Seasonal compatibility of RGB and multispectral vegetation indices in Amazon Cacao

Precision agriculture in cacao cultivation is constrained by multispectral sensor costs, limiting accessibility for smallholder farmers. This study evaluated the seasonal compatibility between RGB-derived visible reflectance and multispectral vegetation indices (NDVI, GNDVI, NDRE) to establish a low-cost monitoring approach for Eastern Amazon cacao plantations. We collected spectral data from 1,431 random sampling points across a 0.9-ha commercial cacao plantation during four seasonal periods (February, May, August, and November 2025) using UAV-mounted RGB and multispectral sensors. Pearson correlations and linear regression models assessed relationships between mean visible reflectance [(R + G+B)/3] and multispectral indices. Geostatistical analysis characterized spatial dependence structure across seasons. GNDVI demonstrated superior compatibility across all seasons (mean R² = 59.3%; range: 52.5–62.9%), outperforming NDRE (44.2%) and NDVI (40.8%) by 15–19% points. Temporal stability was 2.9× higher for GNDVI (SD = 4.7 pp) than NDRE (14.1 pp) and NDVI (12.7 pp). Peak compatibility occurred in May (R² = 62.9%) during wet-to-dry transition. The conversion equation (GNDVI = 0.509–0.000012 × Visible Reflectance; RMSE = 0.077) enables reliable estimation, retaining 59% of multispectral information. Strong spatial dependence (Co/(Co + C) < 10%) was confirmed across all periods, with August providing optimal structure (range = 11.4 m) for management zone delineation. GNDVI is the most reliable RGB proxy for cacao monitoring, democratizing precision agriculture access through affordable technology while maintaining robust spatial and temporal performance year-round.