Recent identification of two agrometeorological services in Henan province, central China

By KEES STIGTER

There is so much variety among all the peonies (……),
with every leaf and every blossom determined in advance,
some early, others late, according to the “plan”

From Zhang Wei’s “The ancient ship”

RECENT IDENTIFICATION OF TWO AGROMETEOROLOGICAL SERVICES IN HENAN PROVINCE, CENTRAL CHINA

Kees Stigter1), Chen Huailiang 2), Yu Weidong 3), Liu Ronghua 4),

Zheng Dawei5), Wang Shili6), Ma Yuping7),

1) Agromet Vision, Bondowoso, Indonesia & Bruchem, The Netherlands (cjstigter@usa.net)

2) Henan Provincial Meteorological Administration, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

3) Henan Provincial Meteorological Administration, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

4) Henan Provincial Meteorological Administration, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

5) Department of Agrometeorology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China (zhengdawei44@263.net)

6)Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China (wangsl@cams.cma.gov.cn)

7) Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China (mayp@cams.cma.gov.cn)

Introduction

The present project, core funded by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), was prepared by the Asian Picnic Model Project (APMP, Agromet Vision) and China Agricultural University (CAU), Beijing, from 2004 till 2007 in several missions to five provinces. In the APMP, capacity building is the main issue and all preparations, all transfer of knowledge and all teaching takes initially place in the Asian country where the project is based. Approaches can be found in the literature quoted most recently in KNMI (2006, rev. 2008).

Still in the first half of October 2008, after returning from Guangchan via Fuzhou in a long drive by car to Nanchang, we took a late plane there to Zhengzhou, Henan Province. The following morning Stigter presented there again his lecture on “Agrometeorological services in various parts of the world under conditions of a changing climate”.

This was his first lecture ever in Zhengzhou, because Henan Provincial Meteorological Administration/Bureau/Office/Services had in our most recent set up replaced Shanxi Provincial Meteorological Administration/Bureau/ Office/Services in Taiyuan. The latter capital we visited three times from 2004 till 2006, but our contacts had left that Administration since. He started also here with a history of the ideas behind our present pilot project’s first phase, also giving Prof. Zheng’s and his ideas on the future phases.

After some discussion on my lecture, we got presented there in the morning “CMA/CAU/APMP Agrometeorological Services Case Study VII” (in short CCAAS Case Study VII) entitled “Water saving irrigation determined by soil moisture forecasting for wheat farms in the Huang-Huai-Huai Plane, Henan”.

Two methods are used for soil moisture monitoring, gravimetric monitoring in 110 soil moisture stations over the plane, and use of remote sensing results (MODIS polar orbit satellite data) with a 1 by 1 km grid. There is also use of precipitation forecasting. The target group is of a clear farming system, that of wheat growing.

At the same meeting we got presented “CMA/CAU/APMP Agrometeorological Services Case Study VIII” (in short CCAAS Case Study VIII) entitled “Forecasting peony flowering periods for various varieties and places in Luoyang city, Henan”. The narrow target groups here are a bunch of peony growers in a specific city, historically famous for growing and marketing these flowers, and the organizers of a related festival, organized by the city government, that attracts very many tourists.

The following day we travelled to this city of Luoyang, to see some places where the peonies are flowering in the season concerned and got some more details. Soil appears also important and those in Luoyang are more loamy than those in Zhengzhou. Also the summer is cooler and the winter is warmer because of protection from a mountain in the North. And then there is a long history of peonies in Luoyang.

Water saving irrigation determined by soil moisture forecasting for wheat farms in the Huang-Huai-Huai Plane, Henan

In the future it will be interesting to study also here the representativeness of the soil moisture density network. We recall here the work by Ibrahim et al. ( 1999) in Sudan. Also the irrigation system may have to be studied in very much detail on-farm. For this we recall the work of Ibrahim et al. (2000). Water use efficiency depends on many aspects of the farming system and water waste has to be prevented by all means (Ibrahim et al., 2000; 2002).

For the purpose of forecasting when and how much to irrigate, station wise and grid wise, a drought index G is used over the growing season, calculated as (W-E)/E, with precipitation W (actual or forecasted) and Penman/Monteith reference evapotranspiration E (actual or forecasted up to 30 days), calculated with the FAO software (e.g. Allen et al., 1998). Numerical weather forecasts and medium and long term weather forecasts are used.

In a long period of experiments, using crop phenology and crop conditions, a table for G has been constructed for (1) the whole growing period of wheat, but also for the three phases (2): period of sowing; (3): stem elongation to ear emergence and (4): ear filling to maturity. For light drought, G-values must remain smaller than 15 (for period 1), 40 (for period 2), 15 (for period 3) and 20 (for period 4) respectively for these four periods. For medium drought, these G-values must be between 15 and 30 (for period 1), 40 and 50 (for period 2), 15 and 45 (for period 3) and 20 and 35 (for period 4) respectively. Heavy drought is experienced when G is between 30 and 50 (for period 1), between 50 and 70 (for period 2), between 45 and 70 (for period 3) and between 35 and 45 (for period 4) respectively in these four growth situations. Very heavy drought means G-values over 50 (for period 1), over 60 (for period 2), over 70 (for period 3) and 45 (for period 4) respectively.

In Stigter’s categorization of agrometeorological services, as for example used in his Souvenir Paper for a meeting in Hyderabad (Stigter, 2008a) and in his recent draft WMO brochure (Stigter, 2008b) , this “CCAAS Case Study VII” example should be seen as from the category “Proposing means of direct agrometeorological assistance to management of natural resources (J)”, with water here the natural resource that is saved, because of the irrigation reduction that is possible due to the soil moisture forecasting agrometeorology.

A computer system calculates irrigation requirements and big farmers and business use the internet to obtain the data. The data are also provided to the provincial government who use radio and television broadcasting and meetings (lectures by technicians, village marketing) as information channels for wheat farmers, who decide themselves on the irrigation.

The approach bears similarities to agrometeorological services reported from Portugal (Maia et al., 2005; Stigter, 2006) and Cuba (Dominguez Hurtado, 2008) in the INSAM contest of best examples of agrometeorological services. Both were second prize winners in their years, using the same FAO software in their calculations. It confirms the importance of the FAO supported operationalization work of Penman’s and Montheith’s basic scientific work and the supportive applied research of so many scientists over time, also in developing countries (e.g. Stigter, 1978; 1979; Ibrahim et al., 2002; Oluwasemire et al., 2002). It is the ultimate proof of the importance of this basic agrometeorology, started more than 50 years ago as an example of the use of physics in agriculture (Stigter, 1982a; 1982b), in applications that are benefiting many people throughout the world.

The yield benefits her are only 6 till 7% but this is obtained with one half to one third less water, that is 1 till 2 irrigations instead of 3 till 4 irrigations for the wheat. That is the real main advantage, increased water use efficiency. Another lesson learned.

Forecasting peony flowering periods for various varieties and places in Luoyang city, Henan

Over the years similar varieties showed 20 days difference of flowering period, that on average is at mid-April, due to weather differences over the seasons, particularly differences in accumulated heat (thermal time). This sometimes disappointed tourists that came to see and buy the flowers, because they were either too early and sometimes too late to enjoy the flowers.

In the most sophisticated form now in use, each of ten distinguished growth stages got its own base temperature, increasing over the season. Effective temperatures as accumulated degree days for each of these stages are determined and added up in a phase by phase prediction leading to a flowering time.

After six years of experience, combined with weather forecasting, by middle March the flowering forecasting starts for three places in the city and it is done respectively for early, normal and late varieties of peonies, while different varieties have different flowering patterns. The three places are a centre park of the city, that is hottest, so earliest. Early varieties may be used here. Well known parks, out of the centre, are later, with middle varieties, and the suburbs and mountains at the periphery of the city are latest, with later varieties also. So for people as tourists and buyers there is a long period to see and buy peonies flowering somewhere in Luoyang.

Forecasts for the various varieties and places are presently not more than 1 day wrong. Service channels are to the city government that organizes the festival and decides on its time and TV and newspapers for the flower farmers that know about the forecasts. In Stigter’s (2008a, 2008b) categorization of agrometeorological services this “CCAAS Case Study VIII” example should in first instance be seen as from the category “Climate predictions and meteorological forecasts (F)”.

The actual forecasts are again a collaboration between meteorologists and agronomists. The discussions on the forecast are more intense when the climate gives more problems than normal. In the open, flowering could be influenced by heating the soil for earlier flowering or using shade/ice/chemicals to delay flowering in the order of ten days. Again the clearly commercial gains are the lesson provided here.

Another lesson learned from this last example is the relative simplicity of the approach using only thermal time, be it in a sophisticated way for each stage of growth. It appears that it is sometimes sufficient to use existing knowledge in a clever often accumulating way and not necessary to have more sophisticated approaches for the purpose at hand. Of course this particularly applies to cases with an overwhelming influence of a single climatological parameter, in this case air temperature.

Acknowledgements

The preliminary account given in the information sheet above has largely been derived from a first part of a draft of Prof. Stigter’s recent mission report (Stigter, 2008c) on his September/October mission to China. Using the English language, in which most of the co-authors are not or less conversant, while he is not conversant with the Chinese language, any errors are his responsibility. Prof. Zheng Dawei is the skilled intermediate and translator for Stigter’s work in China since 1999. The Chinese Meteorological Administration (Beijing) is acknowledged for the core funding of the present pilot project. The Provincial Meteorological Administrations concerned are thankfully mentioned for their organizational efforts to make the more detailed identification of these agrometeorological services possible. Their great hospitality made the tiring travel more than worthwhile.

References

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Dominguez Hurtado, Ismabel, 2008. Agrometeorological service for irrigation advice in Villa Clara, Cuba. Available on the INSAM website (www.agrometeorology.org) under “Accounts of Operational Agrometeorology” of April 2008.

Ibrahim A.A., C.J. Stigter, A.M. Adeeb, H.S. Adam and W. Van Rheenen, 1999. On-farm sampling density and correction requirements for soil moisture determination in irrigated heavy clay soils in the Gezira, Central Sudan. Agric. Water Managem. 41: 91 - 113.

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