About Project

Understanding relations between weather and crop production systems for generating information on appropriate use of inputs, management of pests and diseases, and for developing strategies to manage aberrant weather conditions for improving crop production, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology (AICRPAM ) during May 1983 with the Coordinating Unit at Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad. Hitherto, the project has 25 cooperating centres under its umbrella in State Agricultural Universities (SAU’s) across the country in different agroclimatic regions. The cooperating centre of AICRPAM at Dr.Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (Maharashtra), Dryland Agriculture Research Project,  started in 1995.

Mandate

• To study the agricultural climate in relation to its variability and effect on crop production.
• To study crop-weather relationships for the major crops of the agro-climatic region.
• To study the influence of weather on the incidence and spread of pests and diseases of field crops.
• To develop agro-climatic and crop data base

Buldana, Akola, Washim and Amravati districts are broadly grouped in western zone. Yavatmal, Wardha and Nagpur come under central zone; and Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur Gadchiroli districts and parts of Nagpur district are grouped under eastern zone. Vidarbha region is divided into four agro-climatic zones, primarily based on the annual rainfall. They are as below

It covers about 33 per cent of Vidarbha. It includes entire Buldana and Akola district and parts of Washim, Amravati and Yavatmal district.

The isohyets range from 650 to 700 mm on the western side to 900 mm on eastern side with coefficient of variation as 25 per cent. Total number of rainy days range from 42 to 54. Average rainfall over the zone is 754 mm with 48.7 rainy days. Monsoon rains (June-September) amounting to 659 mm account for 87% of annual rainfall, winter (October-January) 7.3% and summer (February-May) 5.7%. Mean maximum temperature of monsoon, winter and summer seasons are 33.0, 31.2 and 37.9^OC, respectively. The corresponding values of mean minimum temperature are 24.0, 16.0 and 20.0^OC. The records of extreme highest and lowest temperature are 48.5 and 1.0^OC, respectively.

ii)  Moderate rainfall zone

It covers entire Wardha district, most parts of Yavatmal , Nagpur district excluding eastern part and western part of Chandrapur district. The isohyet range is 900mm towards west and up to 1250mm towards east. Total number of rainy days is 52 to 62. Average rainfall over the zone is 962 mm with 57.7 rainy days. Monsoon rains amount to 829 mm and account for 86% of the annual rainfall, whereas the winter and summer take the share of 9.2 and 4.8%, respectively. Mean maximum temperatures of monsoon, winter and summer are 31.8, 29.3 and 37.9^OC, respectively. The corresponding minimum temperature values are 23.6, 16.4 and 22.5^OC, respectively.

iii)  Moderately high rainfall zone

It is the smallest zone restricted to hilly areas of Satpuda ranges covering only Dharni and Chikhaldara tahsils of Amravati district. The mean annual rainfall is 1076 mm in Dharni and 1460 mm in Chikhaldara district which is received in 56 to 77 rainy days, respectively. The entire area has higher altitude with predominant forest. Monsoon rainfall is 1006 and 1337mm in Dharni and Chikhaldara, respectively, which comes to 93 and 92% of annual rainfall. It has a higher coefficient of variation. Average maximum temperatures of monsoon, winter and summer are 31.8, 29.3 and 37.0^OC, respectively. The corresponding minimum limits are 29.6, 16.4 and 22.5^OC, respectively.

iv) High rainfall zone

This zone includes entire Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli districts; Chandrapur district excluding western part and Nagpur district excluding its eastern part. The isohyet limits are 1250 mm on the western side to 1750 mm on the extreme eastern side. The total number of rainy days range from 59 to 75. Average rainfall over the zone is 1500 mm with 66.9 rainy days. Monsoon rainfall is 1313 mm (88%). Winter and summer rainfall accounts for 7.0 and 5.0%, respectively. Mean rainfall during October is 56.8 mm which promotes rabi crops in this zone. February rains are 26.6 mm which again help the rabi crops.The mean maximum temperatures for monsoon, winter and summer seasons are 31.0, 29.3 and 37.0 ^OC, respectively. The corresponding values of minimum temperature are 24.0, 15.0 and 21.0 ^OC.

• Rainfall data of 38 years (1971-2016) was analyzed to assess the frequency of occurrence of meteorological droughts at Akola. The analysis brought out that there was no drought occurrence  in 40 years (87% of years) and meteorological drought of different intensities occurred in 6 years i.e.  moderate drought 5 years (11%),  and severe drought  in 1 year (2%).
• From the water balance computations of Akola region, it was found that probability of raising crops of durations of 13, 16-17, 24-26 and 26-28 weeks with water requirements of 260,360,500 and 510 mm, respectively is 60, 50, 40 and 30 percent respectively , under rainfed conditions.
• Using the daily data of six meteorological parameters, viz., maximum temperature, minimum temperature, morning and afternoon relative humidity, duration of bright sunshine and wind speed over the years 1971-2010, reference evapotranspiration ETo for all the 40 years was estimated with the help of CROPWAT 8.0 for Akola. The time series of annual as well as seasonal ETo showed significant decreasing trend during monsoon, post-monsoon, winter, summer and on annual basis.
• Diurnal temperature range (DTR) is an important diagnostic index for the climatic variability, the trends of DTR on seasonal and annual scale were evaluated at Akola location.The trends in DTR on annual basis and over kharif and rabi seasons showed significant declining trend of DTR values in both kharif and rabi seasons and on annual basis.
• Long term data on soil temperature at 5 cm depth for the period 1986-2011 were analyzed and compared with air temperature to develop a predictive model. Diurnal variations in soil temperature were found to have a close association with corresponding air temperatures. Soil temperature data recorded during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon were regressed on concurrent air temperature data for two different times in the day. During all the seasons the temperature in the morning hours was closely related to air temperature compared to the afternoon temperature. The relations derived from the analysis can be used to predict soil temperature at 5 cm depth, which plays a major role in the seed germination, root growth, microbial activity, etc.
• Keeping the agricultural planning in view for Vidarbha region, long-term (1971-2010) weekly rainfall data from 22nd to 44th standard meteorological weeks for Akola (western Vidarbha), Yavatmal (central Vidarbha) and Sindewahi (eastern vidarbha) were analyzed using incomplete Gamma distribution for computing rainfall expected at different probability levels. Rainfall at 75 per cent probability, considered as dependable rainfall and at 50 per cent probability considered as the maximum limit for taking any risk was estimated. At 75 per cent probability, rainfall of more than 10 mm per week occur continuously for 5 (28-32 SMW), 11 (24-34 SMW) and 12 (25-36 SMW) weeks, respectively at Akola (Western Vidarbha), Yavatmal (Central Vidarbha) and Sindewahi (Eastern Vidarbha). Not only duration of assured rainfall but the amount of rainfall at 75 per cent probability is also less in western region compared to other two regions. Moreover, none of the weeks during the sowing window, i.e., 24-27 SMW at Akola received more than 10 mm at 75 per cent probability, indicating the risk in timely sowing of crops. At 50 per cent probability, rainfall of 10 mm or more occur continuously during the periods 24-40, 24-40 and 23-40 SMW, respectively at Akola, Yavatmal and Sindewahi. Similarly none of the week the period during 35-44 MW (37-44 for eastern district of Sindewahi) received more than 10 mm at 75 per cent probability, indicating the vulnerability across reproductive growth and development period of crops
• Analysis of monsoon rainfall for trend analysis of extreme events during south west monsoon season (June –September) was done across the time period 1998 to 2012 based on the taluka wise daily rainfall data. The Mann-Kendall test was performed to evaluate the trend of extreme rainfall events (25-50 mm, 50-75 mm, 75-100 mm , >100 mm and heavy/maximum rainfall) of 107 talukas (out of 120) in Vidarbha region. By and large 66 to 81% of the talukas (71 to 87) across different categories of rainfall events did not have a trend that was statistically significant. Under the remaining talukas more number of talukas showed significant increasing trend as regards 25-50 mm (31) and 50-75 mm (26) single day rainfall events as compared to > 75 mm and heavy rainfall events. On the contrary, more number of talukas showed significant decreasing trend as regards heavy rainfall events and > 100 mm rainfall events. Thus significant change was observed in terms of increase of 25-50 and 50-75 mm rainfall events and decrease of heavy (maximum) and > 100 mm rainfall events.
• Meteorological drought analysis was carried out using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for Western, Central and Eastern Vidarbha zones. Long term weather data (1901-2012) of district wise monthly rainfall series was used for computing the index. Three different time scales viz., 1 month SPI for the monsoon months (June, July, August, September), 3 month SPI ( August and October) and 6- month SPI (November) were selected for monsoon and post monsoon periods. Mann-Kendall test statistic indicated that In Western Vidarbha zone one-month SPI of August and three-months SPI of October showed a significant increasing trend, whereas one-month SPI of June, July and September tend to increase, though non-significantly. In Central and eastern Vidarbha zones, SPI showed mostly non-significant decreasing trend for different time scales, reflecting increasing dryness , except the non- significant positive trend in SPI-3 October (Central zone) and SPI-1 August (Central and Eastern zone) indicating that August precipitation has increased in the last 112 years.
• Long term changes in monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall pattern (1901-2013) was analysed. Significant decreasing trends in monthly rainfall were observed during February (Yavatmal,Washim, Buldhana districts) and April (Yavatmal and Buldhana districts). On the other hand, significant increasing trend was observed during August (Akola, Amaravati and Buldhana districts). On seasonal basis, Yavatmal, Washim, Buldhana and Amaravati districts showed significant decreasing trend during winter and pre-monsoon seasons. During monsoon season, only Bhandara district showed significant decreasing trend.
• Trend analysis of monsoon (June–September) rainfall for different rainfall spells was undertaken using long term (1971-2015) daily rainfall data of selected locations across the districts of Vidarbha region.The Mann-Kendall test was performed to evaluate the trend of different rainfall spells (< 2.5 mm for 10 days duration, > 10 mm for 7 days duration and > 25 mm for 3 days) in these locations. The results indicated that longest spell of consecutive non-rainy days, i.e. consecutive days with < 2.5mm rainfall during southwest monsoon showed significant decreasing trend at Nagpur and Chandrapur. Longest spell of consecutive days with > 10 mm rainfall showed significant decreasing trend at Akola. For the longest spell of consecutive days with > 25mm rainfall, no location showed any significant trend. Regarding the number of spells (total spell) of 10 days duration with <2.5 mm rainfall, only Buldana showed significant decreasing trend. As far as total spells of > 10 mm rainfall for 7 days and > 25 mm rainfall for 3 days are concerned, none of the stations showed either increasing or decreasing trend significantly. For total number of spells of > 50 mm rainfall for 2 days,only Nagpur showed significant increasing trend. With regard to the total spells of > 100 mm for 1 day, only Buldana showed significant increasing trend.

• DSSAT-CROPGRO soybean model simulated the phenological events, seed yield and straw yield with reasonable accuracy in JS 335 and TAMS 98-21 cultivars. Sensitivity of CROPGRO (DSSAT) model simulated seed yield indicated that magnitude of yield reduction was to a greater degree with delayed sowing(29 MW) recording -10.3 to -56.6%  reduction with up scaling of temperatures from 1°C to 5°C. Up scaled temperatures (+1 to 5°C)  variation had a pronounced effect on seed yield of soybean as compared to down scaled maximum and minimum temperatures (-1 to 5°C). Simulation of elevated CO₂ concentration by 50 ppm to 300 ppm, over the base value (392 ppm) increased seed yield by 8.8 to 50.2% per cent under different growing environment (26 to 29 MW sowing) indicating greater degree of favourable influence under later growing environments. However, elevated CO₂ concentration coupled with elevated maximum and minimum temperature level by 1, 2 and 3 °C  decreased the yield level by -3.6 to -36.8%, thus increasing maximum temperature offset the yield level increase observed solely under elevated CO₂

• Detailed phenology, thermal requirement, water use indices of cotton under different growing environment was quantified; optimum sowing window, variety and moisture sensitive phase also identified. Number of days taken and growing degree days required from sowing to last picking were higher in early sown crop (182 days and 2269°C day) and reduced with delay in sowing. 

•  Correlation coefficients worked out between weather variables prevailed during different phenophases and seed cotton yield indicated that during first square to first flower period rainfall plays a critical role and excess rainfall had a negative impact on cotton yields. Higher day time temperature during flowering and boll formation stages was found to have negative impact on cotton yields.

• Response of cotton genotypes AKA-7(Gossypium arboreum), AKH-081(Gossypium hirsutum) and Bt cotton Balwan to environmental stress was studied. Canopy temperature at all the stages of observation was lowest in arboreum cotton AKA-7 with high canopy temperature depression indicating comparatively lower degree of field-scale plant water stress. i.e., among the genotypes, arboreum cotton AKA-7 showed more tolerance to environmental stress compared to others. In a dense crop stand (150-200% of normal plant density), competition for resources, particularly soil moisture, reduces share of each plant, thus reducing its hydration status, causing higher canopy temperature with low canopy temperature depression.

• Microclimate in cotton based intercropping system with green gram, black gram and soybean as intercrops was monitored. Radiation interception and its absorption measured in different cotton based intercropping systems showed that highest interception (74%) of radiation was noticed in cotton+soybean intercropping system.

• Detailed phenology and thermal requirement of castor at different growth stages were quantified. Heat use efficiency with respect to both seed and biomass production was found to be highest for early sown crop (26 MW, 6 July) and it decreased with delay in sowing. Crop water use, water requirement satisfaction index, rainwater use efficiency and water productivity decreased with delay in sowing.

• Detailed phenology and thermal requirement (GDD,HTU,PTU) of chickpea under different growing environment were quantified; optimum sowing window and variety identified. Number of days for different phenological stages and physiological maturity decreased with delayed sowings beyond 41^st Highest heat use efficiency in terms of seed yield (0.45 kg ha^-1 °Cday^-1) was under 41 SMW sowing and with respect to biomass (1.15 kg ha-1 °Cday-1) was observed under 40 SMW sowing. Variety JAKI-9218 showed maximum HUE with respect to seed yield (0.47 kg ha^– 1 °Cday^-1) and Chaffa-816 recorded maximum HUE in terms of biomass production (1.18 kg ha^-1 °Cday^-1).

• Population dynamics of semilooper in soybean in relation to weather were studied using correlation and regression. Correlation studies indicated that semilooper incidence is controlled by temperature (maximum and mean) of the preceding 2 to 3 weeks. Relative humidity (instant and lag) was found to encourage the buildup of semilooper population. Thus, lower temperatures and high humid conditions are congenial for semilooper incidence and development in soybean. Relation with minimum temperature showed that pest had a narrow range of night time temperatures but fluctuates widely with day time temperatures. Maximum temperature in the range of 30 to 31 °C, minimum temperature 23 to 24 °C, morning relative humidity of 91 to 92% and evening relative humidity of 62 to 63% were found congenial for peak semi looper population in soybean.

• The periodic aphid population in safflower grown under three microenvironments from 40 to 42 MW was analyzed with respect to weather parameters. Correlation coeffi cients between safflower  aphids population and weather parameters with different lag periods (0, 1, 2 and 3 weeks) of peak aphid incidence were worked out. Maximum and minimum temperatures at lag phase 0, 1, 2 and 3 showed significant negative correlation with aphid incidence. Morning relative humidity showed positive correlation during 0 and 1 lag phases. Regression of aphid population on weather parameters indicates that low Tmax and high morning relative humidity conditions are congenial for aphid population in safflower crop. Lower maximum temperature.of around 29.0 °C and morning relative humidity of 80 to 85 per cent were found to be congenial for aphids population in safflower.

• Weekly updating of website www.cropweatheroutlook.ernet.in respective to Maharashtra-Akola by AICRPAM Akola centre and maintained by AICRPAM Coordinating Unit ,CRIDA,Hyderabad.