Detail:

Straws of Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) and droppings of goat are burnt at early morning in pits around the field. This result in increase in local air temperature hence clears frost. This is harmless practice and protects the crop against chilling injury. Some farmers also irrigate the fields for saving crops.

Knowledge Provider / Innovator: Chunilal Hirdas Patel
Agro-Ecological Zone: Western plain, kachchh and part of kathiawar peninsula, hot arid eco-region (2.3)
Address: Mu. Kointiyam, Viramgam, Ahmadabad
District: Ahmedabad
State: Gujarat
PIN Code 382150

Crop: Cotton
Crop Family: Malvaceae
Crop Scientific Name: (Gossypium herbaceum)
Crop Vernacular Name: karpas
Formulation: Straws of Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) and droppings of goat are burnt at early morning in pits around the field.
Ingredients: straws of pearl millet ( Pennisetum typhoides) droppings of goat.

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PAS 1:

"Significant air temperature changes have occurred globally during the 20th century, which are spatially variable to a considerable degree and these changes can have substantial implications in agroecosystem productivity. The agroclimate indicators that are responsible in these contexts are first fall frost (FFF), last spring frost (LSF), climatological growing season (CGS) length, and heat accumulation (growing degree days, GDD). We explore spatial and temporal trends associated with these indices across the continental U.S. (CONUS) during 1900–2014 using datasets collected at 1218 sites. On average, FFF has been occurring later (by 5.4 days century−1), and LSF has been occurring earlier (by 6.9 days century−1), resulting in the average lengthening of the CGS (by 12.7 days century−1). Annual GDD has been increasing by 50 °C century−1. We also report trends for agricultural belts and climate regions. We developed relationships between county-level crop yields vs. agroclimate changes and found that all crops (maize, soybean, sorghum, spring wheat, winter wheat, and cotton) responded positively to a lengthened CGS, while responding negatively to increase in GDD, except cotton. Overall, we find that the observed changes in agroclimate, were beneficial for crop yields in the CONUS, albeit some crop and region specific exceptions.". -
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25212-2

PAS 2:

"Risk of yield loss in canola due to spring frosts during the early reproductive period is a key constraint to canola production in the northern region. In this paper we show the rapid phenological development of canola in northern compared to southern locations (e.g. up to 40 days earlier flowering than at Wagga Wagga for a mid-May sowing), the strong locational variation in the northern region for canola phenology (eg 20-30 days variation across five locations in flowering date for a mid-May sowing), and interactions between location, cultivar maturity and sowing date. We couple the crop growth simulation model, APSIM-Canola, validated for simulation of flowering date, to long term climate data to define frost risks for two northern locations. The simulations show that it is possible to minimise frost risk to around 10% by appropriate choice of cultivar phenology for given sowing date. The impact of delayed sowing on lowering frost risk was particularly strong between mid-April and mid-May." -
http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/2001/1/d/robertson.htm