RAINFALL CHARACTERISTICS, PATTERN AND DISTRIBUTION OF CENTRAL MEGHALAYA

Indian agriculture is mostly rainfed (around 60% of arable land) and monsoon plays a major role not only in agriculture but also in allied day to day activities. The knowledge amount of rainfall, number of rainy days and its distribution over the cropping season are important for timely preparation of seed bed, selection of crop varieties, choice of cropping pattern. Rainfall analysis with advanced statistical methods using computer programming and software bring out many features which can be directly used for crop planning, landwater management, aquaculture and floriculture planning etc. The analysis of 28 years (1983-2010) daily rainfall data of Nongstoin station, of central Meghalaya has been done for determining the characteristics of rainfall and probability of occurrence of normal weekly rainfall.