Agriculture in India - 2

.
Rice
It is the most important staple [main] food crop of India.
India is one of the world’s largest producers of white and brown rice.
Rice is an indigenous crop [native] and is grown in all parts of the country specially in the north eastern part of India
and in the coastal part of southern India.
Rice is grown in the rain fed areas where the annual rainfall is heavy and is thus a Kharif crop.
The climatic conditions of rice are as follows :
1. Temperature : 18°C – 32°C
2. Rainfall : 150 cm- 300cm
3. Soil : Deep fertile clayey or loamy soils बलुई मिट्टी The soil should be able to retain standing water in the field.
In India the rice crops are grouped into two categories :

(i) The Upland Rice : grown on mountainous regions, sown in March-April and harvested in September and October,
crop is locally used and depends entirely on rainfall.
(ii) The Lowland Rice : grown in low lying areas, sown in June and harvested in October, requires plenty of water
and is locally used and supplied to other regions too.
Methods of cultivation
Rice is cultivated in two methods in India.
.
They are : Dry Method and Puddled or Wet Method.
Rice grown by dry methods are confined to rain fed areas and do not have any irrigation
facilities.
Wet method of cultivation is practiced in areas which have a good supply of water. The field is
ploughed and filled with 3 to 5 cms of standing water.
In India rice is sown in the following ways- Broadcasting Method, Drilling Method, Dibbling
Method, Transplanting Method and Japanese Method.
(i) Broadcasting Method : After ploughing, the seeds are scattered all over the field before the
onset of monsoon.
(ii) Drilling Method : In this method the seeds are sown in the furrows with the help of a drill
made of bamboo.
(iii) Dibbling Method : It refers to sowing of seeds at regular intervals in the furrows.
(iv) Transplanting Method : Seedlings are first grown in nurseries and after 4 to 5 weeks when the
saplings attain a height of 25 to 30 cm they are transplanted to prepared rice fields.

.
It is a popular method because it gives a higher yield.
Advantages of Transplanting Method
(1) It enables to select only healthy seedlings for the plants.
(2) Less wastage of seeds.
(3) It minimizes weed pressure by resowing.
(4) It gives higher yield.
(v) Japanese Method : It was introduced in 1953 and is the most popular method. In this method,
High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds called Japonica are used.
Important features of Japanese method of rice cultivation
(i) Use of High Yielding Variety (HYV) of seeds.
(ii) Saplings are sown in the nursery and raised in the nursery beds for 4-5 weeks.
(iii) Manure is extensively used to enhance the yield.
Processing of Rice
(i) Harvesting : A sickle is used to cut the stalk. It is labour intensive.
.
(ii) Threshing : It is done by beating the sheaves against the wooden bars for separating the
grains from the stalks.
(iii) Winnowing : It is the process of removing the unwanted husk from the grains.
(iv) Milling : It is done to remove the yellowish husk from the grains. Traditionally it was done
by hitting in a wooden mortar but now it is done by machines.
The leading producers of rice in India are West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu.
Globally, the top rice-producing country is China, followed by India.
WHEAT
(i) It is a staple food for the people of Northern and Northern-western parts of the country.
(ii) It grows best in cool, moist climate and ripens in a warm and dry climate.
(iii) It is mostly confined to the cool winter regions.
(iv) In south, the growing period is shorter than in the north.
(v) Wheat is a Rabi crop.
(vi) The climatic conditions are
1. Sown in October-November and harvested in January in south, by March-April in north
2. Temperature : 10°C-15°C is suitable for sowing and 20°C-25°C during harvest.
3. Rainfall : 50 cm to 100 cm.
4. Soil : It grows best in well-drained loamy and clay loams.
Methods of Wheat cultivation
1. Sowing
.
(i) The seeds can be sown by using drilling or the broadcasting method.
(ii) The seeds germinate in about three or four days.
(iii) The temperature should be low during the growing season.
2. Harvesting
(ii) Wheat is harvested in April when the temperature is 27.5°C.
(ii) The crop is harvested by using a sickle.
(iii) States like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar uses machines for harvesting.
(iv) Threshers are used to separate the grain from the husk.
India has shown a tremendous increase in the production of wheat in comparison to other crops grown in the
country.
The leading producers of wheat in the country are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh.
China is the world's largest wheat producer.
Millets [Jowar, Bajra and Ragi]
(i) Millets refers to inferior grains like jowar, bajra and ragi which serves as food grains for the
poor sections of the society.
(ii) The straw of these grains are a valuable cattle fodder.
(iii) These crops can grow in infertile soil with harsh climatic conditions.
(iv) They grow for a short period of time i.e. for 3 to 4 months.
Jowar
(i) It is both, a Kharif and a Rabi crop.
(ii) It grows well in dry areas even without irrigation.
(iii) Temperature- Between 27°C and 32°C
(iv) Rainfall- under 45 cms. The crop can grow in arid and semi-arid areas.
(v) Jowar can grow on different kinds of soil ranging from heavy and light alluvium to red, grey
and yellow loams.
(vi) It is widely grown in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Bajra
(i) It is a rain fed kharif crop and is grown as a pure and mixed crop.
(ii) It is grown along with cotton, jowar and ragi.
(iii) It is sown in June-July and harvested in September- October.
(iv) Temperature- 25°C and 30°C.
(v) Rainfall- Less than 50 cm.
(vi) Bajra is grown on red soil or sandy loams soil.
(vii) It is grown mainly in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Ragi or Buckwheat [chapri]
(i) It is grown in drier parts of South India almost throughout the year with the help of
irrigation.
(ii) Temperature- 20°C to 30°C.
(iii) Rainfall- 50 cm to 100 cm.
(iv) Ragi is sown between May and August and harvested between September and January.
(v) It can grow in drier conditions and can withstand severe drought conditions.
(vi) It is grown on red, light black and sandy loam soil in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and on
alluvial loam soil in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
(vii) It gives higher yield than jowar and bajra and lower yield than wheat and rice.
(viii) Karnataka is the leading producer of Ragi in India. The other producers are Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Pulses
(i) Pulses form an important part of the Indian diets because they are full of protein.
(ii) Pulses are grown as rotation crops as they are leguminous crops दलहनी फसलें that fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil
and increase the natural fertility of the soil.
(iii) Pulses are good cattle fodder too.
(iv) The two most important pulses are gram and tur. Other important pulses are urad, moong, masur, kulthi, matar,
khesari and moth.
(v) Temperature- 20°C to 25°C.
(vi) Rainfall- 50 cm -75 cm.
(vii) Pulses grow on dry light soil, light loams and alluvial soil, black and red soil too.
(viii) Gram is raised as Rabi crop and is sown mixed with wheat.
(ix) Tur, urad and moong are raised as Kharif crop in most part of India but khesari and masur are raised as Rabi crops
in north India.
(x) India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
(xi) The important pulses producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra
Pradesh.