Major Crops
Rice, India's preeminent crop is the staple food of the people of the
eastern and southern parts of the country. India is second large producer in
the world only next to China. Per hectare production is highest in Punjab but
West Bengal leads in total production of rice in the country. Followed by
Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.
Wheat is the next important crop in the country after rice. India is the
second large producer of the world next to China. U P leads the country both in
the area under wheat and its production. Other major producers are Punjab and
Haryana.
Bajra requires dry and warm climate. Rajashan is the largest producer in
the country.
Maize is a coarse grain, used both as food and fodder. Karnataka is the
major producer.
Jowar is a crop cultivated both in Kharif as well as rabi season. It grows
well in Regur soil. The areas under cultivation of Jawar have not changed since
independence. Maharashtra ranks first both in area under jowar and its
production in the country.
Pulses For vegetarians, the supply of proteins mainly comes from the
pulses. Tur (Pigeon pea), moong (green gram), udid (black gram), chana (gram),
watana (peas)masur (lentil) etc are cultivated in varying proportions in all
parts of the country.
Oilseeds India in the mid-1990s has
almost attained self-sufficiency in the production of oilseeds to extract
vegetable oil, essential in the Indian diet. India produces a variety of oil
seed crops. Groundnut, Sesame, linseed, mustard,sunflower,Soyabeans are some of
the important oil seed crops of India.
India is the third largest producer of linseed and second in the world
after Brazil in production of Castor seeds. In the production of oil seeds
Gujrat leads the country.
Groundnuts, is grown mainly as a rain-fed crop in the semiarid areas of western
and southern India and is the largest source of the nation's production of
vegetable oils. The leading producers of Groundnut in the country are Gujrat,
and Tamil Nadu.
The second-ranking source of vegetable oils is rapeseed. Cottonseed, an
important by-product of cotton fiber and once mostly fed to cattle, is another
source of vegetable oils. Soybeans and
sunflower seeds are relatively new
as significant oilseeds, but their production has increased rapidly.
Commercial Crops
India has the largest area under sugarcane and its production is also highest in the world. Due to
higher percentage of sucrose is found in hot climate, the areas for sugarcanes
are gradually shifting towards south. Major producers are UP, Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu.
Raw cotton is the most important nonfood commodity produced in India. Cotton
was an important export crop in the 1950s, but thereafter it provided the raw
material for India's textile industry, which grew greatly after independence.
It gives the best output in areas of Regur soil. India is third largest
producer in the world. Main production in our country is generally short staple
cotton. Recently medium and long staple varieties like Buri, Laxmi, Varlaxmi
and Devraj are developed. Largest cotton producing State is Gujrat. It is
followed by Maharashtra, and Punjab.
Certain important
varieties of cotton from India
Gossypium arboreum,
commonly called tree cotton.
Gossypium
herbaceum, also called Levant cotton. It
was first cultivated in Western Sudan from there it spread to India,
Gossypium hirsutum,
known as upland cotton or Mexican cotton
Gossypium barbadense, also known as extra long staple
(ELS). Indian Suvin variety of cotton falls in this category.
Raw
jute is second only to cotton as a farm-produced
industrial raw material. Before partition in 1947, India was the world's main
supplier of jute and jute goods used as packaging material. After partition
concerted efforts are made to increase area under jute in India, as industry
remained concentrated around Kolkata but growing areas went to Bangla Desh.
Tea India is the largest producer as well as consumer of tea in the
world. There are several tea producing regions in India. Assam, Darjeeling, the
Nilgiris, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim feature prominently in this list.
Coffee
Though it grows in hotter environment, the plant is
required to be protected from direct sun rays. Thus tall shady trees are
planted around them. Coffee production
in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with the state of Karnataka accounting 53% followed by Kerala 28% and Tamil Nadu 11%. Indian coffee is said to be
the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in
the world
Cashew
Nut From its humble beginning as a crop intended to
check soil erosion, cashew has emerged as a major foreign exchange earner next
only to tea and coffee. Coastal states of the country are the main production
centres.The important cashew growing states of India are Andhra Pradesh, Goa,
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. It is also cultivated on
small areas in other states of the country. India is the largest producer, processor,
consumer and exporter of cashew in the world. The current production accounts
for 45% of the global production.
Tobacco
is used in addition to smoking and chewing, in the
manufacture of insecticide. Even though the cultivation of Tobacco is spread
all over the country, commercial cultivation of Tobacco is concentrated in
States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu
and West Bengal.
Rubber
India is the fourth major rubber producing country
in the world. Within the country, 92% of country’s total production comes from
Kerala alone.
Fruits Intensive cultivation of vegetables, flowers and fruits is known as Horticulture. India is the second
largest producer of fruit and vegetables. It leads the world in the production of
Mangoes and bananas.
Vegetables India
produces 13% of world’s vegetable output and occupies first position in
production of
pea and cauliflower, second in onion, cabbage, tomato and brinjal
and fourth in potato.
Saffron Jammu
and Kashmir
Spices Pepper, Cardamom, Cloves,
Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg and Cassia are together known as spices. They are
mainly grown in Malabar Coast of Kerala and Karnataka.