Chapter 2 presents thesame indicators—RAIN, TEMP, RADPAR, and BIOMSS—used in Chapter 1, and combinesthem with the agronomic indicators—cropped arable land fraction (CALF) andmaximum vegetation condition index (VCIx)—to describe crop condition in six MajorProduction Zones (MPZ) across all continents. For more information about thesezones and methodologies used, see the quick reference guide in Annex C as wellas 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 theirfourteen- and five-year averages. 

Table 2.1. October 2015-January 2016 agroclimaticindicators by Major Production Zone, current value and departure from 14YA

Note:Departures are expressed in relative terms (percentage) for all variables,except for temperature, for which absolute departure in degrees Celsius isgiven. Zero means no change from the average value; relative departures arecalculated as (C-R)/R*100, with C=current value and R=reference value, which isthe fourteen-year average (14YA) for the same period (October-January) for2001-14.

Table 2.2. October 2015-January 2016agronomic indicators by Major Production Zone, current season values anddeparture from 5YA

Note:Departures are expressed in relative terms (percentage) for all variables. Zeromeans 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 five-year(5YA) average for the same period (October-January) for 2010-2014.