Spectral Vegetation Index Sensor Evaluation for Greenhouse Precision Agriculture

Automated greenhouses provide a controlled environment to improve crop yield and resource efficiency, and represent an interesting alternative to implement precision agriculture based on sensing technology and data-driven management. While current automated greenhouses focus on controlling and monitoring environmental and soil variables, direct vegetation data is not usually available. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a standardized indicator for crop healthiness, that uses direct plant spectral measurements of the difference between the reflected near-infrared and red light. This paper evaluates two different types of NDVI measurement instruments and analyzes how they can be integrated into a greenhouse ecosystem to control environmental and soil variables based on the plant healthiness. The automated greenhouse has been implemented for academic purposes to create an active learning environment where students can develop disciplinary and transversal competencies.