Yield estimation of the winter wheat using Radarsat 2 polarimetric SAR reponse

Cereals have a prominent place in food self-sufficiency. This crop is the main source of human and animal nutrition in the world. Therefore, monitoring the cereal production in order to manage agricultural practices such as the crop yield forecasting, the identification of the risk of diseases and the application of fertilizers is essential. Several techniques are used for agricultural yield estimation; classical and spatial tools. Studies showed that the classical monitoring tools are insufficient in the case of cereals, a culture that extends over large areas. then, investigation of faster and more consistent methods such as remote sensing data analysis is imperative. Optical data is less available due to the atmospherical conditions and the day only acquisition. SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data offer a well adopted solution in this case. In fact, it is a reliable tool for monitoring agricultural production for the wheat crop regardless of the weather (clouds, rain) and temporal condition. In this study, we present the potential of Radarsat 2 images for yield prevision. We propose a new statistical relationship between yield measured in situ and backscatter coefficient. The developed analysis in this paper is dedicated to the region of Boussalem in the north west of Tunisia. For experimental validation, the yield determined in situ at the end of wheat season with two Radarsat 2 images. One image coincides simultaneously with the field acquisition and one in flowering stage. The results showed a significant correlations between grain yield and backscatter coefficient (r values greater than 0,6).