ABSTRACT

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (NIR-Red)/(NIR+Red) images were used as consulting tools on two North Mississippi farms in 2002. They were the farms of Mr. John McKee of Friars Point and the farms of Mr. Stan and Tripp Hayes of Clarksdale. Images were used to generate prescriptions from the field. These prescriptions were then applied geo-referenced. Nematicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, and defoliants were all applied by ground as geo-referenced prescription applications. The application equipment was owned by either Mr. McKee or Mr. Hayes who made the applica-tions to their own cotton. Approximately 8,455 acres of prescriptions were written, but not all were applied due to wet fields. In Time provided the images and software which allowed a very rapid turn around time from image acquisition to application of the subsequent prescriptions. Use of NDVI is a very usable tool for cotton consulting. Its use will cut input costs to the grower, and allow for more intense management of cotton crops in the field.