Monitoring weather impact and crop yield from NOAA AVHRR data in Argentina Original Research Article

Satellite observations over the last two decades have contributed to improve the understanding of climate variations and the physical and biological relations of the environment. In this study the application of NOAA-AVHRR satellite data for monitoring weather conditions and corn yield in the main cropping area of Argentina was analyzed. The results have shown that images of VCI and TCI are an effective tool for monitoring regional weather conditions, droughts and their evolution, providing greater and on time spatial and temporal coverage than the one is possible from ground-based measurements. Corn yield developed models based on VCI and TCI can provide reliable and timely yield estimates of regional agricultural production. Yield estimates can be made about two months before harvesting.