North Carolina is a national leader in the agricultural industry and a dominant industry in our state. It is also one of the most sensitive industries to weather and climate. Using CRONOS [1], combined with modeling capabilities [2], the State Climate Office of North Carolina is developing decision-support tools for the agricultural community. We actively work with researchers, growers and county extension agents. Please contact our office [3] if you're interested in collaborating with us or have any questions.
Peanuts
Peanuts are one of the largest agricultural crops in North Carolina. Diseases however, pose a serious threat to crop production. The SCO has been working with researchers [4] in the Department of Plant Pathology at NC State to help growers identify the the opportune windows of time to apply fungicides to combat Leaf spot and Sclerotinia Blight. Weather-based disease advisories take advantage of the close relationships between disease outbreaks and weather by allowing growers to skip or delay fungicide sprays during periods that are unfavorable for disease development. Daily advisories are available during the growing season (June-Oct).
Turfgrass
The Turfgrass Irrigation Management System (TIMS [5]) can
be used by anyone from the dedicated turf professional to the homeowner
to make irrigation management decisions. The SCO collaborated with the
Department of Crop Science at NC State University to develop TIMS. The
system considers your location, recent weather, evaporation, type of
grass, and the type of soil and irrigation system you have to calculate
irrigation needed by your turf. TIMS will help you practice better
water conservation for your lawn, landscape or other turfgrass areas.
Degree Days
Degree days are used to estimate maturity in many agricultural crops. Using CRONOS [6], you can define the baseline of the degree day calculation for your crop.
Drought
Drought can have profound impacts on agricultural production. The SCO has drought monitoring tools [7] and information [8] about drought.
Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration into the atmosphere. It is an important component of the water cycle and used in some agricultural decision making. ECONet [9] stations measure evapotranspiration. We are also able to calculate Potential evapotranspiration (PEt), which is available from CRONOS [10].
Soil Parameters
The ECONet [11] records soil temperature and moisture, which are important parameters in agriculture. Historical observations of such parameters can be retrieved via the CRONOS [12] database. In addition, recent observations can be displayed using our mapserver [13].
Impact of Climate Events
Additional Resources