Impact of drought on grape yields in the Western Cape, South Africa

Droughts remain a threat to grape yields in South Africa. Previous studies on the impact of climate variability on grape yield in South Africa have focussed on either the rainfall or the impact of temperature on the grape yields; meanwhile, the grape yields may be more influenced by impacts of drought (which is function of water balance) than that of rainfall or temperature. This study investigates the impact of drought on grape yields in the Western Cape. A drought index that is based on water balance (called, Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index; hereafter SPEI) was used to analyse drought events at both farm and district scale (Robertson, Olifants River and Stellenbosch districts). Correlation analysis was used to identify the association between drought and grape yield. In addition, the performance of a grape yield model (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator, APSIM) in simulating the grape yield at farm scale and investigating the sensitivity of yields to drought, with and without irrigation was evaluated.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Araujo, Julio

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Babatunde, Abiodun
• Crespo , Olivier

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9106

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9106