Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure
8.5.
Average daytime temperatures throughout the year at the three farms. The temp-
eratures for Wilmington are 10-year averages for Leyte, 2-year averages and 20-year averages
for Quito. [Data from Clinton County Soil Survery, Leyte State University Climatological Station
and Qwikcast (http:
//
qwikcast.weatherbase.com), respectively.]
In central Ohio temperatures suitable for crop production occur from May through
September, although some farmers plant in April and delay harvest until November to
take advantage of growth during frost-free days during these months. In January
through March and October through December, there will be killing frost, which is
called this because it is cold enough to kill all annual crops except those specifically
adapted for winter growth such as winter wheat.
As seen in Figure 8.4 Leyte averages around 3000 mm (3335 for the 2 years
reported here) of rain a year and has the highest rainfall throughout the year of
the three farms with particularly high rainfall in February. During this month, there
are mud slides in Leyte, particularly the southern part, which are often quite destructive
and cause significant numbers of deaths. Rainfall in Quito is lower than Leyte but
slightly higher than Wilmington, except for the months of June, July, and August.
This includes an estimated snow contribution of 25.4 mm of water for each 254 mm
of snow. This estimate is subject to wide variation.
Another difference is day length. The differences in day length between the
Philippines, Ecuador, and Ohio in the months of December and June are given in
Figure 8.6. There is no difference in day length in Ecuador while the greatest
difference is in Ohio and an intermediate difference in the Philippines. More detailed
discussion
of
day
length
differences
and
its
importance
to
food
production
is
given below.
