IntraCrop provides insight into crop health and development with NDVI Technology

IntraCrop is developing further insights into crop health by harnessing advanced technologies and scientific expertise in line with its Science Led approach. NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is a widely adopted vegetation index that monitors crop growth and health. NDVI is calculated from raw satellite imagery, which is converted into LAI (a surrogate for green leaf area). By measuring biomass, it plays an important role in evidencing how biostimulants enhance crop health and development, but is less accurate later in the season, when we would typically use a SPAD meter to assess chlorophyll content instead.

In partnership with precision farming specialists, Frontier Precision Services – also a division of Frontier Agriculture – IntraCrop is using biomass (NDVI and LAI) imagery, to investigate biostimulant performance within fields across a network of on-farm tramline trials. Later in the season as the canopy starts to senesce, chlorophyll levels are measured. This unique approach allows growers to compare biostimulant results against current standard practices.

Account Manager Jack Hill has been looking at the results of recent tramline studies. He said, “We are getting promising results from trials of NDVI technology and foliar biostimulants. Tramlines treated with Nutrino Pro for example are maintaining higher biomass levels as the crops approach harvest, showing potential for higher yields. We applied Nutrino Pro at T2 (GS39), and it has helped retain chlorophyll concentration and Green Leaf Area. For every day that the canopy remains green, a wheat crop will add 0.2 t/ha in yield, so the longer we can keep the chlorophyll going the better.”

Nutrino Pro is a controlled-release foliar nitrogen fertiliser which contains magnesium and sulphur as well as the complementary biostimulants pidolic acid and R100. Nutrino Pro offers up to 95% nitrogen use efficiency compared with around 60% that would be realised with traditional fertiliser programmes.

IntraCrop’s dedication to science-led research, thorough trials, and collaborative efforts with experts underpins the success of its plant biostimulants. By leveraging satellite images to calculate NDVI, it remains at the forefront of agricultural science, helping farmers achieve more sustainable crop production and higher yields.

24th August 2023