Relationship between Agro-climatic parameters and Sugarcane Yield in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between the major climatic parameters and the yield of sugarcane in Southern parts of Adamawa state, Nigeria. The parameters considered include rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and solar energy. To achieve the aim of the study, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) tool was used to examine the relationship between each climatic condition and the yield of sugarcane. Climatic data were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Global Weather Data for SWAT (GWDS) and NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER). The data were from 1979 to 2014 (35 years). The result indicated that, there is weak positive correlation between the yield of sugarcane and Minimum temperature, rainfall and relative humidity (RH) which had PPMCC values of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.1 respectively. While weak negative correlation was observed between the yield of sugarcane and Maximum temperature, and solar energy with PPMCC values of -0.3 and -0.1 respectively. This shows that as the values of Minimum temperature, rainfall and RH increase, the yield of sugarcane increases gradually too. On the other hand, as the values of Maximum temperature and solar energy increase the yield of sugarcane declines gradually in response. Therefore, the trend of these climatic conditions should be considered when investing in sugarcane production. Advice on the expected prevailing weather by authorities such as Nigerian Meteorological Agency should be taken serious by stakeholders for maximum yields.

 Keywords: Agro-climatic, correlations, dataset, sugarcane, yield.