Agriculture in India and World – crops, types, climate, soil, & major producers

A large variety of crops are grown to meet the requirement of the growing population. Crops also supply raw materials for agro based industries. Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize and millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops. Important beverage crops are tea and coffee.

Tabulation – Major crops, growing states, major international producers, soil and climate

FOOD CROPS

WHEAT

Wheat cultivation in India traditionally been dominated by the northern region of India. The northern states of Punjab and Haryana Plains in India have been prolific wheat producers. While this cereal grass has been studied carefully in the past, recent years of painstaking research by India’s finest scientific talent has paid off with the development of distinctly superior varieties of Durum Wheat.

RICE

Rice is the major food crop of the world. It is the staple diet of the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Rice needs high temperature, high humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial clayey soil, which can retain water. China leads in the production of rice followed by India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Egypt. In favourable climatic conditions as in West Bengal and Bangladesh two to three crops are grown in a year.

MAIZE

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops of the world and contributes to food security in most of the developing countries. In India, maize is emerging as third most important crop after rice and wheat. Its importance lies in the fact that it is not only used for human food and animal feed but at the same time it is also widely used for corn starch industry, corn oil production, baby corns etc.

Maize is by far the largest component of global coarse-grain trade. Most of the maize that is traded is used for feed; smaller amounts are traded for industrial and food uses.

MILLETS

Millets are some of the oldest of cultivated crops. The term millet is applied to various grass crops whose seeds are harvested for food or feed. The five millet species of commercial importance are proso, foxtail, barnyard, browntop and pearl. In China, records of culture for foxtail and proso millet extend back to 2000 to 1000 BC Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) probably originated in southern Asia and is the oldest of the cultivated millets. It is also known as Italian or German Millet. Its culture slowly spread westward towards Europe.

GRAM

The chickpeas, also known as a garbanzo bean, ceci bean, sanagalu, chana, hummus and Bengal gram has an interesting fact behind its name. It’s called Chickpea because it looks like baby chick. This pulse is estimated to be at least 7,500 years old and was originally cultivated at Mesopotamia and The eastern Mediterranean. Currently, it is grown in India, Middle East and various parts of Africa. This highly nutritious pulse is ranked third in the important list of the food legumes that are cultivated throughout the world. Chickpeas have mainly two types i.e. Desi and Kabuli. Despite growing demand and high yield potential, chickpea yield is unstable and productivity is stagnant at unacceptably low levels.

BARLEY

Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Sprouted barley is naturally high in maltose, a sugar that serves as the basis for both malt syrup sweetener. When fermented, barley is used as an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.

FIBRE CROPS

JUTE

Jute is one of the important natural fibers after cotton in terms of cultivation and usage. Cultivation is dependent on the climate, season, and soil. Almost 85% of the world’s jute cultivation is concentrated in the Ganges Delta.

COTTON

SESAME

SUNFLOWER

COFFEE

Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu. Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in the world.

TEA

India is one of the largest tea producers in the world, although over 70 percent of its tea is consumed within India itself. In this, India is also among the top 5 per-capita tea consumers. A number of renowned teas, such as Assam and Darjeeling, also grow exclusively in India. The Indian tea industry has grown to own many global tea brands and has evolved into one of the most technologically equipped tea industries in the world. Tea production, certification, exportation, and all other facets of the tea trade in India is controlled by the Tea Board of India.

RUBBER

Rubber is a coherent elastic solid obtained from latex of a number of tropical trees of which Hevea brasiliensis is the most important. Rubber is used for a variety of purposes from erasing pencil marks to manufacturing of tyres, tubes and a large number of industrial products.

TOBACCO

Indian tobacco, introduced by the Portuguese in the 17th century, is appreciated worldwide for its rich, full-bodied flavour and smoothness. It is now an increasingly well-known as well as respected commodity in global tobacco markets and has found its way into cigarettes manufactured in several countries. India has an impressive and progressive profile in the global tobacco industry and it is an important commercial crop grown here. India is the second-largest tobacco producer and exporter in the world.

• Total exports of manufactured and unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco products stood at US$ 934.23 million in 2017-18. Indian tobacco is exported to about 100 countries.
• Flue-cured Virginia (FCV) is the main type of tobacco exported from India accounting for 72 per cent and 81 per cent of tobacco exports in quantity and value terms, respectively, whereas, Non-FCV tobacco stood at 28 per cent in quantity and 19 per cent in value terms in 2016-17.
• India exports unmanufactured tobacco primarily to Belgium, Korea, Nigeria, Egypt and Nepal. Western Europe is the key market for Indian tobacco exports.

SPICES

In various forms, spices have served as appetizers, digestives, antiseptics, therapeutics, tonics, and aphrodisiacs.

CASHEWNUTS

Cashew nuts are actually the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree, which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern Brazil. The cashew tree is native to coastal areas of Brazil. In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers took cashew trees from this South American country and introduced them into other tropical regions such as India and some African countries, where they are now also cultivated.

GINGER

Ginger likely originated as ground flora of tropical lowland forests in regions from the Indian subcontinent to southern Asia, where its cultivation remains among the world’s largest producers, including India, China, and other countries of southern Asia.

PEPPER

Pepper plant By J.M.Garg – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link

Pepper is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. As of 2013, Vietnam was the world’s largest producer and exporter of black peppercorns, producing 163,000 tonnes or 34% of the world total of 473,000 tonnes. Black pepper is native to Kerala in Southwestern India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions.

TURMERIC

Sacred spice of India known as ‘Indian Saffron’ is an important commercial spice crop grown in India. It is also known as the ‘Golden Spice of life” an d is one of the most essential spices used as an important ingredient in culinary all over the world. Turmeric is a tropical perennial plant, native to India and Indonesia and is cultivated throughout the tropics around the world. It is an important comm ercial spice grown in India. It is part of Indian culture. Indian Turmeric is considered best in the world. The world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of turmeric is India

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