To mitigate the negative effects of climate change on food security
Scientists from IIT Delhi, in collaboration with scientists from The University of Illinois and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (Shilpa Gahlot, CAS, IIT Delhi; Tzu-Shun Lin, University of Illinois; Atul K. Jain, University of Illinois; Somnath Baidya Roy, CAS, IIT Delhi; Vinay K. Sehgal, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Rajkumar Dhakar, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi), have developed a new model to study the growth processes of spring wheat, a staple food for millions in India and the world.
They used this model to study how environmental factors and land management practices have affected spring wheat production in India over the last four decades.
The scientists found that elevated CO2 levels in the atmosphere, irrigation, and nitrogen fertilizers have increased wheat production by 22 Mt (30%), 8.47 Mt (12%), 10.63 Mt (15%) over 1980 levels. In contrast, rising temperatures have reduced production by 13 Mt (18%). These effects vary across the country, thereby affecting production at regional scales.
The IIT Delhi team plans to use this model to study such competing effects of different climate factors on production of crops in India as well as evaluate the effectiveness of different crop management practices to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on food security.