Evaluation of MODIS data for assessment of regional spring wheat yield in Kazakhstan

The new MODIS satellite imagery offers an opportunity for operational applications. The 1-km AVHRR imagery is not suitable for retrieval of field level parameter and the Landsat data is not frequent enough for monitoring changes in crop parameters during the critical crop growth periods. The objective of this research is to evaluate the application of MODIS data for crop yields assessment in the spring wheat belt of north Kazakhstan. Field measurements during the season included crop reflectance, leaf area index (LAI), biomass and final yields. A radiative transfer model was used to develop the LAI parameters from the MODIS 250-m data. The magnitude and spatial variability of crop yield estimates were compared with ground-based yield samples. Spring wheat crop yields were simulated using a crop model with LAI generated from MODIS imagery. Yield results were within the limits reported by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture.