2. Overview
• Establishment of Agromet network under National Agromet Centre
(NAMC) at Islamabad in 1988.
• Initially the network was based on 13 observatories including 4
Regional Agromet Centers (RAMCs).
• Presently over thirty Agromet observatories including five RAMCs.
• The Agromet network covers the maximum agricultural plains/areas of
Pakistan.
• A number of meteorological as well as agricultural based data is being
taken directly or calculated, for parameters like; air temperature, earth
surface temperature, soil temperature, rainfall, air humidity, sunshine
duration, dew duration, cloud cover, evaporation, evapotranspiration
(ETo), general weather pattern, crop condition report including
phenological report etc.
• Short agromet trainings and refresher courses were repeatedly
arranged at NAMC, Islamabad for the officers as well as the staff
working at RAMCs and agromet observatories. The last one was
conducted in November, 2010.
3. An Overview of Working at NAMC
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Computerized compilation of Agromet data
Data scrutiny
Sell data to different organizations/ multinational companies
Provision of met data, free of cost to researchers
Compilation of crop reports
Employ different FAO’s recommended agro
softwares/applications like ETo calculator, Budget, DSSAT
& CropWat etc for current and future prospective.
• Administrate and Facilitate the activities at Agromet stations
across the country.
• Communicate to agriculture institute and supply information
on the weekly, decadal and monthly basis in the form of
Agromet bulletin.
7. AGROMET NETWORK IN PAKISTAN
AGROMET NETWORK IN
PAKISTAN
National Agromet Centre
(Islamabad)
Regional Agromet Centers
•Rawalpindi
•Faisalabad
•Tandojam
•Quetta
•Usta Muhammad
11. Functions at NAMC
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The functions of NAMC include management of the
agrometeorological station network, data processing and its
publication, weather-based crop yield and production estimates for
central planning and food production strategies for agrometeorological
advisory, research etc.
The centre is mainly responsible to develop coordination and liaison
with national authorities of agriculture and water sector to achieve
best result from collaboration research and operational work.
Establishment of agrometeorological data base for different
agroclimatic zones of Pakistan. Agromet computer data processing
for different Agromet activities is an additional duty of this centre.
NAMC shares the research responsibilities on national level.
Progressive work on water requirement of major crops, crop and
animal diseases and analysis for climatic soil moisture stress
conditions is an integral part of research at this centre.
12. Contribution in National Service
• Monthly and decadal (10 days) Agromet bulletins.
• Decadal crop condition reports for major agricultural plains of the
country.
• Climatic outlook for temperature, precipitation and soil moisture.
• Outlook for seasonal precipitation and ETo.
• Weather and Crop Development Reports for some important cultivars.
• Crop vegetation index on decadal basis.
• Farmer’s forecasts.
• Provision of Farmer’s forecasts through provincial agriculture periodicals.
• Agromet advisories on monthly, fortnightly as well as decadal basis.
13. Monthly Agromet bulletin of Pakistan
(An important periodical from NAMC)
Main features
Moisture Regime during preceding month.
Temperature Regime during preceding month.
Solar Radiations and Wind Regime during preceding month.
Expected Weather conditions during next month
(including Percentage probability of occurrence of different amount
of rainfall)
Monthly and Cumulative probabilities of Precipitation (mm).
Monthly and Cumulative Evapotranspiration (ETo) graph.
Weather Summary and Crop Report.
Suggestions and recommendation for farmers in national language.
14. ETo Calculator
Meteorological data and ETo:
The button gives access to the Data and
ETo menu,
where the data description and
meteorological data can be updated,
specified and plotted, and where results
can be exported;
Update/Display Data Limits:
The button gives access to the
Meteorological data limits menu, where the
lower and upper limits for the data can be
altered.
17. Observational work at Agromet Observatories
(Observation taken at 0300, 0900 & 1200 UTC)
• Rainfall
• Air Temperatures (Minimum, Maximum & Mean)
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Soil Temperatures (at 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 & 100 cm depth)
Cloudiness
Relative humidity
Sunshine Duration
Wind Velocity
Evaporation (taken from a water filled tank)
& any weather phenomena such as Lightening, Dust/Thunder
Storm etc.
18. RAMCs & Agromet Stations
• The RAMCs are responsible for local agrometeorological
observing program, local and regional crop weather studies,
liaison with agricultural institutions in the region to
determine local requirements and research priorities,
collection and initial processing of agromet information on
regional basis for on-ward transmission to NAMC,
Islamabad.
• The agromet stations are mainly responsible for provision
of accurate data to NAMC. But it is desirable that the said
offices may inform about any agriculture related event
about the relevant area.
19. Study on Weather and Crop Development
(A periodical from each RAMC)
Motives
• To study the impact of different meteorological parameters on crop
growth and its development.
• To develop the yield parameters of wheat crop in the Rainfed areas of
Pakistan.
• To investigate the water satisfaction sensitivity of crop in Potohar
region.
• To develop the relationship between weather parameters and crops life
cycle.
• To determine the onset of pests and diseases related to weather
elements.
• To organize data for development of crop wheat-weather model.
• To cover a step forward for formulation of yield estimation.
21. Research Publications from NAMC
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A Hydrothermal Stress Model for Agricultural Plains of Punjab.
Rasul, G. A Hygrothermal Stress Model for Agricultural Plains of Punjab, 1993.
Water Requirement of Sugarcane Crop in Pakistan.
Rasul, G. Water Requirement of Sugarcane Crop in Pakistan. Science Vision, Vol. 7
No.4. pp. 237-245, 1996.
Water Requirement of Cotton Crop in Pakistan
Rasul G. and A. Bari. Water Requirement of Cotton Crop in Pakistan. J. of Engg. &
App. Sci. Vol. 6 No.2. pp. 111-119, 1995.
Recent Water Requirement of Cotton Crop in Pakistan
Naheed, G. and G. Rasul.. Recent Water Requirement of Cotton Crop in Pakistan,
Pak. J. of Meteorology, Volume 6,Issue 12,January 2010.
A Simple Regression Model to Estimate Soil Temperature from Air Temperature over
Low Elevation Agricultural Plains of Pakistan
Rasul, G. A Simple Regression Model to Estimate Soil Temperature from Air
Temperature over the Low Elevation Agricultural Plains of Pakistan. J. of Science Vol.
2 No.4. pp. 88-97, 1992.
22. Research Publications from NAMC
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Performance Evaluation of Different Methods for Estimation of Evapotranspiration in Pakistan
Rasul, G. Performance Evaluation of Different Methods for Estimation of Evapotranspiration in
Pakistan’s Climate. Submitted to Journal of Pakistan Agriculture. 2007.
Early Yield Assessment of Wheat Crop on Meteorological Basis in Potohar Region
Kazmi, D. H., and G. Rasul. Early Yield Assessment of Wheat Crop on Meteorological Basis
for Potohar Region. Pak. J. of Met. Vol. 6, Issue 11. pp73-88, 2009.
Agrometeorological wheat yield prediction in rainfed Potohar region of Pakistan
Kazmi, D. H., and G. Rasul. Agrometeorological wheat yield prediction in rainfed Potohar
region of Pakistan, under review for publication in Pak. J. of Meteorology.
Water Requirement of Wheat Crop in Pakistan.
Rasul, G. Water Requirement of Wheat Crop in Pakistan. J. of Engg. & App. Sci. Vol. 3 No.1.
pp. 65-79, 1992.
Recent Water requirement of wheat crop in Pakistan
Naheed, G. and A. Mahmood. Water requirement of wheat crop in Pakistan, Pakistan Journal
of Meteorology, Volume 6,Issue 11,July 2009.
Effect of Meteorological Parameters on Pollen Concentration in the Atmosphere
Haroon, M. A. and G. Rasul. Effect of Meteorological Parameters on Pollen Concentration in
the Atmosphere of Islamabad. Pak. J. of Meteorology Vol.4 No.8. pp. 27-35, 2008.
Most of them can be downloaded from the following link;
http://www.pakmet.com.pk/rnd/rnd_files/Page707.htm
23. End-users for Agro Publications
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DEPARTMENT OF MYCOLOGY AND PLANT PATHOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB, LAHORE.
AYUB AGRICULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
JHANG ROAD, FAISALABAD.
WHEAT COMMISSIONER
MINISTRY OF FOOD AGRICULTURE & COOPERATIVES, ISLAMABAD.
INSTITUTE OF METEOROLOGY & GEOPHYSICS, KARACHI-32.
CHAIRMAN
PAKISTAN AGRICULTURE RESEARCH COUNCIL, ISLAMABAD.
THE CHIEF ENGINEER ADVISOR
CHAIRMAN FEDERAL FLOOD COMMISSION, ISLAMABAD.
DIRECTOR (COMPUTER MODELING)
PAKISTAN WATER & POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
PLANNING & DESIGN DIVISION (WATER), LAHORE.
DIRECTOR, SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, CHAKWAL.
CHIEF/PD, NATIONAL FERTILIZER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE,
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, ISLAMABAD.
SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
NATIONAL COORDINATOR WHEAT, ISLAMABAD.
24. End-users for Agro Publications
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INCHARGE AGRO-CLIMATOLOGY LAB
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, FAISALABAD.
LIBRARIAN (CERIAL SECTION), UNIVERSTIY OF CENTRAL
PUNJABLAHORE 54600.
DIRECTOR, SPACE APPLICATION AND RESEARCH CENTER
SUPARCO, ISLAMABAD
CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, BANNU
PAKISTAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INFORMATION CENTRE,
PLASTIC NATIONAL CENTER, ISLAMABAD.
25. Future projects
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It is observed that minimum temperature of winter months is
on increase especially for the last 18-19 years, in some cities of
Pakistan. Investigation of the impacts being generated on the
growth as well as final yield of Rabi crops, in major
agricultural plains of the country.
Making use of the software Water Budget for better irrigation
management, atleast at RAMCs level.
Utilizing the software DSSAT crop monitoring may initiated
for some important crops.
By using NDVI seasonal crop monitoring of cash crops.
Making use of analyzed agrometeorological data and after
getting the optimum professional skill, a better early warning
or pre alert system may be established for local farmers.
