Variability in Rainfall and Relationship Pattern of Weather Parameters with Cotton Crop in Jalgaon District of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The current investigation was undertaken to investigate the impact of weather parameters on cotton area, production, and productivity. The average annual rainfall from 1991 to 2018 was 763.7 mm, according to the study. Rainfall during the monsoon season (June to September) accounted for 88.6 percent of total annual rainfall. The contribution of pre-monsoon (March to May), post-monsoon (October to November) and winter (December to February) rainfall to the annual was 2.5, 6.7 and 2.3 per cent respectively. The area and productivity of cotton has been mainly influenced by relative humidity at evening and indirectly influenced by bright sunshine hours in Jalgaon district during study period. The production under cotton was mainly influenced by relative humidity at evening and rainfall and indirectly influenced by bright sunshine hours. The higher per cent contribution of relative humidity at evening in case of area and production of cotton was noticed. While in case of productivity of cotton the wind velocity has contributed more as compared to other weather parameters in Jalgaon district during the study period. Cotton production in the Jalgaon district was heavily reliant on relative humidity in the evening and bright sunshine hours. However, wind velocity was having a negative impact on cotton productivity in the district.