THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF THE REMOTE SENSING BASED RAGWEED MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM

The Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing (FOMI) provides services to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. FOMI has a 30 years’ experience in the applications of remote sensing. The programmes carried out in this period served as a basis to ragweed control. The allergy induced by ragweed pollen has become an important issue in Hungary: some 60-100 million Euros per year are spent for medication and medical visits and tests because of the allergenic effect of ragweed. In Hungary, some 500 000 – 700 000 hectares are estimated to be infected by ragweed. About 80% of this area can be pinpointed by remote sensing techniques concentrating on arable land. To ensure the efficiency of this priority programme, the government amended the plant protection law in 2005. FOMI has supported the nationwide Ragweed Control Programme by its proprietary remote sensing and GIS methodology to monitor and map significant ragweed infected areas. This development basically relied on the knowledge and experience gained in FOMI’s previous Crop Monitoring and Production Forecast Programme (CROPMON, 1997-2003). The development of remote sensing (RS) and GIS methods plus the GPS technology makes the tasks of reconnaissance and field control more efficient. This system increases the success of preventing ragweed development. The system is a model for a range of integrated applications of remote sensing. This article presents the main results of the programme until 2011. The seven years’ operational experience in Hungary provides a realistic basis for adaptation in other areas.