Impact of climate change on water requirement of tropical root and tuber crops in India

The impact of climate change on crop water and irrigation requirements of the root and tuber crops in India are analyzed for 2030 and 2050 for the representative concentration pathway (RCP)-4.5. As part of the study, the irrigation requirements of cassava, sweet potato, taro, greater yam, and elephant foot yam are estimated along with optimal schedules based on their sensitivity to planting date. The analysis of the impact of climate change on irrigation requirements indicates variations increase in the quantity based on the study location for all crops and a reduction is observed in Salem and Bhubaneswar in the future. The study shows that the driving factor behind the crop water/irrigation requirement is the climatic conditions in the study locations. The outcome of this study can assist the water managers to develop appropriate plans in advance for these future food security tropical root and tuber crops to mitigate any crop loss due to the scarcity of water.