Agriculture in India: Kharif, Rabi and Zaid Crops, Leading States and Farm Revolutions

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Cropping seasons

Indian farming follows the monsoon, so crops are grouped by season. Kharif crops are sown with the onset of the monsoon in June-July and harvested in September-October: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soybean. Rabi crops are sown in winter, from October to December, and harvested from April to June: wheat, barley, gram, peas and mustard; winter rain from western disturbances helps them. Zaid is the short summer season between rabi and kharif, for watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder. Sugarcane stays in the field for about a year. In Assam, West Bengal and Odisha three crops of paddy are grown in a year: aus, aman and boro. Shifting or slash-and-burn cultivation survives in the hills and is called jhum in the north-east.

Food crops and leading states

Rice, the main food crop, needs a temperature above 25°C, high humidity and more than 100 cm of rain; West Bengal has traditionally been the largest producer, and Punjab and Haryana grow it with canal and tube-well irrigation. Wheat, the main rabi crop, needs 50 to 75 cm of rain spread over a cool growing season and bright sunshine at ripening; Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer, and Punjab and Haryana have the highest yields. Among millets, Maharashtra leads in jowar, Rajasthan in bajra and Karnataka in ragi. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world, and Madhya Pradesh leads in pulses, especially gram. Sugarcane, a tropical and sub-tropical crop, is grown most in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra.

Commercial and plantation crops

Cotton, a kharif crop, grows best on the black soil of the Deccan and needs at least 210 frost-free days; Gujarat and Maharashtra are the leading producers. Jute, the golden fibre, grows on the flood-renewed soils of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, and West Bengal grows most of it. Among oilseeds, Gujarat leads in groundnut and Rajasthan in rapeseed and mustard. Plantation crops are grown as a single crop on large estates with heavy investment, a system introduced by the British. Tea needs well-drained hill slopes and a warm, moist, frost-free climate with frequent showers; Assam is the largest producer, followed by West Bengal (Darjeeling and the Duars). Coffee, first grown from Arabica seeds brought from Yemen and planted in the Baba Budan hills, comes mostly from Karnataka. Rubber comes mainly from Kerala and saffron from Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir. The Tea Board (Kolkata), Coffee Board (Bengaluru), Rubber Board (Kottayam) and Spices Board (Kochi) look after these crops.

The Green Revolution

After the food shortages of the mid-1960s, India adopted high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds of wheat and rice together with assured irrigation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The dwarf wheat varieties came from Mexico, where Norman Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, developed them. In India the scientist M S Swaminathan, called the father of the Green Revolution in India, led the effort, with C Subramaniam as Agriculture Minister. Wheat output rose sharply, first in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, and India became self-sufficient in food grains. The costs were regional imbalance, falling groundwater, damaged soils and heavy use of chemicals.

White, Blue and Yellow Revolutions

The White Revolution was Operation Flood, launched in 1970 by the National Dairy Development Board (set up in 1965 at Anand); it linked village dairy cooperatives on the Amul model of Anand in Gujarat into a national milk grid. Its architect, Verghese Kurien, is called the father of the White Revolution, India became the world's largest milk producer, and his birthday, 26 November, is observed as National Milk Day. The Blue Revolution is the rise in fish production through fisheries and aquaculture; Hiralal Chaudhuri, a pioneer of induced breeding of carp, and Arun Krishnan are named as its fathers. The Yellow Revolution raised oilseed output under the Technology Mission on Oilseeds of 1986, and Sam Pitroda is called its father.

Irrigation

Because rain is seasonal and uneven, irrigation is vital. Wells and tube-wells, which draw groundwater, irrigate the largest share of the net irrigated area, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Canals matter most in the northern plains, where perennial rivers feed them; the Indira Gandhi Canal in Rajasthan, fed from the Harike barrage, is the longest canal of India. Tanks, small reservoirs held by earthen bunds, are common in the hard-rock, uneven peninsula, in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Drip and sprinkler irrigation save water and suit dry areas and orchards. Punjab has the highest share of its cropped area under irrigation.

Key facts

Kharif (sown June-July, harvested September-October): rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soybean.
Rabi (sown October-December, harvested April-June): wheat, barley, gram, peas, mustard; zaid (summer): watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder.
Aus, aman and boro are the three paddy crops of Assam, West Bengal and Odisha; shifting cultivation is called jhum in the north-east.
Leading states: rice - West Bengal; wheat and sugarcane - Uttar Pradesh; jowar - Maharashtra; bajra - Rajasthan; ragi - Karnataka; pulses (gram) - Madhya Pradesh; jute - West Bengal.
Plantations: tea - Assam (then West Bengal); coffee - Karnataka (Arabica from Yemen, Baba Budan hills); rubber - Kerala; saffron - Pampore (J and K); groundnut - Gujarat; mustard - Rajasthan.
Crop boards: Tea Board, Kolkata; Coffee Board, Bengaluru; Rubber Board, Kottayam; Spices Board, Kochi.
Green Revolution (mid-1960s): HYV seeds, irrigation, fertilisers; M S Swaminathan in India, Norman Borlaug (Nobel Peace Prize 1970) worldwide; Punjab, Haryana, western UP.
White Revolution: Operation Flood 1970, NDDB (1965, Anand), Verghese Kurien, National Milk Day 26 November; Blue: fisheries; Yellow: oilseeds, Technology Mission 1986, Sam Pitroda.
Irrigation: wells and tube-wells have the largest share; Indira Gandhi Canal (Rajasthan) the longest canal; tanks in the peninsula; Punjab most irrigated.

Quick revision

Kharif June-October (rice, cotton, jute, groundnut), rabi October-June (wheat, gram, mustard), zaid summer (melons); aus, aman, boro paddy; West Bengal rice and jute, UP wheat and sugarcane, Rajasthan bajra, Karnataka coffee and ragi, Assam tea, Kerala rubber; Green Revolution mid-1960s, Swaminathan and Borlaug; Operation Flood 1970, Kurien; Yellow Revolution, oilseeds, 1986; wells and tube-wells lead irrigation; Indira Gandhi Canal longest.

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