Crop yield decreases as seasons shift: Expert

ADANA

An expert has raised concerns over a three-week shift in the seasons that he says is brought about by climate change, fearing that it can negatively impact crop yield and harvest.

While agricultural production has been in trouble due to the effect of climate change recently, Prof. Dr. Zeynep Zaimoğlu, a faculty member of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Çukurova University, stated that according to their observation, there was a three-week shift in the seasons.

Highlighting that orange blossoms bloomed in March instead of April this year, Zaimoğlu said that in June, when summer is at its peak with high temperatures, the region witnessed excessive rainfall.

According to Zaimoğlu, extreme precipitation observed in June clearly explains the impact of climate change the world is facing.

“We had observed a dry season in Çukurova for months. Then suddenly, we witnessed very extreme, unseasonal precipitation. This is the most important indicator showing us how climate change is at our doorstep.”

Prof. Dr. Zaimoğlu stated that the precipitation they are currently seeing in Çukurova is actually the precipitation they had expected in April and May and that the scorching temperatures of the summer months are approaching in a week.

Explaining that the dry spring in Çukurova also reduced the agricultural yield, Zaimoğlu said in spring, especially wheat, corn and similar annual plants need water immediately after planting and that hail, heavy rain and floods also caused terrible damage to the yield.

“A 2 percent yield decrease is expected in citrus fruits. There is a 22 percent yield decrease in apricot in the Malatya region. In olives, despite the increase in the production area, we see regional losses of 2 to 3 percent with seasonal variation,” she added.