Implications of Monsoon Cropping Decisions on Wheat Sowing Dates in Bihar, Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

rice wheat;warming temperature;rainfall pattern;Indo-gangetic plains;adaptation;School for Environment and Sustainability

Umashaanker, MaaynaAgrawal, Arun ;

University of Michigan

关键词: rice wheat;    warming temperature;    rainfall pattern;    Indo-gangetic plains;    adaptation;    School for Environment and Sustainability;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/149012/Umashaanker_Maanya_Thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

India is the second largest producer of wheat globally. However terminal heat stress during thegrain filling period negatively impacts its yield potential. Increasing temperatures have intensifiedobserved yield gaps and this trend is expected to continue. One way to mitigate this negative effectis by sowing wheat earlier, thereby shielding it from heat stress. But farming households in theeastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) seldom sow wheat on time. This delay is often attributed to therice-wheat crop rotation system practiced across the IGP where rice is planted during monsoonfollowed by wheat in winter. However, there is very little understanding of factors that influencemonsoon cropping decisions in the IGP. This study investigates the socio-economic, biophysical,perceptual, and management factors influencing rice and wheat sowing date decisions in ArrahDistrict, Bihar, India. The study is based on data collected from 355 farmers across 10 villages inArrah. We found irrigation type, delay in monsoon onset dates, and soil type to be the major factorsconstraining timely sowing of rice and subsequently delaying wheat sow dates. Particularly,farmers who had access to borewell preponed rice sowing dates by a few weeks when comparedto farmers who relied only on canal irrigation. These results suggest that in addition to climatevariability, structural constraints also affect rice sowing dates. To ensure timely sowing and enableadaptation to increasing temperatures, therefore, policy interventions must also address thestructural constraints that affect farmer decision making.