Agricultural Meteorological Variables and Their Observations

Observations of the physical and biological variables in the environment are essential in agricultural meteorology. Meteorological considerations enter into assessing the performance of plants and animals because their growth is a result of the combined effect of genetic characteristics and their response to the environment.Without quantitative data, agrometeorological planning, forecasting, research and services by agrometeorologists cannot properly assist agricultural producers to survive and to meet the ever-increasing demands for food and agricultural by-products. This chapter provide guidance on the types of observations required, their extent, organization and accuracy, as well as on the instruments needed to obtain the data, with an emphasis on those for operational and long-term stations.