Course

Theory

Meaning and scope of agricultural meteorology; Earth atmosphere: its composition, extent and structure; Atmospheric weather variables; Atmospheric pressure, its variation with height; Wind, types of wind, daily and seasonal variation of wind speed, cyclone, anticyclone, land breeze and sea breeze; Nature and properties of solar radiation, solar constant, depletion of solar radiation, short wave, longwave and thermal radiation, net radiation, albedo; Atmospheric temperature, temperature inversion, lapse rate, daily and seasonal variations of temperature, vertical profile of temperature, Application of Thermal time concept and Crop/Pest weather calendar; Energy balance of earth; Atmospheric humidity, concept of saturation, vapour pressure, process of condensation, formation of dew, fog, mist, frost, cloud; Precipitation, process of precipitation, types of precipitation such as rain, snow, sleet, and hail, cloud formation and classification; Artificial rainmaking. Monsoon- mechanism and importance in Indian agriculture; Weather hazards – drought, floods, frost, tropical cyclones and extreme weather conditions such as heat-wave and cold-wave; Agriculture and weather relations; Modifications of crop microclimate, climatic normal for crop and livestock production. Weather forecasting- types of weather forecast and their uses. Climate change, climatic variability, global warming, causes of climate change and its impact on regional and national agriculture.

Practical

Visit of Agrometeorological Observatory, site selection of observatory, exposure of instruments and weather data recording, Measurement of total, shortwave and long wave radiation, and its estimation using Planck’s intensity law, Measurement of albedo and sunshine duration, computation of Radiation Intensity using BSS; Measurement of maximum and minimum air temperatures, its tabulation, trend and variation analysis, Measurement of soil temperature and computation of soil heat flux, Determination of vapor pressure and relative humidity, Determination of dew point temperature, Measurement of atmospheric pressure and analysis of atmospheric conditions, Measurement of wind speed and wind direction, preparation of windrose, Measurement, tabulation and analysis of rain, Measurement of open pan evaporation and evapotranspiration, Computation of PET and AET, Use of synoptic charts, weather reports, weather forecasting-types and methods, crop weather calendar.

Objectives

1. To introduce the students to the concept of weather and climate and underlying physical processes occurring in relation to plant and atmosphere

2. To impart the theoretical and practical knowledge of instruments/equipment used for measurement of different weather variables in an agrometeorological observatory

3. To study the meteorological aspects of climate change in agriculture and allied activities

Course Outcome:

Any student who has undergone the course shall be able to:

Suggested Readings

1. Mahi G S and Kingra P K. 2018. Fundamentals of Agrometeorology and Climate Change. Kalyani Publishers.

2. Mavi H S. 1986. Introduction to Agrometeorology. Oxford & IBH Pub.

3. Varshneya M C and Pillai P B. 2004. Textbook of Agricultural Meteorology. Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

4. Patra Alok Kumar. 2020. Introduction to Agrometeorology and Climate Change. New India Publishing Agency.

5. Prasada Rao G S L H V. 2008. Agricultural Meteorology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.