major crops in India
Rice
1. It is a Kharif crop.
2. It requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.
3. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
4. It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas, and the deltaic
regions.
Wheat
1. This is a rabi crop.
2. It requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine during ripening.
3. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.
4. The Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and the black soil region of the Deccan are the
two main wheat-growing zones in India.
5. It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop, in the north and
north-western part of India. The major wheat-producing states are Punjab, Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan.
Millets
1. Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi are important millets grown in India.
2. These are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.
Jowar Bajra Ragi
third most important food Grows well on sandy soils It is a crop of dry regions.
crop with respect to area and shallow black soil.
and production. Rich in
iron, calcium, and other
micronutrients and
roughage.
It is a rain-fed crop mostly Grows well on red, black,
grown in moist areas. sandy, loamy, and shallow
black soils.
It is mainly produced in Major producing states Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, are Rajasthan, Uttar Himachal Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, and Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat, and Haryana. Jharkhand, and
Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
1. It is a Kharif crop.
2. It requires a temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
3. It is used both as food and fodder.
4. Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Pulses
1. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
2. Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
3. Major pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas, and Gram.
4. Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores fertility.
5. Major pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Food Crops other than Grains
Sugarcane
1. It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.
2. It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual
rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.
3. It can be grown on a variety of soils.
4. Needs manual labor from sowing to harvesting.
5. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
6. Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari, and molasses.
7. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana.
Oil Seeds
Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12% of the total cropped area of India. The
main oil seeds produced in India are
1. Groundnut: is a Kharif crop and accounts for half of the major oilseeds produced in India.
Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnuts.
2. Mustard: is a rabi crop.
3. Sesamum (til): a Kharif crop in the north and a rabi crop in south India.
4. Castor seeds: It is grown as both Rabi and Kharif crop.
5. Linseed: is a rabi crop.
6. Coconut
7. Soyabean
8. Cotton seeds
9. Sunflower
Tea
1. It is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.
2. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and fertile
well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
3. Tea bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.
4. Tea is a labor-intensive industry.
5. Major tea-producing states are Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts,
West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
Coffee
Yemen coffee is produced in India and this variety of coffee is in great demand all over the
world. Its cultivation was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and is confined to the Nilgiri in
Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
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:
1. 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.
2. Lichi and Guava of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
3. Pineapples of Meghalaya
4. Grapes of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra
5. Apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
Non-Food Crops
Rubber Fibre Cotton Jute
It is an equatorial Cotton, Jute, It is a Kharif crop. It is known as the
crop. Hemp, and golden fibre.
Natural Silk are
the four major
fibre crops.
It requires a moist Cotton, Jute and It requires high It grows well on
and humid climate Hemp are grown temperature, light well-drained fertile
with rainfall of in the soil. rainfall, 210 soils in the flood
more than 200cm frost-free days, and plains. High
and temperature bright sunshine for temperature is
above 25°C. its growth. required for its
growth.
It is an important Natural Silk is Cotton grows It is used in
industrial raw obtained from well in black cotton making gunny
material cocoons of soil of the Deccan bags, mats, ropes,
silkworms fed on plateau. yarn, carpets and
green leaves other artifacts.
Mainly grown in Rearing of Major Major
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, silkworms for cotton-producing jute-producing
Karnataka and the production states are states are West
Andaman and of silk fibre is Maharashtra, Bengal, Bihar,
Nicobar islands and known as Gujarat, Madhya Assam, Odisha,
Garo hills of Sericulture. Pradesh, Karnataka, and Meghalaya.
Meghalaya. Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Tamil
Nadu, Punjab,
Haryana, and
Uttar Pradesh.
