Precision Farming and Climate Change : Imperatives of Indian Agriculture

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Climate change during last century: Himachal Pradesh/Manmohan Singh and O.P. Singh. 2. Climate change and agriculture/Satish Kumar Bhardwaj. 3. Effect of climate change on soil microbial communities under horticultural ecosystems of North West Himalayas/Rajesh Kaushal and Deepshikha Thakur. 4. Impact of climate change on the crops genetic resources and plant communities/J.C. Rana, Arvind Bhardwaj and Yudhvir Pathania. 5. Impact of climate change on vegetable production/Jasmeen Kaur and R.S. Spehia. 6. Impact of climate change on seed production/Devinder K. Mehta. 7. Effect of changing climatic conditions on diseases and pests in crops/Harender Raj Gautam, M.L. Bhardwaj and Narender Kumar Bharat. 8. Role of GIS and remote sensing in promoting precision farming technologies in the changing climate scenario/G.S. Sidhu, Jayan Surya and Dipak Sarkar. 9. Carbon sequestration through precision farming for sustainable agriculture/Dinesh K. Benbi. 10. Design and construction of water harvesting structure/farm pond for irrigation/J.C. Sharma, R.S. Spehia and O.P. Sharma. 11. Precision irrigation in agriculture imperative for agricultural growth under changing climate/Vipin Sharma, Shashi Pathania and R.S. Spehia. 12. Protected cultivation-sustained production under changing climate/R.S. Spehia. 13. Diversification of fruit crop species vis-à-vis varieties with special reference to climate change/Dinesh Thakur. 14. Aerodols and temperature rise in the northwestern Indian Himalayan region: a case study at two semi-urban sites in the Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh/Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal, Harinder Kumar Thakur, Priyanka Sharma and Rajinder Kumar. 15. Climate change and food security in North Eastern Hill region: adaptation and mitigation strategy/K.P. Mohapatra and S.V. Ngachan. 

Climate change and its variability are emerging as the major challenges influencing the performance of Indian agriculture. Long term changes in shifting weather patterns result in changing climate, which threatens agricultural activity and productivity through high and low temperature regimes, increased rainfall variability, melting of glaciers and rising sea levels that potentially deteriorate coastal freshwater reserves and increase risk of flooding. The effects of climate change are already being felt disproportionately in the poorest regions and among groups of people least able to cope. In Himalayan region, population growth is likely to compound impacts on human and natural systems caused by climate change. Intensification of agricultural activities through enhanced productivity and efficient resource use is the only option available as competition for land and water is increasing from non-farm sectors.

This book takes into account all possible effects and measures for combating climate change and adoption of new technologies especially precision farming technologies  for sustainable food security through integrating innovations, efficient technologies and technologies.

The book can be of immense use for students and researchers in the field of agriculture and environment. (jacket)