With the right technical assistance and packages of better genetics, management practice and inputs, switching crops could be an opportunity for smaller farmers struggling with current crops to leapfrog previous performance and become more productive.
He said the current crops looked healthy but some warmth was badly needed to allow some growth.
In this largely agricultural area, farmers were not only concerned about the loss of current crops but also longer-term impacts to soil productivity.
Rather than focusing only on detrimental effects in current crops, main emphasis should shift towards the management of weed populations and weed management itself should become an integrated component of crop management.
Furthermore current crops are poorly adapted to possible future variations in climatic conditions.
Many species are current crops (e.g., turfgrasses, agronomic crops, ornamental plantings) that receive irrigation in some portion of their range, or species that occur in riparian areas (e.g., Arundo donax, Phalaris aquatica).
