REMOTE SATELLITE SENSING OF RICE IN ASIA

Asia is the world’s largest producer of rice, with around 136 million hectares of land dedicated to rice cultivation. While 90% of the global rice production is produced within Asia, it is also the highest consumer of rice, with around 80% of the global rice consumption. This data shows that the continent is highly dependent on rice cultivation for its food security. It also sustains the livelihoods of many farmers. Therefore, remote satellite sensing has emerged as an important part of monitoring rice fields and providing various detailed insights and analyses in Asia.

For many decades, farmers have used traditional labour-intensive methods for rice crop operations. These methods were not as effective as they were time-consuming. However, with the emergence of remote satellite sensing, this process has been made easier as this technology enables farmers to gain various insights and real-time data over their rice fields and make informed decisions without being totally reliant on their assumptions and observations.

These satellites provide not only once-unimaginable data items, like rice cultivation areas, human-induced alterations to the environment, and the general health of the rice ecosystem, but also more accurate and precise data in comparison with the assumptions made by farmers.

What Is Remote Satellite Sensing?

Remote Sensing is the technology that collects information and data about some areas with the help of satellites. In the case of agriculture, it becomes very useful in collecting important insights—like crop health, detection of diseases, risks of floods and droughts, etc.—that will help farmers make well-informed and correct decisions.

Notable Works Of Remote Satellite Sensing In Asia

1. Sentinel-2 Imagery in Vietnam: This program uses Sentinel-2 data for mapping and monitoring rice crop phonological development and growth stages in Vietnam.
2. China’s CropWatch Program: The program focuses on monitoring crops—like rice in the country for better production and yield estimates and data about recent disasters impacting agriculture.
3. Application of MODIS in India: This program revolves around the use of MODIS data for improved agricultural operation and irrigation facilities in rice farming in Asia.

Technical Details:

Equipped with optical and radar sensors, satellites lay out high-resolution images that aid in systematic tracking of the growth of rice for the management of water resources. Technologies such as NDVI look at the health of the plants; on the other hand, SAR sensors monitor the moisture content in the soil and the risks of flooding. Linked with GIS and IoT, satellite sensing empowers technologies to drive environment-friendly practices, productivity, and food security challenges in the region.

Purpose Of Remote Satellite Sensing:

1. Early Detection of Crop Health Issues: Satellites detect problems in crops, diseases, pests, and nutrient flow through the Normal Difference Vegetation Index. Early detection will hence offer one the great opportunity to make informed decisions that will let one resolve crop problems at an early stage.
2. Resource Management: Remote sensing helps in enabling full optimisation of resources such as water, fertilisers, and pesticides more effectively. This not only helps in saving resources but also reduces costs.
3. Yield Prediction: Hence, yield estimates do give a real-time guide to farmers on the proper management of the crop plantation, its irrigation, harvesting, and supply chains for correct forecasting and planning.

Key Rice Traits Research And Retrieved Data:

1. Leaf Area Index (LAI): It provides information about the leaf density in the surrounding environment of the rice field. A higher LAI indicates a healthy and successful crop in that area.
2. Nitrogen Content: This gives knowledge about the nutrient status of the rice crop and helps in fertilisation correctly and on time.
3. Chlorophyll: The content of chlorophyll indicates the photosynthesis activity of the rice crop and is well related to the overall health of the plant.

Additional Information Provided By Remote Sensing:

1. Soil Moisture Content: It provides information regarding the moisture content of the soil, hence allowing for irrigation scheduling to reduce possible water stress or over-irrigation.
2. Disaster and Weather Monitoring and Impact: It helps in the pre-detection of the upcoming weather conditions and natural disasters like floods and droughts in the area, which assists farmers in managing crops ahead of time. It can also calculate the impact of disasters on the crop field.
3. Rice mapping: It entails detailed mapping of rice fields that helps in observing changes in cultivation areas over a certain period of time.
4. Mapping Harvested Area: It identifies and maps out the area of rice fields that have been harvested, providing data for post-harvest analysis.

Let’s Conclude:

Remote satellite sensing of rice in Asia is one of the major steps taken in the field of agricultural development. By using this technique, Asian agriculture has shown better results in the form of better crop health, increased crop yield, and less wastage of valuable resources such as water, etc.

The introduction of this technology has opened doors for new technological improvements in the field of farming in Asian countries.

To learn more, contact KG2 Australia. We are here to provide you with the latest technologies and the best farming solutions for all your agricultural needs.