Sample Essay on Environmental Factors Affecting Crop Production
There are different environmental factors affecting crop production across the globe. They include
Climatic factors
One of the most crucial climatic factors that affect crop production is temperature. It is the degree of coldness and hotness in a given place. It affects the growth of plants bearing in mind that the right temperatures are needed for germination of seeds.
Temperature is also needed for photosynthesis in plants. Temperature also determines growth and distribution of plants. With extremely high or low temperatures, plants will not grow well. Excessive heat dries up plants and lowers crop yields.
On a positive note, cold temperatures allow for cultivation of Christmas plants in a process called Vernalization. This is common in temperature regions.
Sunlight
Sunlight also affects crop production. Sunlight helps plants to open and close petals for example the sunflower. It is also the major requirement for photosynthesis. Similarly, it plays a crucial role in photosynthesis, germination and maturity of plants.
What’s more, sunlight divides plants into three major photoperiods including long day plants, short day and day plants. Day or neutral plants need 12hours of sunlight. Without enough sunlight crops do not grow and mature well. In the end, it prevents high yields.
Absence of sunlight also affects crop production because it leads to elongation of stems and etiolation. Etiolation is a process where the leaves of plants become pale and dry up in the long run.
Wind
Wind also affects crop production and reduces your yields. As a matter of fact, wind accounts for different crop seasons in the tropics. South West Trade winds are from the Atlantic Ocean and are known to bring about rainy season.
North East trade winds are from the Sahara Desert and are characterized with dry season. Crop production during such a period only favors plants that do not need a lot of water.
It is also essential to note that wind can increase or reduce evapo-transpiration. It also causes soil erosion in extreme events for instance, the Hurricane that is characterized with a lot of damages.
Wind also causes serious damages to crops. In the event of wind storm, crops are damaged in a process called lodging. This affects the quality of yields because crops do not grow normally.
Similarly, wind is known to spread diseases from one plant to the other. It distributes airborne diseases and pathogens that hinder normal growth of plants.
As a farmer, it is imperative to have an anemometer. This is an instrument that helps you to measure the strength of wind and take appropriate plants and ensure your plants are not destroyed.
Rainfall
Crop production is also affected by rainfall. Plants need water to grow well and to absorb essential nutrients. With sufficient water, nutrients are dissolved in the soil for plants to absorb them and grow well. It is also essential for seed germination. Without enough rainfall, crop production drops specifically for plants that cannot grow in dry areas.
Excessive rainfall on the other hand causes soil erosion and it affects the quality of soil. This often leads to low quality crop production.
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Online sources:
http://schoolagric.blogspot.com/2008/09/environmental-factors-affecting-agric.html
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/botany/environmental.html