Images
February 26, 2009 - Drought in Argentina
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Crops in Argentina were taking a beating in February 2009. According to reports from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), a severe drought in southern South America had severely affected corn, cotton, and soybean crops in the country. Total rainfall since December was far below normal in most areas, and the rain that did fall often did not coincide with key points in crops’ growing cycles. Dust storms occurred in January and again in February, despite some late-to-arrive rains.
This pair of natural-color images from the MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite contrasts 2009 conditions (shown in the main image from February 23) in southern Buenos Aires province with the conditions in 2008 (visible if you move your mouse over the main image), a more normal year. The province is one of the country’s major corn-growing areas. The difference in overall greenness is dramatic. In 2008, the area was a checkerboard of lush green, a sign that crops were healthy. In the 2009 image, the landscape was pale green and tan, reflecting the struggle that natural and cultivated vegetation was having with the hot, dry summer.
According to FAS analyst Denise McWilliams, 2009 crop production was 30-60 percent of what it was in 2008, depending on the crop. Drought stress made the corn crop susceptible to insect pests, and in some fields, farmers simply baled the stunted corn crop for use as livestock forage. Likewise, extreme heat and drought struck the season’s first soybean crop during its flowering and seed pod development phase. Meanwhile, the drought and heat caused wide differences in the height and maturity level of cotton crops, even within the same field, which was expected to complicate the harvest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 02/23/2009 and 02/22/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Crops in Argentina were taking a beating in February 2009. According to reports from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), a severe drought in southern South America had severely affected corn, cotton, and soybean crops in the country. Total rainfall since December was far below normal in most areas, and the rain that did fall often did not coincide with key points in crops’ growing cycles. Dust storms occurred in January and again in February, despite some late-to-arrive rains.
This pair of natural-color images from the MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite contrasts 2009 conditions (shown in the main image from February 23) in southern Buenos Aires province with the conditions in 2008 (visible if you move your mouse over the main image), a more normal year. The province is one of the country’s major corn-growing areas. The difference in overall greenness is dramatic. In 2008, the area was a checkerboard of lush green, a sign that crops were healthy. In the 2009 image, the landscape was pale green and tan, reflecting the struggle that natural and cultivated vegetation was having with the hot, dry summer.
According to FAS analyst Denise McWilliams, 2009 crop production was 30-60 percent of what it was in 2008, depending on the crop. Drought stress made the corn crop susceptible to insect pests, and in some fields, farmers simply baled the stunted corn crop for use as livestock forage. Likewise, extreme heat and drought struck the season’s first soybean crop during its flowering and seed pod development phase. Meanwhile, the drought and heat caused wide differences in the height and maturity level of cotton crops, even within the same field, which was expected to complicate the harvest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 02/23/2009 and 02/22/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
