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Climate change impacts agricultural productivity and farmers' income, integrated farming systems (IFS) provide a mechanism to cope with such impacts. The nature and extent of climatic aberrations, perceived impact, and adaptation strategies by the farmers reduce the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate 2160 IFS farmers about their perceptions of climate change, barriers, and the likelihood of adapting to the negative impacts of climate change. The study observed an increasing rainfall trend for humid (4.18 mm/year) and semi-arid (0.35 mm/year) regions, while a decreasing trend was observed in sub-humid (−2.02 mm/year) and arid (−0.20 mm/year) regions over the last 38 years. The annual rise in temperature trends observed in different ACZs varied between 0.011–0.014 °C. Nearly 79% of IFS farmers perceived an increase in temperature, decreasing rainfall, variability in the onset of monsoon, heavy terminal rains, mid-season dry spells, and frequent floods due to climate change. The arid, semi-arid, sub-humid, and humid farmers' adapted several measures in different components with an adaption index of 50.2%, 66.6%, 83.3%, and 91.6%, respectively. The majority of the IFS farmers perceived constraints in adopting measures to climate change, such as meta barriers, capacity barriers, and water barriers. Therefore, we infer that educated farmers involved in diversified and profitable farms with small to medium landholdings are concerned more about climate change in undertaking adaptive strategies to reduce the environmental impact of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing the climate change (CC) can have vast impacts on agricultural production has generated a desire to create resilience into cropping systems. Crop management is the most important strategy to improve crop yield and resilience under CC. This study investigated the adaptation (changing planting date and crop rotation) effects on rainfed wheat yield in Iran. A fallow-wheat rotation was simulated by the DSSAT model under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)-4.5 and RCP-8.5 emission scenarios, for four time periods (1994–2018, 2032s (2020–2044), 2057s (2045–2069), and 2082s (2070–2094)) and an ensemble of five GCM models within the latest model based CMIP 5 for 16 representative sites within agro-climatic zones of the country. Results revealed that the magnitude and direction of CC impact and adaptation response varied spatially even within the agro-climatic zones. Under future CC, due to higher temperature and lower precipitation, wheat yield are projected to decrease depending on emission scenarios in all sites except Qorveh, Aligudarz, and Saqez. In general, greater rainfed wheat yield reduction is highly possible during the late twenty-first century and wheat yield will be more affected by CC under RCP-8.5. In the highlands of northwest Iran, rotation carryover effects and chickpea- and annual medic-wheat rotations can modulate the rainfed wheat yield response to CC, in 2032s and 2057s periods, with greater effects from annual medic. In lowland areas, replacing fallow with crop legumes was not sufficient to avoid wheat yield losses. When planting dates were adapted, wheat yield improved across a large number of locations under all wheat-based crop rotations. In general, crop rotation can be considered as an essential component of risk reduction strategies for CC adaptation and yield resilience especially in areas where crop rotations better represent predominant cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to climate change, the rainfall pattern has changed, which ultimately either cause flood or drought in any region of the world. Hence, a rainfall variability analysis helps to manage the water resources better. Rainfall variability analysis of a long term at particular area reveals vital information about past and future climate. The study's objective was to analyse the rainfall variability and intensity oflong term monthly rainfall data (1982-2018) using the Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI). Data was collected from Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, located at Bathinda, India. The PCI was calculated for the annual, winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon season, and decadal scale. Results have outlined that PCIAnnual ranges from the lowest of 14.96 in 2006 to the highest of 43.82 in 2000, and the average of 3 7 years is 23.22. About "'59.5% of the year PCIAnnual was characterised by Strong Irregularity of Precipitation Distribution (SIPD, PCIAnnuai> 20), an indication of SIPD within the 37 years. While "'2.7% of the year recorded annual value within the moderate irregular range (lO

Aim. The aim of the study is to assess the environmental problems and develop a proposal for the identification and analysis of the state of saline and solonetzic lands. Basing on this research, it is crucial to develop proposals for the effective use of lands for the agricultural needs in the first agro-climatic zone of the Stavropol Territory.Methods. Monitoring studies of agricultural lands were carried out using modern methods which include both remote sensing and annual local surveys in areas of the first agro-climatic zone of the Stavropol Territory. Based on this, agricultural land was divided into four groups: highly productive, productive, low productive and unproductive.Results. It has been established that the territory of the first agro-climatic zone is represented by agricultural lands for more than 95%, and over the 16-year study period, the area of these lands increased by 27,906 ha. Salinization of land is global in nature, since the total area of land with a degree of salinity is 644,334 ha, that is, more than 37% of agricultural land in this agroclimatic zone is already salinized to varying degrees. In addition, solonetzic complexes are widespread here.Conclusion. We have established that in order to increase the efficiency of the use of these lands, their qualitative zoning with the subsequent development of agromeliorative measures is necessary. This division of land reflects their qualitative condition, degree of exposure to various degradation processes, the possibility of further land use, a set of measures for the preservation, restoration and protection of these lands and securing the corresponding status of a particular zone based on the developed regulations.

Pulse crops are important for providing healthy diets to human being and protein-rich feed and fodder to animals. Bihar is one of the major states for pulses production in the country. The study was carried out at Patna during 2017-19 and based on secondary data for the last 37 years period obtained from published documents and reports of Government of Bihar. Despite the institutional support to increase pulses production, area and production have been declining during the period under study due to lower productivity compared to the competing cereal crops in Bihar. It is paradox that per hectare net income and other measures of income are higher in pulses cultivation than wheat production in winter season but the weaker section of farming community prefer to cultivate wheat to ensure their food security. However, there is a dearth of appropriate technology for pulses production which needs urgent attention by scientific community and policy makers to reverse the cropping pattern in favour of pulses production.

Among various infectious diseases of poultry, diseases of the respiratory tract are responsible for considerable economic losses. The present study was conducted to evaluate some of the risk factors, which included locations of farm, ventilation facilities, number of farms in 1 km2 area, agro-climatic zone, and age of flock in relation to respiratory problem in Haryana, India. One hundred poultry flocks with respiratory problems were identified and selected for conducting the survey. The "ODK Collect" app installed on a smartphone was used to capture coordinates of the farms. The collected data was accessed through http://odkproject-iirs.appspot.com/. The location of farms was mapped with the help of QGIS. All the three parameters, viz., morbidity, mortality (p < 0.001), and case fatality rate (CFR) (p = 0.045), were significantly higher in birds of age 0–2 weeks. Natural ventilation was the most common facility observed in the present study (51/100). Maximum morbidity and mortality were observed in small flocks (< 10,000), whereas maximum CFR was observed in medium-sized flocks (> 10,000–30,000), and there was a significant difference in morbidity, mortality, and CFR. Further, there was a significant difference between agro-climatic zones with respect to morbidity and mortality (p < 0.001). It can be concluded that age, flock size, and agro-climatic conditions have an impact on intensity of diseases especially respiratory diseases. Therefore, special precautions should be taken for young flock. Flock size should be adequate, and such management practices should be adopted that are suitable for particular climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in climatic conditions are associated with changes in the physicochemical properties of many fruits. Four germplasms of cashew apple originating from Brazil, Tanzania, Ghana (herein referred to as local) and Mozambique but all grown in Ghana were studied to assess the effect of agro-climatic zones on the sugar accumulation, pH, and weight of these cashew apples. Cashew apples were sourced from experimental stations in Bole and Wenchi in the Northern and Savannah regions of Ghana, respectively. A total of 1800 fruits were used for the experiment. Inter and intra significant differences (P < 0.05) were scored amongst germplasms collected from both locations concerning the measured parameters. Sugar ranged between 8.7% - 12.5% with fruits from Bole having the highest sugar content. The pH value ranged from 3.9 (Local germplasm from Bole) - 4.3 (Tanzania germplasm from both locations). The weight ranged between 33 g (Tanzania germplasm from Bole) - 69.8 g (Brazil germplasm from Bole). Meteorological data (from February 2017-April 2018) collected from both locations influenced the parameters, thus associating with the fruits from both locations. Conclusively, the present study indicated that, weather and geographical locations had effect on sugar content, pH, and weight of cashew apples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamics of poverty has become a debatable issue and has emerged as one of the most common socioeconomic challenge across the developing world. The present research examines the issue of poverty in the multidimensional spectrum across the agro-climatic zones in Punjab Province of Pakistan on the basis of Pakistan Social and Living Standard Management (PSLM)/Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) data (1998–1999 to 2013–2014). The study employed Alkire and Foster methodology and analyzed that the dynamics of multidimensional poverty across agro-climatic zones exhibits mixed trends. Overall estimates designate a significant decline over the decade, whereas slower declining pace was mainly attributed to the wider deprivation of different socioeconomic spheres of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify the agroclimatic zones of Tigray region based on aridity index and traditional agroclimatic zone using 37-year (1981-2017) spatial climate data downloaded for Tigray region from Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) for rainfall and from Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) data for temperature. Arc map 10.3 was used for mapping of all climatic variables and zonation of agro-climatic zones. Potential evapotranspiration (PET) was computed based on Hargreaves formula and the aridity index was computed. Besides, the digital elevation model was downloaded from ASTER data. The aridity map of Tigray divided into three index zones (0.03-0.2, 0.2–0.5 and 0.5–0.65) and five traditional agro-climate zones (3000 m.a.s.l.) were overlaid, which divided entire region of Tigray into fifteen agroclimatic zones. Hot semi-arid, warm semi-arid, tepid semi-arid and hot arid were the dominant zones in the region.

Meteorological drought in India arises due to significant deficiency of rainfall for abnormal periods over an area. The large spatial and temporal variability of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) over the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) of India triggers meteorological drought (further leading to agricultural and hydrological drought), with widespread effects on both agricultural production and water resources over the area. To assess meteorological drought over agro-climatic zones of the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and West Bengal (WB) in the EGP, high-resolution gridded rainfall data (1961–2013) at resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° of India Meteorological Department (IMD) and u, v wind at 850 hPa at resolution of 0.25 × 0.25° of ERA-40 (1961–2002) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is considered. Over the agro-climatic zones, the seasonality index (SI) of summer monsoon rainfall, spatial and temporal distribution of the 4-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-4), frequency and probability of drought occurrence is estimated. The severe drought-prone zones are found to be over agro-climatic zones 6, 8 and 10 of UP; 1, 2 and 3B of Bihar with more than 50% probability of drought occurrence. At a 95% confidence level, a significant decrease in rainfall (for the period 1961–2013) is found over these zones. Over the EGP, a low-level easterly wind at 850 hPa in July is shifted towards foothills of the Himalaya, while in August it is weakened during drought conditions. This low-level easterly wind may be responsible for less moisture incursion over the Gangetic Plain from the Bay of Bengal, and may be the probable cause of less rainfall over the EGP, leading to meteorological drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The projected demand of maize production in India in 2050 is 4-5 times of current production. With the scope for area expansion being limited, there is need for enhancement of yield. This calls for identifying areas where huge unrealized yield potential exists. With a view to address the issue, the present study delineates homogeneous agro-climatic zones for maize production system in India taking district as a unit and using the factors production, viz. climate, soil, season and irrigated area under the crop. There are 146 districts in India that grow maize as a major crop. They were divided into 26 zones using multivariate cluster analysis. Study of variation in yield between districts within a zone vis-à-vis crop management practices adopted in those districts was found useful in targeting the yield gaps. These findings can have direct relevance to the maize farmers and district level administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to define the perspective of cultivating sunflower hybrids in the northeast of Kazakhstan. The trial included 10 hybrids that originated from the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia (NS-sunflower hybrids). The study was conducted in the field and laboratory. Testing was carried out by PGTH technique (a preliminary testing of hybrids) ARRIOBC (All-Russian Research Institute of Oil-Bearing Crops) in quadruple frequency and as a production testing on big squares in single frequency. Phenological assessment, plant measurements, definition of oil content, 1000- seed weight and its nature were carried out by the standard methods. The experiments established the length of the vegetative period, growth indicators, yield, oil content and oil yield per hectare, 1000-seed weight and nature of the studied hybrids in three agro-climatic zones in the northeast of Kazakhstan. Two perspective locations for hybrid cultivation were allocated in Pavlodar and east Kazakhstan regions. Further research on developing seed farming technology of the perspective hybrids in Pavlodar region of Kazakhstanis planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding yield potential (Yp) and yield gap (Yg) in current intensive maize ( Zea mays L.) production is essential to meet future food demand with the limited resources. In this study, we used the agro-climatic zones (CZs) and the reference weather stations (RWS) buffer zones, together with the Hybird-Maize model to estimate maize Yp in the four maize-growing-regions of China under both irrigated and rainfed conditions. In irrigated maize areas, we got 70 RWS buffer zones, and total maize area in the RWS buffer zones covered 67% of the whole irrigated maize area. In rainfed maize areas, we got 106 RWS buffer zones, which covered 51% of the whole rainfed maize area. As a result, the average Yp was 14.2 t ha −1 and farmers have achieved 58% of Yp. The average water-limited yield potential (Yw) was 10.7 t ha −1 and farmers have achieved 65% of Yw. Further analysis for four maize-growing-regions showed that precipitation was a limiting factor for Yw to fully achieve Yp except in Southwest China (SW), whereas the average precipitation was more than 653 mm during maize growing season. The ratio between Yw and Yp (Yw/Yp) was 51% in Northwest China (NW), and around 80% in both Northeast China (NE) and North China Plain (NCP). The comparison of Yp in different regions showed the low Yp in NE was due to low temperature while Yp in both NCP and SW were limited by low solar radiation. In conclusion, our findings highlight the efficiency and importance to estimate Yp, Yw and Yg by the upscaling method with CZs and RWS buffer zones. Meanwhile, the comparison of Yp, Yw and Yg in different regions was important to improve maize production in future in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six ML algorithms used for daily reference ET prediction over India. • Real-time and 1-day to 28-day ahead prediction models developed. • ML predictions with gridded climate inputs from ERA5 comparable to FAO-56 models. • MLP, SVR, CNN perform better than LSTM, RF, MARS for station level and gridwise analyses. • Model performance slightly better during Rabi (Oct–Mar) season and 'arid' zone. This study forecasts multi-step-ahead Potential Evapotranspiration (ET O) in India using globally available fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) gridded climate reanalysis products (ERA5). For this purpose, the potential of six machine learning approaches are examined across different agro climatic zones and cropping seasons. Support Vector Regression (SVR), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), Random Forest (RF), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models are first evaluated at the station level for up to 28-day-ahead prediction of daily ET O using meteorological station data as well as gridded ERA5 products. Using meteorological observations, at all three stations, SVR performs the best for a prediction horizon (PH) up to 2-days whereas LSTM performs the best for PH of 7-days. Using ERA5 datasets as input, among the three stations, the best performance is observed in Nagpur, where the best models for real-time and 28-day ahead prediction are LSTM (R2 = 0.847 and MAE = 0.474 mm/day) and RF (R2 = 0.722 and MAE = 0.635 mm/day) respectively. As the PH increases from 2-day to 28-day-ahead, models using ERA5 datasets performs better than those using station observations for most of the cases. Although the prediction performance drops initially with the increase in lead time, the drop in performance between 7-day and 28-day-ahead prediction is negligible. Evaluation of gridwise ET O prediction across entire India, using Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) dataset as a reference, indicates MLP and CNN as the top performing models. Considering the crop seasons, model performance during Rabi season (October-March) ranged from 0.103 to 0.145 mm/day (MAE) and 0.977 to 0.988 (R2), which is better than the Kharif season (June-September) where MAE ranged from 0.140 to 0.234 mm/day and R2 ranged from 0.906 to 0.962. During the Rabi season, the ET O prediction performance of the arid agro-climatic zone is found to be superior to the other three agro-climatic zones, with the highest range of R2 (0.939 to 0.955) and lowest range of MAE (0.146 to 0.182 mm/day). Even the worst prediction performance, which is observed in the Humid region during the Rabi season, is also reasonably good (R2 = 0.656 to 0.79); thereby establishing the potential of the proposed models in multi-step ahead ET O prediction across various agro-climatic zones and cropping seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the marketing system of small ruminants in three different agro-climatic zones of Karnataka in India. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 60 small ruminant farmers from three viz. Bijapur (Arid zone), Gulbarga (Semi-arid zone) and Udupi (Coastal zone) district of Karnataka state. A structured questionnaire which had earlier been subject to face validity and has a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was used to collect data from the samples respondents. Data was analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS).The results of the study revealed that marketing of small ruminants is haphazard in the study areas. Majority of the respondents (85%) sold their animal when they needed cash for home consumption followed by to pay off loan (28.3%) was the main reason to sell their animals. Important marketing channels were relatives and friends, local markets and village collectors. Farmers gave different reasons for selling their animals through different channels. Majority of the farmers used relatives and friends as one of the marketing channels. Most of farmers also felt that there was a difference in the price offered by village collectors and the price they were getting in the livestock markets. And a few of them were of the opinion that village collectors were not reliable in marketing. Price of the animals was establishing based on the body confirmation of the animal. Study also revealed that injured animals fetch less value than the healthy animals. [Vet. World 2012; 5(5.000): 288-293]

Dairy farmers bear the flagship of the mammoth total of milk production, therefore, their preference for the bovine which includes cattle and buffalo, must be counted. The liking or preference is affected by a range of factors. Bovine preference can be referred to as the greater liking for one dairy animal over another or other dairy animal. This includes certain major factors as economic, climatic, animal or bovine trait, marketing, governmental support, traditional aspects, technical support, infrastructure and so on. For the study, South-Bihar Alluvial Plain Zone was selected purposefully from where two districts and under each district, two blocks and from each block two villages were selected randomly. From each village, twenty respondents were selected randomly, which constitute the total sample size of 160 respondents. The study, revealed that economic factor was found to be most (92.7%) influencing factor and ranked 1st among various factors followed by climatic factor (92.3%) ranked 2nd, marketing factor (91.8%) ranked 3rd, trait factor (85.6%) ranked 4th, governmental factors (78.5%) ranked 5th, traditional factors (76.9%) ranked 6th, technical factors (74.4%) ranked 7th, infrastructural factor (70.1%) ranked 8th, socio-psychological factor (61.7%) ranked 9th and NGOs factor (60.4%) ranked 10th among above said factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly held that confined field trials (CFTs) used to evaluate the potential adverse environmental impacts of a genetically engineered (GE) plant should be conducted in each country where cultivation is intended, even when relevant and potentially sufficient data are already available from studies conducted elsewhere. The acceptance of data generated in CFTs 'out of country' can only be realized in practice if the agro-climatic zone where a CFT is conducted is demonstrably representative of the agro-climatic zones in those geographies to which the data will be transported. In an attempt to elaborate this idea, a multi-disciplinary Working Group of scientists collaborated to develop a conceptual framework and associated process that can be used by the regulated and regulatory communities to support transportability of CFT data for environmental risk assessment (ERA). As proposed here, application of the conceptual framework provides a scientifically defensible process for evaluating if existing CFT data from remote sites are relevant and/or sufficient for local ERAs. Additionally, it promotes a strategic approach to identifying CFT site locations so that field data will be transportable from one regulatory jurisdiction to another. Application of the framework and process should be particularly beneficial to public sector product developers and small enterprises that develop innovative GE events but cannot afford to replicate redundant CFTs, and to regulatory authorities seeking to improve the deployment of limited institutional resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency analysis of extreme weekly water deficit in different Agro-climatic Zones of Gujarat using the three most common distributions have been computed. ÷2 test for goodness of fit of the observed data to the theoretical distribution was also performed. The distribution that gave the lowest chi-square value has been selected as the best for that location and the predicted maximum weekly water deficit values have been reported.

Knowing the activity of the climatic factors, their direction and intensity in action is of real use in perfecting the development of agricultural production, the improvement of territorial distribution, and the differentiated application of the culture systems and of the agro-phyto-technical measures, as well as in the scientific organization of production and agricultural labor. Dobruja as a whole belongs to the agro-climatic zone 1 -- warm-dry -- generally characterized as the region with most generous thermal resources, but also with the poorest water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the marketing system of small ruminants in three different agro-climatic zones of Karnataka in India. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 60 small ruminant farmers from three viz. Bijapur (Arid zone), Gulbarga (Semi-arid zone) and Udupi (Coastal zone) district of Karnataka state. A structured questionnaire which had earlier been subject to face validity and has a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was used to collect data from the samples respondents. Data was analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS).The results of the study revealed that marketing of small ruminants is haphazard in the study areas. Majority of the respondents (85%) sold their animal when they needed cash for home consumption followed by to pay off loan (28.3%) was the main reason to sell their animals. Important marketing channels were relatives and friends, local markets and village collectors. Farmers gave different reasons for selling their animals through different channels. Majority of the farmers used relatives and friends as one of the marketing channels. Most of farmers also felt that there was a difference in the price offered by village collectors and the price they were getting in the livestock markets. And a few of them were of the opinion that village collectors were not reliable in marketing. Price of the animals was establishing based on the body confirmation of the animal. Study also revealed that injured animals fetch less value than the healthy animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the distribution of lumpy skin disease (LSD) and associated risk factors in three main agro-climatic zones of Ethiopia. A total of 330 questionnaire surveys were collected from 44 peasant associations (PA) distributed in 15 districts. Across agro-climate zones, herd-level LSD prevalence in the midland agro-climate was significantly higher 55.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 47.5--62.6] than in highland and lowland agro-climate zones. Overall observed LSD prevalence at animal-level was 8.1% (95% CI 7.3--8.9) and observed mortality was 2.12% (95% CI 1.73--2.6). The odds ratio (OR) of LSD occurrence in midland vs. highland and lowland vs. highland zones was 3.86 (95% CI 2.61--5.11) and 4.85 (95% CI 2.59--7.1), respectively. Significantly high risk of LSD occurrence was associated with communal grazing and watering management (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.02--6.18) and introduction of new cattle (OR 8.5, 95% CI 6.0--11.0). Our findings describe the distribution of LSD in different agro-climates in Ethiopia along with associated risk factors, and can help shed light on the epidemiology of LSD in other African countries suffering from the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, current fertilizer recommendations are very old and developed based on agro-climatic zones. The assumption is that agro-climatic zones are homogenous units. However, analyses of agro-climatic zones reveal variability in soil within each zone. Current agro-climatic zonal fertilizer recommendations are generalized for entire zone and not addressed to specific soil types. To know the soil variability within the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) agro-climate zone and suitability of current fertilizer recommendations, sugarcane in northern dry zone of Karnataka was studied as a test crop. The results indicated that agro-climatic zones vary widely in soils and in their potentials, behaviour and response to management. It was also observed that fertilizer application efficiency varied within each zone and within the management units. These differences contributed to errors of both excess and insufficient applications. Besides, there is a continuous removal of secondary and micronutrients by crops in all farming situations resulting in inappropriate management practices. All these suggest that soil-based fertilizer recommendations should be preferred to achieve precision in farming and to maximize crop production, maintain soil health and minimize fertilizer misapplication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic objective of the existing study was to inspect the triangular association between economic growth, poverty, and income disparity in farming and non-farming communities across agro-climatic zones in Punjab province, Pakistan. The cross-sectional Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) data and Poverty Equivalent Growth Rate (PEGR) methodology were applied from 2001-2002 to 2015-2016. Outcomes of the study found that in a short period, 2001-2002 to 2004-2005; 2004-2005 to 2005-2006; 2005-2006 to 2007-2008; 2007-2008 to 2010-2011; 2010-2011 to 2011-2012; 2011-2012 to 2013-2014; and 2013-2014 to 2015-2016, economic growth has presented hybrid (pro-poor and anti-poor) pattern across both communities of all agro-climatic zones of Punjab province in different periods. In the longer period of 2001-2002 to 2015-2016, economic growth has been pro-poor across both communities of all the zones apart from zone III (Cotton-Wheat Punjab); there is an anti-poor pattern of economic growth. Results for the decomposition of change in poverty further indicate that economic growth is a dominant factor in reducing poverty for all investigated zone. Moreover, a positive redistribution component reduces the beneficial impacts of economic growth for the poor more than for non-poor, that ultimately makes economic development patterns anti-poor in zone III. In the present study, we proposed two-fold policy implications. First, improve the living standard of households in each agro-climatic zone by increasing their incomes. Second, develop a precise taxation system that helps to reduce income disparities among upper-pro to lower-income groups.