Water Demand in Maize Is Projected to Decrease under Changing Climate in India

Santanu Kumar Bal,Ramagiri Praveen Kumar,Malamal Alickal Sarath Chandran,Priyanka Singh,Ashutosh Mohanty,Abburi Venkata Maruthi Subba Rao,Pramod Valiyaparambil Parameswaran,Narayanan Manikandan,Shiv Dev Attri,Sandeep Vadakkemethel Madhavan,Vinod Kumar Singh

doi:10.3390/su14031419

Abstract

Crop stage-specific information on the impacts of projected climate change on crop and irrigation water requirements are essential for improving productivity. This study investigated the possible implications of projected climate change on the phenology, effective rainfall (Peff), crop (CWR) and irrigation water requirements (IWR) of maize in eight locations in India. CWR, Peff and IWR were estimated for seven crop stages viz., emergence, 5th leaf stage, tasseling, silking, milking, dough and maturity during the baseline (1980–2009) and near-century (2022–39) using climate data derived from a subset of 29 general circulation models. The results indicated that mean seasonal maximum temperature, minimum temperature and rainfall were projected to increase in all the locations. Hence, the total crop duration (3–7 days), CWR (8–69 mm) and IWR (1–54 mm) were projected to decrease. The study could identify the specific stages in which the greatest reduction in crop duration, CWR and IWR would occur. Such information will be of immense help to farmers and varietal improvement programs in the study regions in the near future.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralWater availability is critical for human settlement, agriculture production, and animal husbandry
The highest increase in seasonal rainfall was projected over Banswara
The projected increase in Tmax and Tmin over the study locations is in agreement with the latest report by IPCC [6], and Tmin over the study locations is in agreement with the latest report by IPCC [6], A summary of the water balance model components, crop water requirement (CWR) and irrigation water requirements (IWR), in the study locations during the baseline and near-future periods is presented in Supplementary Table S2

Summary

Introduction

Water availability is critical for human settlement, agriculture production, and animal husbandry. Population growth, industrialization, and urbanization have all resulted in the increased use of water resources over the centuries. Due to these factors, the worldwide water demand has increased at a rate of 1% each year since 1980 [1]. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal-6 aims to ensure the availability and long-term management of water resources for all people everywhere [2]. In India, almost 81% of water resources are utilized by agriculture [3]. A rise in temperature as a result of global warming necessitates additional water for agriculture in order to meet crop evapotranspiration requirements [4,5]. The global mean surface temperature increased by 0.8–1.3 ◦ C between 1850 and 1900 and from 2000 to 2019, while global surface temperature is expected to continue to rise until the mid-21st century [6]

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