Delineation of maize growing areas vis-à-vis climate and technology using statistical and geospatial techniques in Punjab
In the present investigation, maize growing areas in Punjab were delineated with respect toclimate and technology variables using statistical and geospatial techniques. The effect of the climate(maximum temperature, minimum temperature and rainfall) and technology variables (fertilizers, irrigation)on maize yield was studied in spatio-temporal domain in maize growing areas of Punjab. Long-termdata on climate and technology variables as well as maize productivity was collected for maize growingdistricts of the state. The maximum temperature during maize growing season was highest (35.7°C) inAmritsar, the minimum temperature was highest (25.3°C) in Ludhiana, whereas rainfall was highest (765.4 mm) in Gurdaspur. The results of Mann-Kendall test showed significant increase in maximum temperature @ 0.03°C year-1 in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Patiala and Roopnagar and minimum temperature @ 0.04°C year-1in Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Roopnagar, @ 0.03°C year-1 in Jalandhar and @ 0.05°C year-1 in Ludhiana and Patiala districts. Analysis indicated that the maize yield was significantly higher in Ludhiana than other districts. Spatial variability in maize yield, climate and technology was studied using Geographic Information System (GIS). The integration of the layers of climate parameters with yield in GIS demarcated four major maize growing zones in Punjab.