Cropping Patterns and Major Crops
UPSC notes on India's cropping seasons, climate and soil needs of major crops, types of farming, nine-fold land use, irrigation and regional cropping patterns.
SyllabusGS I · Economic geography of India; major crops and cropping patterns in various parts of the country, types of irrigation and irrigation systems (GS III)
Prerequisites: Indian Climate and the Monsoon · Biogeography and Soils
The Hook: A Year for the Forgotten Grains
In March 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by India, declaring 2023 the International Year of Millets. The Union Budget 2023-24 called millets Shree Anna. Millets such as bajra, jowar and ragi grow on poor, sandy or shallow soils with little rain — exactly where rice and wheat struggle.
Why did India’s crop map tilt so heavily towards water-hungry rice and wheat, and what decides which crop belongs where? That is the subject of agricultural geography.
The Core Concept
A cropping pattern is the proportion of area under different crops at a given time, and the sequence in which they are grown. It is shaped by:
| Factor | How it shapes the crop map |
|---|---|
| Climate | Temperature, rainfall amount and season (monsoon vs winter rain), frost |
| Soil | Alluvium for cereals and sugarcane; black soil for cotton; laterite for cashew and plantations; sandy soil for bajra |
| Relief | Hill slopes for tea and coffee; terraces in mountains; flat plains for canal irrigation |
| Irrigation | Lets water-intensive crops (rice, sugarcane) spread into drier areas |
| Economic and policy factors | Minimum support price and procurement, markets, credit, input subsidies |
| Technology | High-yielding varieties, mechanisation |
The three cropping seasons
| Season | Sowing → harvest | Major crops |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | With the onset of the monsoon (June–July) → September–October | Rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soybean |
| Rabi | October–December → April–June | Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard |
| Zaid | Short summer season between rabi and kharif | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder crops |
Winter rain from western disturbances helps rabi crops in the north-west. In States such as Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year — aus, aman and boro.
Climate and soil needs of major crops (NCERT)
| Crop | Season | Temperature | Rainfall | Soil and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | Kharif | Above 25°C, high humidity | Above 100 cm; irrigation below that | Alluvial and clayey soils; canal and tube-well irrigation took it to Punjab and Haryana |
| Wheat | Rabi | Cool growing season, bright sunshine at ripening | 50–75 cm, evenly distributed | Ganga–Satluj plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan |
| Jowar | Mostly kharif | Warm | Mostly rain-fed | Moist areas; hardly needs irrigation |
| Bajra | Kharif | Hot | Low | Sandy soils and shallow black soils |
| Ragi | Kharif | Warm | Dry regions | Red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils; rich in iron, calcium and roughage |
| Maize | Kharif (also rabi in Bihar) | 21–27°C | Moderate | Old alluvial soil |
| Pulses | Kharif: tur, urad, moong; Rabi: gram, masur, peas | Varies | Low to moderate | Leguminous — fix atmospheric nitrogen; ideal for rotation |
| Sugarcane | Long-duration | 21–27°C, hot and humid | 75–100 cm; irrigation where less | Grows on a wide range of soils; needs manual labour |
| Cotton | Kharif (6–8 months) | High | Light rainfall or irrigation | Black soils of the Deccan; 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine |
| Jute | Kharif | High | Heavy | Well-drained fertile floodplain soils renewed every year; West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Meghalaya |
| Tea | Plantation | Warm, moist, frost-free | Frequent, evenly distributed showers | Deep, fertile, well-drained soils rich in humus; labour-intensive |
| Coffee | Plantation | Warm | Moderate to heavy | Hill slopes of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu; Arabica first grown in the Baba Budan hills (Karnataka) |
| Rubber | Plantation | Above 25°C | More than 200 cm | Moist, humid tropics; Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar, Garo hills of Meghalaya |
Types of farming
| Type | Features | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Primitive subsistence | Hoe, dao and digging sticks on small patches; family labour; depends on monsoon and natural fertility | Slash-and-burn (shifting) cultivation — jhum in the north-east, podu in Andhra Pradesh, bewar in Madhya Pradesh, kumari in the Western Ghats |
| Intensive subsistence | High inputs of labour on small holdings in densely populated areas | Rice in the deltas and the eastern Ganga plain |
| Commercial | Heavy use of modern inputs; grown for sale | Rice in Punjab and Haryana; sugarcane in Maharashtra |
| Plantation | Single crop on a large estate; capital- and labour-intensive; linked to processing and markets | Tea in Assam and the Nilgiris; coffee, rubber, banana |
Land use: the nine-fold classification
graph TD
A[Reporting area] --> B[Forests]
A --> C[Land not available for cultivation]
C --> C1[Barren and unculturable land]
C --> C2[Land put to non-agricultural uses]
A --> D[Other uncultivated land excluding fallow]
D --> D1[Permanent pastures and grazing land]
D --> D2[Land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves]
D --> D3[Culturable waste land: uncultivated for more than 5 years]
A --> E[Fallow land]
E --> E1[Current fallow: up to 1 year]
E --> E2[Fallow other than current fallow: 1 to 5 years]
A --> F[Net sown area]- Net sown area (NSA): area sown at least once in a year.
- Gross cropped area (GCA): NSA plus the area sown more than once.
- Cropping intensity = (GCA ÷ NSA) × 100. A value above 100 means multiple cropping.
Irrigation
| Source | Where it dominates | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wells and tube wells (groundwater) | The largest source nationally; Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan | Easy, farmer-controlled; subsidised power — but leads to falling water tables |
| Canals | Northern plains; deltas of the east coast | Perennial rivers and flat terrain |
| Tanks | Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | Hard, impermeable rock; undulating land; seasonal streams — water is impounded behind small embankments |
| Micro-irrigation (drip, sprinkler) | Spreading in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and elsewhere | Saves water; promoted under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (2015) — “Per Drop More Crop” |
Regional cropping patterns
| Region | Dominant system |
|---|---|
| North-west (Punjab, Haryana, western UP) | Rice–wheat; sugarcane — built on canals, tube wells and the Green Revolution |
| Eastern Ganga plain and deltas | Rice-based; jute in the Bengal delta |
| Deccan black soil | Cotton, jowar, pulses, soybean |
| Arid west | Bajra, pulses, guar; animal husbandry |
| Hills of the north-east and south | Plantations (tea, coffee, rubber, spices); shifting cultivation in parts of the north-east |
| Kerala and the west coast | Coconut, spices, rubber, rice |
Agro-climatic planning: the Planning Commission divided India into 15 agro-climatic regions to plan crops according to soil, climate and water.
Memory Anchors
Seasons: “Kharif = Kick-off with monsoon; Rabi = Return of winter.”
Rabi crops: “Winter Brings Good Mustard Peas” → Wheat · Barley · Gram · Mustard · Peas.
Cotton’s three needs: “Black, Bright, Big season” → black soil · bright sunshine · 210 frost-free days.
Shifting cultivation names: Jhum (north-east), Podu (Andhra Pradesh), Bewar (Madhya Pradesh), Kumari (Western Ghats).
One-line Mains hook: “Crops should follow water, not the other way round” — the core of every crop-diversification answer.
For Prelims
- Rice needs more than 100 cm of rain and above 25°C; wheat needs 50–75 cm and a cool growing season.
- Cotton needs 210 frost-free days and grows best on the black soils of the Deccan.
- Tea needs a warm, moist, frost-free climate and humus-rich, well-drained soil.
- Pulses are leguminous and fix nitrogen.
- Culturable waste land = left uncultivated for more than five years; current fallow = up to one year.
- Cropping intensity = gross cropped area ÷ net sown area × 100.
- Groundwater (wells and tube wells) is the largest source of irrigation; tanks are typical of the Peninsula.
- 2023 was the International Year of Millets (UN General Assembly resolution, March 2021).
For Mains
- Dimensions: physical (climate, soil, water); economic (MSP-driven monoculture, markets); ecological (groundwater depletion, soil health, stubble burning); social (small and marginal holdings, women in farming); climate (heat stress on wheat, erratic monsoon).
- Keywords: cropping intensity, crop diversification, agro-climatic zoning, water footprint, virtual water, climate-resilient agriculture, integrated farming systems, micro-irrigation.
- Value-addition: International Year of Millets (2023); PMKSY’s “Per Drop More Crop”; the Planning Commission’s 15 agro-climatic regions; the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009, which delays paddy transplanting to save groundwater.
Common Traps
In the News
- 2023 — International Year of Millets, following a UN General Assembly resolution of March 2021 sponsored by India.
- For annual crop production estimates and MSP announcements, see Current Affairs and Agriculture and Food Security.
Practice
Prelims
Which of the following are rabi crops?
- Wheat
- Mustard
- Gram
- Jute
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Solution
Wheat, mustard and gram are sown in winter and harvested in spring — rabi. Jute is a kharif crop sown with the monsoon and needs high temperature and heavy rain.
Answer: C
A crop needs high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, about 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine, and it grows best on the black soils of the Deccan plateau. The crop is
Solution
These are NCERT’s conditions for cotton. Jute needs heavy rain and floodplain soils; sugarcane needs hot, humid conditions and 75–100 cm of rain; tea needs frost-free hill slopes with frequent showers.
Answer: B
Consider the following pairs of local names of shifting cultivation and the regions where they are used:
| Name | Region |
|---|---|
| 1. Jhum | North-eastern States |
| 2. Podu | Andhra Pradesh |
| 3. Bewar | Madhya Pradesh |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
All three are correct as given in NCERT: jhum (north-east), podu (Andhra Pradesh) and bewar (Madhya Pradesh). Other Indian names include kumari in the Western Ghats.
Answer: A
Mains
Explain the physical and economic factors that shape cropping patterns in different regions of India. Why is crop diversification now a necessity?
Solution
Introduction: A cropping pattern is the share of area under different crops and their sequence over the year. In India it reflects climate and soil first, and prices and policy next.
Body — physical factors:
- Rainfall and temperature: rice in high-rainfall deltas, bajra in the arid west, wheat in the cool winter of the north-west.
- Soil: cotton and soybean on Deccan black soils; tea and coffee on humus-rich hill slopes; sugarcane and cereals on alluvium.
- Water: canal and tube-well irrigation made rice–wheat dominant in Punjab and Haryana; tanks support rice in the southern Peninsula.
Body — economic and policy factors:
- Assured MSP and procurement for rice and wheat; input subsidies on power and fertiliser.
- Market access, credit, mechanisation and storage.
- Small holdings favour food crops for household security.
Body — why diversify:
- Groundwater depletion and soil degradation in the north-west.
- Nutritional imbalance — pulses, oilseeds and millets lag behind.
- Climate risk — heat stress on wheat, erratic monsoon.
- Income — horticulture, dairy and fisheries offer higher returns.
Way forward: align incentives with agro-climatic zones; promote millets and pulses (International Year of Millets, 2023); expand micro-irrigation (PMKSY, “Per Drop More Crop”); strengthen value chains for alternative crops.
Conclusion: India’s cropping pattern must move from “what is procured” to “what the land and water can sustain” — diversification is now an ecological and economic imperative.
Quick Revision
| Point | One-liner |
|---|---|
| Kharif | Sown with monsoon: rice, maize, millets, cotton, jute, tur, groundnut |
| Rabi | Sown in winter: wheat, barley, gram, mustard, peas |
| Zaid | Summer: melons, cucumber, vegetables, fodder |
| Rice | Above 25°C; above 100 cm rain |
| Wheat | 50–75 cm; cool season |
| Cotton | Black soil; 210 frost-free days |
| Land use | Nine-fold; culturable waste > 5 years |
| Cropping intensity | GCA ÷ NSA × 100 |
| Irrigation | Groundwater largest; tanks in the Peninsula |
Key Takeaways
- Climate and soil fix where a crop can grow; irrigation and price policy decide where it actually spreads.
- Prelims tests seasons, crop requirements, local names and land-use definitions — learn them as tables.
- Mains asks for regional patterns and the case for diversification — tie every answer to water and soil sustainability.
Related Topics
- Agricultural Geography — quick revision
- Agricultural Geography — practice questions
- Indian Climate and the Monsoon
- Biogeography and Soils
- Agriculture and Food Security