A Preliminary Study of the Relationship of Yield to Preseasonal Climatological Factors in Central South Dakota

Abstract

One of the most important factors in the determination of crop yields in South Dakota is precipitation. When rainfall is deficient, yields are generally below average. The effect of other climatological factors during the growing season is often apparent. High temperatures, drying winds, and cloudless days frequently hasten the appearance of drought conditions and lessen the beneficial effects of seasonal rainfall, particularly if it is light. Research conducted in this field in the past has largely ignored the preseasonal period. However, the attention has become focused upon this period due to a recent study in which preseasonal precipitation was used as the independent variable in yield forecasting regression equations. The influence of preseasonal precipitations on crop yields, however, probably depends in part on other preseasonal factors like relative humidity, wind movement, sunshine, cloud cover, and temperature. These factors are effective to the extent that they limit the actual accumulation of moisture during the preseasonal period. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the yield per acre of wheat, oats and barley and the preseasonal climatological factors. If these factors are found to exert an important influence, reference will be made to cultural practices which have for their purpose the control of this influence

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