Prelims – Current events of national and international importance.
Mains (GS III) – Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life | e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Why in news?
Recently ISRO has estimated the total wheat production from eight major wheat-growing states using Comprehensive Remote Sensing Observation on Crop Progress (CROP).
- CROP – It is a semi-automated and scalable framework developed by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
- Function – It enables near real-time monitoring of crop sowing and harvesting during the Rabi season across India.
- Data sources – The framework uses remote sensing datasets of Optical sensors and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from multiple satellites,
- EOS-04 (RISAT-1A)
- EOS-06 (Oceansat-3)
- Resourcesat-2A
- Optical sensors capture visible and near-infrared light, SAR uses microwaves to create images, offering all-weather information.
- Methodology – The system assimilates several satellite-derived parameters into a process-based crop growth simulation model using,
- Crop area measurements
- Sowing date information
- In-season crop condition data by assessing the health and development of crops during their growth cycle.
A process-based crop growth simulation model is a tool that imitate the growth and development of crops by modelling the fundamental processes that govern plant growth and development.
- It uses these inputs along with additional parameters like weather data, soil conditions, and crop-specific growth characteristics to imitate how the crops develop over time and predict yield and production.
- A remote sensing-based Vegetation Health Index (VHI) has been employed to monitor crop conditions and drought stress.
- Major wheat producing states in India – The 8 major wheat-growing states covered in the assessment are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- Significance - Enhances Agricultural Policy Development- Assists the Ministry of Agriculture with real-time monitoring of agricultural activities.
- Strengthens Food Security - Timely yield predictions facilitate effective food stock management and procurement strategies.
- Supports Disaster Response - Contributes to assessments of the impacts of droughts, floods, and pest infestations.
- Fosters Technological Advancement - Encourages the adoption of space-based precision agriculture and the integration of remote sensing in farm management.
Reference
The Hindu| ISRO satellites forecast wheat production
