When to use which index for crop motnitoring? i.e. NDVI vs NDRE vs PDC etc

When to use which index for crop motnitoring? i.e. NDVI vs NDRE vs PDC etc

You can use the different available calculations to get more insights and knowledge depending on your crop type, growth stage, and your goals. In brief, you can use NDVI for broad health checks, NDRE for subtle chlorophyll changes in mature crops, Color for scouting visuals, and PCD for canopy structure and understanding fine differences in canopy. 

See below for a more detailed look at each option.

Calculations 

Best use when 

Why use it 

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) 

- Crop health monitoring throughout the season (especially early to mid-growth). 

-Fast-growing plants reflect strong signals in NDVI.  

 

-Great for identifying biomass and crop vigor. 

NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge) 

-Later in the season or for denser crops (e.g., cereals, canola) where NDVI may saturate.  

 
- Detecting nitrogen deficiencies in mature crops. 

-NDRE uses the red edge band and can detect subtle changes in chlorophyll more accurately in mature crops or high biomass areas.         

Color Imagery (True Color / RGB) 

-When you want a real-world visual of your field (including cloud cover on that date) or to cross-references NDVI/NDRE results. 
  

- For visual scouting, confirming damage, scouting bare patches, weed infestations, or waterlogging. 

PCD (Plant Cell Density) 

-When you need advanced canopy detail e.g. in high-resolution imagery platforms or specific analytics models. 

-Reflects the density of plant cells. 

 

-Good for understanding fine differences in canopy cover.  

 

-More often used in research or advanced analytics tools.  

Moisture 

-To differentiate surface temperature across your fields. 

 
-To assess soil compaction or poor drainage, as compacted soil warms faster. Thermal data (Moisture) can help identify areas needing aeration or management.

-It helps you detect plant and soil stress caused by water issues, compaction, or disease, things that NDVI and NDRE might have missed. 

 
- Useful when you're managing water. It gives you a heatmap of plant stress before it shows visually. 

NDVI-R (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index-Regional) 

-comparing crop performance across multiple fields, farms, or even entire regions 

-To see which paddocks are underperforming or thriving relative to nearby ones. 
 
-To identify if poor growth is due to farm-specific issues or regional conditions (like drought or pests) 













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