Chapter 2 presents the same indicators—RAIN, TEMP, RADPAR, and BIOMSS— as those used in Chapter 1, and combines them with the agronomic indicators—cropped arable land fraction (CALF), maximum vegetation condition index (VCIx), and minimum vegetation health index (VHIn)— to describe crop condition in six Major Production Zones (MPZ) across all continents. For more information about these zones and methodologies used, see the quick reference guide in Annex C as well as the CropWatch bulletin online resources at www.cropwatch.com.cn.

2.1. Overview

Tables 2.1 and 2.2 present an overview of the agroclimatic (table 2.1) and agronomic (table 2.2) indicators for each of the six MPZs, comparing the indicators to their fifteen and five-year averages, respectively.

Table 2.1. January-April 2018 agroclimatic indicators by Major Production Zone, current value and departure from 15YA

Note: Departures are expressed in relative terms (percentage) for all variables, except for temperature, for which absolute departure in degrees Celsius is given. Zero means no change from the average value; relative departures are calculated as (C-R)/R*100, with C=current value and R=reference value, which is the fifteen-year average (15YA) for the same period (January-April) for 2003-2017.

Table 2.2.  January -April 2018 agronomic indicators by Major Production Zone, current season values and departure from 5YA

Note: See note for table 2.1, with reference value R defined as the five-year average (5YA) for  the same period (January-April) for 2013-2017.