Monitoring Fertilizer Effects in Hardy Kiwi Using UAV-Based Multispectral Chlorophyll Estimation

Sangyoon Lee, Hongseok Mun and Byeongeun Moon ()
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Sangyoon Lee: Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
Hongseok Mun: Department of Animal Science and Technology, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
Byeongeun Moon: Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-20

Abstract: This study addresses the need for efficient and non-destructive monitoring of the nutrient status of hardy kiwi ( Actinidia arguta ), a plantation crop native to East Asia. Traditional nutrient monitoring methods are labor-intensive and often destructive, limiting their practicality in precision agriculture. To overcome these challenges, we deployed a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a multispectral camera to capture monthly images of 10 hardy kiwi orchards in South Korea from June to October 2019. We extracted spectral bands (i.e., red, red-edge, green, and near-infrared) to generate normalized difference vegetation index and canopy chlorophyll content index maps, which were correlated with in situ chlorophyll measurements using a chlorophyll meter. Strong positive correlations were observed between vegetation indexes and actual chlorophyll content, with canopy chlorophyll content index achieving the highest predictive accuracy (average correlation coefficient > 0.84). Regression models based on multispectral data enabled reliable estimation of leaf chlorophyll across months and regions, with an average RMSE of 3.1. Our results confirmed that UAV-based multispectral imaging is an effective, scalable approach for real-time monitoring of nutrient status, supporting timely, site-specific fertilizer management. This method has the potential to enhance fertilizer efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and improve the quality of hardy kiwi cultivations.

Keywords: multispectral imaging; chlorophyll estimation; hardy kiwi ( Actinidia arguta ) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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