Meterology is the word
derived from ‘meteoro’ which means
‘above the surface of earth’ and ‘logos’ means ‘scientific study’. It is
actually a branch of Physics and deals with the study of lower atmosphere. In
short, it is the study of characteristics and behavior of atmosphere. It
explains and analyses the changes of individual weather elements such as air
pressure, temperature and humidity that are brought about due to the effect of
insolation (radiation from the sun received by earth’s surface).
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| Weather monitoring device installed near an agricultural field |
The
application of meteorology in agriculture is called Agriculture meteorology or Agrometeorology.
In plain words, agrometeorology is the
application of study of the effects caused by the changes and behavior of the
climate on agriculture. The measurements and analysis done for longer durations
enables the agriculture world about the coming climatic changes in advance.
There are numerous possibilities of the applications of Agrometeorology in
agriculture sector of Pakistan.
Role
of weather in Crop production
Climate
and weather conditions of a land greatly affect the crop production activities
from land preparation, to sowing, harvesting and post-harvesting. In rainfed areas, changes in the climate can
have devastating affect such as no water for sowing, or during crop development
stages, or flooding during a standing crop can destroy all of the crops. So,
both floods and famines are nightmare to the farmer community.
Importance
of Agrometeorology
à Helps in planning cropping
patterns/systems.
à Selecting of sowing dates for
optimum crop yield.
à To go for cost effective
ploughing, harrowing, weeding etc.
à Reducing losses of applied
chemicals and fertilizers. Avoid fertilizer and chemical sprays when rain is
forecast
à Judicious irrigation to crops.
à Efficient management of soils, which are
formed out of weather action.
à Efficient harvesting of all
crops.
à Managing weather abnormalities like cyclones,
heavy rainfall, floods, drought etc. This can be achieved by weather
forecasting.
à Mitigation measures such as
shelterbelts against cold and heat waves, effective environmental protection.
à Reducing or eliminating outbreak of pests and
diseases.
à Avoiding or minimizing losses
due to forest fires.
Agrometerology
and Pakistan.
Pakistan
Meteorological Department has been working for decades and it has helped the
agriculture community of Pakistan in the recent times. The information
regarding upcoming climatic changes and day to day weather updates are easily
available on the online resources.
Similarly, television and radio
communications are also common methods of farmer awareness in Pakistan. But
this has simply proven far too less than what should have been accomplished due
to lack of proper extension services, the farmers in the remote villages only
receive the weather updates once in a while.
Research in agrometeorology has also been done to the extent it should have been. Since Pakistan is a land blessed with all four weather seasons and all
kinds of soil and temperature conditions. Hence, the agricultural institutions
in Pakistan should put a serious thought to proper research in Agrometeorology,
climatology and remote sensing technologies which can also be transmitted to
the farmer community in Pakistan.
