Mapping potential of digitized aerial photographs and space images for site-specific crop management

摘要

Abstract: In site-specific crop management, treatments (e.g.,fertilizer and herbicides) are applied precisely wherethey are needed. Global positioning system receiversallow accurate navigation of field implements andcreation of crop yield maps. Remote sensing productshelp producers explain the wide range of yields shownon these maps and become the basis for digitized fieldmanagement maps. Previous sources of remote sensingproducts for agriculture did not provide services thatgenerated a sustained demand by crop producers, oftenbecause data were not delivered quickly enough. PublicAccess Resource Centers could provide a nearlyuninterrupted electronic flow of data from NASA's MODISand other sensors that could help producers and theiradvisors monitor crop conditions. This earlywarning/opportunity system would provide a low-cost wayto discover conditions that merit examination on theground. High-spatial-resolution digital aerialphotographs or data from new commercial satellitecompanies would provide the basis for site-specifictreatments. These detailed data are too expensive toacquire often and must be timed so as to representdifferences in water supply characteristics and cropyield potentials. Remote sensing products must belinked to specific prescriptions that crop produces useto control operations and improve outcomes. !21