A short survey of hyperspectral remote sensing applications in agriculture

Hyperspectral sensors are devices that acquire images over hundreds of spectral bands, thereby enabling the extraction of spectral signatures for objects or materials observed. Hyperspectral remote sensing has been used over a wide range of applications, such as agriculture, forestry, geology, ecological monitoring and disaster monitoring. In this paper, the specific application of hyperspectral remote sensing to agriculture is examined. The technological development of agricultural methods is of critical importance as the world´s population is anticipated to continuously rise much beyond the current number of 7 billion. One area upon which hyperspectral sensing can yield considerable impact is that of precision agriculture - the use of observations to optimize the use of resources and management of farming practices. For example, hyperspectral image processing is used in the monitoring of plant diseases, insect pests and invasive plant species; the estimation of crop yield; and the fine classification of crop distributions. This paper also presents a detailed overview of hyperspectral data processing techniques and suggestions for advancing the agricultural applications of hyperspectral technologies in Turkey.