Food Grains in Indian Agriculture: Patterns and Significance

Food grains are essential crops that form the backbone of India’s agriculture, occupying a significant portion of the country’s cultivated land. They include cereals like rice and wheat, as well as pulses like gram and tur, which are crucial for both nutrition and soil fertility. Understanding the cultivation patterns and characteristics of these crops is vital for ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture in India.

Cultivation Patterns and Significance of Food Grains

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

A. Cereals

• Area: Occupy about 54% of the total cropped area in India.
• Global Position: India ranks third in production after China and the USA.
• Types of Cereals:  fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse grains or millets (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi)

Rice 

• Kharif crop; Considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas; 
• Temperature: 16 to 20 degree celsius for flowering and fertilization and 18 to 32 degree celsius during ripening ; 
• Rainfall: 150 to 300 cm  of average Rainfall; 
• Soil: Clayey or alluvial moisture retentive soils are ideal.
• Area: Occupy around 1/4th of total cropped area; India contributes 21.6% of rice production worldwide, ranking second after China in 2016.
• Grown In: Successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude and from humid areas in eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and northern Rajasthan; 
  • In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year. 
  • Three crops of rice in West Bengal: ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’; 
• In the Himalayas and northwestern parts of the country, it is grown as a Kharif crop;  
• Leading Producers: West Bengal (13%) > Uttar Pradesh > Punjab (ES 2022-23).

Wheat

• Primarily a crop of temperate zone, hence its cultivation in India is done during winter (Rabi Crop); 
• Production: Second largest producer of wheat with around 12.3 percent of world production.(2016 data); 
• Temperature: 10 to 15 degree celsius for sowing and 20 to 25 degree celsius during harvest; 
• Rainfall: 80 cm; Soil:  Well drained loamy and clayey soils.
• Area: About 14 percent of the total cropped area under wheat cultivation; North and central regions i.e. Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude constitute around 85% of the total wheat cultivation area; 
• Leading Producers:  Uttar Pradesh (32%) > Madhya Pradesh > Punjab (ES 2022-23).

B. Coarse Cereals or Millets

• Temperature: average  20°C- 30°C; Rainfall: 40 – 60 cm; Occupy about 16.50% of total cropped area;  
• Leading producers: Karnataka (14.3%) > Rajasthan (13.9%) > Maharashtra (ES 2022-23).

Jowar (Sorghum)

• Temperature: 27-32 degrees Celsius during germination. Crop does not do well at temperatures below 16 degrees Celsius; 
• Rainfall: Can be grown in arid and semi arid areas having rainfall under 45cm; 
• Soil: Variety of soils including clayey, sandy.
• Production: Accounts for about 5.3% of total cropped area; main food crop in semi-arid areas of central and southern India; 
• Season: Mainly a kharif crop in northern India where it is mostly grown as a fodder crop; 
  • Sown in both kharif and rabi seasons in southern states; 
  • Half of the total jowar production is attributed to Maharashtra. 
• Other leading producers: Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Bajra

• Temperature: 25 to 30 degree celsius; Rainfall:  40-50 cm; Soil: sandy loams, black and red soils;
• Sown in hot and dry climatic conditions in northwestern and western parts; 
• Area: occupies about 5.2% of the total cropped area;  
• Leading Producers: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana.

Maize 

• Food as well as fodder crop; grown under semi-arid conditions and on inferior soils.
• Occupies about 3.6% of the total cropped area; sown all over India except eastern and north-eastern regions; 
• Leading Producers: Karnataka > Madhya Pradesh> Maharashtra (ES 2022-23); 
• Yield Level: of maize is higher than other coarse cereals. 
  • It is high in southern states and declines towards central parts.

C. Pulses

• Legume crops that improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation; 
• Temperature: 20 to 25 degrees celsius; Rainfall: 50 to 75 cm; India is a leading producer of pulses in the world; 
• Area: Occupy about 11% of the total cropped area; Main pulses cultivated in India: Gram and Tur (Arhar); 
• Cultivation is concentrated in the drylands of Deccan and central plateau and northwestern part of the country; 
  • Leading producers: Madhya Pradesh (22%) > Maharashtra > Rajasthan (ES 2022-23).

Gram 

• Cultivated in subtropical areas; grown mainly in central, western, and northwestern India during Rabi season; 
• covers about 2.8% of the total cropped area; 
• Leading Producers: Maharashtra (24%) > Madhya Pradesh (22%) > Rajasthan (ES 2022-23).

Tur (Arhar)

• Also known as red gram or pigeon pea; grown in the dry areas of central and southern states and occupies about 2% of India’s total cropped area. Also known as red gram or pigeon pea; 
• Leading Producers : Maharashtra (32%) > Karnataka > Uttar Pradesh (ES 2022-23).

Conclusion

The cultivation of food grains, comprising cereals and pulses, plays an important role in India’s agricultural landscape. With diverse climatic conditions and soil types, different regions specialize in growing specific grains. Despite fluctuating temperatures and rainfall patterns, the production of food grains remains critical for meeting the dietary needs of India’s vast population and enhancing agricultural sustainability.

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