Types of Farming

• On the basis of main source of moisture for crops, the farming can be classified as irrigated and rainfed (Barani).
• The objective of protective irrigation is to protect the crops from adverse effects of soil moisture deficiency which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall
• Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity.
• In such irrigation the water input per unit area of cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation.
• Rainfed farming is further classified on the basis of adequacy of soil moisture during cropping season into dry land and wetland farming. In India, the
• Dry land farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops) and practice various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting.
• In wetland farming, the rainfall is in excess of soil moisture requirement of plants during rainy season.
• Such regions may face flood and soil erosion hazards.
• These areas grow various water intensive crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in the fresh water bodies.

Food grains

• The importance of food-grains in Indian agricultural economy may be gauged from the fact these crops occupy about two-third of total cropped area in the country.
• On the basis of the structure of grain the food-grains are classified as cereals and pulses.

Cereals

• The cereals occupy about 54 per cent of total cropped area in India.
• The country produces about 11 per cent cereals of the world and ranks third in production after China and U.S.A.
• India produces a variety of cereals, which are classified as fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi), etc.

Rice

• Rice is a staple food for the overwhelming majority of population in India.
• Though, it is considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas,
• These are successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude and from humid areas in eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and northern Rajasthan.
• In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year. In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice called „ aus?, „aman? and „boro?.
• But in Himalayas and north-western parts of the country, it is grown as a kharif crop during southwest Monsoon season.
• India contributes 22 per cent of rice production in the world and ranks second after China.
• About one-fourth of the total cropped area in the country is under rice cultivation.
• West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were five leading rice producing states in the country in 2002-03.
• They yield level of rice is high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala.
• Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice growing areas.
• Rice cultivation in the irrigated areas of Punjab and Haryana was introduced in 1970s following the Green Revolution.
• Genetically improved varieties of seed, relatively high usage of fertilisers and pesticides and lower levels of susceptibility of the crop to pests due to dry climatic conditions are responsible for higher yield of rice in this region.
• The yield of this crop is very low in rainfed areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa

Wheat

• Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India after rice. India produces about 12 per cent of total wheat production of world.
• It is primarily a crop of temperate zone.
• Hence, its cultivation in India is done during winter i.e. Rabi season.
• About 85 per cent of total area under this crop is concentrated in north and central regions of the country i.e. Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude.
• Being a rabi crop, it is mostly grown under irrigated conditions.
• But it is a rain fed crop in Himalayan highlands and parts of Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh.
• About 14 per cent of the total cropped area in the country is under wheat cultivation.
• Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are five leading wheat producing states.
• The yield level of wheat is very high (above 4,000 K.G. per ha) in Punjab and Haryana whereas, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar have moderate yields.?

Jowar

• The coarse cereals together occupy about 16.50 per cent of total cropped area in the country.
• Among these, jowar or sorghum alone accounts for about 5.3 per cent of total cropped area.
• It is main food crop in semi-arid areas of central and southern India.
• Maharashtra alone produces more than half of the total jowar production of the country.
• Other leading producer states of jowar are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
• It is sown in both kharif and Rabi seasons in southern states.
• But it is a kharif crop in northern India where it is mostly grown as a fodder crop.

Bajra

• Bajra is sown in hot and dry climatic conditions in north- western and western parts of the country.
• It is a hardy crop which resists frequent dry spells and drought in this region.
• It is cultivated alone as well as part of mixed cropping.
• Leading producers of bajra are the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
• Being a rainfed crop, the yield level of this crop is low in Rajasthan and fluctuates a lot from year to year.
• Yield of this crop has increased during recent years in Haryana and Gujarat due to introduction of drought resistant varieties and expansion of irrigation under it

Maize

• Maize is a food as well as fodder crop grown under semi-arid climatic conditions and over inferior soils.
• This crop occupies only about 3.6 per cent of total cropped area.
• Maize cultivation is not concentrated in any specific region.
• It is sown all over India except eastern and north-eastern regions.
• The leading producers of maize are the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Yield level of maize is higher than other coarse cereals. It is high in southern states and declines towards central parts.

Pulses

• Pulses are rich sources of proteins.
• These are legume crops which increase the natural fertility of soils through nitrogen fixation.
• India is a leading producer of pulses and accounts for about 1/5th of the total production of pulses in the world.
• The cultivation of pulses in the country is largely concentrated in the drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and north- western parts of the country.
• Pulses occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped area in the country.
• Being the rainfed crops of drylands, the yields of pulses are low and fluctuate from year to year.
• Gram and tur are the main pulses cultivated in India.

Gram

• Gram is cultivated in subtropical areas.
• It is mostly a rainfed crop cultivated during Rabi season in central, western and north- western parts of the country.
• Just one or two light showers or irrigations are required to grow this crop successfully.
• It has been displaced from the cropping pattern by wheat in Haryana, Punjab and northern Rajasthan following the green revolution.
• Main producers- Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan
• The yield of this crop continues to be low and fluctuates from year to year even in irrigated areas.

Tur (Arhar)

• It is also known as red gram or pigeon pea.
• It is cultivated over marginal lands and under rainfed conditions in the dry areas of central and southern states of the country.
• Maharashtra- 1/3rd production
• Per hectare output of this crop is very low and its performance is inconsistent.

Oilseeds

• Groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, Soyabean and sunflower are the main oilseed crops grown in India

Groundnut

• India- 17% production
• It is largely a rainfed kharif crop of drylands.
• But in southern India, it is cultivated during rabi season as well.
• Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra
• Yield of groundnut is comparatively high in Tamil Nadu where it is partly irrigated.
• But its yield is low in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Rapeseed and Mustard

• Rapeseed and mustard comprise several oilseeds as rai, sarson, toria and taramira.
• These are subtropical crops cultivated during Rabi season in north-western and central parts of India.
• These are frost sensitive crops and their yields fluctuate from year to year.
• But with the expansion of irrigation and improvement in seed technology, their yields have improved and stabilized to some extent.
• About two-third of the cultivated area under these crops is irrigated.
• Rajasthan- 1/3rd
• Others- Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
• Yields of these crops are comparatively high in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Other Oilseeds

• Soyabean and sunflower are other important oilseeds grown in India.
• Soyabean is mostly grown in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
• It is a minor crop in northern parts of the country where its yield is high due to irrigation.

Fibre Crops

These crops provide us fibre for preparing cloth, bags, sacks and a number of other items. Cotton and jute are two main fibre crops grown in India.

Cotton

• Tropical crop grown in kharif season in semi-arid areas of the country.
• India grows both short staple (Indian) cotton as well as long staple (American) cotton called ‘narma’ in north-western parts of the country.
• Cotton requires clear sky during flowering stage.
• India ranks fourth in the world in the production of cotton after China, U.S.A. and Pakistan.
• Cotton growing areas, i.e. parts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan in north-west, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and plateaus of in south.
• Leading producers of this crop are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
• Per hectare output of cotton is high under irrigated conditions in north-western region of the country.
• Its yield is very low in Maharashtra where it is grown under rainfed conditions.

Jute

• Jute is used for making coarse cloth, bags, sacks and decorative items.
• It is a cash crop in West Bengal and adjoining eastern parts of the country.
• India lost large jute growing areas to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during partition.
• At present, India produces about three-fifth of jute production of the world.
• West Bengal accounts for about three-fourth of the production in the country.
• Bihar and Assam are other jute growing areas

Other Crops

Sugarcane, tea and coffee are other important crops grown in India.

Sugarcane

• Sugarcane is a crop of tropical areas.
• Under rainfed conditions, it is cultivated in sub-humid and humid climates.
• But it is largely an irrigated crop in India.
• India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil.
• Uttar Pradesh produces about two-fifth of sugarcane of the country.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are other leading producers of this crop where yield level of sugarcane is high.
• Its yield is low in northern India.

Tea

• Tea is a plantation crop used as beverage. Black tea leaves are fermented whereas green tea leaves are unfermented.
• Tea leaves have rich content of caffeine and tannin.
• It is an indigenous crop of hills in northern China. It is grown over undulating topography of hilly areas and well- drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and sub-tropics.
• In India, tea plantation started in 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam which still is a major tea growing area in the country.
• Later on, its plantation was introduced in the sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal (Darjiling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar districts).
• Tea is also cultivated on the lower slopes of Nilgiri and Cardamom hills in Western Ghats.
• India’s share in the international market of tea has declined substantially. At present, it ranks third among tea exporting countries in the world after Sri Lanka and China.
• Assam accounts for about 53.2 per cent of the total cropped area and contributes more than half of total production of tea in the country.
• West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the other leading producers of tea.

Coffee

• Coffee is a tropical plantation crop. Its seeds are roasted, ground and are used for preparing a beverage.
• There are three varieties of coffee Arabica, Robusta and liberica.
• India mostly grows superior quality coffee, Arabica, which is in great demand in International market.
• But India produces only about 4.3 per cent coffee of the world and ranks sixth after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico.
• Coffee is cultivated in the highlands of Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka alone accounts for more than two- third of total production of coffee in the country