A study on the variability in rainfall and relationship of weather parameters with cotton crop in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra

The present investigations were undertaken in order to study the variability of annual and seasonal rainfall in Jalgaon district and to find out the relationship between weather parameters and area, production and productivity of cotton. The secondary data on area, production and productivity of cotton in Jalgaon district from the year 1991 to 2018 were collected from Epitome of Maharashtra and the data on rainfall and weather parameters were collected from Oil Seeds Research Station, Jalgaon, Maharshtra. The study revealed that the annual normal rainfall from 1991 to 2018 was 763.7 mm. Rainfall during monsoon (June to September) contributed 88.6 per cent of the annual rainfall. The contribution of pre-monsoon (March to May), post-monsoon (October to November) and winter (December to February) rainfall to the annual was 2.5, 6.7 and 2.3 per cent respectively. The production of cotton in Jalgaon district was highly dependent on relative humidity at evening and bright sunshine hours. However wind velocity was adversely affecting the productivity of cotton in the district.