ABSTRACT
Soybean sowing can be performed at a various dates (DS) in Paraná state, with subsequent maximum vegetative development (DMDV), harvest (DC) and cycle (CI). The purpose of this study was to estimate these dates within spring-summer season from the 2011/ 2012 crop harvest, by means of temporal series of the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) sensor. We generated an average EVI spectro-temporal profile considering all pixels mapped as soybean within each municipality. These data were used as input to the Timesat software for estimates of 10-day crop cycle periods (DS, DMDV, DC and CI). The results demonstrated great variability of dates at different areas of the Paraná state. We could also observe differences between our results and official estimates for DS and DC. Sowing was majorly (65.16%) performed in the third 10-day period of October and in the first 10-day period of November. Most of the Southern Paraná soybean area (65.46%) had their maximum vegetative development (MDV) in January and harvest in March (53.92%).
phenological cycle; vegetation index; EVI; Timesat
