multispectral mappingCommon questions
Answered plainlyWhy fly a field when satellite imagery is free?
Cloud cover. Satellite passes are on a fixed schedule and a cloudy pass is a lost week, which is often the week the decision had to be made. Flying the field puts the map in your hands on the day you need it, at a resolution where individual problem areas are visible rather than averaged across a pixel.
How many acres can be flown in a day?
Coverage on the multispectral payload runs at roughly one quarter section per hour. Multi thousand acre blocks are planned as multi day programs with the flight timing set around crop stage.
What is the difference between NDVI and NDRE?
NDVI responds strongly in early growth and saturates once the canopy closes. NDRE uses the red edge band and keeps working later in the season on a dense canopy. Both are delivered from the same flight.
Can the maps be used for variable rate application?
Yes. Zone boundaries are delivered in formats that import into common farm management and controller software.
Other services
See all eleven
Mapping and terrain models
Orthomosaics, terrain and surface models, contours and point clouds captured with RTK positioning to a stated accuracy.
Volumetric measurement
Material volumes and cut and fill figures reported against a stated reference surface, on a repeatable cycle.
Area and quantity measurement
Measured areas and quantities reconciled in a workbook and shown over a scaled image anyone can verify.
Thermal imaging
Radiometric thermal capture for hot spots, moisture, electrical and mechanical faults, and heat signature search support.