Improved leaf area index estimation in Jujube trees by fusing spatial-temporal features from UAV RGB time-series with a deep learning framework

To achieve high-precision and high-efficiency estimation of the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of jujube trees using drone remote sensing, and to overcome the limitations of traditional vegetation index methods, such as saturation in the later stages of crop growth, sensitivity to background noise, and difficulty in capturing temporal dynamics, this study proposes a parallel hybrid deep learning framework using CNN-GRU. The model adaptively extracts spatial-spectral local features from drone RGB images through a convolutional neural network (CNN) branch, while a gated recurrent unit (GRU) branch learns the sequential evolution of LAI during key phenological periods. Finally, a meta-learner integrates spatial-temporal information for decision-making. To verify the model’s effectiveness and prediction performance, the study systematically collected multi-temporal ground-measured LAI data and synchronized drone remote sensing images during critical growth stages of jujube trees in two independent years: 2024 (Bachu, Xinjiang) and 2025 (Alaer, Xinjiang). A series of spectral and texture indices were extracted as model inputs. The experimental results show that the proposed CNN-GRU model exhibits excellent learning and fitting capabilities on the training set, with an R 2 value of 0.839. On the test set, after optimization with data augmentation strategies, the model’s prediction accuracy is significantly improved, with prediction accuracy reaching its best level, with an R 2 of 0.83 and an RMSE of 0.150. All error metrics outperform mainstream comparative models such as Transformer, KNN, MLP, and CNN. This study demonstrates that the hybrid deep learning architecture, combining spatial feature extraction and time-series modeling, is an effective approach for accurate and robust remote sensing inversion of crop LAI in complex agricultural scenarios, providing a reliable technical tool for the digital management of smart orchards and precise agricultural decision-making.