Pavlov – Rapeseed Field Analysis

This paper is a direct scientific backing for what we did at Pavlov. The authors flew a multispectral drone over winter oilseed rape — the same crop, the same post-sowing window — and tested whether NDVI and related indices can reliably identify damaged versus healthy areas. The answer: yes. The key finding is that the NIR band detects crop stress before it becomes visible to the naked eye — the plant looks green, but NDVI already signals something is wrong. Red Edge and NDRE proved especially sensitive, and those are exactly the indices used at Pavlov for chlorophyll zone mapping. The study also covers flight altitude and image overlap, which directly affect output accuracy: lower altitude means higher resolution but longer mission time. At Pavlov we flew at a height optimised for full 22 ha coverage in a single flight. Overall, this paper confirms that multispectral UAV crop assessment works — and works well.