Mapping the Climate Suitability Using MaxEnt Modeling Approach for Ceylon Spinach (Basella alba L.) Cultivation in India

Ceylon spinach (Basella alba L.) is a traditional leafy vegetable of multiple virtues largely underutilized and underexploited in India. Currently, it is of increasing value and utilization necessitating extending its cultivation for increased production by identifying potential areas through crop modeling. Mapping the potential pockets is an iterative process and this study is the first attempt to model state-wise climate suitability for Ceylon spinach cultivation in India. Geographical information on the current cultivation sites of Ceylon spinach together with bioclimatic variables, the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model were used to analyze and predict its distribution and to develop preliminary habitat suitability map for Ceylon spinach in India. The results show that the MaxEnt model can be used to study the climatic suitability for Ceylon spinach cultivation. The most suitable area identified in this study is slightly southward which includes parts of Tamilnadu, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The MaxEnt model performed better than random with an average training and test AUC values of 0.953 and 0.994, respectively. The constructed model had excellent goodness-of-fit and excellent predictive accuracy and therefore it is suitable and/or applicable for predicting the geographic distribution of Ceylon spinach cultivation in India.