Influências dos padrões de precipitação pluviométrica na produção de feijão em um município do Semiárido Paraibano

Abstract

The agricultural activities of the semi-arid region of Brazil are extremely dependent on several climatic factors to produce satisfactory yields, however, this region presents high rainfall variability in most of the years, therefore, it is necessary to understand the degree of influence of this variable in agricultural crops, such as beans. In this sense, the present study aimed to analyze the production of cowpea in the municipality of Boa Ventura, Paraíba, between 2002 and 2016, associating the results obtained with local rainfall. For this, linear correlations between precipitation data and bean crop production variables were performed using Pearson's correlation, followed by analyzes of significance using the Student's T-test. Subsequently, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed. The results showed a positive and significant correlation of the rainfall on the analyzed variables. The production of beans in the municipality showed a strong reduction, mainly from 2012. Even in years with normal or above average rainfall, the productivity of cowpea in Boa Ventura was low. The PCA recorded 91.8% of explanation in the first two axes and demonstrated the strong correlation of the variables analyzed with the precipitation. Based on the results found, it is necessary to develop production strategies for this crop that reduce the dependence of climatic factors under their production variables, in addition to seeking the technification of this productive system.