CBSE Class 10 Social Science Agriculture Notes Set 03

These CBSE Class 10 Geography notes for Chapter 4 Agriculture cover types of farming (subsistence, commercial, plantation), the three cropping seasons (kharif, rabi, zaid), the major food grain crops of India (rice, wheat, millets, maize, pulses), non-grain food crops (sugarcane, oilseeds, horticulture), beverage crops (tea, coffee), and non-food/fibre crops (rubber, cotton, jute), with their geographical requirements and main producing states.

Types of Farming

Commercial farming: relies heavily on modern inputs, such as high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. The degree of commercialisation varies by region — for example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but a subsistence crop in Odisha.

Plantation farming: a type of commercial farming in which a single crop is grown over a large area, primarily for market sale, combining agriculture with an industrial interface, since the harvested product typically becomes raw material for related industries. It is capital-intensive and requires a well-developed transport and communication network linking plantations to processing industries. Examples of plantation crops include banana, rubber, coffee, sugarcane and tea.

Farming is broadly classified into subsistence farming (intensive farming, shifting cultivation, primitive farming, nomadic herding) and commercial farming (commercial grain farming, mixed farming, plantation agriculture).

Cropping Seasons

Kharif crops: sown with the onset of the monsoon, harvested in September-October. Grown mainly in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, coastal Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra; in Odisha, West Bengal and Assam, three crops of paddy are grown a year (Aus, Aman and Boro). Examples: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, moong, cotton, jute, groundnut.

Rabi crops: sown in winter, from October to December, harvested in summer, from April to June. Grown mainly in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Examples: wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard. Their growth depends on the success of the Green Revolution, fertile alluvial soil deposited by northern rivers, and winter rainfall from western disturbances.

Zaid crops: grown in the short season between the rabi and kharif crops. Examples: watermelon, cucumber, vegetables, cotton, jute, coffee, tea.

Major Indian Crops

Rice

The staple food of eastern and southern India; a kharif crop, though grown with irrigation year-round in low-rainfall areas. India is the world's second-largest producer, after China. It needs annual rainfall above 100 cm, with flooded fields during planting and early growth, and frequent showers before ripening for larger grains; temperatures above 25°C throughout sowing, growth and harvest; and alluvial soil is best, though it also grows in silt, loam and gravel soils. Major producers: West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Odisha, Karnataka (West Bengal has the largest output; Tamil Nadu the highest yield).

Wheat

India's second most important cereal crop, and the main food in north and north-west India; India is the world's second-largest producer, after China. A rabi (winter) crop, growing best in a cool, moist climate with fertile soil and moderate rainfall. It needs 10-15°C while growing and 25-28°C while ripening; 50-75 cm rainfall, with light rain from western disturbances being especially beneficial; well-drained, fertile soil with some lime and a heavier texture — the black soil of the Deccan plateau and the clayey, loamy soil of the Ganga plain both suit it well. Major producers: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana (Uttar Pradesh has the highest yield), with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra also growing it.

Millets

India's important millets — jowar, bajra and ragi — are known as coarse grains, with high nutritional value, and survive high temperatures and drought with little rainfall.

Jowar: India's third most important food crop; needs little irrigation, a rain-fed crop suited to arid areas. Leading producers: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
Bajra: a dry crop, grown in sandy and shallow black soils. Largest producer: Rajasthan, with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana also significant.
Ragi: a crop of dry regions, growing well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils; very rich in iron, calcium and roughage. Largest producer: Karnataka, with Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh also growing it.

Maize

A kharif crop, also a coarse grain, used both as food and fodder. It requires 21-27°C and 50-100 cm of seasonal rainfall, growing well in old alluvial soil. Major producers: Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana (grown as a rabi crop in Bihar).

Pulses

India is the world's largest producer and consumer of pulses, a major source of protein; being leguminous, they help restore soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen (except arhar). Tuar, urad and moong are kharif pulses; masur, gram and peas are rabi pulses. They need 20-30°C and 25-50 cm of rainfall (heavy rain after sowing or during flowering can damage them), growing in almost any soil, though dry soil suits them best. Grown in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Crops Apart from Grains

Sugarcane

A grass-family crop, grown in both sub-tropical and tropical conditions; India is the world's second-largest producer, after Brazil, and a key source of sugar, gur, khandsari and molasses. It needs a hot, humid climate (21-27°C), with cooler conditions suiting ripening; 75-100 cm rainfall (over 100 cm can be damaging); and grows in a range of soils, with the alluvial soil of the Ganga plain and the black soil of southern India best suited. Major producers: Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Oilseeds

India is the world's second-largest producer of groundnut; oilseeds together cover about 12% of India's total cropped area, including groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soybean, castor, cottonseed, linseed and sunflower. Groundnut, a kharif crop, is led by Gujarat, followed by Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, accounting for roughly half of India's major oilseed output. Sesamum is a kharif crop in the north, but a rabi crop in the south; linseed and mustard are rabi crops; castor is grown as both a rabi and kharif crop. Most oilseeds are edible (e.g. groundnut, sesamum) and used in cooking, as well as being raw material for many manufactured products; the leftover oil cake, after oil extraction, makes excellent cattle feed and can also be used as fertiliser.

Horticulture Crops

India is, as of 2018, among the world's second-largest producers of fruits and vegetables, producing about 13% of the world's vegetables (including peas, onions, cabbage), and grows both tropical and temperate fruits. Mango: Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh. Oranges: Nagpur and Cherrapunji (Meghalaya). Bananas: Kerala, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra. Apples, apricots, pears, walnuts: Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Grapes: Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Pineapples: Meghalaya.

Beverage Crops

Tea

A labour-intensive crop, needing abundant, cheap, skilled labour; introduced to India by the British. India is the world's second-largest producer (after China, as of 2018); processing is done within the garden itself, to preserve freshness. It needs 20-35°C (ideally 25°C), a warm, moist, frost-free climate year-round, and heavy, evenly distributed rainfall of 150-250 cm. It grows on light loamy soil, rich in humus and iron, and needs chemical fertilisers and manures. Major producers: Assam, the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri hills (West Bengal), Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura also growing it.

Coffee

India grows the Arabica variety, originally brought from Yemen; coffee is one of India's oldest plantation crops. It needs bright sunlight, warm weather (14-26°C), and well-distributed rainfall of 125-250 cm (stagnant water is harmful). It grows on red and laterite soil, ideally deep, porous and rich in humus. Production is largely confined to the Nilgiris, across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Non-Food Crops

Rubber

An equatorial crop; India is the world's fifth-largest producer. It grows well in tropical or sub-tropical areas, valued as a natural, elastic, electrically non-conductive material and an important industrial raw material. It needs temperatures above 25°C and heavy, well-distributed rainfall of 200-400 cm, growing in alluvial or laterite soil. Kerala alone accounts for about 91% of India's rubber plantation area, with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Garo Hills (Meghalaya) also producing it.

Fibre Crops

India's four major fibre crops are cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk. The first three come from crops grown in the soil; natural silk comes from the cocoons of silkworms that feed on green leaves, especially mulberry — a practice known as sericulture.

Cotton: an important fibre crop and the basic raw material of the cotton textile industry; India is the world's third-largest producer, after China and the USA (and, per this source, Russia). Grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions, it is a kharif crop maturing in 6-8 months. It needs 21-27°C, with 210 frost-free days and abundant sunlight, and light rainfall of 50-80 cm. The alluvial soils of the Satluj-Ganga basin suit it well, as does the black cotton soil of the drier Deccan plateau. Major producers: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Jute: known as the "golden fibre"; grown in tropical areas, used to make gunny bags, ropes, yarn, carpets and ornamental articles. It has lost market share to synthetic fibres, particularly nylon, due to its higher cost, though it still earns India valuable foreign exchange through exports. It needs high temperatures during growth and 160-200 cm of rainfall, growing best in well-drained, fertile soil. Major producers: West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar and Meghalaya.

Crop Summary Table