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AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION
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RAINFALL
The following table shows the average rainfall and number of rainy days at the rain gauge stations which are fairly well distributed over the district:—
TABLE No. 7.
RATNAGIRI RAINFALL RETURNS [Average of 55 years.] (IN INCHES).
|
Station |
Approximate distance from the coast. fin miles). |
Ante-. Monsoon April-May |
Monsoon June-September |
Post-Monsoon October-November |
Winter December-March |
Total |
† No. of rainy days. |
Rainfall. |
Dapoli |
57 |
1.32 |
123.24 |
4.63 |
0.24 |
101.97 |
129.43 |
Mandangad |
14 |
1.29 |
141.12 |
5.77 |
0.37 |
106.17 |
148.55 |
Khed |
20 |
1.22 |
123.37 |
7.22 |
0.26 |
104.48 |
132.07 |
Chiplun |
25 |
1.76 |
129.58 |
8.21 |
0.40 |
106.25 |
139.95 |
Guhagar |
C. |
1.20 |
96.41 |
4.69 |
0.19 |
94.97 |
102.49 |
Deorukh |
N.A. |
1.58 |
133.93 |
8.22 |
0.46 |
111.66 |
144.19 |
Ratnagiri |
C |
1.32 |
96.48 |
5.13 |
0.15 |
94.85 |
103.08 |
Rajapur |
20 |
1.34 |
119.71 |
6.43 |
0.24 |
104.13 |
127.72 |
Deogad |
C |
1.81 |
80.44 |
5.16 |
0.29 |
93.71 |
87.70 |
Malvan |
C |
1.93 |
80.67 |
4.81 |
0.26 |
80.91 |
87.67 |
Vengurla |
C |
2.52 |
100.60 |
5.56 |
0.25 |
100.08 |
108.93 |
Kudal |
N.A. |
2. 12 |
113.75 |
7.07 |
0.34 |
104.20 |
123.28 |
Sawantwadi |
N. A. |
2.58 |
141.02 |
9.24 |
0.32 |
112.20 |
153.10 |
|
District Average. |
1.69 |
113.87 |
6.32 |
0.29 |
101.66 |
122.17 |
†Average of 35 years. C On the coast only.
N. A. Not available.
The regional distribution of rainfall is mainly explained by the relief of the land and the direction of the rain bearing winds. The supply of rain to the inland areas is considerably more than to the coastal areas. It becomes heavier or lighter, according to the nearness or otherwise of the station to the great Sahyadri range which powerfully attracts the rain clouds. Mandangad is, however, an exception though its distance from the sea-is just about 14 miles. The average rainfall recorded by this station appears to be quite high as compared to the averages of Deorukh, Chiplun, Rajapur and Khed which are so near the Sahyadri hills.
Ante-monsoon or "mango" showers occur in April-May. Although the amount of precipitation is small, these showers have great value in so far as the preliminary kharif operations are concerned. The south-west monsoon is the main rainy season, commencing by about the middle of June and lasting till the end of
September. Winter fall, resulting from the retreating monsoon, is almost negligible, which explains why rabi cultivation is practised on an insignificant scale. Most of the rabi crops are brought to maturity mainly by irrigation.
The length of the rainy season has an important bearing on the agricultural operations and output of the district. In a normal rainy season, there are about 100 rainy days. A substantial portion of which runs to waste because of its extreme concentration during a certain part of the season which reduces the effectiveness of the rainfall commensurately. From the point of view of agriculture, effectiveness of rainfall depends on many factors such as, the normal rainfall, length of the rainy season, occurrence of rain at the right time during the agricultural season, its spacing during the season, nature of the soil, rate of evaporation, etc.
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