Key Points
Key Points: Classification of Crops
- Crops in India are broadly classified into food crops and cash crops. Food crops mainly include cereals and pulses, while cash crops include oilseeds, fibre crops, beverages and sugarcane.
- Cereals are the most important food crops in India. They are grass-like plants with starchy edible seeds such as rice, wheat, maize and millets, which form the basic diet of people.
- Rice and wheat are the main food crops of India, while important cash crops include tea, coffee, oilseeds, cotton, jute and sugarcane.
- The Green Revolution helped India become self-sufficient in food grains and also transformed India into a net exporter of food products and oilseeds.
- India ranks third in cereal production in the world, and cereals occupy about 54% of the total cropped area and contribute around 11% of global cereal production.
Key Points: Major Crops> Food Crops
- Rice is a kharif crop needing 150–300 cm rainfall and a warm climate; major producers are West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
- Wheat is a rabi crop requiring about 80 cm of rainfall, cool winters, and a warm harvest season; it is grown mainly in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
- Millets (jowar, bajra, ragi) are dry crops needing low rainfall and grow in the poor soils of semi-arid regions.
- Pulses need 20–25°C temperature and 50–75 cm rainfall, grow on light soils, and are mainly produced in MP, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
- India grows crops like rice, wheat, millets, maize, and pulses based on soil and climate conditions.
Key Points: Rice
- Rice is the most important staple food crop of India and feeds more than half of the population. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China, and rice is mainly a kharif crop, though it is also grown as a rabi crop in southern and north-eastern India.
- Rice requires a hot and humid climate with an average temperature of about 24°C and annual rainfall of 150–300 cm. It needs 5–10 cm of standing water during early growth and ample sunshine throughout its growing period.
- Deep, fertile clayey or loamy soils that can retain water are ideal for rice cultivation. Hence, river deltas, flood plains, estuaries and coastal plains are best suited for growing rice.
- Rice is grown as upland rice and lowland rice. Upland rice depends only on rainfall and is grown on hill slopes, while lowland rice is grown in low-lying plains with assured irrigation and produces surplus for sale.
- Major rice-producing states are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. West Bengal grows three rice crops—Aus, Aman and Boro, while Punjab has the highest per-hectare yield due to irrigation, HYV seeds and mechanisation.
Key Points: Wheat
- Wheat is India’s second most important food crop after rice. It covers about 14% of total cropped area, and India ranks second after China in world wheat production. It is a staple food in northern and north-western India.
- Wheat climate & needs: It is a rabi crop—needs cool winters for growth and warm, dry weather for ripening. 10–15°C is ideal for sowing and 20–25°C for harvest. About 80 cm rainfall is suitable, but irrigation can cover low rainfall; excess moisture harms growth.
- Wheat soil & methods: Best soils are well-drained loams and clay loams (alluvial soils of Great Plains mainly). Sowing is done by drilling or broadcasting in a well-prepared seedbed. It needs 3–4 irrigations, and harvesting is done by sickle or machines (Punjab, Haryana, W. UP).
- Major wheat states: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the five leading producers. Yield is very high in Punjab and Haryana, and area under wheat is largest in Uttar Pradesh.
Key Points: Millets
- Millets are hardy, drought- and heat-resistant crops, grown in semi-arid and dry regions; they are rich in iron, zinc and magnesium.
- Jowar (Sorghum) is both a kharif and rabi crop, needs low rainfall (45–100 cm) and grows best on black clayey soil.
- Bajra (Pearl millet) is a kharif crop, requires 50–100 cm rainfall, little irrigation, and is widely grown in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Ragi (Nachni) is the richest plant source of calcium, tolerates drought, needs 20–30°C temperature, and matures in 3–4 months.
- 2023 was declared the International Year of Millets to promote nutrition, food security, climate resilience, and farmers’ livelihoods.
Key Points: Pulses
- Pulses are rich in vegetable protein and are essential in the Indian vegetarian diet.
- Being leguminous crops, they fix nitrogen in the soil and improve soil fertility.
- Pulses need 20–25°C temperature and 50–75 cm rainfall, and grow best on light, dry soils.
- Gram is the most important pulse (rabi crop), while tur, urad and moong are mainly kharif crops.
- India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses; major states are MP, Maharashtra, UP, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
