Evaluating soil moisture and yield of winter wheat in the Great Plains using Landsat data

Locating areas where soil moisture is limiting to crop growth is important for estimating winter-wheat yields on a regional basis. In the 1975–76 growing season, we evaluated soil-moisture conditions and winter-wheat yields for a five-state region of the Great Plains using satellite (Landsat) estimates of leaf area index (LAI) and an evapotranspiration (ET) model described by Kanemasu et al. (1977). Because LAI was used as an input, the ET model responded to changes in crop growth. Estimated soil-water depletions were high for the Nebraska Panhandle, south-western Kansas, southeastern Colorado, and the Texas Panhandle. Estimated yields in five-state region ranged from 1.0 to 2.9 metric ton/ha.