Vol. 11, Special Issue 12 (2022)

Kurnool district lies between 14°54' to 16°11' N Latitude and 76°50' to 78°30' E Longitude. The geographical area of the district is 1.7658 Mha. Kurnool district has a semi-arid climate, with hot and dry conditions for most of the year.

In dryland agriculture situation, rainfall is an important source of irrigation. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is a widely used index to characterize meteorological drought on a range of timescales. The maximum drought percentage was observed in the Alur mandal and Peddakadburu (30%). The highest moderately dry years were observed in the Alur mandal (3) followed by Peddakadburu (2), Srisailam (2) and Veldurthi (2) mandals.

Yearly SPI values are useful for planning of stream flows, reservoir levels and even groundwater levels at the longer time scales. Drought is a predominant cause for reduce in crop yields or crop damage. There is an urgent need for more water efficient cropping systems facing large water consumption of irrigated agriculture and high unproductive losses via runoff and evaporation. Identification of drought resistant crops is the key to improved management of plant water stress.