Undergraduate Courses

Course No. Agromet 102 (1+1)             Sem II
Title: Introductory Agrometeorology and Climate Change

Syllabus Theory : Agrometeorology – definition, scope. Earth atmosphere – its composition, extent and structure. Atmospheric weather variables. Elements and factors of weather and climate. Atmospheric pressure. Wind, types, daily and seasonal variation. Cyclone, anticyclone. Land and sea breeze. Solar radiation – solar constant, depletion, short and long wave, thermal radiation, net radiation, albedo. Atmospheric temperature, inversion, lapse rate, daily and seasonal variations, vertical profile. Energy balance of earth. Atmospheric humidity, saturation vapor pressure, condensation. Dew, fog, mist, frost. Precipitation, process, types.Cloud formation and classification. Artificial rainmaking. Monsoon – mechanism and importance in Indian agriculture. Weather hazards. Agriculture and weather relations. Modifications of microclimate. Climatic normals for crop and livestock production. Weather forecasting – types and applications. Climate change and impacts on agriculture.

Syllabus Practical: Visit to agrometeorological observatory. Site selection of observatory and exposure of instruments and weather data recording. Measurement of total, short and long wave radiations and their estimation using Planck’s intensity law. Measurement of albedo and sunshine duration, computation of radiation intensity using BSS. Measurement of maximum and minimum air temperatures, tabulation, trend and variation analysis. Measurement of soil temperature and computation of soil heat flux. Determination of vapor pressure and relative humidity. Determination of dew point temperature. Measurement of atmospheric pressure and analysis of atmospheric conditions. Measurement of wind speed and wind direction, preparation of wind rose. Measurement, tabulation and critical analysis of rainfall. Computation of drought indices. Measurement of open pan evaporation and evapotranspiration. Computation of PET and AET.

Course No. Agromet 301 (2+1) Sem II
Title: System Simulation and Agroadvisory

Syllabus Theory: Systems approach for representing soil-plant-atmospheric continuum, system boundaries. Crop models –concepts, types, techniques, basic data requirements, relational diagrams. Evaluation of crop responses to weather elements. Elementary crop growth models, Calibration, validation, verification and sensitivity analysis. Potential and achievable crop production-concept and modeling techniques for their estimation. Crop production in moisture and nutrient limited conditions. Components of soil water and nutrient balance. Insect and disease forecasting models. Weather forecasting, types, methods, tools and techniques, forecast verification. Value added weather forecast; ITK for weather forecast and its validity. Crop-weather calendars. Preparation of agro-advisory bulletin based on weather forecast and crop simulation models and its effective dissemination.

Syllabus Practical: Preparation of crop weather calendars. Preparation of agroadvisories based on weather forecast using various approaches and synoptic charts. Working with statistical and simulation models for crop growth. Potential and achievable production. Yield forecasting, insect and disease forecasting models. Simulation with limitations of water and nutrient management options. Sensitivity analysis of varying weather and crop management practices. Use of statistical approaches in data analysis and preparation of historical and present meteorological data for medium range weather forecast. Feedback from farmers about the agro-advisory.

Post Graduate Courses

Course No: AGM 501
Course Title: Fundamentals of Meteorology
Credit hours: (2+1) Semester: I
Theory
UNIT I: Solar radiation and laws of radiation, greenhouse effect, albedo, and heat balance of the earth and atmosphere, variation in pressure and temperature with height, potential temperature, pressure gradient, cyclonic and anticyclonic motions, geostrophic and gradient winds, equations of motion, general circulation, turbulence, vorticity, atmospheric waves.
UNIT II: Gas laws, laws of thermodynamics and their application to atmosphere, water vapour in the atmosphere, various humidity parameters and their interrelationships, vapour pressure, psychrometric equation, saturation deficit. Lapse rates-ascent of dry and moist air, stability and instability conditions in the atmosphere.
UNIT III: Agromet observatory and analysis of weather data. Condensation, clouds and their classification. Evaporation and rainfall, the hydrological cycle, precipitation processes, artificial rainmaking, thunderstorms and dust storm, haze, mist, fog, and dew. Air masses and fronts,
tropical and extra-tropical cyclones.
UNIT IV: Effect of Earth’s rotation on zonal distribution of radiation, rainfall, temperature, and wind, the trade winds, equatorial trough and its movement.
UNIT V: Monsoon and its origin, Indian monsoon and its seasonal aspects- Onset, advancement and retreat of monsoon in different parts of India, Walker and Hadley cell, El Nino,La Nina, Southern Oscillation Index and their impact on monsoon.

Practical: Agromet observatory- different classes of observatories (A,B,C). Site selection and installation procedures for meteorological instruments. Measurement of weather parameters. Reading and recording, calculation of daily, weekly, monthly means. Totals of weather data.Weather chart preparation and identification of low pressure systems and ridges. Statistical techniques for computation of climatic normals, moving average, etc.

Course No: AGM 502
Course Title: Fundamentals of Agricultural Meteorology

Credit hours: (2+1) Semester: II
Theory:
UNIT I: Meaning and scope of agricultural meteorology, components of agricultural meteorology, role and responsibilities of agricultural meteorologists.
UNITII: Importance of meteorological parameters in agriculture. Efficiency of solar energy conversion into dry matter production, meteorological factors in photosynthesis, respiration and net assimilation, basic principles of water balance in ecosystems. Soil- water balance models and water production functions.
UNIT III: Crop weather calendars, weather forecasts for agriculture at short, medium and long range levels, agromet advisories, preparation, dissemination and economic impact analysis. Use of satellite imageries in weather forecasting, synoptic charts and synoptic approach to weather forecasting.
UNIT IV: Concept, definition, types of drought and their causes, prediction of drought, crop water stress index, crop stress detection, air pollution and its influence on vegetation, meteorological aspects of forest fires and their control
UNIT V: Climate change, green house effect, CO 2 increase, global warming and their impact on agriculture, climate classification, agro-climatic zones and agro-ecological regions of India.
Practical: Preparation of crop weather calendars. Development of simple regression models for weather, pest and disease relation in different crops. Preparation of weather based agro-advisories. Use of automated weather station (AWS).

Course No.: AGM 503

Course Title: Crop-Weather Relationships

Credit hours: (2+0) Semester: I

Contents:

UNIT I: Understanding the influence of weather elements on crop growth, impact of climatic variability and extremes on crop production, climatic normals for crop production.
UNIT II: Climatic requirements of major crops, temperature effect on crop growth, radiation impact and radiation utilization efficiency , humidity effect on crop performance, effect of soil temperature on seed germination and root growth, wind variation and crop growth.
UNIT III: Meteorological indices to predict crop production. Interpretation of weather forecasts for various agricultural operations towards improved productivity, crop-weather relationship in dryland areas. Crop weather relationship of major horticultural crops of the region and agroforestry system.
UNITIV: Rhizosphere and microorganisms in relation to weather, fertilizer and water use efficiency in relation to weather.

Course No: AGM 504

Course Title: Agro-Meteorological Measurements and Instrumentation
Credit hours: (1+2) 

Semester: II
Contents:
UNIT I: Fundamentals of measurement techniques, theory and working principles of barometer, thermometer, psychrometer, hair hygrometer, thermohygrograph, exposure and operation of meteorological instruments/ equipments in agromet observatories.
UNIT II: Radiation and temperature measuring instruments- working principles of pyranometer, albedometer, photometer, spectro-radiometer, sunshine recorder, dew recorder, quantum sensors, pressure bomb apparatus, thermographs, and infra-red thermometer.
UNIT III: Precipitation and dew instruments: working principles of rain gauge, self recording rain gauge, Duvdevani dew gauges.Wind instruments- working principles of anemometer, wind vane, anemograph.
UNIT IV: Evapotranspiration and photosynthesis instruments- working principles of lysimeters, open pan evaporimeters,porometer, photosynthesis system, leaf area meter.
UNIT V: Boundary layer fluxes, flux tower, soil heat flux plates, instruments to measure soil moisture and soil temperature.
UNIT VI: Automatic weather station – data logger and sensors, nano-sensors for measurement of weather variables, computation and interpretation of data.
Practical
Working with the above instruments in the meteorological observatory, fields and laboratory, Recording observations of relevant parameters. Computation and interpretation of the data, Analysis of AWS data.

Course No: AGM 505

Course Title: Crop Micrometeorology
Credit hours: (2+1) Semester: II
Contents:
UNIT I: Properties of atmosphere near the Earth’s surface, exchange of mass momentum and energy between surface and overlaying atmosphere, exchange coefficient, similarity hypothesis, shearing stress, forced and free convection.
UNIT II: Molecular and eddy transport of heat, water vapour and momentum, frictional effects, eddy diffusion, mixing, zero plane displacement, temperature instability, eddy covariance technique, microclimate near the bare ground, unstable and inversion layers, variation in microclimate under irrigated and rainfed conditions, soil moisture and temperature variation with depth, non–dimensional numbers (Richardson number, Reynold number, Rossby number, Rayleigh number etc.), Exchange coefficients.
UNIT III: Micrometeorology of plant canopies; distribution of temperature, humidity, vapour pressure, wind and carbon dioxide. Modification of microclimate due to cultural practices, intercropping, radiation distribution and utilization by plant communities, leaf temperature and its biological effects. Influence of topography on microclimate, shelter belts and wind breaks, microclimate in low plant area of meadows and grain fields, microclimate within forests, glass house and plastic house climates. Instruments and measuring techniques in micrometeorology.
UNIT IV: Effects of ambient weather conditions on growth, development and yield of crops. Measurement of global and diffused radiation, measurement of albedo over natural surfaces and cropped surfaces. Net radiation measurement at different levels, PAR distribution in plant canopies and interception. Wind, temperature and humidity profiles in (a) short crops and (b) tall crops, energy balance over crops and LAI and biomass estimation. Remote sensing and its application in relation to micrometeorology.
Practical: Micrometerological measurements in crop canopies. Quantification of crop microclimate. Determination of ET and its computation by different methods.

Course No: AGM 506

Course Title: Evapotranspiration and Soil Water Balance
Credit hours: (2+1) Semester: II
Contents:
UNIT I: Energy concept of soil water, hydraulic conductivity and soil water flux, theory on hydraulic conductivity in saturated and unsaturated soils. Physical factors concerning water movement in soil, concepts on evaporation, evapotranspiration, potential and actual evapotranspiration.
UNIT II: Theories of evapotranspiration and their comparison, aerodynamic, eddy correlation, energy balance, water balance and other methods, their application under different agroclimatic conditions. Concepts of potential, reference and actual evapotranspiration – modified techniques.
UNIT III: Influence of microclimatic and cultural factors on soil water balance, techniques of lysimetry in measuring actual evapotranspiration. Water use efficiency and scheduling of irrigation based on evapotranspiration. Water use efficiency and antitranspirants, computation of Kc values and their use. Irrigation scheduling based on climatological approaches.
UNIT IV: Yield functions, water use efficiency and scheduling of irrigation based on evapotranspiration. Dry matter yield ET functions. Radiation instruments, advanced techniques for measurement of radiation and energy balance. Estimation of evapotranspiration through remote sensing.
Practical: Measurement of various components of soil water balance. Evaluation of hydraulic conductivity vs. soil moisture relationship by water balance approach. Computation and comparison of evapotranspiration by different methods – energy balance method, aerodynamic method, Penman method, remote sensing and other methods. Soil moisture retention characteristics by pressure plate method.

Course No: AGM 507

Course Title: Crop Weather Models
Credit hours: (1+2) Semester: I

Contents:
UNIT I: Principles of crop production, effect of weather elements on crop responses. Impact of natural and induced variability of climate on crop production.
UNIT II: Introduction and application to crop modeling, types of models. Empirical and statistical crop weather models their application with examples, concept of crop growth model in relation to weather, soil, plant and other environmental related parameters and remote sensing inputs, growth and yield prediction models.
UNIT III: Dynamic crop simulation models, e.g. DSSAT, InfoCrop, APSIM, CropSyst, etc. optimization, calibration and validation of models. Weather data and physiology-based approaches to modeling of crop growth and yield. Forecasting of pests and diseases. Stochastic models, advantages and limitations of modeling.
Practical: Working with statistical and simulation models, DSSAT models, InfoCrop, Oryza, etc.

Course No: AGM 508
Course Title: Applied Agricultural Climatology    Credit hours: (1+2)
Semester: I

Theory:

UNIT I: Climatic statistics- measures of central tendency and variability, skewness, kurtosis,homogeneity, correlation, regression and moving averages. Probability analysis using normal,
binomial, Markov-chain and incomplete gamma distribution. Parametric and non parametric tests. Assessment of frequency of disastrous events.
UNIT II: Precipitation indices. Climatic water budget. Potential and actual evapotranspiration and their computation. Measurement of precipitation, calculation of water surplus and deficit,computation of daily and monthly water budget and their applications. Assessment of dry and wet spells, available soil moisture, moisture adequacy index and their applications.
UNIT III: Thermal indices and phenology. Cardinal temperatures, heat unit and growing degree day concepts for crop phenology, crop growth and development. Insect-pest development. Crop weather calendars. Agroclimatic requirement of crops.
UNIT IV: Bioclimatic concepts- evaluation of human comfort, comfort indices (temperature, humidity index and wind chill) and clothing insulation. Climate housing and site orientation. Climatic normals for animal production.
Practical: Use of statistical approaches in data analysis. Preparation of climatic water budget. Estimation of agro-meteorological variables using historical records. Degree day concept and phenology forecasting and preparation of crop calendar. Evaluation of radiation, wind and shading effects in site selection and orientation. Study of weather-pest and disease interactions, calculation of continentality factors, calculation of comfort indices and preparation of climograph.

Course No: AGM 509
Course Title: Weather Forecasting
Credit hours: (2+1) Semester: I
Contents:

UNIT I: Weather forecasting system- definition, scope and importance. Types of forecasting, short, medium and long-range; study of synoptic charts with special reference to location of highs and lows, jet streams, synoptic features and weather anomalies and zones of thermal advection and interpretation of satellite pictures of clouds in visible and infra-red range. Weather  forecasting network.
UNIT II: Approaches for weather forecasts. Methods of weather forecasts – synoptic, numerical prediction, statistical, analogue, persistence and climatological approach, nano- technological approach, Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) base – signals from flora, fauna, insects, birds, animals behaviour. Various methods of verification of location- specific weather forecast.
UNIT III: Special forecasts- special forecasts for natural calamities such as drought, floods, high winds, cold (frost) and heat waves, hail storms, cyclones and protection measures against such hazards.
UNIT IV: Modification of weather hazards. Weather modification for agriculture. Scientific advances in artificial rain making, hail suppression, dissipation of fog and stratus clouds, modification of severe storms and electric behavior of clouds.
UNIT V: Weather based advisories- interpretation of weather forecasts for soil moisture, farm operations, pest and disease development and epidemics, crops and livestock production, preparation of weather-based advisories and dissemination.
Practical: Exercise on weather forecasting for various applications. Preparation of weather-based agro-advisories based on weather forecast using various approaches and synoptic charts.

Course No: AGM 510
Course Title: RS and GIS Applications In Agricultural Meteorology
Credit hours: (2+1)        Semester: I

Theory
UNIT I: Basic components of remote sensing- signals, sensors and sensing systems, active and passive remote sensing.
UNITII: Characteristics of electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with matter, spectral features of earth’s surface features, remote sensors in visible, infrared and microwave regions.
UNIT III: Imaging and non-imaging systems, framing and scanning systems, resolution of sensors, sensor platforms, their launching and maintenance. Drone technology.
UNIT IV: Data acquisition system, data pre processing, storage and dissemination, digital image processing and information extraction.
UNIT V: Microwave remote sensing, visual and digital image interpretation. Introduction to GIS and GPS.
UNIT VI: Digital techniques for crop discrimination and identification, crop stress detection – soil moisture assessment, inventory of ground water and satellite measurement of surface soil moisture and temperature. Drought monitoring, monitoring of crop disease and pest infestation. Use of satellite data in weather forecasting.
UNIT VII: Soil resource inventory, land use/land cover mapping and planning. Integrated watershed development. Crop yield modeling and crop production forecasting.
Practical: Acquisition of maps. Field data collection. Map and imagery scales. S/W and H/W requirements and specifications for remote sensing. Data products, their specifications, media types, data inputs, transformation, display types, image enhancement. Image classification methods. Evaluation of classification errors. Crop discrimination and acreage estimations. Differentiation of different degraded soils. Time domain reflectometry. Use of spectrometer and computation of vegetation indices. Demonstration of case studies. Hands on training.

Doctorate Courses

Courses Ph.D Agricultural Meteorology

Course No:  AGM-601

Course Title: Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Credit hours: (2+1)          Semester: I

Contents:

UNIT I: Climate change and global warming- definitions of terms, causes of climate change and global warming, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, past records, present trends, extreme weather events and future projections. Case studies on various climatic projections and consequences thereof in relation to agriculture.

UNIT II: Impacts of climate change on various systems- impacts resulting from projected changes on agriculture and food security, hydrology and water resources, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, coastal zones and marine ecosystems, human health, human settlements, energy, and industry, insurance and other financial services. Climate change and crop diversification, loss of biodiversity, microbes and pest dynamics, climate change and storage and weed management. Advance methodology of assessing the impact of climate change on crops.

UNIT III: Sensitivity, adaptation and vulnerability-system’s sensitivity, adaptive capacity and vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather events, regional scenarios of climate change and variability.

UNIT IV: Mitigation strategies for sustainable development- international policies, protocols, treaties for reduction in greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, carbon credit; clean development mechanism (CDM) and land use. Crop management options for low emission, land use change and forestry mechanism, alternate energy sources etc.

UNIT V: Agricultural food security- reduction in carbon and GHG emission, fuel conservation and reduction in energy use, conservation tillage, biofuels for fossil fuels, reduction in machinery use etc., increasing carbon sinks, resource conservation technologies, mixed rotations of cover and green manure crops, minimization of summer fallow and no ground cover periods, etc.

Practical: Case studies on various climatic projections and consequences thereof in relation to agriculture. Advance methodology of assessing the impact of climate change on crops.

Course No:  AGM-608*

CCourse Title: Computer Programs and Software For Agrometeorological Data Management

CCredit hours: (1+1)          Semester: II

CContents:               

UUNIT I: Data and information; types of data, climate, soil and crop data. Importance of database management, softwares related to database management, data requirements, data collection and recording (Automatic and manual).

UUNIT II: Data structure/format, quality control of data through computer software, techniques of climatic data generation, missing data, introduction to different software for database management.

UUNIT III: Processing and analysis of data and data products, value addition of data and data products, data users, public, commercial, academic or research. Availability, accessibility and security of data, evaluating the cost of data, e-management of data. Meta analysis – Advantages and problems, Steps, Approaches and methods, Applications.

UUNIT IV: Computer Programming- History, quality requirements, readability of source code, Algorithmic complexity, Debugging and Programming languages.

PPractical: Types of instruments and data recording. AWS data retrieval, storage and transfer. Exposure to different software for Agromet data analysis, exposure to Statistical software. Temporal and spatial analysis of data; exposure to GIS. Value addition to data. Introduction to internet protocols. Uploading and downloading data, password and security of data. E-management of data. Introduction to computer programming.