Abstract
The Gamo Highlands in Ethiopia are characterized by complex topography and lakes. These modulate the mesoscale and synoptic scale weather systems. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial variations in weather as function of topography and season and their impact on potato crop growth. To determine how crop growth varies with elevation, we installed a network of six automatic weather stations along two transects. It covers a 30-km radius and 1800-m elevation difference. We conducted a potato field experiment near the weather stations. We used the weather observations as input for a crop model, GECROS. Data analysis showed large differences between weather in February and May. February is more dominated by mesoscale circulations. The averaged February diurnal patter shows a strong east to southeast lake breezes and, at night, weak localized flows driven by mountain density flows. In contrast, in May, the synoptic flow dominates, interacting with the mesoscale flows. The GECROS model satisfactorily predicted the elevational gradient in crop yield. Model sensitivity experiments showed that belg-averaged precipitation distribution gave the highest yield, followed by exchanging May weather observations with April.
Highlights
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is becoming an important crop in Ethiopia [1,2]
The analysis showed that precipitation increases and temperature decreases upward into the mountains as expected, creating an elevation zone between 1700 and 3000 m where potato grows optimally
We focus on how precipitation develops under influence of the mesoand synopticwe focus on how precipitation develops under influence of the meso- and synoptic-scale weather
Summary
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is becoming an important crop in Ethiopia [1,2]. The optimal climatological conditions for potato crop growth are 15 to 25 ◦ C mean daily temperature [3,4,5,6].Higher temperatures inhibit tuberization, promote foliage growth, and reduce allocation of carbon and nitrogen to the tubers [6]. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is becoming an important crop in Ethiopia [1,2]. The optimal climatological conditions for potato crop growth are 15 to 25 ◦ C mean daily temperature [3,4,5,6]. Promote foliage growth, and reduce allocation of carbon and nitrogen to the tubers [6]. The crop consumes 500 to 700 mm of water, while inadequate availability of soil water during the growing season results in reduced yield [5]. These climatic conditions generally occur in the Gamo
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