| Crops in the future will be subjected to weather conditions for which they were not bred. Global circulation models predict warming of the earth's surface air temperatures and other weather changes. The implications of changing climate on crop growth and yield need to be studied and understood. The cotton simulation model, GOSSYM, was used to study the impacts of climate change on cotton production in the Mississippi Delta.;Climate data, 1964--1993, was modified to generate future climate scenarios for Stoneville, MS. Projected climate change has drastic effects on future cotton production. The fertilization effect of elevated carbon dioxide alone (540 muL L-1) increased yields by 11% over the current conditions, but when all predicted climatic changes were included, yields decreased by 6%. Future climate reduced crop-growing season by 11 days. Among the climatic variables, changes in temperature and rainfall adversely affected yields. Management strategies, changing planting dates, increasing irrigation and application of nitrogen, may ameliorate some of these negative impacts. |
