Major Cropping Patterns in India - part I

Because of the diversities in relief, soils and climate in India we can produce almost all the varieties of crops.  We can divide the major crops in India into the following categories.

MAJOR CROPS:

1. Food crops:  rice, wheat, maize, millets-jowar,bajra, ragi; pulses-gram, tur(arhar)

2.Cash crops : cotton,jute,sugarcane,tobacco,oilseed,groundnut,linseed,sesame,castorseed,rapeseed,mustard.

3.Plantation crops:tea,coffee,spices-petter,cardamom,chillies,ginger,turmeric,coconut,arecanut,and rubber.

4.Horticulture: fruits-apple,peach,pear,apricot,almond,strawberry,walnut,mango,banana,citrus fruits, vegetables.

CROPPING PATTERN:

This is the pattern of crops for a given piece of land, over the period. It means in a given piece of land we cannot cultivate same kind of crop throughout the year because some factors like seasonal changes, soil condition and some other factors would not allow the crop to survive, otherwise the crop would not give much profit. So depending upon the physiographic conditions, climatic condition, economic condition, scientific conditions and political conditions we would change different variety of crops in a given piece of land over the period this is called cropping pattern.

                                          

MAJOR CROPS+ CROPPING PATTERN:

FOOD CROPS:

RICE:

We all know that for paddy cultivation there are three basic requirements

1.plenty of water.

2.plenty of sunshine.

3.fertile alluvial soil.

Rice is grown almost throughout the year in hot and humid regions of eastern and southern parts of India because most of the eastern and southern regions are fulfilling the above said conditions. In those areas yearly two to three crops of rice is not uncommon. For example in the Cauvery delta regions of Tamil Nadu paddy is cultivated thrice in a year viz. Samba crop for 5 to 6 months again Kuruvai crop for 3 to 4 months again Thaladi crop for remaining period(Thaladi= the paddy grown in the field ploughed with the stumps of the previous harvest-this is for making the soil fertile ). In the same way the other regions of eastern and southern part of the India paddy has been growing almost throughout the year. Some districts in west Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu were the areas .

But in the northern and hilly parts of the country, where the winter is very cold so we cannot get the high temperature which needed for the paddy cultivation so in that areas only one crop of paddy is possible . For example some districts in the Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Assam and a few districts in the western sides of south western states like Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

And some areas like eastern Rajasthan, western Punjab and western Haryana paddy cultivation is done specially with the help of the irrigation.

WHEAT:

Standard conditions for wheat growth:

1. Low to moderate temperature around

2. Moderate rainfall around

3. Fertile alluvial soil.

Wheat is mostly sown in the beginning of winter and is harvested in the beginning of summer.

The time of sowing and harvesting differs in different regions due to climatic variations.

The sowing of wheat crops normally begins in the September-October and harvesting has been done in January-February in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and west Bengal regions. The reason is thatin the ripening stage of the wheat there should be very less moisture in the atmosphere and the temperature should rise gradually. This rise in temperature would happen with the travelling of the sun from the tropic of Capricorn to the tropic of cancer.

In the same way the sowing of wheat begins in the October-November and harvested in February-march in the areas of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. And in the regions of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir the sowing and harvesting has been done in November-December and March-April respectively.

MAIZE:

Conditions for the maize:

1.Rainfall should be 50-100cm and it cannot be grown in areas of more than 100cm.

2. The crop usually grows well under temperature varying from 21-27 degree Celsius.

3. Frost is injurious to maize so it requires four and a half frost free months in a year.

4. Fertile alluvial and red loam soil is suitable for maize.

Maize is mainly a Kharif crop which is sown just before the onset of the monsoon and harvested after retreat of the monsoon.

The cultivation of maize in India is characterised by inter-culture i.e. it is produced along with pulses, oil seeds and vegetables.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh are the main maize producing states in India.

In Tamil Nadu it is a Rabi crop and is sown a few weeks before the onset of winter rainy season in September and October. This is because of Tamil Nadu is getting good rain fall in this period(north-east monsoon).

MILLETS:

Millets are short duration (3-4 months) warm weather grasses grown in those areas where the main crops like rice and wheat cannot be grown successfully.

Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are some important millets.

Jowar(sorghum):

Next to rice and wheat jowar is the third most important food crop both with respect to area and production.

Conditions for growth:

1. It is grown both as kharif and rabi crop. As a kharif crop temperature between 26-33 degree Celsius is good. As a rabi crop temperature should not go below 16 degree Celsius.

2. Rain fall needs more than 30cm but should not exceed 100cm.

3. Clayey deep regur and alluvium are best suited soils.

Usually it has been cultivated in the dry and irrigation is not used areas.

Maharashtra produces more than 50 per cent of the total jowar production of India. In the Maharashtra plateau region two crops of jowar is raised in a year. In some districts of southern Pune as much as 80 per cent of the area is devoted for the jowar cultivation. The north-eastern parts of the Karnataka plateau is also mostly devoted for the jowar. Some dry districts in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also producing the jowar. Tamil Nadu has the distinction of giving the highest yield per hectare comparing with other states.

Rajasthan’s dry climate also provides favourable condition for the production of jowar.

Bajra :

It is also a dry crop.

1.Rainfall 40-50cm.

2. Temperature 25-30 degree Celsius.

3. Can be grown on poor light sandy soils, black and red soils.

It is a kharif crop which is sown between May and September and harvested between October and February. It is sown either as a pure or mixed crop with cotton, jowar, and ragi. Rajasthan is the largest producer of bajra in India. Maharashtra is the second largest producer of bajra where it is mainly grown in the central plateau having poor soils and dry climate. Over 80 per cent of India’s bajra comes from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarath, Uttar Pradesh andHaryana.

Ragi:

This is another important millet mainly grown in drier parts of south India.

Conditions for well growth:

1.Rainfall 50-100cm

2. Temperature 20-30 degree Celsius.

3. It is raised on red, light black and sandy looms.

It is a kharif crop which is sown between May and August and harvested between September and January. Karnataka is the largest producer of ragi in India. Tamil Nadu is the second largest producer of ragi but lags far behind Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are some other important producers of ragi.

PULSES:

Pulses include a number of crops which are mostly leguminous and provide much needed vegetable proteins to largely vegetarian population in India. Gram and tur(arhar ) are most important pulses.

Gram:

Gram is the most important of all the pulses.

Conditions for well growth:

1. Mild cool temperature 20-25 degree Celsius.

2. Rainfall 40-50 cm.

3. It grows well in loamy soils.

It is a rabi crop, which is sown between September and November and is harvested between February and April. It is cultivated as pure or mixed with wheat, barley, linseed or mustard.

Although gram is cultivated in several parts of the country, most of the gram comes from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra. These 5 states produces 90 per cent of gram of India.

Tur or arhar (pigeon pea or red gram):

This is the second most important millet of India. It is chiefly grown as kharif crop but in area of mild winter it is grown as rabi crop also. It is grown as a dry crop mixed with other kharif crops like jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, cotton, groundnut, etc. and is seldom grown as a single crop. Its conditions of growth are more or less similar to those of other pulses and millets.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarath, and Karnataka are the chief producing states.

written by - R.DHARMENDRA