GROWING SEASONS AND THE CLIMATIC MOISTURE INDEX
Climatic moisture indices for a fixed growing season, from May to September, are compared with those for growing seasons defined as the periods when either the mean air temperature in the screen or the soil temperature at a 50-cm depth exceeds 5 C. Indices for the longer growing seasons based on soil and air temperatures have small differences at individual stations, but are larger than those for the May–September period. When arranged according to increasing index values, the orders of the stations are essentially the same when growing seasons are based on soil and air temperatures. These differ from the May–September order only in cases where late spring and early fall rains are heavy in relation to summer precipitation. Indices based on data for the May–September period adequately describe the water demand-water supply relationships during the period in which water deficits develop. When moisture conditions outside the May–September period are needed the accumulated water surpluses should be considered.