RICE, WHEAT AND PULSES
A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different parts of the country depending upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices. Major crops grown in India are rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee, sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute, etc.
Rice
It is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India. Our country is the second-largest producer of rice in the world after China. It is a Kharif crop which requires high temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm. In the areas of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation.
Figure 4.4(a): Rice Cultivation
Figure 4.4(b): Rice is ready to be harvested in the field
Figure : India: Distribution of Rice
Rice is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions. Development of a dense network of canal irrigation and tubewells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.
Wheat
This is the second most important cereal crop. It is the main food crop, in the north and north-western part of the country. This rabi crop requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly- distributed over the growing season. There are two important wheat-growing zones in the country – the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan. The major wheat-producing states are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
Figure 4.5: Wheat Cultivation
Figure : India: Distribution of Wheat
Pulses
India is the largest producer as well as the consumer of pulses in the world. These are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Major pulses that are grown in India are tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas and gram. Can you distinguish which of these pulses are grown in the Kharif season and which are grown in the rabi season? Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions. Being leguminous crops, all these crops except arhar help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air. Therefore, these are mostly grown in rotation with other crops. Major pulse producing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
MILLETS AND MAIZE
Millets
Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets grown in India. Though these are known as coarse grains, they have very high nutritional value. For example, ragi is very rich in iron, calcium, other micronutrients, and roughage. Jowar is the third most important food crop with respect to area and production. It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas which hardly needs irrigation. Major Jowar producing States are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Figure 4.6: Bajra Cultivation
Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil. Major Bajra producing States are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana. Ragi is a crop of dry regions and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy, and shallow black soils. Major ragi producing states are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
It is a crop which is used both as food and fodder. It is a Kharif crop which requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil. In some states like Bihar maize is grown in rabi season also. Use of modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers and irrigation have contributed to the increasing production of maize. Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Figure 4.7: Maize Cultivation
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK