SPI Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Crops and Farming
India grows its crops in three seasons; each main crop needs its own heat, rain and soil; and farming also includes plantations and the rearing of silkworms, bees and fish.
Why this matters
Six questions in the bank, four EASY and two MODERATE: the season sown from October to December, the staple food of most Indians, the golden fibre, the conditions cotton needs, what helps plantations grow and what sericulture means.
Concept 1 of 3: The three cropping seasons
Indian farming follows the monsoon. Some crops are sown when the rains come, some after the rains in the cool winter, and a few in the short dry summer between the two.
Definition
- Kharif crops are sown with the onset of the monsoon and harvested in September and October: paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soyabean.
- Rabi crops are sown in winter, from October to December, and harvested in summer, from April to June: wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard.
- Zaid is the short summer season between rabi and kharif: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.
| Season | Sown | Harvested | Crops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kharif | Onset of the monsoon | September and October | Paddy, maize, cotton, jute, groundnut |
| Rabi | October to December | April to June | Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard |
| Zaid | Summer, between rabi and kharif | Before the monsoon | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Crops and Farming
____ crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June.
Mixing up rabi and kharif
Rabi is the winter crop, sown from October and harvested in spring and summer. Kharif is the monsoon crop. Wheat is rabi; rice is kharif.
Taking zaid for a winter season
Zaid is the short summer season between the rabi harvest and the kharif sowing, not a winter one.
Concept 2 of 3: Main crops and what they need
Each crop does well only where the heat, rain and soil suit it. Learn each crop with its needs and you can also answer the reverse question: given the conditions, which crop?
Definition
- Rice is the staple food of most people in India. It is a kharif crop that needs high heat (above 25 °C), high humidity and over 100 cm of rain. India is the second largest producer of rice, after China.
- Wheat is the second most important cereal and the staple of the north and north west. It is a rabi crop that needs a cool growing season, bright sunshine as it ripens and 50 to 75 cm of rain spread evenly.
- Cotton grows best on the black soil of the Deccan. It needs high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost free days and bright sunshine.
- Jute is called the golden fibre. It grows on well drained, fertile soils of flood plains, renewed every year, and needs high temperature. West Bengal grows the most.
- Tea is a plantation crop of Assam, the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri hills of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
| Crop | Season | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | Kharif | Above 25 °C, high humidity, over 100 cm rain |
| Wheat | Rabi | Cool growing season, 50 to 75 cm rain, sunshine at ripening |
| Cotton | Kharif | Black soil, high heat, light rain, 210 frost free days, bright sunshine Cotton needs light rain, not heavy rain. |
| Jute (golden fibre) | Kharif | Fertile flood plain soils renewed each year, high heat |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Crops and Farming
____ is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India.
Choosing wheat as India's staple
Wheat is the staple only in the north and north west. Rice is the staple food of most people in India.
Calling cotton the golden fibre
The golden fibre is jute, named for its colour and its value as a cash crop. Cotton is a fibre crop of the black soil.
Concept 3 of 3: Plantations and allied activities
Some farming grows one crop on a huge estate to sell to factories. Some farming rears animals or insects instead of crops. Each of these has its own name, and the names are built from Latin roots.
Definition
- A plantation grows a single crop over a large area, with a lot of capital and many workers, and the crop goes to factories and markets. A network of transport and communication linking the estates to processing industries and markets is what helps plantations grow.
- Plantation crops in India include tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and banana.
- Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for silk. A silkworm is the young (larva) of a moth.
- Apiculture is bee keeping, pisciculture is fish farming, viticulture is growing grapes and horticulture is growing fruits, vegetables and flowers.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sericulture | Rearing silkworms for silk |
| Apiculture | Keeping bees for honey |
| Pisciculture | Breeding fish |
| Viticulture | Growing grapes |
| Horticulture | Growing fruits, vegetables and flowers |
| Plantation | One crop on a large estate, sold to industries and markets |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Crops and Farming
What is sericulture?
Thinking silk comes from a butterfly
The silkworm is the larva of a moth. Sericulture is the rearing of these silkworms.
Picking climate as what develops plantations
Climate decides where a plantation crop can grow, but plantations develop because their crop reaches processing industries and markets through good transport.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
The three cropping seasons3 rows
| Season | Sown | Harvested | Crops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kharif | Onset of the monsoon | September and October | Paddy, maize, cotton, jute, groundnut |
| Rabi | October to December | April to June | Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard |
| Zaid | Summer, between rabi and kharif | Before the monsoon | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber |
Main crops and what they need4 rows
| Crop | Season | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | Kharif | Above 25 °C, high humidity, over 100 cm rain |
| Wheat | Rabi | Cool growing season, 50 to 75 cm rain, sunshine at ripening |
| Cotton | Kharif | Black soil, high heat, light rain, 210 frost free days, bright sunshine Cotton needs light rain, not heavy rain. |
| Jute (golden fibre) | Kharif | Fertile flood plain soils renewed each year, high heat |
Plantations and allied activities6 rows
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sericulture | Rearing silkworms for silk |
| Apiculture | Keeping bees for honey |
| Pisciculture | Breeding fish |
| Viticulture | Growing grapes |
| Horticulture | Growing fruits, vegetables and flowers |
| Plantation | One crop on a large estate, sold to industries and markets |
Watch out for (6)
- Mixing up rabi and kharif→ The three cropping seasons
- Taking zaid for a winter season→ The three cropping seasons
- Choosing wheat as India's staple→ Main crops and what they need
- Calling cotton the golden fibre→ Main crops and what they need
- Thinking silk comes from a butterfly→ Plantations and allied activities
- Picking climate as what develops plantations→ Plantations and allied activities
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