Supporting precision agriculture with dual-polarimetric TerraSAR-X - yield prediction and identification of in-field variations to generate fertilizer prescription maps

This paper presents studies carried out over 2 growing season in South Australia to evaluate the suitability of TerrSAR-X dual-polarimetric imagery for crop growth monitoring and yield prediction. End of season crops were observed in 2008 and significant correlation with yield was noted. Mid-season crops were observed in 2009 and due to the lower biomass no significant in field trends were observed in the SAR when compared with concurrently acquired ground NDVI sensor and multispectral optical data. Separability between different crop types is evident in both studies, but crop biomass has to be significant for any in-field variations to be apparent.Tishampati Dhar, Carl Menges, Doug Gray, John Douglas and Leighton Wilksc