TITLE:
Characterization of Climatic Data for Predicting Growing Period, the Case of Maichew, Northern Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Molla Mekonnen Alemu
KEYWORDS:
Climatic Data, Growing Period, Rainfed
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.3,
March
25,
2016
ABSTRACT: In terms of improved crop production, knowledge and information of the
crops and crop varieties grown in a given area is a better measure of climate,
as applied to crop production in that region, than are complete climatic
records. Water is the main element of living plant tissues. Water facilitates
the movement of nutrients from the soil to the plant roots and upward
throughout the plant tissues. It also provides hydrogen as an element of organic
materials formed during photosynthesis. The transpiration of water also helps
to cool plants during harsh temperature conditions. The effectiveness of a
given rainfall for crop production highly depends on the time of the year that
it falls along with its intensity. In moisture deficit areas, the deficiency
could be overcome by supplementary irrigation and moisture conserving agronomic
practices. Apart from this, the use of improved varieties like early maturing
crops will also hold a paramount importance to combat such problems. In arid
and semi-arid zones, the conservation and efficient utilization of the available
scanty rainfall plays a significant role in the whole production system since
it can relegate all other factors, including soil fertility, to minor
positions. Therefore, knowledge on growing period has a central role in
improving crop production. Thus, this paper is aimed at characterizing climatic
data for predicting the growing period in the case of Maichew, Northern Ethiopia.