Climate
The South Atlantic High Pressure Cell and the Equatorial trough controls climate on St Helena. Annual rainfall ranges between 175 and 1050 mm depending on elevation and exposure of sites. The wettest months are from March to July with the driest being from October to November. Annual temperature ranges from 20 to 29 0C with an average of 24 0C in Jamestown, with the temperature decreasing by approximately 1.3 0C per 100 m rise. Relative humidity is fairly constant throughout the year with figures remaining at the 75-80% range, however relative humidity increases by about 5% for the higher inland areas. Cloud cover on St Helena is high with annual cover in Jamestown being about 65%, raising to 87% higher inland. Day length can vary for up to two hours on St Helena with the maximum sunshine hours received being about 45%. As St Helena is situated in the heart of the South East Trade Wind Belt, the South East Trade Winds blow constantly throughout the year. Wind run is controlled by exposure and ranges on average from 160-700 km day-1 from sites.

Geography
St Helena is a small and remote Island, which lies in the South Atlantic Ocean at 150 56' south latitude, 50 43' west longitude, the nearest main land being West Africa some 1770 km away. St Helena is irregular in shape with the extreme length of the Island being from East to West measuring 16.5 km and an extreme width from the North to South of 13.3 km. A central ridge runs from the South east of the Island, taking a semicircular course towards the south West, separating the Island in two. Despite the wide range in soil types on St Helena, both horticulture and agriculture are practised Island wide with a fair degree of success.

Horticulture
The aspects of horticulture that can be found on St Helena can be divided into five main categories, mainly fruit production, arboriculture, silviculture, vegetable and coffee production. The production of fruit trees, mainly citrus has recently become one of the main aspects of horticulture on St Helena. The Agricultural and Natural Resources Department has encouraged smallholders to import citrus trees for their own use, while the department itself have imported trees to enable orchards to be set up for the purpose of budwood in the near future. The Forestry and Conservation Section of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Department carry out the majority of arboriculture and silviculture practices on St Helena. Here work is centred on the production and preservation of endemic flora to sustain the Islands endemic heritage. It is mainly in the Forestry section where new trees are produced for reforestation and the replenishment of the Islands forests are carried out. Vegetable production on St Helena is centred on the production of staple food crops and also fresh vegetables, which are used to sustain the Islands population. Vegetable production is practised Island wide on different soil types and climatic conditions. Coffee production on St Helena is a steadily growing business directed towards a niche market of high value coffee abroad. Island grown coffee (arabica) is considered to be among the best coffee worldwide, being in the same class as the Jamaican Blue Mountain. The majority of coffee growers on St Helena form a Coffee Growers Association in which it is hoped that the coffee grown can be marketed under one name therefore keeping the exclusivity of the product.

Distribution of Horticulture
Vegetable and fruit production can be found throughout the Island on a wide variety of soil types and structures and climates, farms range from 50 m to 410 m above sea level. Coffee production favours areas towards the South of the Island where the pH ranges from 5 to 8+, although coffee can be grown in the Eastern areas of the Island. The production of endemic trees and scrubs is located at the ANRD Headquarters at Scotland, the majority of endemic species (flora) is located at Diana's Peak, the highest peaks reaching up to 823 m above sea level. Forest areas are scattered around the Island, although the main production of new planting stock is again located at the ANRD Headquarters.

Organisations / Institutes:
Agricultural and Natural Resources Department

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