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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #291756
Title: Remote sensing for evaluating crop water stress at field scale using infrared thermography: Potentials and limitations

Author
item TAGHVAEIAN, SALEH - Colorado State University
item CHAVEZ, JOSE - Colorado State University
item ALTENHOFEN, JON - Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
item Trout, Thomas
item DeJonge, Kendall

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2013
Publication Date: 3/27/2013
Citation: Taghvaeian, S., Chavez, J., Altenhofen, J., Trout, T.J., Dejonge, K.C. 2013. Remote sensing for evaluating crop water stress at field scale using infrared thermography: Potentials and limitations. Meeting Proceedings. Hydrology Days, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO March 25-27, 2013

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Over the past few decades, the competition for freshwater resources has substantially increased in arid/semi-arid areas, exacerbating the pressure on the largest user of water, namely agriculture, to consume less water. However, reducing crop consumptive water use or evapotranspiration through water stress can have a negative impact on production economics if not precisely managed. Remote sensing of crop canopy temperature is a scientifically-based and easy-to-apply method that can be used at field scales to evaluate crop water status at or near real-time. In this study, thermal images of maize canopy under two deficit irrigation regimes were acquired using a hand-held thermal camera. The results showed that the low-frequency deficit irrigation treatment resulted in higher maize temperatures compared to the high-frequency deficit irrigation regime. A methodology for converting the temperature value of each pixel into a spatially variable crop water stress index (CWSI) is described. Estimated CWSI values were highly correlated with spatial variations in soil texture. Finally, the promising potentials of infrared thermography and current limitations are discussed in detail.