This paper establishes the quantitative relationships between hail fall parameters and crop damages by examining the impacts of 49 hail hazard scenarios on cotton in the bud stage and boll stage. This study utilizes simulated cotton hail hazard to analyze the following data: hail size, hail fall density, and crop damages (i.e., defoliation rate, branch breaking rate, and the fruit falling rate). The results are as follows: 1) cotton vulnerability increased via an increase in crop damages as the hail hazard magnitude increased; 2) crop damages exhibit significant logistic relationships with hail diameter and hail fall density, and the fit was better at the bud stage than at the boll stage; 3) cotton is more vulnerable to hail hazard at the bud stage than at the boll stage, and the bud stage is a critical period for cotton hail disaster prevention and mitigation; and 4) damages to cotton plant at the bud stage and boll stage were less sensitive to hail size from hail fall density. Thus, we suggest that hail diameter can be used as the priority indicator to predict hail-induced crop damages. These results provide a sound basis for developing a comprehensive evaluation of hail damage in cotton, which is crucial for promoting sustainable cotton production. We recommend that the impacts of hail-induced crop damages on yield and fiber quality need to be addressed further in future studies.
1.Beijing Normal Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Environm Change & Nat Disaster, Beijing, Peoples R China 2.Beijing Normal Univ, Sch Geog, Fac Geog Sci, Beijing, Peoples R China 3.Jiangxia Jinkou High Sch, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China 4.Univ Wisconsin, Dept Geog, Madison, WI 53706 USA 5.Nanjing Normal Univ, Jiangsu Ctr Collaborat Innovat Geog Informat Reso, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Peoples R China 6.Nanjing Normal Univ, Sch Geog, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Peoples R China 7.New Jersey Inst Technol, Dept Informat, Urban Informat & Spatial Comp Lab, Newark, NJ 07102 USA
Recommended Citation:
Yue, Yaojie,Zhou, Lan,Zhu, A-xing,et al. Vulnerability of cotton subjected to hail damage[J]. PLOS ONE,2019-01-01,14(1)