| ARJASR |
Academic Research Journal of
Agricultural Science and Research |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Research Vol. 5(2), pp. 140-150. March, 2017. ISSN: 2360-7874 DOI: 10.14662/ARJASR2017.012 Full Length Research Exploring the Impacts of Climate Change on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Production in Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Eba Muluneh Sorecha1, Kibebew Kibret1, Gebre Hadgu1a and Agere Lupi2
1College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia 1aTigray Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia 2Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, Melkassa (Adama) Ethiopia Corresponding author:ebamule1@gmail.com
Accepted 23 March 2017
In
Ethiopia, where vulnerability to climate change and variability is high,
studying the impact of climate change at a local scale is critical for
designing appropriate strategies for adaptive capacity. The study was
conducted in Bishoftu area to examine the extent of climate change
effects on the production of two chickpea varieties (Arerti and Habru)
in the upcoming periods (2050’s and 2080’s) under two climate scenarios,
RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Future climate data were downscaled using an ensemble
of two climate models (CSIRO-Mk3-6-0 and MIROC-ESM-CHEM0) with RCP4.5
and RCP8.5. Twelve years of crop data were collected from Debre Zeit
Agricultural Research Center (DZARC). Soil data were also adopted from
published documents of DZARC. Decision Support System for Agrotechnology
Transfer (DSSAT) model was used for this study. The model employs all
collected data to simulate days to flowering (DF), days to maturity
(DM), and yield. Prior to simulations, the model was validated for its
performance in simulating the yields of both chickpea varieties. The
study revealed that the yield of Arerti will increase by 22% from the
baseline yield of 2846 kg/ha by 2050’s under RCP 4.5. In contrast, by
2050’s under RCP 8.5, the yield of Arerti will reduce by 33%. Moreover,
the study depicted that 2% yield increment of Habru from the baseline
yield of 2787.5 kg/ha will be expected by 2080’s under RCP 8.5.The
reason for yield increment and decrement could be due to the combined
effects of mainly rainfall and maximum temperature versus the tolerance
of respective chickpea variety. In general, RCP 8.5 has resulted in more
reduction of yield of Arerti variety than RCP 4.5 scenario. However,
Habru variety will benefit more from RCP 8.5 scenario. Therefore,
chickpea production under a changing climate is possible with
appropriate variety choice. The study appreciates similar studies to be
conducted on other leguminous crops. How to cite this article: Sorecha EM, Kibret K, Hadgu G, Lupi A (2017). Exploring the Impacts of Climate Change on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Production in Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Acad. Res. J. Agri. Sci. Res. 5(2): 140-150
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
