Enyew Azene Meharie, Mintesinot Azene Taye , Melkamu Meseret Alemu, Adane Tesfaye Lema

The study analyzed the daily extreme rainfall indices and its consequences on Meher (summer) season cereal crop calendar in the agro-climatic zones (ACZs) of a watershed. Long-term (1981-2019) rainfall data for 50 sample grid points with a spatial resolution of 5 5 km from Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation (CHIRPS) was considered. Focus group discussions were employed to identifying the local crop calendars and consequences of extreme rainfall events. Mann Kendall's (MK) and Sen's slop statistics were used to define the trends, statistical significance, and magnitude of the changes in extreme rainfall indices. The upward and downward signals were found for different crop calendars of the ACZs. Most of the increasing trends were observed for the land preparation period (LPP), sowing and management period (SaMP), and harvesting and threshing period (HaTP) field operations in the highland zone, midland zone, and all ACZs, respectively. In contrast, some of the downward trends in extreme rainfall indices were observed for LPP and SaMP in the cold-highland zone and highland zone, and HaTP was observed to be the same in all ACZs. The upward and downward signals of the indices could have negative consequences for existing cereal crop production in the watershed.