MAJOR CROPS CULTIVATED IN INDIA
MAJOR CROPS CULTIVATED IN INDIA
The major crops of India are divided into
four major categories as follows:
1. Food crops (wheat, maize, rice, millets, pulses etc.).2. Cash crops (sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, jute, oilseeds etc.).3. Plantation crops (tea, coffee and rubber).4. Horticulture crops (fruits, flowers and vegetables).
1. Food Crops
Due to its large population, Indian agriculture
is largely dominated by the food crops.
Rice
Rice is an indigenous crop. India is the
second largest producer of rice in the world
after China. It is mainly a tropical crop, growing
mainly with mean temperatures of 24°C and
annual rainfall of 150 cm. Deep fertile clayey or
loamy soils are suited well for rice cultivation.
It also needs abundant supply of cheap labour.
Rice in India is sown in three ways:
i) Broadcasting,ii) Ploughing or drillingiii) Transplanting
Due to increased use of High Yielding
Variety (HYV) seeds (CR Dhan 205, AR Dhan
306, CRR 451 etc.), many of the indigenous
varieties were disappeared. In 2016, the first 10
leading rice producing states are West Bengal
(First in India) Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, Assam, and Haryana.
Wheat
Wheat is the second most important
food crop of the country, after rice. It
accounts for 22 percent of the total area and 34 percent of the total production of food
grains in the country. It requires 10-15°C
at the time of sowing and 20-25°C at the time of
ripening of grains.
Over 85% of the India’s wheat production
comes from 5 states namely Uttar Pradesh,
Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh. Apart from these regions, the black
soil tract of the Deccan covering parts of
Maharashtra and Gujarat also contribute a
major wheat production.
Jowar
Jowar is the third important food crop of
our country. It is an indigenous plant of Africa.
The plant has a tendency to grow in adverse
climatic conditions. Its grains are rich in
carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins.
Hence, it provides cheap food to the large
section of the poor population. It is also used
as fodder in many parts of the country. Jowar
is essentially a crop of the Peninsular India.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh
are the leading producers of Jowar.
Bajra
Bajra is an indigenous plant of Africa. This
forms the staple food for poor people. Its stalks
are used as fodder for cattle and for thatching purposes. Bajra is a crop of dry region. Rajasthan
is the largest producer of bajra followed by Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Barley
Barley is one of the important cereals of
our country. Besides, being poor man’s diet, it is
used for making barley water, beer and whiskey.
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the two leading
producers of Barley.
Pulses
Pulses include a large number of crops
which are mostly leguminous and rich in
vegetable protein. They are used as human
food and feeding cattle. They fix atmospheric
nitrogen in the soil and hence are usually rotated
with other crops. India is the largest producer of
pulses.
2. Cash Crops
The crops which are cultivated for
commercial purpose are called cash crops.
These crops include sugarcane, tobacco, fibre
crops (cotton, jute, and mesta) and oilseeds.
Sugarcane
It is the second largest producer in the
world. This crop provides raw material for
the sugar industry which is the second largest
industrial category of our country. Besides
providing sugar, gur and khandsari, it supplies
molasses for alcohol industry and bagasse for
paper industry. India is ranked third in sugar
production in the world after Cuba and Brazil.
At the state level, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are
the leading producer of sugarcane followed
by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat.
Cotton
Cotton is the most important cash crop
of India. It provides raw material to the largest
industry of India. India ranks second next to
China in the production of cotton.
About 79% of the total area and production
in the country were contributed by four states viz.,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
Jute
It is a tropical fibre crops, grows well in the
alluvial soil. It provides raw material for Jute
industry. It is used for manufacturing of gunny
bags, carpets, hessian, ropes and strings, rugs,
clothes, tarpaulins, upholstery etc. West Bengal
is the leading state both in cultivation and
production of jute. The other cultivators of jute
are Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya.
Oil Seeds
Oil seeds, the premier source of fat in the
Indian diet are derived from number of crops
like groundnut, rapeseed, mustard, sesame,
linseed, sunflower, castor seed, cotton seed,
niger seed etc. These provide oil and oilcake
which are used for making lubricants, varnish,
medicine, perfume, candles, soaps, manure and
cattle feed. Gujarat is India’s largest oilseeds
producing state. In groundnut production,
India is the second largest producer in the world
after China.
3. Plantation Crops
Plantation crops are cultivated for the
purpose of exports. These are cultivated in large
estates on hilly slopes. Tea, coffee, rubber and
spices are the major plantation crops of India.
Tea
Tea is an evergreen plant that mainly grows
in tropical and subtropical climates. Tea is a
labour intensive and grows faster under light
shade. Tea plants require high rainfall but its
root cannot tolerate water logging. Two major
varieties of tea are cultivated in India.
They are
i) BOHEA - originated from Chinaii) ASSAMICA - from India
A number of hybrid varieties have been
developed by mixing these two. India is the
second largest producer of tea after China in
the world. Assam is the larger producer of tea in
India. Other states are Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
West Bengal.
Coffee
Coffee is grown in shade and it grows
effectively in the altitudes between 1,000 and
1,500 m above mean sea level. There are two
main varieties of coffee.
They are
i) Arabica (High quality-cultivated more in India)ii) Robusta (Inferior quality).
India is the 7th largest producer of coffee
globally. Karnataka is the leading producer of
coffee in India. It produces 71% in India, and
2.5 % in the world (source; coffee board of
India-2018).
Rubber
Rubber plantation were first established in
Kerala in 1902. It needs hot and wet climatic
conditions (temperature above 20°C and
rainfall above 300cm). Most of the land under
rubber belongs to small land holders. The major
rubber growing areas are Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Spices
India has been world famous for its spices
since ancient times. These spices mostly used
for flavouring or tampering cooked food and for
preparing medicines, dyes etc. Pepper, chillies,
turmeric, ginger, cardamom, clove and areca nut are the major spices cultivated in India.
Kerala is the leading producer of spices in India.
4. Horticulture Crops
It refers to the cultivation of fruits, flowers
and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are
important supplement to the human diet, as
they provide essential minerals, vitamins, and
fibres required for maintaining health. India
is in the second position in the production of
fruits and vegetables.
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