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Explora: Environment
and Resource Climate change and apple yield

Table 4. Correlation matrix of air pollutant concentration and climatic parameters
Parameters Correlation CO CO NO Chill unit Snowfall Apple yield Temperature Rainfall
2 x
CO R 2 1 0.742 0.469 0.121 −0.098 −0.119 0.500 0.179
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.001 0.057 0.642 0.707 0.649 0.051 0.493
CO R 2 1 0.631 0.161 −0.149 −0.061 0.29 0.455
2
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.007 0.537 0.568 0.816 0.258 0.066
NO R 2 1 −0.081 0.281 −0.199 0.142 0.126
x
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.758 0.274 0.444 0.586 0.629
Chill unit R 2 1 0.18 0.327 −0.022 0.135
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.489 0.201 0.933 0.604
Snowfall R 2 1 0.065 −0.408 −0.012
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.804 0.104 0.964
Apple yield R 2 1 −0.07 0.149
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.789 0.569
Temperature R 2 1 0.238
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.357
Rainfall R 2 1
*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
of climatic condition variations on the yield and quality of
crop has been reported. 32
3.7. Yield reduction risk

Yield reduction risk was calculated by the equations
mentioned in the section of materials and methods.
Figure 6 shows the results of yield reduction risk calculated
for the apple yield of the Shimla district. It indicated that
apple production may decrease by 11.48% in upcoming
years if this trend of climate change continues.

4. Discussion
Figure 4. Changes of chill unit over time from 1991 to 2018
This study aimed to assess the effect of regional climate
other hand, CO showed a significant positive relationship change on apple yield in Shimla district of Himachal
2
with chill units, temperature, and rainfall, while it was Pradesh, India. Time series data of climatic variables were
significantly negatively associated with snowfall and apple analyzed to substantiate the occurrence of climate change
yield. NO also presented a significant negative correlation in the region. The linear trend model showed a significant
x
with chill unit and apple yield as well as a positive correlation increase in the minimum and maximum temperatures. It
with snowfall, temperature, and rainfall. Therefore, these was shown that snowfall presented an apparent declining
pollutants may directly or indirectly impact on climatic trend in the past decades. Similar trends in the changes of
parameters and crop yield. temperature and snowfall were also reported by Bhan and
Singh who investigated these parameters in other study
Chill unit was significantly positively correlated with area. The temperature was negatively correlated with
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snowfall, apple yield, and rainfall, but was negatively apple yield in the present study, implying that temperature,
correlated with temperature. It was shown that an increase especially the minimum temperature, had a negative effect
of chill unit may increase the apple yield. Separately, on apple yield. A similar effect of minimum temperature
snowfall had a significant positive correlation with apple on annual apple yield was also reported in China,
yield but was negatively correlated with temperature and although snowfall was not quantified and analysed. A
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rainfall. Apple yield had a significant negative correlation study observed that the bud development and flowering
with temperature. Similar finding delineating the impact of apple trees were impaired due to increasing minimum

Volume 1 Issue 1 (2024) 6 doi: 10.36922/eer.3608