# Analysis of Maize Sowing Periods and Cycle Phases Using Sentinel 1&2 Data Synergy
## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Study Site  
This study aims to exploiting the potential of remote sensing information to analyze the maize growth over a densely cultivated pilot area within the province of Cuneo, in the North-West of Italy. The pilot area extends approximately from 7.47\({}^{\circ}\)E to 7.85\({}^{\circ}\)E, and from 44.34\({}^{\circ}\)N to 44.6\({}^{\circ}\)N (about 30 km \(\times\) 30 km), including the municipalities shown in Figure 1.  
Figure 1: Characterization of the pilot area: location, elevation above mean sea level, climate, croplands, irrigation districts. (**a**) Location and limits of the pilot area (7.47\({}^{\circ}\)E to 7.85\({}^{\circ}\)E, 44.34\({}^{\circ}\)N to 44.6\({}^{\circ}\)N): 15 municipalities in the province of Cuneo (North–West Italy). (**b**) Spatial elevation above the sea level [m], 10 m \(\times\) 10 m resolution. (**c**) Mean daily precipitation [mm/day] from April to October (average 1970–2019). (**d**) Mean daily reference evapotranspiration [mm/day] from April to October (average 1970–2019). (**e**) Land classification of the pilot area, according to the Corine Land Cover (2018) information. (**f**) Fractions of irrigated croplands [%] with respect to the overall municipal areas: Rocca de’ Baldi (1), Fossano (2), Boves (3), Morozzo (4), Peveragno (5), Margarita (6), Cuneo (7), Montanera (8), Pianfei (9), Mondovi (10), Castelletto Stura (11), Beinette (12), Centallo (13), Sant’Albano Stura (14), Chiusa di Pesio (15). (**g**) Irrigation districts and infrastructures, including rain gauges.  
Most of the croplands are distributed in the plain region in north-central part of the site, typically below 600 m of elevation, according to information from the Corine Land Cover classification [24] and the Digital Terrain Model provided by Regione Piemonte [25]. According to the Koppen-Geiger classification, the local climate is warm temperate, with humid summers and mean temperatures below 22 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The monthly hydro-climatic information provided by ISPRA [26] shows that the mean precipitation and the mean reference evapotranspiration range between 2-3.5 mm/day and 2.5-3 mm/day respectively (average values for croplands from April to October), as shown in Figure 1c,d.  
The pilot area is characterized by a complex pattern of crops and an extensive network of irrigation channels. Maize is the most cultivated cereal, accounting for 65.7% of cereal areas and 17.0% of total agricultural hectares (including pastures and fallow lands), according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT [27]).  
As shown in Figure 1f, irrigated croplands account for large parts of municipal territories, especially in the north-central part of the site, according to the Agricultural Census promoted by ISTAT in 2010 [28] (e.g., irrigated croplands are more than 80% of Morozzo and Montanera overall areas). The same Census highlights that about 90% of maize fields in the province of Cuneo are irrigated. The pilot site is equipped with a dense network of irrigation channels, belonging to 7 irrigation districts. The shape files describing the extension and the location of irrigation infrastructures and administrative areas were provided by Regione Piemonte [29]. More than 98% of irrigation channels are located within the borders of the irrigation districts. Besides the network of irrigation channels, the area is equipped with a high number of wells [30] (Figure 1g), which may provide additional water to the fields.