PROXYWhat is NDVI mapping and how it helps your farm
Practical guide to NDVI mapping with drones — what it measures, how to read the map, when it's worth it and how much it costs in Romania.
The short answer
NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is a plant health map calculated from multispectral imagery — it shows exactly where your crop is thriving and where it's stressed. The drone flies over the field with a camera that measures how much red light the plant absorbs (active photosynthesis) and how much near-infrared light it reflects (healthy leaves). The formula (NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED) gives a score between -1 and +1 for every pixel.
How to read the map
The NDVI map is colour-coded from red (severe stress) to dark green (peak health):
| NDVI range | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0.7–1.0 | Dark green | Healthy crop, high leaf density |
| 0.5–0.7 | Medium green | Normal growth |
| 0.3–0.5 | Yellow-green | Reduced growth, possible stress |
| 0.1–0.3 | Yellow-orange | Water stress, disease or nutrient deficiency |
| -0.1–0.1 | Red | Bare soil, dead plant or water |
What you see in 5 minutes on a 50-hectare NDVI map: stressed zones, early disease patches, parcels that need irrigation, areas with too-low plant density.
When NDVI is worth ordering
NDVI is useful at key moments in the season:
- Right after emergence — check density uniformity
- Before fertilisation — apply variable-rate nitrogen where it's needed
- During critical stress periods — drought, heat wave, pest outbreak
- Before harvest — estimate yield and prioritise zones
- For APIA and insurance claims — document damage with technical evidence
For technical details about the map and exports see the NDVI and multispectral mapping service page.
How much it costs in Romania
On ProxyDrone, NDVI mapping starts at 80 RON per hectare with a prescription report included. For larger areas (100+ hectares) the per-hectare price drops due to operator efficiency. You receive the result in 24–48 hours, ready to import into John Deere, Trimble or Climate FieldView, or exported as shapefile/KML.
What you get in the report
- NDVI map in GeoTIFF and PNG format
- Variable-rate prescription map for fertilisation
- Exports for John Deere Operations Center, Trimble, Climate FieldView
- Per-zone statistics (area, mean NDVI, standard deviation)
- Interpretive comment — e.g. "zone X likely shows nitrogen deficiency stress"
Why not satellite
Free satellites (Sentinel-2) have 10 metre/pixel resolution and pass every 5 days. A drone delivers 5 cm/pixel resolution and can be dispatched exactly when you need it. For a wheat field hit by septoria, the difference between detecting a 2-metre patch (drone) and a 20-metre patch (satellite) can be the window in which you save the parcel with a targeted treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need expertise to read the map? No — the report includes plain-language interpretation and concrete recommendations.
Can I track evolution over time? Yes — ordering NDVI monthly shows clear trends and treatment effects.
Does my data stay private? Yes, the maps and reports are accessible only to you and the operator assigned to the job.
Book your first NDVI scan directly in the app or see the FAQ for more details.