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agriculture.
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:

Farming is done on small patches of land using primitive tools such as hoe, dao and
family/community labor.

This type of agriculture depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability
of other environmental conditions.

It is done to satisfy own requirements and not for commercial purposes. Land
productivity in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer does not use modern inputs.

Slash and burn agriculture: Farmers clear a patch of land to grow crops. When soil fertility
decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation. This type of
shifting allows nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural processes.

Intensive Subsistence Farming:

This type of farming is practiced in areas of high population pressure on land. It is labor
intensive farming where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for
obtaining higher production.
The right of inheritance has led to the division of land among successive generations and
rendered landholding size uneconomical. However, the farmers continue to take maximum
output from the limited land in absence of alternative source of livelihood. Thus, there is
enormous pressure on agricultural land.

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 Commercial farming:
This type of farming uses high doses of modern inputs- chemical fertilizers, insecticides,
HYV seeds, etc., in order to obtain higher productivity. This type of farming is done for
commercial purpose.

Plantations:
In this type of farming, a single crop is grown on a large area.

The plantation has an interface of agriculture and industry. Plantations cover large strips
of land using capital-intensive inputs with the help of migrant labourers.

All the produce is used as raw material in respective industries.

Since the production is mainly for market, a well developed network of transport and
communication connecting the plantation areas processing industries and markets plays
an important role in development of plantations.

cropping seasons:
Rabi crops (Winter crops): Sown in winter—October to December. Harvested in
summer—April to June. Important crops: wheat, barley, mustard, peas, gram, etc.

Kharif crops (Crops of the rainy season): Sown—onset of monsoon (June-July).

Harvested— September-October. Important crops: rice, maize, millets, jowar, bajra, tur
(arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soya bean.

Zaid season: It is a short cropping season during summer months mainly between
March-April and June-July. Main crops—watermelon, musk melon, cucumber etc.

Major crops:
Rice:

It is a Kharif crop.

It requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.

India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.

It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic
regions.

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 Wheat:

This is a Rabi crop.

It 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.

The Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and the black soil region of the Deccan are two
main wheat-growing zones in India.

It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop in the north and north-
western part of India.

Maize:

It is a Kharif crop. It is used both as food and fodder.

It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.

Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Pulses:

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

Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Major pulses grown in India
are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and Gram.

Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores fertility.

Major pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar

Pradesh and Karnataka.

Food Crops other than Grains:

Sugarcane:

India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.

It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.

It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual
rainfall between 75cm to 100cm. It can be grown on a variety of soils.

Needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.

Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.

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 The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

Oil Seeds:

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 are grown as both
Rabi and Kharif crop. Linseed is a rabi crop.

Tea:

The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and fertile well-
drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.

Tea bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.

Tea is a labour-intensive industry.

Major tea-producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

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.

Litchi 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

Technological and Institutional Reforms:

The Government of India embarked upon introducing agricultural reforms to improve
Indian agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s.

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 The green revolution based on the use of packaged technology and the white revolution
where some of the strategies initiated to improve the lot of Indian agriculture.

In the 1980s and 1990s a comprehensive land development program was initiated which
included both institutional and technological reforms.

Provision for crop insurance against drought, floods, cyclone, fire and disease,
establishment of Grameen Banks, co-operative societies and banks for providing loan
facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest were some important steps in this
direction.

Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS), are some other
schemes introduced by Government of India for benefit of the farmers.

The government also announces minimum support price, remunerative and procurement
prices for importing crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and
middlemen.

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