AGRICULTURE

Types of Farming
The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of the physical environment,
technological know-how and socio-cultural practices. Farming varies from subsistence
to commercial type. In different parts of India, the following farming systems are
practised.
Primitive Subsistence Farming
It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals
and other food crops. When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a
fresh patch of land for cultivation. It is known by different names in different parts of
the country. It is known as jhumming in north-eastern states.

 Land productivity is low in this type of agriculture.

 This type of farming depends on monsoon.
 This farming is practised in a few parts of India.
Intensive Subsistence Farming

This type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land.

 It is labour-intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and
irrigation are used for higher production.
Commercial Farming
This type of farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such as high yielding variety
(HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides to obtain higher
productivity.
Plantation is a type of commercial farming in which a single crop is grown on a large
area. Plantations cover large tracts of land, using capital intensive inputs, with the help
of migrant labourers. All the produce is used as a raw material in industries.
Eg: Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Sugarcane, Banana.

Cropping Pattern
India has three cropping seasons:

1. Rabi
2. Kharif
3. Zaid

4. Rabi Kharif Zaid

 Sowing Winter from Beginning of the In between the Rabi and the Kharif
Season October to rainy season seasons, there is a short season
December between April and during the summer months known
May as the Zaid season (in the months of
March to July)
Harvesting Summer from September-
Season April to June October

Important Wheat, Barley, Paddy, Maize, Watermelon, Muskmelon,

Crops Peas, Gram Jowar, Bajra, Tur Cucumber,
and Mustard. (Arhar), Vegetables and Fodder crops
Moong, Urad,
Cotton, Jute,
Groundnut and
Soyabean.

Major Crops in India

A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different parts of India, 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
 Jute
We will discuss all of these one by one, in detail.
Rice

1. It is a kharif crop.
2. It requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100
cm.
3. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
4. It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the
deltaic regions.

Wheat
 1. This is a rabi crop.
2. It requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
3. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing
season.
4. The Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and black soil region of the Deccan
are two main wheat-growing zones in India.
5. It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop, in the north and
north-western part of India.

Millets

1. Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India.
2. These are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.

Jowar Bajra Ragi

3rd most important food Grows well on sandy soils It is a crop of dry regions.
crop with respect to area and shallow black soil.
and production.

It is a rain-fed crop Grows well on red, black, sandy,

mostly grown in the loamy and shallow black soils.
moist areas.

Mainly produced in Major producing states are Major producing states are
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Madhya Pradesh. Haryana. Sikkim, Jharkhand and
Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize

1. It is a Kharif crop.
2. It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
3. It is used both as food and fodder.
4. Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Pulses

1. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.

2. Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
3. Major pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and
Gram.
4. Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores
fertility.
 5. Major pulse producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Food Crops other than Grains

Sugarcane

1. It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.

2. It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and
annual rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.
3. It can be grown on a variety of soils.
4. Needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.
5. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
6. Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.
7. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and
Haryana.

Oil Seeds
Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12% of the total cropped area of
India. Main oil-seeds produced in India are:

 Groundnut: is a Kharif crop and accounts for half of the major oilseeds produced
in India. Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnuts.
 Mustard: is a rabi crop.
 Sesamum (til): is a Kharif crop in the north and rabi crop in south India.
 Castor seeds: It is grown as both Rabi and Kharif crop.
 Linseed: is a rabi crop.
 Coconut
 Soyabean
 Cotton seeds
 Sunflower
Tea

1. It is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.

2. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and
fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
3. Tea bushes require warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.
4. Tea is a labour-intensive industry.
5. Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri
districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Coffee
Yemen coffee is produced in India and this variety of coffee is in great demand all over
the world. Its cultivation was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and is confined to the
Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Horticulture Crops
India is a producer of tropical as well as temperate fruits. Major crops produced are
pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato. Some of the famous
horticulture crops grown in India are:

 Mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and

West Bengal Oranges of Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya), bananas of
Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
 Lichi and Guava of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
 Pineapples of Meghalaya
 Grapes of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra
 Apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh

Non-Food Crops
Rubber Fibre Cotton Jute

It is an equatorial Cotton, Jute, It is a Kharif crop. It is known as the

crop. Hemp and Natural golden fibre.
Silk are the four
major fibre crops.

It requires a moist Cotton, Jute and It requires high It grows well on

and humid climate Hemp are grown temperature, light well-drained fertile
with rainfall of more in the soil. rainfall, 210 frost- soils in the flood
than 200cm and free days and bright plains. High
temperature above sunshine for its temperature is
25°C. growth. required for its
growth.

It is an important Natural Silk is Cotton grows It is used in making

industrial raw obtained from well in black cotton gunny bags, mats,
material cocoons of the soil of the Deccan ropes, yarn, carpets
silkworms fed on plateau. and other artefacts.
green leaves

Mainly grown in Rearing of Major cotton- Major jute

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, silkworms for the producing states are producing states are
Karnataka and production of silk Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar,
Andaman and fibre is known as Gujarat, Madhya Assam, Odisha and
Nicobar islands and Sericulture. Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya.
Andhra Pradesh,
 Garo hills of Telangana, Tamil
Meghalaya. Nadu, Punjab,
Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh.

Technological and Institutional Reforms

Agriculture provides a livelihood for more than 60% of its population, so this sector
needs some serious technical and institutional reforms. The Green Revolution and the
White Revolution were some of the reforms initiated by people to improve agriculture.
Some Initiatives taken by the Government are:

 Schemes introduced by Government such as Kissan Credit Card (KCC),

Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
 Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers on the radio
and television were introduced.
 The government also announces minimum support price, remunerative and
procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by
speculators and middlemen.

Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy,

Employment and Output
 In 2010-11 about 52% of the total workforce was employed by the farm sector.
 The share of agriculture in the GDP is declining.
 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities,
veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development,
research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast,
etc. are a few of the initiatives introduced by the government to improve Indian
agriculture.