Economic Comparison of Satellite, Plane and UAV-Acquired NDVI Images for Site-Specific Nitrogen Application: Observations from Italy

Defining the most profitable remote sensing platforms is a difficult decision-making process, as it requires agronomic and economic considerations. In this paper, the price and profitability of three levels of remote sensing platforms were evaluated to define a decision-making process. Prices of sat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy (Basel) 2021-11, Vol.11 (11), p.2098
Main Authors: Sozzi, Marco, Kayad, Ahmed, Gobbo, Stefano, Cogato, Alessia, Sartori, Luigi, Marinello, Francesco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Decision making
drones
Economics
High resolution
Image acquisition
Nitrogen
Optical properties
Platforms
Profitability
Remote sensing
Satellite imagery
Satellites
Sensors
site-specific management
SNR
Unmanned aerial vehicles
variable rate nitrogen
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Summary:Defining the most profitable remote sensing platforms is a difficult decision-making process, as it requires agronomic and economic considerations. In this paper, the price and profitability of three levels of remote sensing platforms were evaluated to define a decision-making process. Prices of satellite, plane and UAV-acquired vegetation indices were collected in Italy during 2020 and compared to the economic benefits resulting from variable rate nitrogen application, according to a bibliographic meta-analysis performed on grains. The quality comparison of these three technologies was performed considering the error propagation in the NDVI formula. The errors of the single bands were used to assess the optical properties of the sensors. Results showed that medium-resolution satellite data with good optical properties could be profitably used for variable rate nitrogen applications starting from 2.5 hectares, in case of medium resolution with good optical properties. High-resolution satellites with lower optical quality were profitable starting from 13.2 hectares, while very high-resolution satellites with good optical properties could be profitably used starting from 76.8 hectares. Plane-acquired images, which have good optical properties, were profitable starting from 66.4 hectares. Additionally, a reference model for satellite image price is proposed.
ISSN:2073-4395
2073-4395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy11112098