Studies on impact of weather parameters on flowering and production of mango crop in Raipur district

Abstract

The present study entitled "Studies on the impact of weather parameters on quality and production of mango crop in Raipur district" was conducted at the Department of Agricultural Meteorology, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Raipur. Utilizing MS-Excel and Weather Cock software, the research investigated the relationships between weather variables and key mango crop metrics, including quantitative yield and flowering behavior. Daily weather data spanning three years (2019-2022) were obtained from the Department of Agricultural Meteorology, IGKV, Raipur. Concurrently, three years of production data (2019-2022) were collected from 15-20year-old trees of five mango cultivars ('Dashehari', 'Langra', 'Mallika', 'Amrapalli', and 'Chhattisgarh Nandiraj') cultivated at the Horticulture Farm, Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, IGKV Raipur. Correlation coefficients were calculated to quantify the relationships between the aforementioned variables. Analysis of daily weather data and phenological observations revealed that evaporation (EVP) had a strong positive correlation with flowering duration suggesting that warm, sunny, and moderately dry conditions with adequate soil moisture promote extended flowering periods. Conversely, wind speed exhibited a moderate negative relationship with flowering, likely reflecting physical damage or pollination disruption. Temperature, humidity, rainfall and sunshine were found to be statistically insignificant within the observed ranges. In terms of yield both cultivar- and stage- specific: maximum temperature and EVP were primary positive drivers of yield in Dashehari, Langra, Mallika and C.G. Nandiraj while rainfall and relative humidity exerted significant negative effects in these cultivars. Amrapali exhibited a more complex pattern with yield positively associated with sunshine hours, mid-to-latestage temperatures and late- stage EVP but negatively affected by wind speed and late-stage RH.