Important Crop in India

 Cereals

• 54% of total cropped area in India.
• 11% cereals of the world and ranks third in production after China and U.S.A.
• Fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi).

Rice

• Staple diet of the tropical and sub-tropical region.
• 21.6% of rice. Ranked second after China in 2016.
• Need high temperature (Above 25°C), High Humidity & High Rainfall (Above 100 cm).  Grown in different agro-climatic regions.
• Alluvial clayey soil, which can retain water.
• China leads, next India, Japan, Sri Lanka & Egypt.
• West Bengal & Bangladesh – 2 to 3 crop grown in year (‘aus’, ‘aman, & ‘boro’).
• India, plains of north & north-eastern India, coastal areas & the deltaic regions. Less rainfall area Grown with help of canal irrigation & tubewells (Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and northern of Rajasthan).
• Himalayas and northwestern parts grown kharif crop during southwest Monsoon season.
• Leading rice producing - West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.
• High Yield level - Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.
• Low yield in Rainfed areas of MP, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice growing areas, Through Green Revolution cultivation in the irrigated area (Now leading producer).

Wheat

• Cereal Crop. Main food crop, in north & north-western part of the country.
• 12.3% of total wheat production of world (2016)
• Moderate temperature and rainfall (50 to 75 cm) during growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest (ripening).
• Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude.
• Rabi crop - grown under irrigated conditions. Rainfed crop in Himalayan highlands and parts of Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh.
• Drained loamy soil.
• India wheat zone,
• the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west.
• Black soil region of the Deccan.
• States - Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
• Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir growing wheat under rainfed conditions have low yield.
• USA, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Australia & India (Grown in winter).

Millets

• Coarse grains (high nutrient value), grown on less fertile and sandy soils.
• Hardy crop that needs low rainfall, moderate temperature and adequate rainfall.
• Nigeria, China, Niger & India (Jowar, Bajra, Ragi).

Jowar

• Coarse cereals. Third most important food crop with respect to area and production. 16.50 per cent of total cropped area in the country.
• Main food crop in semi-arid areas of central and southern India.
• Rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas which hardly needs irrigation.
• Kharif and rabi seasons in southern states. Kharif crop in northern.
• Maharashtra (alone produce half of total production), Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
• Rainfed crop - South of Vindhyachal, yield level is very low.

Bajra

• Hot and dry climatic conditions in northwestern and western parts.
• Hardy crop resists frequent dry spells and drought in this region.
• Cultivated alone as well as part of mixed cropping. 5.2 % of total cropped area.
• Sandy soils and shallow black soil.
• Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana (Last 2 state yield increase recent by introducing drought resistant varieties and expansion of irrigation).
• Rainfed crop yield low in Rajasthan.

Ragi

• Dry regions and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.
• Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

Maize

• Food & Fodder crop, Kharif crop, Moderate temperature (21°C to 27°C), Rainfall and lots of sunshine. Bihar maize is grown in rabi season.
• Well-drained fertile soils. Old alluvial soil.
• semi-arid climatic conditions and over inferior soils. 3.6 per cent of total cropped area.
• Use of modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers and irrigation have contributed to the increasing production of maize.
• Sown all over India except Punjab and eastern and north-eastern regions.
• Leading producer - Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• Yield level of maize is higher than other coarse cereals.
• North America, Brazil, China, Russia, Canada, India & Mexico.

Pulses

• India largest producer as well as the consumer in the world. 11 per cent of the total cropped area.
• Important ingredient of vegetarian food as these are rich sources of proteins in Vegetable diet.
• Leguminous crop, less moisture and survive even in dry conditions.  
• Major pulses - tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas and gram. (Gram and tur are the main pulses cultivated in India.)
• All crop except arhar help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
• Rainfed crops of drylands - yields low and fluctuate from year to year.
• Drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and northwestern parts - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Gram

• Subtropical areas, Rainfed crop cultivated during rabi season in central, western and northwestern parts of the country. 2.8 % of the total cropped area.
• one or two light showers or irrigations are required.
• displaced from the cropping pattern by wheat in Haryana, Punjab and northern Rajasthan following the green revolution.
• Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan.
• Yield fluctuates from year to year in irrigated area.

Tur (Arhar)

• red gram or pigeon pea. 2 % of total cropped area.
• Over marginal lands and under rainfed conditions.
• Dry areas of central and southern states.
• Maharashtra alone - one-third of the total production. Other Producer Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Food Crops other than Grains

Sugar cane

• Tropical as well as a subtropical crop. Second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil in 2015. 19 % of the world production.
• Occupies only 2.4 % of total cropped area.
• Rainfed conditions cultivated in sub-humid and humid climates.
• Hot and humid climate. Temperature: 21°C to 27°C & Rainfall: 75 to 100 cm.
• Grown on a variety of soils. largely an irrigated crop in India.
• Second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
• It is main source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari and molasses.
• Indo-Gangetic plain - Uttar Pradesh (2/5 Production), Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, Western India - Maharashtra, Gujarat Southern India - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana.
• Yield is low in northern India.

Oil Seeds

• Edible & used as Raw Material.
• Drylands of Malwa plateau, Marathwada, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka plateau.
• 14 per cent of total cropped area.

Groundnut

• India, 16.6% of total production in world, second largest producer after china in 2016.
• Kharif crop in dryland. In south India rabi season as well.
• 3.6 per cent of total cropped area.
• Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Maharashtra – Largest producer.
• Yield high in TN particularly irrigated, low in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka.

Rapeseed & Mustard

• Comprise rai, sarson, toria and taramira. Subtropical crops.
• Rabi season in north-western and central parts.
• Third largest producer after Canada and China in 2016.
• 2.5% of total cropped area. 2/3 is under Irrigated.
• Rajasthan contribute 1/3 production. Haryana and Madhya Pradesh is leading producer.
• Expansion of irrigation and improvement in seed technology, their yields have improved and stabilised to some extent.
• Yields of these crops are comparatively high in Haryana and Rajasthan. Other area Yields fluctuate from year to year.

Other Oilseeds

• Linseed and mustard are rabi crops, Sesamum is a kharif crop in north and rabi crop in south India, Castor seed is grown both as rabi and kharif crop.
• Soyabean - Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (90% of Production).
• Sunflower Cultivation - Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and adjoining areas of Maharashtra. Yield is high due to irrigation.
• Oil Seeds – Groundnut (kharif crop), mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower.

Coffee

• Indian coffee is known in the world for its good quality. Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is produced.
• Three Varities: arabica, robusta and liberica.
• 3.7 per cent coffee of the world and ranks seventh after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Ethopia and Honduras in 2016.
• Tropical plantation crop. Warm & Wet climate. Well-Drained loamy soil.
• India initally Baba Budan Hills, Now, introduced in the sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal (Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts), Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Karnataka alone 2/3 of Production.
• Hill Slope – Brazil, Columbia & India.

Tea

• 2016 India was the second largest producer of tea after China.
• 21.1 % of total production in the world. Ranks second among tea exporting countries. Assam - 53.2 % of the total cropped area. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu - leading producers
• Beverage crop grown on plantations. Introduced in India initially by the British
• Plantation crop – Black tea leaves are fermented & green tea leaves are unfermented. Rich content of caffeine and tannin.
• Grown over undulating topography of hilly areas and well drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and sub-tropics
• Cool climate and well distributed high rainfall throughout the year for the growth of its tender leaves. Labour-intensive industry
• Deep & fertile well-drained loamy soils. Grown in tropical and sub-tropical.
• Indigenous crop of hills in northern China
• In 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam. Later sub-Himaliyan region of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, Cardamom hills in Western Ghats, West Bengal, lower slopes of Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Also Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura. Cardamom hills in Western Ghats
• Gentle Slope - Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka.

Horticulture Crop

• In 2016, Second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China.
• Produce of tropical as well as temperate fruit.
• 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 Crop

Rubber

• Equatorial crop. Under Special Condition grown in Tropical & Sub-Tropical.
• Moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200cm. and temperature above 25°C.
• Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya.

Fiber Crop

• Cotton, jute, hemp – from crop grown.
• Natural Silk - latter is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves specially mulberry

Cotton

• India, believe original home of the cotton plant.
• Ranks second in the world in the production of cotton after China. 4.7 % of total cropped area.
• High temperature, light rainfall, two hundred and ten frost-free days and bright sunshine.
• Drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.
• lost a large proportion of cotton growing area to Pakistan during partition.
• kharif crop in semi-arid area and requires 6 to 8 months to mature. clear sky during flowering stage.
• India grows both short staple (Indian) cotton as well as long staple (American) cotton called ‘narma’ in north-western parts.
• Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Leading Producer - Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, high under irrigated. yield is very low in Maharashtra under rainfed conditions.
• China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt.

Jute

• “Golden Fibre”
• High temperature (Time of Growth), heavy rainfall and humid climate.
• Well-drained fertile soils, grown in tropical area.
• West Bengal (Cash crop & 3/4 of production), Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.
• India & Bangladesh.
• India lost large jute growing areas to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during partition.
• Due to High Cost, losing market to synthetic fibres and packing materials, particularly the nylon.

Common Property Resource

• Ownership classified as two types – Private land & Common property resources (CPRs).
• CPRs provide fodder for the livestock and fuel for house hold & Minor producer.
• Provide livelihood for landless and marginal farmers and other weaker sections.
• CPRs can be defined as community’s natural resource.