Impact of rainfall onset date on crops yield in Ghana

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Sustainable Food Systems

Tolulope E. Adeliyi¹  Babatunde J. Abiodun²  Naomi Kumi³  Vincent A. Asante⁴  Benjamin L. Lamptey⁵ 

[1] African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cape Coast, Ghana;Climate System Analysis Group, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana;Ghana Meteorological Agency, Accra, Ghana;Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;

关键词: planting activities;    observed yield;    crop model;    simulate;    replicate;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fsufs.2023.1176385

 received in 2023-02-28, accepted in 2023-04-18,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Rainfall onset date (ROD) influences farmer planting decisions, yet there is a dearth of information on the extent to which ROD influences crop yield. This study assesses the effect of ROD on the yield of four crops (Maize, millet, rice, and sorghum) in Ghana. It uses crop yields from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and employs the Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model to simulate maize yields from 1985 to 2004. The crop model simulations were forced with weather data from the gridded Global Meteorological Forcing Dataset (GMFD). The relationship between crop yields and RODs from three datasets (observed, satellite, and GMFD) are studied. The results of the study show a good correlation between MoFA and FAO crop yield data (with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.97, 0.92, 0.77, and 0.99 for maize, millet, rice, and sorghum, respectively). RODs from satellite observation feature a high correlation with RODs from station observation (r = 0.72), but RODs from GMFD feature weak correlations (r < 0.3) with both observation datasets. The study finds a negative correlation between observed RODs and crop yields (i.e. an early onset corresponds to high yields) but a positive correlation between GMFD RODs and crop yields (i.e. an early onset correspondence to low yields). The DSSAT model reproduces the observed yield pattern, but with substantial biases. The findings of this study can be used to advise small-holder farmers on planting dates and crop variety selection.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Kumi, Adeliyi, Asante, Abiodun and Lamptey.