Treasure of the Land: Diversity in Crop Cultivation Across India

A variety of food and non food crops are grown in different parts of the country depending

upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices. Major crops grown in India are rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee, sugarcane, oil seeds, cotton and jute, etc.

Exploring India’s Agricultural: A Dive into Major Crops and Cultivation Practices

• There are three distinct crop seasons in the northern and interior parts of the country: kharif, rabi, and zaid.
• Kharif Season: It largely coincides with the Southwest Monsoon that is from June to October, allowing the cultivation of variety of major crops like rice, cotton, jute, jowar, bajra, and tur.
• Rabi Season: It starts in October-November and ends in March-April, facilitating the cultivation of temperate and subtropical Major crops such as wheat, gram, and mustard.
• Zaid: It is a short-duration summer cropping season that begins after harvesting the rabi crops. 
  • It is used for cultivating watermelons, cucumbers, vegetables, and fodder crops on irrigated lands.
• Food Crops: It mainly includes cereals, pulses, oilseeds and Non food crops includes cotton, jute etc. 
  • Along with these other plantation crops such as tea, coffee, sugarcane are also grown.

Cropping Seasons in India

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Cultivating Abundance: The Heart of Indian Agriculture with Food Grains and Pulses

• Food grains are dominant in Indian agriculture and occupy about two-thirds of the total cropped area in India. 
• Based on the structure of grains, they are classified as cereals and pulses. 

Breadbasket of Diversity: India’s Flourishing Cereal Cultivation

• India’s Dominance in Cereal Cultivation: Cereals occupy about 54% of the total cropped area in India.
  • India produces about 11% of the world’s cereals and ranks third in production after China and the USA.
• Diverse Harvests: Variety of cereals, including Major crops, fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse grains or millets (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi), etc. are produced in India. 
  • Fine cereals like rice, wheat are staple foods of the majority Indian population. 

Rice Fields of India: Sowing the Seeds of Agricultural Dominance

• Rice Dominance in Indian Agriculture: Rice or paddy is one of the Major crops in India, occupying around 1/4th of total cropped area.
  • India contributes 22.07% of rice production worldwide, ranking second after China in 2018.

Rice Cultivation

• Rice Farming in India: It is a tropical humid area crop and mainly grown as a kharif crop in India. 
  • Leading rice-producing states include West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.
  • Rice yields are high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, and Kerala (Refer figure).
• Triple Harvest in West Bengal: In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’.

Wheat Harvest: Nourishing the Nation’s Fields in the Rabi Season

• A Leading Rabi Crop: Wheat is a rabi crop and  one of the second most important  major crops or cereal crops in India after rice. 
  • India produces about 12.8% of the world’s total wheat production (2017).
• The Wheat Belt of India: About 85% of the total wheat cultivation area is concentrated in the north and central regions of the country.
  • Leading wheat-producing states include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan (Refer figure).

 Wheat Harvesting

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 Jowar’s Flourish Across India’s Agricultural Landscape

• Jowar Cultivation in India: Jowar accounts for about 16.50% of the total cropped area.
  • Maharashtra alone produces more than half of the total jowar production of the country.
  • Other leading producer states of jowar are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
• Northern Harvests: It is mainly a kharif crop in northern India, where it is mostly grown as a fodder crop.
  • South of Vindhyachal, it is a rainfed crop, and its yield level is relatively low in this region.
• Dual Seasons, Southern Soil: It is sown in both kharif and rabi seasons in southern states.

Bajra Cultivation

Pearls of Resilience: Bajra Cultivation Thriving in India’s Arid Zones

• Bajra is grown in hot and dry climates in northwestern and western India. 
• Drought-Resilient: It is resistant to dry spells and drought and occupies about 5.2% of the total cropped area.
• Leading Producers States: These are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
  • Yield is low in Rajasthan but increasing in Haryana and Gujarat due to drought-resistant varieties and expanded irrigation.

Golden Harvest: Nurturing Maize Across India’s Diverse Agro Climatic Zones

• Area: Maize is a mainly kharif crop but also grown in rabi season in some places like Bihar. 
• Optimal Conditions for Maize: It requires a temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
  • It is  grown under semi-arid conditions and on inferior soils and occupies about 3.6% of the total cropped area. 
• Cultivated throughout India except Punjab, eastern, and northeastern regions.
• Leading Producers States: These are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Higher yield compared to other coarse cereals, especially in southern states.

 Maize Cultivation

Pulses Power: India’s Leading Role in Cultivation, Nutrition, and Soil Enrichment

• India’s Dual Role: India is the largest producer as well as the consumer of pulses in the world.
• Nature’s Protein and Soil Health Catalyst: Pulses are legumes, an important source of proteins for vegetarians and improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation.
• Dryland Champions: Mainly concentrated in drylands of Deccan, central plateaus, and northwestern India, they occupy about 11% of the total cropped area.
• Low and Variable Yields: It has low and fluctuating yields due to rainfed cultivation.
• Main pulses cultivated in India are Gram and Tur (Arhar).

Golden Gram: Thriving in Subtropical Realms of India’s Rabi Season

• Gram Cultivation in Subtropical Realms: Gram is cultivated in subtropical areas is one of major crops, mainly during the rabi season in central, western, and northwestern India. 
• Thriving with Minimal Irrigation: It requires minimal irrigation and covers about 2.8% of the total cropped area.
  • Characterized by low and inconsistent yields, even in irrigated areas.
• Leading Producers States: These are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan.

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Tur (Arhar): Nurtured in India’s Dry Heartlands with Challenges and Hope

• Tur (Arhar) Cultivation in India: Tur (arhar) is grown on marginal lands under rainfed conditions in the dry areas of central and southern states. 
  • Occupies about 2% of India’s total cropped area. Also known as red gram or pigeon pea.
• Leading Producers States: These are Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
•  Struggling with Low Per-Hectare Output: It has very low per-hectare output and inconsistent performance.

Also Read: Beyond Grains: A Comprehensive Exploration of Food Crops in Indian Agriculture

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