Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
• Increased pest and disease incidence and 'new' pests, diseases and
weeds.
• Damage from extreme events (rain, hail, wind and heat stress).
• Negative impacts on soils and crops due to extreme temperature and
rainfall events (flooding).
• Changes in frost frequency.
1.4
ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
There have been several technologies, which are already available and can
be useful for reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Develop-
ment of adverse-climate tolerant varieties may take more time but agro-
nomic adaptations, crop management, and input management can be read-
ily used to reduce the climate related negative impacts on crop growth and
production. Some such simple but effective adaptation strategies include
change in sowing dates, management of plant architecture (in perennial
crops), use of efficient technologies like drip irrigation, soil and moisture
conservation measures, fertilizer management through fertigation, change
of crop/alternate crop, increase in input efficiency, pre- and postharvest
management of economic produce do not only minimize the losses but
also increase the positive impacts of climate change. There is a lot of scope
to improve the institutional support systems such as weather based agro-
advisory, input delivery system, development of new land use patterns,
community storage facilities for horticultural perishable produce, com-
munity based natural resource conservation, training farmers for adapting
appropriate technology to reduce the climate related stress on crops, etc.
All these measures can make the horticultural farmer more resilient to
climate change.
1.4.1. OPTIMUM LAND USE
1.4.1.1
CHOICE OF CROPS
India is endowed with rich resources of water in various forms, which are
underutilized or unexplored. Many areas are also flood affected or water
logged. The risk of climate change also creates uneven distribution of rains
