Significance of Meteorological Parameters in the Implementation of Agriculture Engineering Practices in and Around Tabuk Region, KSA.
Prof Dr Lekshmi Vijayan, Dr Fatema Abdullah Al Talhi, Dr Effat Fakhr El Din Noor

Abstract
Accounting for fluctuations in agro-meteorological parameter readings into agriculture, would help to get better yield and quality of produce. The influence of different meteorological parameters on the final yield of different crops have been studied and reported from different parts of the World. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the significance of meteorological parameters in the implementation of agriculture engineering practices in the Tabuk region of the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Meteorological data was collected for the period 2002-2011, from the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment and the production data of important crops in Tabuk from the Central Department of Statistics and Information. A trend analysis showed an increasing trend in temperature and rainfall while relative humidity showed a decreasing trend during this time of 10 years. The effect of each of the meteorological parameters on productivity of selected crops was studied using statistical tools. In general it is observed that among all the meteorological parameters, temperature and relative humidity greatly influences the production of crops like wheat, potato, fruits and vegetables in this region. While crops like wheat, potato and vegetables shows a positive correlation with temperature, fruit production follows relative humidity changes.

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