Edaphoclimatological study of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) in Loja province, southern Ecuador

A study about climate and soil conditions in areas where wild cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) trees can be found, was carried out between August and October 1995 in Loja province (southern Ecuador), which is probably the centre of origin of this fruit species. The objective was to examine the range of edapho-climatological conditions in which wild cherimoya trees occur, in order to obtain an indication of its growth requirements. A zonal classification of Loja province was carried out, using a GIS (Geographical information System), to determine and define characteristics of zones where optimal production is to be expected. A combination of climatological maps, soil maps and 52 soil analyses data from 20 locations allowed to determine requirements in annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, yearly precipitation, relative humidity, soil texture, pH and organic matter content. In Loja province, wild cherimoya trees are generally found in mild (mean annual temperature between 19 and 20.5 degrees C) and relatively dry (mean annual precipitation varying between 650 and 1,250 mm) areas with relative humidity ranging from 75 - 85 %. Well drained soils with textures ranging between sandy loam, loam or sandy clay loam, a slightly acid pH that is slightly acid (varying between 5 and 6.5) and a moderate organic matter content (ranging 1 - 5 %) seem to be optimal

The need for improved maps of global cropland

Food security is a key global concern. By 2050, the global population will exceed 9 billion, and a 50% increase in annual agricultural output will be required to keep up with demand. There are significant additional pressures on existing agricultural land through increased competition from the biofuel sector and the need to elevate feed production, which is being driven by higher levels of meat consumption in low- and middle-income countries

The AGRICAB project: developing increased earth observation capacity for better agriculture and forestry management in Africa

This paper gives an overview of the upcoming efforts and activities in the recently started AGRICAB project ‘A Framework for enhancing earth observation capacity for agriculture and forest management in Africa as a contribution to GEOSS’, which main focus is to integrate European and African research capacity and advances in the use of Earth observation technology for agriculture and forestry. One of the key challenges in the future is to enhance scientific and remote sensing capacity in Africa to enable African institutes to independently monitor and generate information on their natural resources to adequately support management and policy actions. Apart from the sustained provision of (derived) EO data, the project aims at a continued and better exploitation of and access to satellite data. Twinning partnerships between African and European institutes are being set up in order to integrate EO and predictive modeling in agriculture and forest management in different themes: yield forecasting for food crops, early warning and agricultural mapping of food crops, agricultural statistics, livestock and rangeland monitoring, and forest and forest fire monitoring. For more information: www.agricab.info and [email protected]

Edaphoclimatological study of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) in Loja province, southern Ecuador

A study about climate and soil conditions in areas where wild cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) trees can be found, was carried out between August and October 1995 in Loja province (southern Ecuador), which is probably the centre of origin of this fruit species. The objective was to examine the range of edapho-climatological conditions in which wild cherimoya trees occur, in order to obtain an indication of its growth requirements. A zonal classification of Loja province was carried out, using a GIS (Geographical information System), to determine and define characteristics of zones where optimal production is to be expected. A combination of climatological maps, soil maps and 52 soil analyses data from 20 locations allowed to determine requirements in annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, yearly precipitation, relative humidity, soil texture, pH and organic matter content. In Loja province, wild cherimoya trees are generally found in mild (mean annual temperature between 19 and 20.5 degrees C) and relatively dry (mean annual precipitation varying between 650 and 1,250 mm) areas with relative humidity ranging from 75 - 85 %. Well drained soils with textures ranging between sandy loam, loam or sandy clay loam, a slightly acid pH that is slightly acid (varying between 5 and 6.5) and a moderate organic matter content (ranging 1 - 5 %) seem to be optimal.A study about climate and soil conditions in areas where wild cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) trees can be found, was carried out between August and October 1995 in Loja province (southern Ecuador), which is probably the centre of origin of this fruit species. The objective was to examine the range of edapho-climatological conditions in which wild cherimoya trees occur, in order to obtain an indication of its growth requirements. A zonal classification of Loja province was carried out, using a GIS (Geographical information System), to determine and define characteristics of zones where optimal production is to be expected. A combination of climatological maps, soil maps and 52 soil analyses data from 20 locations allowed to determine requirements in annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, yearly precipitation, relative humidity, soil texture, pH and organic matter content. In Loja province, wild cherimoya trees are generally found in mild (mean annual temperature between 19 and 20.5 degrees C) and relatively dry (mean annual precipitation varying between 650 and 1,250 mm) areas with relative humidity ranging from 75 - 85 %. Well drained soils with textures ranging between sandy loam, loam or sandy clay loam, a slightly acid pH that is slightly acid (varying between 5 and 6.5) and a moderate organic matter content (ranging 1 - 5 %) seem to be optimal.P