Crop development
Development lag: a field growing slower than its neighbours
The field builds leaf and green cover more slowly than nearby fields with the same crop, sowing date and district. It is a general signal, not a diagnosis: the cause may be nutrition, water, salinity, poor emergence or disease. If the cause is not found, the field falls short on biomass and yield.
Crops: Cotton, Wheat, Rice
When it is dangerous
The lag shows from emergence to the start of grain fill. During vegetative growth you can see the field falling behind its neighbours in how fast it builds biomass. At flowering and early grain fill the red-edge index NDRE helps: it tracks chlorophyll and still separates fields where the usual greenness index NDVI has levelled off.
Causes
- Nutrient shortage
- Too little or uneven irrigation
- Soil salinity
- Poor emergence at the start of the season
- Diseases and pests
Signs on the field
- The field looks paler and shorter than nearby fields of the same crop
- Leaf cover builds more slowly and the rows close later
- Greenness is lower than usual for this field at this time of year
How ClusterOS notices it
Sentinel-2 optical images are used to compare a field with nearby fields of the same crop and a similar sowing date. A lag counts as confirmed only when it holds across several images in a row, not just one. The comparison with neighbouring fields is still being refined, so this risk is not assessed yet. Even when ready, the comparison will not name the cause: a different variety or a late sowing within the group can create a false lag.
What to do
- Enter the crop, variety and sowing date – without them there is nothing to compare the field with
- Send an agronomist to find the cause of the lag: nutrition, water, pests
- Check the irrigation and fertiliser schedule on the lagging field
- Look back at the start of the season: if emergence was poor, catching up is hard
Questions
Why is my field behind the neighbouring fields?
A lag is a general signal, not a diagnosis. Common causes are nutrient shortage, uneven irrigation, salinity, poor emergence or disease. An agronomist in the field finds the actual cause.
Can a field be compared with neighbours that grow a different variety?
Only with care. A different variety or a different actual sowing date creates a false lag. That is why the crop, variety and sowing date matter.
Learn about this risk on your fields before it becomes a loss
We will show ClusterOS on your own fields: history since 2019, crop stage and all 24 risks.
Other risks in «Crop development»
Scientific basis
- Kogan F.N. (1990) Int. J. Remote Sensing 11(8):1405–1419, DOI: 10.1080/01431169008955102
- Kogan F.N. (1995) Advances in Space Research 15(11):91–100, DOI: 10.1016/0273-1177(95)00079-T
- Gitelson A.A. et al. (2005) Geophysical Research Letters 32, L08403, DOI: 10.1029/2005GL022688