Modeling Photoperiod Response of Canola Under Changing Climate Conditions

Abstract

Disturbance in the photoperiod urged cultivars to show variant behavior regarding their phenology. There is evidence of variability in the sensitivity of cultivars to photoperiod causing pre-anthesis phases to respond to the photoperiod differently among them. A field experiment was conducted with eight canola cultivars (i.e., NARC Sarsoon, Punjab Canola, Faisal Canola, ROHI Sarsoon, Super Canola, Cyclone, Crusher and LG-3295) at two variable sites of rain-fed Pothwar. The study sites included the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Islamabad (latitude 38.78 °N, 73.57 °E and 1632 ft. elevation) and URF-Koont in Chakwal (latitude 32.93 °N, 72.86 °E and 1634 ft. elevation). NARC Sarsoon showed significant results during both years of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 with a mean photoperiod of 9.95 h−1 at NARC-Islamabad. Likewise, ROHI Sarsoon responded significantly during both years of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 with a mean photoperiod of 10.44 and 10.07 h−1 at URF-Koont. Because of genetic characteristics (e.g., better yield potentials, early maturity and optimum usage of environmental conditions), these two varieties show excellence over other varieties. The DSSAT CSM-CROPGRO-Canola model confirmed the field results and accurately reproduced the photoperiodic response of canola cultivars. Based on this work it can be recommended that ideotype designing could be an option to mitigate the impact of climate variability, crop simulation modelling and effective and sustained implementation of a road map to understand the agricultural environment and climate change. To reduce oilseed imports, governments should offer incentives to farmers for enhancing the production of canola.