TEMPORAL IMPLICATION OF RAINFALL PATTERN ON COCOA AND PALM KARNEL VARIABILITY IN RAINFOREST BELT OF NIGERIA

Cocoa and palm karnel are cash crops that account for about 95 percent of tree crops in Ondo State with varying degree of annual production pattern. The paper examined the variation in annual production of both crops over twelve(12) years of consideration. Available data were subjected to descriptive and correlation analyses. Results indicated that both crops account for 95 percent of tree crops production in the State. The average increase rate of the examined crops were 6.44 and 5.9 percents. Correlation coefficient were higher between rainfall and palm karnel than cocoa. Hybrid palm fruit need to be developed using climatic variables especially those that directly influence palm fruit yield through government agencies, and institutions with the support of agro-based companies to avoid further low production and importation in future.