Welcome of Participants

Abstract

There are two major growing seasons in Sri Lanka. The Yala season, which is from April to September; and the Maha season which is from October to March. The latter is the wet season for most parts of the island receiving the north-east monsoonal rains. On the other hand, Yala is the dry season for most parts of the island, excepting the south-west quarter, which receives the south-west monsoonal rains as well. On the basis of rainfall distribution and the duration of periods of dry weather, the island is broadly classified into wet, intermediate and dry zones. These regions are in turn sub-divided in accordance with elevation, major soil groups and related climatic features, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.