Soil moisture is crucial for agriculture since it directly affects crop growth and how much irrigation is required for the area. (File Photo)
With the rabi season around the corner, a countrywide forecast prepared at the end of the monsoon season suggests deficit soil moisture conditions are likely in Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh.
This forecast, following a joint exercise by IIT Gandhinagar and the India Meteorological Department (IMD), for the first time, provides a country-wide soil moisture forecast at seven and 30-day lead times.
The analysis also indicates that soil moisture conditions in western Uttar Pradesh, Bundelkhand, and Chhattisgarh are likely to be normal or surplus at the start of the rabi sowing season. Soil moisture is crucial for agriculture since it directly affects crop growth and how much irrigation is required for the area.
A team led by Vimal Mishra, associate professor at IIT Gandhinagar, uses the ‘Variable Infiltration Capacity' model to provide the soil moisture prediction. The product, termed ‘Experimental Forecasts Land Surface Products', is available on the IMD website and has been developed using the…
