Spring wheat yield prediction for Western Canada using weekly NOAA AVHRR composites

The growing and marketing of wheat and other small grains is a major national and international industry. Accurate methods of acquiring crop condition information in a timely manner is critical within the global grain marketing environment. Any technique that helps reduce uncertainties with respect to marketing decisions is therefore important. This paper reviews the use of maximum value NDVI composites (MVCs) to predict spring wheat yield for Western Canada. Results show that cumulative NDVI estimates provide a reproducible and reliable means of generating early season yield estimates for Western Canada. Results for 1991 and 1992 growing season show that early season NDVI yield estimates are within 5% of official yields estimates released 3 months following harvest