General Conditions for Cultivation of Crops

Change in pest and disease scenario • Change in rainfall volume and frequency as
well as wind may alter the severity, frequency
due to climate change and extent of soil erosion.
• Due to increase in rainfall: Pests like bollworm, • Rise in sea level may lead to salt water entry in
red hairy caterpillar and leaf spot diseases may the coastal lands turning them less suitable for
increase.Due to increase in temperature: Suck- conventional agriculture.
ing pests such as mites and leaf miner may in-
crease. Livestock
• Due to variation in rainfall and temperature: • Affect feed production and nutrition of live-
Pest and diseases of crops to be altered because stock. Increased temperature would reduce di-
of more enhanced pathogen and vector devel- gestibility. Increased water scarcity would also
opment, rapid pathogen transmission and in- decrease the food and fodder production.
creased host susceptibility. Sometimes a minor • Major impacts on vector-borne diseases
pest may become a major pest. through expansion of vector populations dur-
• Agricultural biodiversity is also threatened by ing rainy years, leading to large outbreaks of
decreased rainfall and increased temperature, diseases.
sea level rise and increased frequency and se- • Increase water, shelter, and energy require-
verity of drought, cyclone and flood. Quality ment of livestock for meeting projected milk
of farm products such as fruits, vegetables, tea, demands.
coffee, aromatic and medicinal plants may be • Climate change is likely to aggravate heat stress
affected. in dairy animals, adversely affecting their re-
productive performance.
Water
• Demand for irrigation to increase with in- Fishery
creased temperature and higher amount of • Increased sea and river water temperature is
evapo-transpiration. This may result in lower- likely to affect fish breeding, migration and har-
ing of groundwater table at some places. vest.
• The melting of glaciers in the Himalayas will • Impacts of increased temperature and tropical
increase water availability in the Ganga, Brah- cyclonic activity would affect capture, produc-
maputra and their tributaries in the short-run tion and marketing costs of the marine fish.
but in the long-run the availability of water will
decrease considerably.
Coping options for farmers
• A significant increase in runoff is projected in Access to information
the rainy season, however, may not be very ben-
eficial unless storage infrastructure could be • Progressive Farmers
vastly expanded. This extra water in the rainy • ATMA extension functionaries – Block Tech-
season, on the other hand, may lead to increase nology Manager, SMS, farmer friend, Farm
in frequency and duration of floods. School
• The water balance in different parts of India will • Trained input dealers
be disturbed and the quality of ground water • Agri Clinics and Agribusiness Centers
along costal track will be more affected due to • KVK
intrusion of sea water. • Agricultural Research Stations
• Agricultural Universities
Soil • ICAR Organisations
• Organic matter content, which is already quite • Kissan Call Centers (Toll free no.1551 or 1800
low in Indian soil, would become even lower. – 180 – 1551)
Quality of soil organic matter may be affected. • Concerned NGOs
• Reduction in rate of decomposition and nutri- • Agribusiness Companies
ent supply. • Radio, TV, Agricultural Magzines, Community
• Increase in soil temperature may reduce Nitro-
Radio, Newspapers, Agricultural Websites etc.
gen availability due to volatilization and deni-
trification.
6 Farmer’s Handbook on Basic Agriculture