Proximal and Remote Sensing for Estimation of Sugarcane Water Stress

The Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) is widely used to assess crop water status. The objective of this study is to evaluate the capability of thermal bands of Landsat ۹ satellite to predict CWSI. Then predicted CWSI were compared to calculated CWSI by Idso method. Data were collected during the summer months from July to September in ۲۰۲۳ at the Amir Kabir Sugarcane Agro-Industry Unit in Khuzestan Province, Iran. The results indicated that predicted CWSI show acceptable performance compared to actual CWSI. So that, predicted CWSI compared to actual (calculated) CWSI values on passing days of satellite were obtained with R² equal to ۰.۹۲-۰.۶۴, RMSE equal to ۰.۱۷۰۱, and rMBE equal to ۲۹.۸-۱۷.۳۳. Also according to the time series of spatial distribution of CWSI maps, at the beginning and the middle of the period of growth (۲۳ June and ۱۶ July), the stress level was high. So, remote sensing and using thermal bands of Landsat is a strong and reliable tool in product monitoring and recognition water stress in arid or semi-arid areas.

Keywords:

CWSI , Landsat ۹ , Stationary sensors , Monitoring sugarcane fields