Agro- ecological zoning

Nepal has three distinct climatic condition

1. Hot and dry season: March – mid June
2. Wet period (summer season) : mid-June – September
3. Dry and cold season : October – February

• Temperature tends to rise as one goes towards the west
• The average temperature in eastern terai is June is 26 °C whereas the average temperature in western in June is 32 °C
• Ecologically, Nepal is divided into four regions
• All four regions are equally important for production of horticultural crops

• These are :

a) Tropical zone

b) Sub tropical zone

c) Mild temperate zone

d) Temperate zone

1. Tropical zone:

• 75- 750 m above sea level
• Average annual temperature exceeds 24°C
• The temperature is high and it’s become hot throughout the year excepts some periods of winter
• The eastern region gets more rain as compared to western zones
• Mango, pineapple, guava, banana, litchi are important fruits
• Potato, cauliflower, okra, eggplant, tomato are main vegetable crops
• The whole terai and lower valley in the hills falls

2. Sub-tropical zone

• 750 -1500 m above sea level
• 17-24°C annual temperature
• This region is comparatively cooler than the tropical zone
• The region has distinct summer and mild frosty winter
• The summer season is long with higher humidity in this region
• Citrus is predominant and other fruits grown are pomegranates, fig, guava, avocado, strawberry and low chilling peach, plum and apricot are also successfully cultivated in this zone
• Potato, okra, Cole crops, tomatoes are the vegetables grown in this region
• Lower mid hills and low hills fall in this zone

3. Mild-temperate zone

• 1500-2000 m above sea level
• 10-15°C average annual temperature
• The mild deciduous fruits such as pear, peach, plum, almond, apricot, etc are grown successfully
• Mustard, cardamom, ginger, potato, radish are major vegetables
• In this zone, the climate is moderate throughout the year and winter is not very severe
• It is mountainous part of the country
• During winter the high-altitude part may get snowfall
• High hills, mid hills, base of the high hills and Mahabharat lekh fall in this zone in this region

4. Temperate zone:

• Above 2000 m sea level
• Less than 10°C average annual temperature
• Apple, pear, peach, wall nut and other stone fruits are grown successfully
• Hardy vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, radish can be grown
• This zone is in the far north of country
• It has a pronounced winter with frost and snow occurs every year
• It is cold throughout the year with temperature below 0°C in winter
• Rainfall is also less in this zone