CBSE
Notes Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 – Agriculture
Types of Farming
The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of
the physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices.
Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. In different parts of
India, the following farming systems are practised.
Primitive Subsistence Farming
It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch
of land and produce cereals and other food crops. When the soil fertility
decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.
It is known by different names in different parts of the country. It is known
as jhumming in the northeastern states.
- Land
productivity is low in this type of agriculture.
- This
type of farming depends on monsoon.
- This
farming is practised in a few parts of India.
Intensive Subsistence Farming
- This
type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land.
- It
is labour-intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and
irrigation are used for higher production.
Commercial Farming
This type of farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such
as high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and
pesticides to obtain higher productivity.
Plantation is a type of commercial farming in
which a single crop is grown in a large area. Plantations cover large tracts of
land, using capital-intensive inputs with the help of migrant labourers. All
the produce is used as a raw material in industries.
E.g., Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana.
Cropping Pattern
India has three cropping seasons:
- Rabi
- Kharif
- Zaid
|
Rabi |
Kharif |
Zaid |
|
|
Sowing
Season |
Winter
from October to December |
Beginning
of the rainy season between April and May |
In
between the Rabi and the Kharif seasons, there is a short season during the
summer months known as the Zaid season (in the months of March to July) |
|
Harvesting
Season |
Summer
from April
to June |
September-October |
|
|
Important
Crops |
Wheat,
Barley, Peas, Gram and Mustard. |
Paddy,
Maize, Jowar, Bajra, Tur (Arhar), Moong,
Urad, Cotton, Jute, Groundnut and Soyabean. |
Watermelon,
Muskmelon, Cucumber, Vegetables
and Fodder crops |
Major Crops in India
A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different
parts of India, depending upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation
practices. Major crops grown in India are:
- Rice
- Wheat
- Millets
- Pulses
- Tea
- Coffee
- Sugarcane
- oil
seeds
- Cotton
- Jute
We will discuss all of these one by one in detail.
Rice
- It
is a Kharif crop.
- It
requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100
cm.
- India
is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
- It
is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and
the deltaic regions.
Wheat
- This
is a Rabi crop.
- It
requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of
ripening.
- It
requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the
growing season.
- The
Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and the black soil region of the
Deccan are two main wheat-growing zones in India.
- It
is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop in the north
and north-western part of India.
Millets
- Jowar,
Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India.
- These
are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.
|
Jowar |
Bajra |
Ragi |
|
3rd
most important food crop with respect to area and production. |
Grows
well on sandy soils and shallow black soil. |
It is a
crop of dry regions. |
|
It is a
rain-fed crop mostly grown in moist areas. |
Grows
well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils. |
|
|
Mainly
produced in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. |
Major
producing states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and
Haryana. |
Major
producing states are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh. |
Maize
- It
is a Kharif crop.
- It
requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial
soil.
- It
is used both as food and fodder.
- Major
maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Pulses
- India
is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
- Pulses
are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
- Major
pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and Gram.
- Pulses
are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores
fertility.
- Major
pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar
Pradesh and Karnataka.
Food Crops other than Grains
Sugarcane
- It
is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.
- It
grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C
and annual rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.
- It
can be grown on a variety of soils.
- Needs
manual labour from sowing to harvesting.
- India
is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
- Sugarcane
is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.
- 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:
- Groundnut: is
a Kharif crop and accounts for half of the major oilseeds produced in
India. Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnuts.
- Mustard: is
a rabi crop.
- Sesamum
(til): is a Kharif crop in the north and rabi crop in south
India.
- Castor
seeds: It is grown as both Rabi and Kharif crop.
- Linseed:
is a rabi crop.
- Coconut
- Soyabean
- Cotton
seeds
- Sunflower
Tea
- It
is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.
- The
tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and
fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
- Tea
bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.
- Tea
is a labour-intensive industry.
- Major
tea-producing states are Assam, 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:
- 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.
- Lichi
and Guava of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
- Pineapples of
Meghalaya
- Grapes of
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra
- Apples,
pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh
Non-Food Crops
|
Rubber |
Fibre |
Cotton |
Jute |
|
It is
an equatorial crop. |
Cotton,
Jute, Hemp and Natural Silk are the four major fibre crops. |
It is a
Kharif crop. |
It is
known as the golden fibre. |
|
It
requires a moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200cm and
temperature above 25°C. |
Cotton,
Jute and Hemp are grown in the soil. |
It
requires high temperature,
light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth. |
It
grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains. A high
temperature is required for its growth. |
|
It is
an important industrial raw material |
Natural
Silk is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves |
Cotton
grows well in
the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. |
It is
used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts. |
|
Mainly
grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar islands and
Garo hills of Meghalaya. |
Rearing
of silkworms for the production of silk fibre is known as Sericulture. |
Major
cotton-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh. |
Major
jute-producing states are West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya. |
Technological and Institutional Reforms
Agriculture provides a livelihood for more than 60% of its
population, so this sector needs some serious technical and institutional
reforms. The Green Revolution and the White Revolution were some of the reforms
initiated by people to improve agriculture.
Some initiatives taken by the Government are:
- Schemes
introduced by Government such as Kissan Credit Card (KCC), Personal
Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
- Special
weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers on the radio and
television were introduced.
- The
government also announces minimum support price, remunerative and
procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of
farmers by speculators and middlemen.
Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy,
Employment and Output
- In
2010-11, about 52% of the total workforce was employed by the farm sector.
- The
share of agriculture in the GDP is declining.
- Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities,
veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development,
research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast,
etc. are a few of the initiatives introduced by the government to improve
Indian agriculture.

