Impact of climatic variations in horticulture sector, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Climate change has an impact on the horticulture crops of Himachal Pradesh in relation to the varying climatic conditions in the Himalayan Region. The purpose of the study was to determine how frequently these differences in horticultural crops occur in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh since the horticulture industry in Himachal Pradesh greatly benefits from this district.  Long-term temperature (maximum, minimum, and diurnal) and rainfall data from 1990 to 2020 were analyzed for different phenological stages (pre-flowering, flowering, and fruit setting). The findings revealed that the average maximum and diurnal temperatures were found to have increased significantly, at the rate by 0.027 °C and 0.042 °C, respectively, during the flowering stages. However, there were no appreciable changes in the variations for other phenological stages. Under trend analysis of crop yield, the productivity of Pear and Almond notably fell over the past 20 years, at -0.029 t/ha/year and -0.016 t/ha/year, respectively, whereas Walnut productivity climbed at 0.008 t/ha/year. The relationship or impact between the climate and the crop was also examined in addition to the trend analysis for crop and climatic variables. The results showed that among the three phenological stages, Apple and Apricot were highly impacted (54.4%) during pre-flowering stage, followed by Apricot, i.e., 72.6% during flowering, and Grapes (53.2%) during the fruit setting stage. In the current situation, climate fluctuations had a favorable effect on Apples, Walnuts and Grapes while having a negative effect on Apricots, Plums, Pears and Almonds.