Abstract:Using the recorded data from 90 meteorological stations over Northeast China during 1961—2010 and the four-season division method proposed by Qianchen, the variation features of starting date and length of seasons were analyzed and its effects on agriculture were discussed. The results show that the average starting dates were April 10, June 25, August 11, October 20 and average length were 80 d, 51 d, 72 d, 171 d for spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively over Northeast China in the last 50 years with obvious spatial variations. It is clear that starting dates of spring and summer became earlier with the trends of -1.46 d/10a and -1.99 d/10a, while in autumn and winter, it became later with the values of 2.05 d/10a and 0.90 d/10a. The average length of spring, autumn and winter became shorter, amounting to -0.54 d/10a, -1.15 d/10a and -2.50 d/10a respectively, the confidence levels in spring and autumn tended not to be able to pass, but it was at 0.05 in winter. Summer became longer at the rate of 3.38 d/10a. The early coming of starting date of spring and its delay in autumn contribute to extending the growing period of crops and greatly affect the crop varieties and planting pattern.