Major Crops
Rice
- Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India.
- India is the second largest producer of rice after China.
- Rice is kharif crop.
- It requires high temperature of about 25* C and high humidity.
- Rainfall above 100 cm is ideal for its cultivation.
- Rice is grown in the plains of north and north- eastern India, coastal and the deltaic regions. West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are important rice producing states.
- Development of dense network of canal irrigation and tube wells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan
Wheat
- Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India.
- It is main food crop in the north and north western part of the country.
- Wheat is a rabi crop.
- It requires cool growing season ( temperature around 10*C to 15*C ) and a bright sunshine at the time of ripening ( temperature above 20*C).
- It requires 50 to 75 cm of rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.
- There are two important wheat growing zones in the country- the Ganga- plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan.
- The major wheat producing states are Uttar Pradesh,Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Millets
- Jowar bajra and ragi are the important millets grown in India.
- Though, these are known as coarse grains, they have very high nutritional value, For example, ragi is very rich in iron, calcium, other micro nutrients and roughage.
Jowar
- Jowar is the third important food crop with respect to area and production.
- It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas which hardly needs irrigation.
- Maharashtra is the largest producer of jowar followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Bajra
- Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil.
- Rajasthan is the largest producer of bajra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
Ragi
- Ragi is a crop of dry regions and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.
- Karnataka is the largest producer of ragi followed by Tamil Nadu.
- Ragi is also grown in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
- Maize is used both as food and fodder crop.
- It is kharif crop which requires temperature between 21*C to 27*C.
- It grows well in old alluvial soil.
- In some states like Bihar it also grown in rabi seasons.
- Use of modern inputs sach as HYV seeds, fertilizers and irrigation have contributed to the increasing production of maize.
- Major maize producing states are Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Pulses
- India is the largest producer as well as consumer of pulses in the world.
- These are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
- Tur, urad moong, masur, peas and gram are the major pulses grown in India.
- Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions.
- Being leguminous crops all these crops except arhar (tur), help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from air. Therefore, these are mostly grown in rotation with other crops.
- Major pulse producing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Cropping Seasons
Rabi Season
- Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in March and April.
- Wheat barley peas, gram and mustard are important rabi crops.
- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir are the major producers of rabi crops.
- Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western disturbances helps in the success of these crops.
- The green revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor in the development of rabi crop cultivation.
Kharif Season
- Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in june and july and harvested in September and October.
- Paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, and soya-bean are important crops.
- The most important rice growing regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly the Konkan Coast along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
- Recently, paddy has also become an important crop of Punjab and Haryana.
- In the states like Assam, West Bengal and Orissa, three crops of paddy namely -Aus Aman and Boro are grown in a year.
Zaid Season
- In between the rabi and kharrif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as Zaid season.
- Some of the crops produced during the zaid season are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops. Sugarcane takes almost a year to grow.
Importance of agriculture
- Two-thirds of the Indian population is engaged in agricultural activities.
- Agriculture provides food security to more than 100 crore people,
- It produces raw materials for various agro-based industries.
- It accounts for about 25% GDP.
Types of Farming
Primitive Subsistence Farming
- It is a slash and burn agriculture in which farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops to sustain their family.
- When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.
- This type of shifting allows nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural processes
- Land productivity in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer does not use fertilizers or other modern inputs.
- It is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks and family/community labour.
- This type of farming depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown.
- The slash and burn agriculture is known as jhumming in north eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland,Pamlou in Manipur, Dipa in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh and in Aadaman and Nicobar Islands.
Subsistence Intensive Farming
- This type of farming is practiced in areas of high population pressure on land.
- It is labour intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.
- The farmers take maximum output from the limited land in the absence of alternative source of livelihood.
- Most of the production is consumed by the farmer and his family members.
Commercial Farming
- The main characteristics of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs e.g. high variety seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity.
- Most of the production is sold in the market.
- The degree of commercialization of agriculture varies from one region to another.
- Rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Orissa, it is a subsistence crop.
Plantation Agriculture
- Plantation is a kind of commercial farming in which a single crop is grown over a large area.
- The plantation has an interface of agriculture and industry
- Plantation cover large tracts of land, using capital intensive inputs, with the help of migrant labourers.
- All the produce is used as raw material in respective industries. Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana, etc. are important plantation crops.
