Estimating Crop Water Stress of Sugarcane in Indonesia Using Landsat 8

Water-deficit stress is one of the critical problems in the sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production that affect plant growth and productivity. Water stress alters a variety of physiological processes in sugarcane that interfere with sugarcane spectral response. In this paper, we employ remote sensing technology to estimate the level of water stress of sugarcane plantation at PTPN X by using a crop water stress index (CWSI). We observe drought stress response from land surface temperature (LST) to calculate CWSI using a split-window algorithm. Landsat 8 satellite imagery and water vapor data from the MODIS-Aqua satellite were used for detecting the sugarcane water stress index by integrating CWSI and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The results indicated that CWSI and NDVI can be effectively used to estimate the level of water stress of sugarcane. The results would be useful in irrigation management to schedule irrigation of sugarcane fields.