Agroclimatic zoning for urucum crops in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

ABSTRACT Hardier crops are needed in the arid regions of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and annatto (Bixa orellana L.) is a good candidate. Producers, however, do not know if their areas are suitable for its cultivation and so are not investing in its implementation. Agroclimatic zoning would provide guidance to the producers. Identifying potential areas for the production of this crop would thus contribute to the agroclimatic zoning of B. orellana in Minas Gerais. We collected data for air temperature and precipitation from 852 meteorological stations in the state to classify regions as suitable, marginally suitable, or unsuitable for the crop. Suitable regions had an air temperature between 22 and 27 °C and precipitation between 800 and 1600 mm.y-1. Marginally suitable regions had an air temperature between 22 and 27 °C and precipitation less than 800 mm.y-1. Unsuitable regions had air temperature less than 22 °C or greater than 27 °C. A geographic information system was used for the spatial interpolation of air temperature and precipitation for all meteorological stations using kriging. The agroclimatic zoning of annatto crops for Minas Gerais was obtained by interpolating the two maps, air temperature and precipitation. Minas Gerais has great potential for urucum production, and agroclimatic zoning enabled the classification of regions by climatic suitability. The northern, western, northwestern, and part of the eastern regions of Minas Gerais have favourable climates suitable for the cultivation of B. orellana.

摘要：巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州干旱地区亟需适应性更强的作物，而胭脂树（annatto, Bixa orellana L.）是极佳的备选物种。然而当地种植户并不清楚其种植地块是否适配该作物的种植要求，因此并未投入相关种植实施工作。农业气候区划（agroclimatic zoning）可为种植户提供科学指导，明确该作物的潜在种植产区则有助于完成米纳斯吉拉斯州胭脂树的农业气候区划工作。本研究收集了该州852个气象站点的气温与降水数据，用以将全州区域划分为该作物的适宜种植区、勉强适宜种植区与不适宜种植区三类：适宜种植区的气温范围为22~27℃，年降水量为800~1600毫米；勉强适宜种植区的气温范围同样为22~27℃，但年降水量不足800毫米；不适宜种植区的气温则低于22℃或高于27℃。本研究采用地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS），通过克里金（kriging）插值法对所有气象站点的气温与降水数据进行空间插值处理；通过整合气温与降水两张插值图层，最终得到米纳斯吉拉斯州胭脂树的农业气候区划结果。研究表明，米纳斯吉拉斯州在胭脂树种植上具备巨大潜力，通过农业气候区划可依据气候适宜性完成区域分类；该州北部、西部、西北部以及东部部分区域，拥有适配胭脂树种植的优质气候条件。