LARGE-SCALE CROP CONDITION MONITORING FROM COUNTRY TO TOWNSHIP SCALE

摘要

AgriQuest? is a web based crop monitoring system that makes use of daily satellite imagery to provide worldwide crop growth information for agribusinesses. Subsequent to AgriQuesfs release to the agricultural industry on large areas, interest expressed by local and regional companies in having a source of more detailed information about the local crop and weather situation prompted the development of AgriLynx?, a decision support tool providing more precise crop monitoring details targeted agribusinesses acting locally.rnBoth AgriQuest? and AgriLynx? use as many as ten years of satellite imagery to compare current conditions with the past in order to provide accurate, real-time, un-biased information regarding crop status. Information is available at roughly the USA county (AgriQuest?) or township (AgriLynx?) level, and can be broken down by specific crop type (winter wheat, corn). In the context of this paper, raw multi-temporal remote sensing images are analyzed to qualify the land use and then to analyze crop growth.rnFurthermore AgriQuest? and AgriLynx? also provide modeled weather information, which includes daily temperature, rain, wind, and so on. Weather information, such as degree-days, can be used as the time axis to build time series and better use agronomic expertise and understanding in the analysis of the crop conditions. Indeed, AgriQuest? and AgriLynx? allow daily use of multi temporal analysis of remote sensing images. Local co-operatives and processors are using AgriLynx? to monitor local crop conditions, improve their management of the supply side, optimize their crop management and improve their decisions regarding prices and market positions.