Spatial analysis of rainfall variability and rainfed rice crop using GIS Technique in West Bengal (India)
The rainfed areas receive mean annual precipitation in range of 500-1500 mm with high degree of variability and are beset with problems of mid-season drought and associated impacts on the crop productivity. In this paper, analysis of weekly, monthly, annual rainfall and weekly rainfall probabilities in relation to crop productivity has been carried out for all the stations of the study area in West Bengal where rain-fed agriculture is predominant. However, duration of dry spells and its probabilities, climatic derivatives like commencement and cessation of rainy season, length of growing period (LGP) and estimates of water balance parameters have been carried out, in respect of all blocks in the identified three districts in West Bengal.