write a detailed notes on the major food crops in india
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Answer:
The major crops in India can be divided into four categories viz. Food grains (Rice, Wheat, Maize, Millets and Pulses), Cash Crops (Cotton, Jute, Sugarcane, Tobacco, and Oilseeds), Plantation Crops (Tea, Coffee, Coconut and, Rubber) and Horticulture crops such as Fruits and Vegetables.
Major crops grown in India are discussed below:
Food grains
Rice
Rice is predominantly a Kharif or crop. It covers one third of total cultivated area of India. It provides food to more than half of the Indian population.
Rice is produced in almost all states. Top three producer states are West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Other rice growing states include Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam and Maharashtra. It is also grown in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and Kashmir Valley.
Wheat:
Wheat is the second most important crop of India after Rice. It’s a Rabi Crop. It is the staple food in north and north western India. It’s a winter crop and needs low temperature. Ideal temperature for wheat cultivation is between 10-15°C at the time of sowing and 21-26°C at the time of harvesting. Wheat thrives well in less than 100 cm and more than 75 cm rainfall. The most suitable soil for cultivation of wheat is well drained fertile loamy soil and clayey soil. Plain areas are most suitable. The wheat crop is highly mechanization oriented and may need less labour. Top three states producing Wheat are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
Coarse Cereals / Millets
Coarse Cereals and Millets are the short duration warm weather (Kharif) crops used both as food and fodder. Important millets are Jawar, Bajra, Ragi etc. The areas under these crops have fallen drastically in recent years in India. The coarse cereals and millets are grown in areas with high temperature and are called dryland crops because can be grown in areas with 50-100 cm rainfall. The coarse cereal crops are less sensitive to soil deficiencies. They can be grown in inferior alluvial or loamy soil. Top three states with maximum production of total coarse cereals are Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.
Pulses
Most pulses are leguminous crops and provide proteins to the vegetarian population. Major pulses of India include Gram, Tur or arhar (Pigeon Pea or Red Gram), urd (black gram), mung (green gram), masur (lentil), kulthi (horse gram), matar (peas) etc. But among these above mentioned varieties only gram and tur or arhar are more important pulses.