Application of remote sensing technology in the SA sugar industry: review of recent research findings.

Remote sensing allows information to be obtained for a target crop by measuring the intensity of reflected electromagnetic energy. By assessing the reflectance of various wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, a “spectral signature” for the crop can be established. The signature will depend on the characteristics and condition of the crop. Image processing software can be used to identify the combination of bands that best identify a particular characteristic of the crop. The resulting digital image of the crop surface is made up of a large number of pixels, each representing a parcel of land.