Acreage estimation of mango orchards using hyperspectral satellite data

Horticultural crop plays a unique role in India's economy, therefore reliable and timely estimates of area under horticulture crops are of vital importance. Present methods of crop acreage estimation rely heavily on sample survey approach which is time consuming for a diversified and large country like India. Modern space technology with advance tools of Remote Sensing, GIS and GPS may be an alternative option for estimating areaunder horticultural crops. The advantage of using satellite data is that it provides both synoptic view and the economies of scale, since data over large areas could be gathered quickly from such platforms. This study has been undertaken to estimate the acreage under mango and to map existing orchards of Mango using hyperspectralsatellite data. The study was conducted for Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. The hyperion hyperspectral satellitedata was evaluated to estimate the area under all mango orchards. These estimates were compared with actual area under mango orchards measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) and the total area under mangowas predicted as 961.88 ha which was 92% close to ground data 889.65 ha. The results indicated the scope of hyperspectral remote sensing in acreage estimation of fruit crops.