Estimation of weed infestation in spring crops using MODIS data

Spring crops are a monoculture in Northern Kazakhstan. Mid-resolution satellite data of red and near infrared spectral bands from Terra´s MODIS satellite can be used for assessment of regional land use. The objective of this research was the analysis of weed infestation in spring grain crops. Weed infestation was classified into three categories, namely: minimum, average and maximum. The analysis of spectral characteristics of fields during the 2002 vegetative period permitted development of criteria to distinguish all three classes of weed infestation. It turned out, that the degree of weed population appeared to be closely linked with a number of uncultivated fallow fields. So the land use classification map was used to define the fallow fields in each farm in the oblasts. The estimation of weed population and its influence on crop productivity was derived from these analyses. The study was conducted for about 10 million hectare of spring crops in five oblasts.