DETERMINATION OF SEASONAL RAINFALL VARIABILITY AND THEIR AGROCLIMATIC IMPLICATION IN ILORIN, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated determination of seasonal rainfall variability and its Agro-climatic implication in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Rainfall data on daily basis were collected from three agro-ecological zones in the study area from 1979 to 2008. These data were used to determine the monthly and annual rainfall mean, rainfall trends, and distribution pattern as well as rainfall characteristics. The difference in the onset and cessation was also employed in the estimation of the effective length of rainy season. The result of the study ascertained that weak zonal pattern in amount of rainfall from the South Western part of the North-East was noticed. Also there was a positive correlation with most of the years in Ilorin East with 1.5% R value, 4.4% R value at 95% level of significance in the South and 20% R value in the West, the highest in the agro-ecological zones in the study area. The study also indicated that the onset, cessation and length of rainy season vary from one ecological zone to another. Based on the findings, it was concluded that variation in rainfall distribution across the study area would assist the farmers in their farming activities leading to high yield in crops production.