Effect of Climate Change on the Onset and Cessation of Rain and Length of Growing Season of Selected Crops in Mangrove Savannah and Transition Zone in Nigeria

This study examined the effect of climate change on onset and cessation of rain and length of growing season on some selected crops in the mangrove and the transition zone [Lagos and Ibadan] in Nigeria. The importance of this is in scheduling farm operations during the growing season apart from determining the onset and cessation of rain. Penman equation was used to compute the daily potential evapotranspiration (PE) for 30 years. Within the study period, the following data were used in the estimation of PE sunshine hour [n and N], rainfall, wind speed, relative humidity [RH] temperature [T minimum and T maximum]. The onset and cessation of rain and length of growing season were derived by plotting 0.5PE 0.1PE PE and rainfall against each month in the year. From this study, it was observed that some crops are favourable in the study area while some are not favourable due to the variation in the length of growing season. This study showed that as rainfall increased, PE decreased for Ibadan, while for Lagos, it was vice versa.