The Impact of Climate Change on Tomato Cultivation in Al-Zubair District

Abstract

The study examined the impact of climate change on tomato crop productivity in Al-Zubair District. It focused on a highly significant issue facing the agricultural sector, namely climatic changes, which constitute the most important factor influencing agricultural production. The worsening of this phenomenon has contributed to shortening the crop’s growth period and reducing its productivity, because variation and fluctuation in the rates and totals of climatic elements disrupt the crop’s physiological processes, increase evapotranspiration rates, and consequently halt productive processes. Thereafter, plant seedlings begin to wither, leading ultimately to their gradual and rapid death.

The study found that the tomato crop is affected by climatic elements, particularly temperature, which exerts both direct and indirect effects. Temperature has numerous adverse effects on the crop, depending on the type of climatic phenomenon, its intensity, the duration of exposure, and the stage of plant growth. The study also demonstrated the extent of variation in climatic characteristics across the climatic cycles (1990–2000), (2001–2011), and (2012–2022), which affected agricultural production through increased rates that greatly exceeded the requirements needed by the tomato crop for growth.

Moreover, an inverse relationship was identified with most climatic elements, such as temperature, relative humidity, high temperatures, low precipitation, as well as winds and dust storms. The effects of these factors are reflected in both the reduction and intensification of their impact on the components of the natural environment, and consequently on tomato crop production.