Assessment of Vegetation Indices as Tool to Decision Support System for Aromatic Crops

In the last few years, the interest of consumers towards nutraceutical and aromatic herbs recorded a growing trend, both in terms of product types and consumption. In Sicily, Origanum vulgare L., Lavandula angustifolia L., Salvia officinalis L., Salvia rosmarinus Spenn., Laurus nobilis L., and other similar aromatic plant species are used for food, flavorings, cosmetics and medicinal purposes. The aim of this work is to analyze and evaluate by means of vegetation indices the vegetative vigor of the aromatic crops as a tool to DSS (Decision Support System). The study area is located in Grotte (Italy), Agrigento District. The multispectral data were acquired with a DJI multispectral camera mounted on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Phantom 4. A pre-flight software was used to plan the acquisition of data by means of UAV. The multispectral images were processed with Geographic Information System software to extrapolate spectral information for each cardinal direction’s exposure. The high-resolution multispectral images were mosaicked and thematic maps of vegetation indices (VIs) NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), were generated. The results show that, UAVs with the multispectral camera can be significantly applied to obtain data about vegetation growth, vigor and site-specific applications as tools to DSS.