Retrieval of Crop Variables from Proximal Multispectral UAV Image Data Using PROSAIL in Maize Canopy

Mapping crop variables at different growth stages is crucial to inform farmers and plant breeders about the crop status. For mapping purposes, inversion of canopy radiative transfer models (RTMs) is a viable alternative to parametric and non-parametric regression models, which often lack transferability in time and space. Due to the physical nature of RTMs, inversion outputs can be delivered in sound physical units that reflect the underlying processes in the canopy. In this study, we explored the capabilities of the coupled leaf–canopy RTM PROSAIL applied to high-spatial-resolution (0.015 m) multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data to retrieve the leaf chlorophyll content (LC…