Interest continues to grow in using drones as a scouting tool. However, the cost of drone packages and custom software for agriculture can be a barrier for many farmers. This research aims to learn if lower-cost drones can meet the scouting notes of most farmers. Ag-specific drones often take pictures using near-infrared cameras, converting images to maps showing the normalized difference vegetative index. These maps show plant health based on known plant health indicators. In contrast, lower-cost drones use cameras that take standard pictures in normal light, red, green and blue. This work indicates that using basic software to process RGB images to show the green band minus the red band leads to results as good as NDVI images.Key Benefactors: farmers, agronomists, Extension agents
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