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Title: DETERMINING WITHIN-FIELD MANAGEMENT ZONES FOR GRAIN SORGHUM USING AERIAL VIDEOGRAPHY

Author
item YANG, CHENGHAI - TEXAS A&M EXT.SERVICE
item Anderson, Gerald

Submitted to: Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Site-specific farming aims to improve crop production efficiency and reduce environmental pollution by adjusting farming inputs (i.e., seeds, fertilizer and pesticides) to the specific conditions within each area of a field. Therefore, it is an important first step to divide the field into relatively uniform management zones. The two commonly used approaches are based on maps of field production levels and soil sampling. In this study, aerial videography (a remote sensing tool) was used to map production levels within two grain sorghum fields. Video images of the two fields were acquired and then grouped into several management zones using an image processing system. A limited number of sampling points were selected within each zone at which plant, leaf and soil samples were taken. Analyses of the data showed that airborne videography is an effective tool for establishing within-field management zones. Plant height, biomass and yield were significantly related to the video imagery. The relationship suggests that the video can be used to estimate yield variations within individual fields, thus reducing the need for more technical yield mapping methods.

Technical Abstract: One important aspect of site-specific farming is the determination of appropriate management zones within a field. The commonly used methods are based on yield mapping and intensive soil sampling. In this study, color infrared digital video images of two grain sorghum fields in south Texas were acquired and then classified into several management zones using unsupervised classification. Sampling points were selected within each zone at which plant, leaf and soil samples were taken. Analysis of variance showed that plant height, biomass and yield differed significantly among management zones, though most plant tissue and soil nutrients did not differ significantly. Correlation analysis showed that plant height, biomass and yield were significantly correlated with the red band, the green band and NDVI. The red band best estimated grain yield based on segmented models for both fields. Results from this study indicate that airborne videography is an effective tool for establishing within-field management zones.