Abstract: As crop Harvest Index(HI) was very important to estimate crop yield accurately by remote sensing technology,the feasibility of estimating crop HI with remote sensing technology was discussed through analyzing HI mechanism and reviewing remote sensing technology application.HI process dynamic could be monitored,and the model to estimate HI could be established,combining temporal-spatial character of remote sensing information.There were three methods to estimate HI by remote sensing technology according to this study.First,describing and analyzing the crop growing process with high temporal resolution remote sensing data.Second,acquiring the environmental parameters with remote sensing and then to estimate the HI using these parameters.Third,by crop structural parameters acquired from radar or laser radar data.The characteristics of different kinds of remote sensing data were analyzed and their advantage and disadvantage in estimating crop HI were discussed.With the multi-development of remote sensing data sources and launch of satellite with new remote sensing sensors,the crop HI estimation model would be improved with a higher accuracy.The validation should be done not only at a pixel scale(with field observation),but also comparing with the other information data sources,such as the regional statistical data,due to the characteristics of remote sensing data in spatial distribution.

Key words: Crop, Crop, Harvest index, Monitoring with remote sensing