Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, January 1
Adoption of agro-meteorological advisory services (AAS) in Punjab has been found to be valuable as it led to better yield and attributes in cotton and wheat crops as compared to non-adopted AAS cultivation.
Higher net profit on cotton and wheat
A research study conducted at two locations in Bathinda and Faridkot revealed that application of AAS inputs showed 17 per cent and 21 per cent higher net profit for cotton in timely and late sown crop, respectively, and similarly 26 percent and 18 percent higher net profit for wheat.
The study, ‘Validation of medium range weather forecasts and its economic impact on cotton-wheat cropping system in South-Western Punjab’, was undertaken by a group of researchers from the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and published by the India Meteorological Department.
According to the study’s authors, forecast related to agriculture is helpful in reducing the cost of cultivation of crops and increasing the crop yield. Reliable and timely weather forecast also provides significant and useful inputs for precise impact assessment for agricultural activities.
“The degree of vulnerability of crops to climate variability depends mainly on the developmental stage of the crops at the time of weather aberration. Weather forecast can help farmers in taking intelligent decisions about selection of crops, date of crop sowing and crop preventive measures to maximize the crop yields, so that, they can get benefit from good seasons and minimise the adverse effect of climate for their crops,” the study states.
It was found that more than 60 per cent farmers realised that weather prediction and AAS was useful for irrigation time, fertilizer time and pest and disease management and for harvesting of crops.
The aim of AAS is to preserve natural sources efficiently and minimize weather risks. It is based on medium range weather forecasts and has been identified as a micro-level management strategy for mitigating the impact of climatic variations on agricultural production and income.
Researchers received value-added medium range weather forecast data from Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, for the study, which was validated by using the data from agro-meteorological observatories in Bathinda and Faridkot.