UAV-Based Classification of Crop Phenological Stages Using Deep Learning

This study investigates the automatic classification of crop phenological stages from low-altitude UAV RGB imagery. The dataset included 11,489 images of five crops: sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, wheat, and barley. The images were annotated using the Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie (BBCH) scale, with labels corresponding to either single stages or stage ranges to reflect heterogeneous field conditions and transitional crop states. A pretrained ResNet18 model was adapted to the task using transfer learning. Training was conducted in two stages: first, the classification head was optimized while the backbone remained frozen; second, the entire network was fine-tuned. The model achieved strong internal test accuracy across all crops, with 100% test accuracy for rapeseed and barley, more than 99% for the remaining crops, and a mean accuracy of 99.73% under the studied survey conditions. The results also compare favorably with previously reported studies on UAV-based phenological classification. Overall, the findings support the potential of low-altitude UAV imagery and deep learning for localized phenological assessment of selected field zones in precision agriculture, while broader deployment requires validation across independent fields, seasons, regions, and survey conditions.