News
Lunchtime Colloquium with Kevser Cetin
4 Dec 2024
Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change
Bavaria's future is set to become hotter and drier, posing challenges for agriculture. Our colleague Kevser Cetin is investigating how these changes specifically impact maize, revealing that rising temperatures shorten the growing season and lead to reduced yields.
Kevser presented her research on „Climate change impacts on crop yields in Bavaria: past trends, future water demand and adaptation strategies“ at the latest Lunchtime Colloquium: Facing climate change, farmers have to adapt their practices for maintaining the yield. Using the model PROMET to analyze crop growth, she evaluated three potential adaptation strategies for farmers:
- Irrigate current cultivars.
- Plant climate-adapted cultivars.
- Combine irrigation with planting adapted cultivars.
As expected, combining irrigation with planting new, climate-adapted cultivars results in the highest yields. However, the difference in yield between irrigated and non-irrigated cultivars is relatively small. In contrast, the shift from traditional to adapted cultivars has a much more significant impact.
Key takeaway: Planting climate-adapted cultivars could be the most effective strategy for maintaining yields—even without irrigation.
Read more on Kevser's work here
The next lunchtime colloquium is on December 11, with Alexandra Stumbaum presenting on climate literacy in school education. Our lunchtime colloquia are a fantastic opportunity for students to gain first-hand, easily digestible insights into diverse research fields at the Department of Geography.