A Preliminary Study of the Effect of Differences in Local Climate on the Early Growth of Some Crop Plants in the Southern Region of Uganda

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Abstract
A series of experiments using young container-grown plants of tomato, maize, cotton and field beans was undertaken to measure the effects of local climatic differences on growth in a region of dissected topography in southern Uganda. The amplitude of relief was 200 ft. Young plants of each species were kept at a common site during either the day or night and placed out during the alternative period at each of 4 experimental sites differing in altitude. The mean night temperature at the lowest night-site was about 3oC lower than at the highest night-site. This difference was associated with decreases in the sizes attained by tomato and maize plants of 32% and 17% respectively, but cotton and field bean plants were less affected. The effects on growth at different day-sites, where the mean maximum temperatures varied about 1[degree]C were small. The earlier and more abundant formation of dew at lower night-sites appears to have increased the size of cotton plants grown there by at least 13%. In cotton, net assimilation rate (leaf areas basis) was lower at the lowest night-site than at the highest, but the leaf area ratio was not affected. In areas where variation in altitude is comparatively small, the influence of local climatic factors on the growth of some species can be considerable.

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