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CHAPTER-9 WEATHER HAZARDS Drought, Floods, Frost, Tropical Cyclones, Extreme Weather Conditions Such As Heat – Wave and Cold –Wave

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CHAPTER-9 WEATHER HAZARDS Drought, Floods, Frost, Tropical Cyclones, Extreme Weather Conditions Such As Heat – Wave and Cold –Wave CHAPTER-9 WEATHER HAZARDS Drought, Floods, Frost, Tropical cyclones, Extreme weather conditions such as heat – wave and cold –wave. DROUGHT The term drought can be defined by several ways. 1. The condition under which crops fail to mature because of insufficient supply of water through rains. 2. The situation in which the amount of water required for transpiration and evaporation by crop plants in a defined area exceeds the amount of available moisture in the soil. 3. A situation of no precipitation in a rainy season for more than 15 days continuously. Such length of non-rainy days can also be called as dry spells. FLOOD Years in which actual rainfall is ‘above’ the normal by twice the mean deviation or more is defined as years of floods or excessive rainfall. Like droughts, the definition of floods also varies one situation to another and forms one region to other. FROST Frost is water vapor, or water in gas form, that becomes solid. Frost usually forms on objects like cars, windows, and plants that are outside in air that is saturated, or filled, with moisture. Areas that have a lot of fog often have heavy frosts. TROPICAL CYCLONE Tropical cyclone, also called typhoon or hurricane, an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. Drawing energy from the sea surface and maintaining its strength as long as it remains over warm water, a tropical cyclone generates winds that exceed 119 km (74 miles) per hour. In extreme cases winds may exceed 240 km (150 miles) per hour, and gusts may surpass 320 km (200 miles) per hour. EXTREME WETHER CONDITIONS HEAT WAVE A heat wave is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is measured relative to the usual weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be termed a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. COLD WAVE A cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. The precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year. CHAPTER –10 Modifications of crop microclimate, Climatic normals for crop and livestock production Relation of weather with agriculture Solar Radiation: It includes light intensity, light quality and duration of sunlight. Out of total radiation received, only 50% in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) which lies in 400- 700nm range. Rest is UV or IR. Now there is an exponential relation between amount of light intercepted by canopy and Leaf Area Index (Leaf Area/ground area). The sum of these values for individual days is directly proportional to crop yield. Temperature: A term growing degree days is used which is given for a crop from time of flowering to harvest date. Every crop has a temperature range below or above which GDD for that particular day is zero. GDD is the sum of difference of daily temperature and base temperature. So the harvest date is predicted depending on the when the GDD is achieved. Precipitation, Evaporation and Transpiration: There is a relation to calculate the length of growing period which includes Evapotranspiration. We need to know amount of precipitation and crop water requirement. Also transpiration causes cooling so maintains temperature. This prevents crop from damaging. These factors are responsible for proper crop growth and development. If anyone of the factors is affected, the crop will be affected accordingly as in case of heavy rains, high temperatures etc. AGRICULTURE AND WEATHER RELATION Higher CO2 levels can affect crop yields. Some laboratory experiments suggest that elevated CO2 levels can increase plant growth. However, other factors, such as changing temperatures, ozone, and water and nutrient constraints, may counteract these potential increases in yield. For example, if temperature exceeds a crop's optimal level, if sufficient water and nutrients are not available, yield increases may be reduced or reversed. Elevated CO2 has been associated with reduced protein and nitrogen content in alfalfa and soybean plants, resulting in a loss of quality. Reduced grain and forage quality can reduce the ability of pasture and rangeland to support grazing livestock. More extreme temperature and precipitation can prevent crops from growing. Extreme events, especially floods and droughts, can harm crops and reduce yields. Dealing with drought could become a challenge in areas where rising summer temperatures cause soils to become drier. Although increased irrigation might be possible in some places, in other places water supplies may also be reduced, leaving less water available for irrigation when more is needed. Many weeds, pests, and fungi thrive under warmer temperatures, wetter climates, and increased CO2 levels. Though rising CO2 can stimulate plant growth, it also reduces the nutritional value of most food crops. Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide reduce the concentrations of protein and essential minerals in most plant species, including wheat, soybeans, and rice. This direct effect of rising CO2 on the nutritional value of crops represents a potential threat to human health. Human health is also threatened by increased pesticide use due to increased pest pressures and reductions in the efficacy of pesticides. MODIFICATION OF CROP MICROCLIMATE Many vegetable crops do not perform to their full potential in unfavorable condition of environment. Producers can, however, modify the environment a small scale, creating microclimates more suitable for growing high value, warm-season crops. Artificial control of field environment to keep the optimum condition of plant growth and crop production - A practice of environmental control requires a complete knowledge of physiology of plants and physical environment. It is be done through: 1. Controlling wind velocity 2. Controlling heat load 3. Controlling water balance. CLIMATIC NORMALS FOR CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CLIMATIC NORMALS FOR CROP PRODUCTION Rice Temperature and solar radiation influence rice yield by directly affecting the physiological processes involved in grain production and indirectly through the incidence of pest and diseases. The difference in yield is mainly due to temperature and solar radiation received during its growing season. It requires high temperature, ample water supply and high atmospheric humidity during growth period. Rice tolerates up to 40°C provided water is not limiting. A mean temperature of 22°C is required for entire growing period. If high temperature drops lower than 15°C during the growth phase, the rice yield is greatly reduced by formation of sterile spikelets. The period during which low temperature is most critical, is about 10–14 days before heading. Solar radiation - Low sunshine hours during the vegetative stage have slight ill effect on grain production, whereas the same situation during reproductive stage reduce the number and development of spikelets and thereby the yield. For getting grain yield of 5 t/ha, a solar radiation of 300cal cm2/day is required. A combination of low daily mean temperature and high solar radiation during reproductive phase is good for getting higher yield. Rainfall - Rice requires high moisture and hence classified as hydrophytes. Rice requires a submerged condition from sprouting to milky stage. The water requirement is 125 cm. An average monthly rainfall of 200 mm is required to grow low land rice and 100 mm to grow upland rice successfully. Wheat Optimum temperature for sowing is 15–20°C. At maturity, it requires 25°C. At harvest time, wheat requires high temperature of 30–35°C and bright sunny period of 9–10 hours. Moisture - One ha of wheat consumes about 2500–3000 tones of water. Water deficiency at the heading stage results in shriveled grains and low yield. Maize This crop is best suited for intermediate climates of the earth to which the bulk of its acreage is confined. Temperature - Maize requires a mean temperature of 24°C and a night temperature above 15°C. No maize cultivation is possible in areas where the mean summer temperature is below 19°C or where the average night temperature during the summer falls below 21°C. However, high night temperature also results in low yield. Moisture - Maize is adapted to humid climates and has high water requirements. It needs 75 cm of rainfall during its growth period. The average consumptive use of water by maize is estimated to range between 41 and 64 cm. From germination up to the earing stage, maize requires less water. However, at flowering, it requires more water and the requirement reduces towards maturity. CLIMATIC NORMALS FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION Direct effects of climate change on livestock The most significant direct impact of climate change on livestock production comes from the heat stress. Heat stress results in a significant financial burden to livestock producers through decrease in milk component and milk production, meat production, reproductive efficiency and animal health. Thus, an increase in air temperature, such as that predicted by various climate change models, could directly affect animal performance. Indirect effects of climate change on livestock Most of the production losses are incurred via indirect impacts of climate change largely through reductions or non-availability of feed and water resources. Climate change has the potential to impact the quantity and reliability of forage production, quality of forage, water demand for cultivation of forage crops, as well as large-scale rangeland vegetation patterns. In the coming decades, crops and forage plants will continue to be subjected to warmer temperatures, elevated carbon dioxide, as well as wildly fluctuating water availability due to changing precipitation patterns.
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