Mapping of Cropping System for the Indo-Gangetic Plain Using Multi-Date SPOT NDVI-VGT Data

The present study has been carried out to delineate the existing cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) using 10 day composite SPOT VEGETATION (VGT) NDVI data acquired over a crop year (June–May). Results showed that it is feasible to identify the major crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, potato, and cotton in the dominant growing areas with good accuracy. Double cropping pattern is the most prevalent. Rice-wheat, sugarcane based, cotton-wheat, rice-potato, rice-rice, maize/millet-wheat are some of the major rotations followed. Rice-wheat is the dominant rotation accounting for around 40% of the net sown area. Triple crop rotations was less than 5% of the area and observed in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Single crop rotation of rice-fallow is significant only in West Bengal.