CASH
CROPS:
COTTON:
Conditions of growth:
1. Uniformly high temperature (21-30).
2.Rainfall normal (50-100cm)
3. Black cotton soil.
Frost is the number one enemy of the cotton
plant and it is grown in areas having at least 210 frost free days in a year.
Cotton is a kharif crop which requires 6 to
8 months to mature. Its time of sowing and harvesting differs in different
parts of the country depending upon the climatic conditions. In Punjab and
Haryana, it is sown in april- may and is harvested in December- January, that
is before the winter frost can damage the crop. In the peninsular part of India,
it is sown upto October and harvested between January and may because there is
no danger of winter frost in these areas. In Tamil Nadu, it is grown both as
kharif and rabi crop. Here the rainfall occurs after September and cotton is
sown in October. Most of the crop is grown mixed with other kharif crops such
as maize, jowar, ragi, sesamum, castor, ground nut and some vegetables.
Cotton grows well in the deep black soils
of the Deccan and Malwa plateau and those in Gujarat. About two -third cotton in India is produced
by four major states viz. Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
Cotton quickly exhausts the fertility of
soil. Therefore regular application of manures and fertilizers to the soil is
very necessary.
JUTE:
1.Requires high temperature (24-35)degree
2. Requires heavy rainfall 120-150cm.
3. Grow well in light sandy or claying
loams.
Jute is generally sown in February on
lowlands and in march-may in uplands. The harvesting period generally starts in
July and continues till October. Because in the time of harvesting we need more
water for the retting process (processing of the jute barks in water). Jute
rapidly exhausts the fertility of the soil. So in the delta regions of the Hoogly
river it grows well because the hoogly river would made the newallluvium
depositsoftenly over the older layer.
In India 98 per cent of the jute is produced
in four states, west Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha.
West Bengal is the undisputed king of jute
production in India accounting for about 70 per cent of the production.
Following this Bihar is the second largest producer but lagging far behind west
Bengal.
SUGARCANE:
Conditions of growth:
It
is a long duration crop and requires 10 to 15 and even 18 months to
mature, depending upon the geographical conditions. It requires hot and humid
climate.
1.temperature 21-27 degree.
2.rainfall 75-150 cm. Too heavy rainfall
results in low sugar content and deficiency in rainfall produces fibrous crop.
3.in fact, sugarcane can tolerate any kind
of soil that can retain moisture. But deep rich loamy soils are ideal for its
growth.
On the basis of above said conditions
following are the three belts of sugarcane cultivation can be identified.
1.The satluj-ganga plain from Punjab to
bihar.
2.the black soil belt from Maharashtra to
tamilnadu along the eastern slopes of the western ghats.
3.coastal Andhra and the Krishna valley.
In the northern plain of india, the summer
temperatures ranging from 30 to 35 degree hamper the growth of the cane. In the
winter months of December and January the sugarcane crop is likely to be
damaged by excessively cold weather accompanied by frost. Consequently the
yield per hectare is low. In south inidia, on the other hand reasonably high
temperature in the summer and frost free winter, coupled with the maritime
winds in the coastal areas are some of the climatic factors which are extremely
beneficial to this crop. But due to some economical and political conditions
from the older days more sugars are cultivated in north india to compare with
south india. But nowadays it has been changing towards the south india.
Uttar Pradesh is the highest producer of
sugar cane in india followed by Maharashtra and tamilnadu.
TOBACCO:
It is a crop of tropical and sub tropical
region.
1.it can the temperature varying from 16-35
degree Celsius.
2.rainfall normally 100cm.
3.well drained friable sandy loams, not too
rich in organic matter but rich in mineral salts.
In fact, soil rather than climate is the
determining factor for its geographical distribution. Further it can be grown
from low lying flat plains upto a height of 1800m
Although tobacco is grown in as many as 15
states of india only gujarath and Andhra Pradesh are producing more tobacco.
OILSEEDS:
India has the largest area and production
of oilseeds in the world. Five major oil seeds are:
1.Ground nut, 2.sesamum, 3.rapeseed and mustard,
4.linseed, 5. Castor seed.
Ground
nut:
1.it requires 20-30 degree Celsius
temperature.
2.rainfall 50-75 cm.
3.enemies= frost, prolonged drought,
continuous rain, stagnant water.
4.well drained light sandy loams, red,
yellow and black cotton soils.
Around 90 per cent of the ground nut is
produced as the kharif crop. But it can be grown both as kharif and rabi crop.
It serves as an important rotation crop because it synthesizes atmospheric
nitrogen and increases soil fertility.
Andhra Pradesh, tamilndau, gujarath are the
three main producers of ground nut in india.
Other some states also producing the ground nut in small quantities.
Sesamum:
1.it requires 21-23 degree temperature.
2.45-50cm rainfall.
3.well drained light loamy soils.
It is a rainfed crop it is grown as kharif
crop in north india and rabi crop in south india.
Sesamum is grown in almost all parts of the
country but odisha, rajasthan, west Bengal, Maharashtra, gujarath,and Madhya
Pradesh are the main producers.
Rapeseed
and mustard:
Like wheat and gram, they thrive only in
cool climate of the satluj-ganga plain and very small quantity is grown in
peninsular india. They are mainly grown as rabi crop in pure or mixed with
wheat,gram,and barley.
Rajasthan and uttar Pradesh are the two
major producers of the rapeseed and mustard. Haryana and Madhya Pradesh coming
next in the list.
LINSEED:
1.it is a cool dry crop, 20 degree Celsius
temperature is ideal.
2.rainfall of 75 cm is enough.
3.clay loams, deep black soils and alluvial soils are best suited.
It is a rabi crop which is sown in October –november and
harvested in march- april.
Madhya Pradesh, uttar Pradesh, and
Maharashtra are the three main producers of linseed in india.
CASTOR
SEED:
1.it grows well in 20-25 degree Celsius
temperature areas.
2.50-57cm rainfall is ideal.
3.in peninsular india it grows on red sandy
loams and in satluj-ganga plain it grows in light alluvial soil.
Almost the whole area of castor seed
production is rainfed. It is a kharif crop in the north and a rabi crop in the
south.
Gujarath, Andhra Pradesh, and rajashtan are
the largest producers of castor seed in india.
PLANTATION
CROPS:
Unlike other crops, they are not annual
crops and take 3-5 years to bear fruit after they are sown. But once they start
bearing fruit, they continue to do so for 35-40 years. They require heavy
initial capital investment and high level technology for their growth and
processing. Tea, coffee and rubber are the principal plantation crops but
spices are also included in this category.
TEA:
1.temperature for its growth is 20-30
degree Celsius and temperatures above 35 degree and below 10 degree is harmful
for the bush.
2.it requires 150-300cm annual rainfall.
3.high humidity, heavy dew and morning fog
favour the rapid development of young leaves.
4.tea is shade loving plant and develops
more vigorously when planted along with shady trees.
5 it grow well in well drained, deep
friable loams.
6.although tea requires heavy rainfall for
its growth, stagnant water is injurious to its roots. It is therefore, grown on
the hill slopes.
7.most of the tea plantations in india are
found at elevations varying from 600 to 1800m above the sea level.
Tea in india is highly concentrated in few
selected areas.
1.north eastern india:
It is more are less a triangular area in
assam and west Bengal. 75 per cent tea produced in india is coming from here.
In assam main tea producing belts are Brahmaputra valley and surma valley. In
west Bengal it is in the Duars and Darjeeling.
2.southindia:
In south india tea is produced in nilgiri,
cardamom,palani and anaimalai in tamilnadu, kerala and Karnataka. This region
accounts for 22 per cent of tea production in india. In south indiatamilnadu is
the largest producer of tea accounting for over 14 percent of total tea production
in india.
3.north west india:
Some of tea is produced in dehra dun,
almora and garhwal districts of uttar Pradesh and kangra valley and mandi
districts of himachal Pradesh.
COFFEE:
1.it grows in hot and humid climate,
temperature varying from 15-28 degree is good. Temperature above 30 degree is
harmful. And also it does not tolerate frost, snowfall.
2.rainfall from 150-250cm. Is good.
Stagnant water is harmful.
3.dry weather is necessary at the time of
ripening.
4.well drained, rich friable loams containing
good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal.
Northern and eastern aspects of slopes are
preferred as they are less exposed to strong afternoon sun and the south west
monsoon winds. The restricted agro climatic conditions have forced the coffee
plantations to confine themselves to small area in south india comprising hill
areas around nilgiris. Almost the entire production is shared by three states
namely Karnataka, kerala, tamilnadu. Karnataka is the leading producer in
india.
RUBBER:
1.it requires hot and humid climate.with
temperature of 25-35degree Celsius. And annual rainfall of about 300cm.
2.dry spell and low temperature is harmful.
Daily rainfall followed by strong sun is very useful.
3.deep well drained loamy soils on the hill
slopes at elevation ranging from 300-450 m
above sea level is best condition. There is no rubber tree found above
700m elevation, because the yield will reduce.
Kerala is the largest producer of rubber
followed by tamilnadu and Karnataka.
SPICES:
Pepper, cordomum, chillies, turmeric and
ginger are some of the important spices produced in india.
Pepper:
1.it is a tropical crop. It requires a
minimum of 10 degree and maximum of 30 degree Celsius.
2.200-300cm rainfall helps its growth.
3.the plant progresses as a vine and needs
support of other trees for its growth.
4.it thrives well on deep, well drained
loamysoil.
5.kerala, Karnataka and tamilnadu are
concentrated by the crop.
Cardamom:
1.it grows well on high heat and humidity
with temperature ranging from 15 degree to 32 degree Celsius.
2.rainfall 150-300cm.
3.well drained forest loams, deep red and
laterite soils are best suited.
4.it is a shade loving plant and is grown
under shade-trees.
5.the entire production comes from three
states viz. Kerala, Karnataka and tamilnadu and these states contributes 53,
42, 5 percent respectively.
Chillies:
1.it requires temperatures ranging from 10
to 30 degree Celsius.
2.average rainfall of 60-125cm is enough.
3.it can be grown in wide variety of soils
including black cotton soil, and different type of loamy soils.
4.andhra Pradesh is the leading producer of
chillies in india. Which is followed by Maharashtra and odisha.
Ginger:
1.it is grown in tropical and sub-tropical
climates.10 to 25 degree Celsius temperature is good.
2.125-250cm rainfall is required.
3.well drained sandy clayey or red loams
and laterite are best suited soils.
4.kerala is the largest producer of ginger
in india. Other main states are Meghalaya, Sikkim, odisha, Mizoram and west
Bengal.
Turmeric:
1.it requires tropical climate.
2.well drained sandy and clayey loams,
medium black, red or alluvial soils for its growth.
3.andhra Pradesh is the largest producer in
india. Followed by Karnataka and tamilnadu.
HORTICULTURE:
Horticulture is the section of agriculture
in which fruits and vegetables are grown. Immense agro climatic diversity
enables india to grow a large variety of horticulture crops.
CASHEWNUT:
Cashew requires average temperature between
16-25 degree Celsius and a wide range of rainfall from 50 to 350 cm. It grows
well on laterite soils on the west coast and on sandy soils on the east coast.
kerala, tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh are
the major producers. Some of the cashew is also grown in Maharashtra and goa.
MANGO:
It is the native of monsoon lands and is
grown in areas with temperature of 20-30 degree Celsius and rainfall 75 to
250cms. It can grow in almost all soils of india but prefers rich clayey loams.
Uttar Pradesh, bihar, Andhra Pradesh, west Bengal, Orissa, kerala, tamilnadu,
Maharashtra, gujarath and Karnataka are its main producers.
APPLE:
Apple is temperate fruit crop. It requires
average temperature of 21-4 degree Celsius and rainfall of 100-125cm. The
orchard localities should be free from hail storms and frost. These conditions
are found on hill slopes at altitudes ranging from 1500-2700m above the sea
level. Loamy soils, rich in organic matter and having good drainage are most
suitable for apple cultivation. Soil should be free from hard sub strata and
water logging.
The main areas of apple production are
kullu and shimla in himachal Pradesh, the Kashmir valley and hilly areas of
western uttar Pradesh.
BANANA:
Banana is primarily a tropical and sub
tropical crop, requiring average
temperature of 20-30 degree Celsius. Rainfall should be fairly above 150cm. The
banan tree grows well in rich, well drained soil with ample moisture and humus.
Although banana growing is spread all over
india, the peninsular inidia provides ideal conditions for its cultivation.
Tamil nadu and Maharashtra are the two leading producers of banana in india.
ORANGE:
most of the orange orchads are rainfed and
are located at heights from 600 to 1500m. well drained, even textured sandy
loams which permit root penetration upto 2-4 metres are best for orange
cultivation. Although orange is grown in almost all the states, its cultivation
is more prominently concentrated in the hilly regions of western uttar Pradesh,
Darjeeling in west Bengal, kangra valley in himachal Pradesh, khasi and jaintia
hills in Meghalaya. Hyderabad and Aurangabad in Andhra Pradesh, kodagu district
of Karnataka, waynad of kerala, nilgiri
district of tamilnadu and Nagpur and pune districts of Maharashtra.
GRAPES:
Grapes is a sub tropical plant and requires
long summer, short sharp winter, a moderately fertile well drained soil,
relatively low water supply during growing period and a bright sunshine during
mature stage. In north india, the plant gives only one crop during summer but
in south india the plant grows throughout the year and yields two crops a year.
Uttar Pradesh,himachal Pradesh, jammu and
Kashmir and Punjab in the north and Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, tamilnadu and
Karnataka in the south are grapes producing states.
VEGETABLES:
India also grow a large variety of
vegetables. The important vegetables are potato, cauliflower, cabbage,
cucumber, carrot, brinjal, mushroom, pumpkin,
gourd, tomato etc.
Most of the vegetables are short duration
crops as a result of which two to three crops are raised from the same piece of
land in one year. Most of the vegetables are grown around urban areas where
they find ready market for their sale.
written by- R.DHARMENDRA,
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