Multiple production forecasts of wheat in India using remote sensing and weather data

This paper describes the methodology adopted and results obtained during forecasting of national level wheat production in India using multi-date medium resolution Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) data. Multidate, geometrically registered and radiometrically normalized Resourcesat-1 AWiFS data were classified using hierarchical decision rules, which exploited differential crop spectral profiles of various crops in winter season. Wheat acreage estimates were arrived by aggregation of stratified samples. Wheat yields were predicted for meteorological sub-divisions by correlation weighted weather regression models developed using fortnightly temperatures. Multiple preharvest wheat acreage and production forecasts were made with additional information on spatio-temporal crop growth performance in comparison to previous / normal season.