Abstract:
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.
