NON-FOOD CROPS

What Are Non-Food Crops?

An industrial crop, also called a non-food crop, is a crop

grown to produce goods for manufacturing, for example
of fibre for clothing, rather than food for consumption.
Purpose

Industrial crops is a designation given to enterprise that

attempts to raise farm sector income, and provide economic
development activities for rural areas. Industrial crops also
attempt to provide economic development activities for rural
areas. Industrial crops also attempt to provide products that can
be used to substitutes for imports from other nations.
Five important types of Non-
Food crops :

• Rubber Crops
• Cotton Crops*
• Jute Crops*
• Hemp*
• Natural Silk*
* These are the types of fibre crops.
1. Rubber Crops
• Rubber is an important industrial raw material.
• India ranks fifth among the world’s natural rubber producers.
• It is mainly grown in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka & Andaman Islands.

Conditions required
• It is an equatorial crop, but under special conditions, it is also grown in
tropical and sub-tropical areas.
• It requires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm.
• Temperature above 25 degree celsius.
Figure: Consumption of natural rubber
2. Cotton Crops
• India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant.
• Cotton is one of the main raw material for cotton textile industry.
• India is the third-largest producer of cotton in the world.
• It is mainly grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana & U.P.

Conditions required
• Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of Deccan plateau.
• It requires high temp, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days &
bright sunshine.
• It is kharif crop & require 6 to 8 months to mature.
3. Jute Crops
• It is known as the golden fibre.
• It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other
artifacts.
• India is the third-largest producer of cotton in the world.
• Due to its high cost, it is losing market to synthetic fibres and packing
material, particularly the nylon.
• It is mainly grown in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Meghalaya.

Conditions required
• Jute grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains
where soils are renewed every year.
• High temperature is required during the time of growth.
Key terms used in Fibre crops

> Sericulture : Rearing of silkworms for the production of silk fibres.

> Frost-free days : Period between first fall of spring to first fall of winter (198 to
206 days).
> Kharif Crop : Monsoon crops or autumn crops which lasts from June to
November depending on the area; during the Indian sub-continent monsoon
season.
> Rabi Crop : Crop that are grown in the winter season from November to April.