Alternative Method of Agroclimatic Zoning of Maize for the State of Alagoas

The cultivation of corn under a rainfed regime along the state of Alagoas is deeply influenced by climate variability, especially when considering the recurring droughts affecting the entire Northeast region of Brazil. One way of minimizing the risk of losses is establishing a climate window that is optimal for the sowing time. This study resorted to an agrometeorological model of damages by water deficit to simulate the productivity in every municipality of Alagoas from 1980 to 2015. The high correlation between simulations and observations, and the low absolute mean error for reference stations validated the model. There are different windows favourable to planting, shorter in the hinterland during the month of April, between the third ten days of March and the third ten days of May in the wild, and between the first ten days of March and the second ten days of June in eastern Alagoas. On average, relative productivity losses are about 45% in “Sertão”, 40-45% in “Agreste”, and around 20% in the coast. Such results can aid the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply, in the elaboration of its Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning of Crops, potentially resulting in a more considerate calendar for corn sowing in Alagoas.

Keywords:
climate risk; sowing window; modeling