Remote Sensing Techniques for Classification and Mapping of Sugarcane Growth

This study aimed to apply remote sensing technologies in delineating sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) plantations and in identifying its growth stages. Considering the growing demand for sugarcane in the local and global markets, the need for a science-based resource inventory emerges. In this sense, remote sensing techniques’ unique ability is vital to monitor crop growth and estimate crop yield. Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) concept was employed by utilizing orthophotos and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) datasets. Specifically, the study applied the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm to generate the resource map, validated by a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS). The classification result showed an accuracy of 98.4%, delineating a total of 13.93 hectares of sugarcane plantation in the study area. The height information from LiDAR datasets aided in developing the rule-set that can further classify the sugarcane according to its growth stages. Results showed that the area distribution of sugarcane at establishment, tillering, yield formation, and ripening stage were 6.65%, 11.61%, 13.89%, and 17.90% respectively. GPS validation points of the growth stages verified the accuracy of SVM. The accuracy results for growth stages, i.e. establishment, tillering, yield formation, and ripening are 88%, 94.4%, 96.3%, and 91.7% respectively. The results proved the usefulness of SVM as a remote sensing classification technique which led to an exact mapping of the sugarcane areas as well as the practical use of LiDAR height information in estimating the growth stages of the mapped resource, both of which can provide valuable aid in estimating the potential sugarcane yield in the future.