Indian Crops and Growing Conditions

• India is an agriculturally important country, with two-thirds of the population engaged in agricultural activities.
• Agriculture is a primary activity, producing food and raw materials for various industries.
• Some agricultural products like tea, coffee, and spices are also exported.

Types of Farming

• Cultivation methods have changed over time due to physical environment, technology, and socio-cultural practices.
• Farming varies from subsistence to commercial types.

Primitive Subsistence Farming

• Practiced in a few pockets of India on small land patches, using primitive tools and family/community labor.
• Depends on monsoon, natural soil fertility, and environmental conditions.
• Farmers clear land, produce cereals and other food crops for their families, and shift when soil fertility decreases.
• Land productivity is low due to lack of fertilizers or modern inputs.
• This type of agriculture is known as 'slash and burn' agriculture.
• Also known as 'Jhumming' in north-eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
• Other names include Pamlou in Manipur, Dipa in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Slash and burn agriculture is known as 'Milpa' in Mexico and Central America, 'Conuco' in Venezuela, 'Roca' in Brazil, 'Masole' in Central Africa, 'Ladang' in Indonesia, and 'Ray' in Vietnam.
• In India, it's called 'Bewar' or 'Dahiya' in Madhya Pradesh, 'Podu' or 'Penda' in Andhra Pradesh, 'Pama Dabi' or 'Koman' or Bringa' in Odisha, 'Kumari' in Western Ghats, 'Valre' or 'Waltre' in South-eastern Rajasthan, 'Khil' in the Himalayan belt, and 'Kuruwa' in Jharkhand.
• The practice involves clearing, slashing, and burning land for cultivation.

Intensive Subsistence Farming

• Practiced in areas with high population pressure on land.
• It is labour-intensive, with high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation for high production.
• The 'right of inheritance' has led to uneconomical land-holding sizes, but farmers maximize output due to lack of alternative livelihoods therefore putting enormous pressure on agricultural land.

Commercial Farming

• Characterized by the use of higher doses of modern inputs like HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides for higher productivity.
• The degree of commercialization varies from one region to another.
• Rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab but a subsistence crop in Odisha.

Plantation Farming

• Type of commercial farming where a single crop is grown on a large area.
• Has an interface with agriculture and industry.
• Plantation includes large tracts of land, capital-intensive inputs, and migrant laborers.
• All produce is used as raw material in industries.
• Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, and banana are important plantation crops in India.
• Tea in Assam and North Bengal and coffee in Karnataka are key plantation crops.
• Development of plantations is aided by a well-developed network of transport, communication, processing industries and markets.

Cropping Pattern

• Agricultural practices and cropping patterns reflect the physical diversities and plurality of cultures in India.
• India has three cropping seasons: rabi, kharif, and zaid.

Rabi Crops

• Sown in winter (October to December) and harvested in summer (April to June).
• Wheat, barley, peas, gram, and mustard are important rabi crops.
• Grown in northern and north-western parts of India, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Precipitation during winter months from western temperate cyclones aids these crops.
• The Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has contributed to their growth.

Kharif Crops

• Grown with the onset of monsoon and harvested in September-October.
• Paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, and soybean are important crops.
• Rice-growing regions include Assam, West Bengal, coastal Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• In Assam, West Bengal, and Odisha, three crops of paddy i.e. Aus, Aman and Boro are grown in a year.

Zaid Season

• Short season between rabi and kharif during the summer months.
• Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, and fodder crops are produced.
• Sugarcane takes almost a year to grow.

Major Crops

• Food and non-food crops are grown based on variations in soil, climate, and cultivation practices.
• Major crops include rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee, sugarcane, oil seeds, cotton, and jute.

Rice

• Staple food crop for most people in India.
• India is the second-largest producer of rice after China.
• A kharif crop requiring high temperature (above 25°C), high humidity, and rainfall above 100 cm.
• It grows with the help of irrigation in the areas of less rainfall like Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.
• Grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas, and the deltaic regions.

Wheat

• Second most vital cereal crop and the main food crop in north and north-western India.
• A rabi crop that requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine during ripening.
• It needs requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed.
• Two major wheat-growing zones: the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan.
• Major wheat-producing states: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan.

Millets

• Important millets grown in India include Jowar, bajra, and ragi, known as coarse but with high nutritional value.
• Ragi is rich in iron, calcium, micro nutrients and roughage.
• Jowar is the third most important food crop by area and production and mostly rain-fed needing less irrigation.
• Major Jowar producing States are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil, with major producing states: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana.
• Ragi grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy, and shallow black soils, with major producing states includes Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Maize

• Used as both food and fodder.
• A kharif crop requiring temperatures between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
• Grown in rabi season in some states like Bihar.
• Higher production is achieved by modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation.
• Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Pulses

• India being the largest producer and consumer are the world's major source of protein for vegetarians.
• Major pulses grown in India include tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas, and gram.
• Pulses need less moisture, survive in dry conditions and help restore soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
• Major pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Sugarcane

• Tropical and subtropical crop growing in hot and humid climates between 21°C to 27°C and average rainfall between 75cm and 100cm.
• Irrigation is needed in low rainfall regions.
• Requires manual labour from sowing to harvesting and can be grown on a variety of soils.
• Being the second largest producer of sugarcane next to Brazil, India is the source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari, and molasses.
• Key sugarcane-producing states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana.

Oil Seeds

• India was the second largest producer of groundnut globally in 2018.
• India's oil seed production covers around 12% of the country's total cropped area.
• Main oilseeds: groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soybean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed, and sunflower.
• Most are edible and used for cooking but also as raw materials in soap, cosmetics, and ointments.
• Groundnut is a kharif crop, contributing about half of the major oilseeds produced.
• Linseed and mustard are rabi crops.
• Sesamum is a kharif crop in the north and rabi crop in south India.
• Castor seed is grown as both rabi and kharif crop.

Tea

• Plantation agriculture and a beverage crop, initially introduced by the British.
• Most tea plantations are Indian-owned today.
• Tea plants grow well with deep, fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter in tropical and subtropical climates.
• Frequent showers evenly spread all through the year is crucial for the growth of tender leaves.
• Tea is a labour-intensive industry, requiring abundant, cheap, and skilled labour.
• To retain freshness, tea is processed within the tea garden.
• Major tea-producing states: Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• Other tea-producing states: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, and Tripura.
• India was the second largest producer of tea after China in 2018.

Coffee

• Known for Its Quality
• The Arabica variety brought from Yemen is high in demand worldwide.
• Initially grown on Baba Budan Hills and confined to Nilgiri in states like Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Horticulture Crops

• India was the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables globally in 2018, after China.
• India produces both tropical and temperate fruits.
• Include mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, oranges of Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya).
• Other fruits include bananas of Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, lichi and guava of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, pineapples of Meghalaya, and grapes of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
• Apples, pears, apricots, and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are in great demand worldwide.
• India produces peas, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.

Non-Food Crops

• Rubber is an equatorial crop, but also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas under special conditions.
• It requires rainfall of more than 200 cm and temperature above 25°C.
• An important industrial raw material, mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar islands, and Garo hills of Meghalaya.

Fibre Crops

• Four main fibre crops: cotton, jute, hemp, and natural silk.
• The first three are from crops grown in soil, while silk comes from cocoons of silkworms fed on mulberry leaves.
• Sericulture is the rearing of silk worms for silk fibre production.
• India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant.
• Cotton is an important raw material for the cotton textile industry.
• In 2017, India was the second largest producer of cotton after China.
• Growing well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.
• It is a kharif crop that requires temperatures, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days, bright sunshine and 6 to 8 months to mature.
• Major cotton-producing states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Jute

• Known as the 'golden fibre' due to its high value and color.
• It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets, artefacts etc.
• Grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains where soils are renewed every year.
• High temperatures are needed during growth time.
• Major Jute producing States are West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.

Technological and Institutional Reforms

• Sustained land use with no techno-institutional changes has hindered agricultural development.
• Most farmers still depend on monsoon and natural soil fertility despite irrigation development.
• Some technical and institutional reforms are needed.
• Priority was given to collectivization, consolidation of holdings, cooperation, and abolition of zamindari after independence.
• 'Land reform' was the focus of the First Five Year Plan.
• The right of inheritance has led to fragmentation of land holdings requiring consolidation.
• Land reform laws were inactive and lukewarm.
• The government embarked on agricultural reforms to improve Indian agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s.
• The Green Revolution and White Revolution (Operation Flood) improved Indian agriculture.
• In the 1980s and 1990s, a comprehensive land development program included institutional and technical reforms.
• Schemes started: provision for crop insurance, establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies, and banks for providing loan facilities to farmers at lower interest rates.
• The Government of India introduced schemes like the Kissan Credit Card (KCC) and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
• Introduced weather bulletins and agricultural programs for farmers on radio/television.
• The government announces minimum support, remunerative and procurement prices for major crops to curb farmers' exploitation by speculators and middlemen.

Bhoodan - Gramdan

• Vinoba Bhave, declared as Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual heir, also participated in Satyagraha.
• Vinoba Bhave undertook padyatra after Gandhiji's martyrdom to extend land ownership/cultivation to all the communities.
• Some villagers demanded land for well-being during Vinoba Bhave's lecture at Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh.
• Shri Ram Chandra Reddy offered 80 acres of land for distribution among 80 landless villagers and this was known as 'Bhoodan'.
• Land owners offered to distribute villages among landless, known as Gramdan.
• Many land-owners offered some land to poor farmers, known as Bhoodan-Gramdan movement by Vinoba Bhave.
• Bhoodan-Gramdan movement is known as the Blood-less Revolution.

Explore crop cultivation in India, focusing on rice, wheat, maize, and oilseeds. Understand the impact of rainfall, soil type, and growing seasons on crop production across different regions, including Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Learn the climatic requirements for tea and sugarcane cultivation.