The potential for RGB images obtained using unmanned aerial vehicle to assess and predict yield in sugarcane fields

ABSTRACTEstimating yield is a major challenge for the majority of agricultural crops. With the advancement of field technologies however, especially those related to the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Drones, the quality of available information has increased, making it possible to overcome technological bottlenecks. However, drone technologies have advanced much faster than studies dealing with the treatment and analysis of information, which can represent an obstacle to the complete adoption of such technologies in sugarcane fields. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential for UAV images to assess the degree of canopy closure from different planting approaches and row-spacing treatments applied to sugarcane crop, in order to assess the potential of these tools to predict crop yield. The vegetative growth of the crop was evaluated and the images were obtained at the point of maximum tillering and the inflection point of the biomass accumulation curve. The evaluations inc...