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The present study investigates the trends of onset, cessation and length of growing  period in central Malawi, critical for crop management decisions. These factors are especially  important for the smallholder agricultural systems that predominantly depend on rainfall as in  most parts of semi-arid southern African countries, such as the central region of Malawi. Onset  identification was based on rainfall accumulation, while cessation was based on daily analysis of  the ratio of actual to reference crop evapotranspiration. The length of the growing period for a particular season was obtained from the difference between the onset and cessation of that particular  season. Series of 30 yr of historical daily climatic data (1980 to 2009) from 5 meteorological stations  within the central region of Malawi were considered. Results indicated changes in the onset, cessation and consequently length of the growing period over the past 3 decades. A delayed onset  and early cessation of the growing period, resulting in a shorter growing period, were observed.  Seasonal rainfall amounts have changed little, but the number of rainfall events has changed  remarkably. January has become wetter recently, including higher rainfall amounts and higher  rainfall intensity. The results suggest the need for designing appropriate agronomic, soil and  water management strategies to offset the negative effects of rainfall variability, especially for  smallholder rainfed agriculture.status: publishe

Effect of rainfall variability on the length of the crop growing period over the past three decades in central Malawi