Maharashtra Board Class 11 Agriculture Science and Technology Chapter 15 Special Crops PDF Download

Special Crops

15.1 Different Horticultural Crops Having Special Economic Importance

The special horticultural crops are categorized in following way:

1. Plantation crops

2. Spice crops

3. Aromatic crops

4. Medicinal plants

5. Vegetable crops

6. Exotic crops

7. Flower crops

8. Ornamental Plants

One or few crops from each group are known to be special as they have distinctive characters and uses.

Certain horticultural crops have special economic importance and these crops are grown by farmers with commercial approach. Such crops are useful for changing farmers economic condition. The special horticultural crops are the alternative for traditional agriculture, however they can be grown along traditional crops. These crops can be grown on commercial scale as well as on small scale. These crops can be cultivated in various combinations and with different objectives.

15.1.1 Plantation Crops

Plantation crops are those which are cultivated on extensive scale.

Plantation is a large scale unit usually of a single crop.

Plantation is a large scale estate meant for farming that specializes in cash crop. These crops are grown in huge plantations and need to undergo certain processing. Such processing units are established in plantation areas, thereby having great impact on socio economic development of that region.

Different plantation crops are as follows:

a. Tea - Camellia sinensis

Family - Theaceae

Tea plant is an evergreen shrub grown for its leaves. Top shoots along with two youngest leaves are removed and cured to impart taste and flavor. Leaf, broken and dust are the three grades of tea.

Tea is important crop of Assam, Nilgiri, Darjiling and hilly areas of India.

Teacher's Note

Tea is grown in many hilly areas of India like Assam and Darjiling. Many farmers in these areas make money by growing tea and selling it.

Exam Trick

Remember: Tea leaves need good rain and cool climate. Assam is famous for tea because it has both. Just like how plants need water to grow, tea needs rain to be good quality.

Points to Remember

Tea is an evergreen shrub.
Top shoots and young leaves are used to make tea.
Assam, Nilgiri and Darjiling are main tea growing areas in India.
Tea leaves are dried and processed to get the final product.
Tea is one of India's important export crops.

b. Coffee - Coffea robusta Coffea arabica

Family - Rubiaceae

All coffee plant species are woody evergreens, but the plants range in size from small shrubs to trees more than 10 meters tall. Leaves vary in colour from yellowish to dark green, with touches of bronze or purple. The plant produces white flowers and red berries or "cherries" that contain seeds. Most coffee berries contain two seeds, which are known as "beans". Beans are harvested from matured fruit, dried and powdered and used to make coffee beverage. Coffee is one of the important crops of Karnataka.

Cocoa beans were used as currency during ancient period.

You may have drunk coffee which is made by conventional filtering method or an instant coffee. Can you find how both type of coffee powders are made?

Teacher's Note

Coffee is grown in Karnataka state in South India. It is a very popular drink all over the world and Indian coffee is known for its good quality.

Exam Trick

Remember: Coffee beans come from red berries. The red part is not eaten - only the seeds inside (beans) are used. Think of it like mango - you eat only the seed sometimes, not the whole fruit.

Points to Remember

Coffee is a woody evergreen plant.
Red berries contain coffee beans inside them.
Karnataka is the main coffee growing state in India.
Coffee beans are dried and powdered to make the drink.
Coffee is an important export crop for India.

c. Cocoa - Theobroma cocoa

Family - Malvaceae

Cocoa fruit contain seeds with pulp. The matured seeds are fermented, washed and powdered and then used for chocolate making. Forestero and Criello are the two famous varieties of cocoa.

Teacher's Note

Cocoa is used to make chocolate. The cocoa beans are dried and then turned into powder or chocolate. Many chocolates you eat have cocoa in them.

Exam Trick

Remember: Cocoa = Chocolate. When you see cocoa, think of your favorite chocolate bar. Cocoa powder is the main ingredient in chocolates.

Points to Remember

Cocoa fruit has seeds with pulp inside.
The seeds are fermented and powdered.
Forestero and Criello are main varieties of cocoa.
Cocoa is used to make chocolate and cocoa powder.
The plant is grown in tropical areas.

d. Rubber - Hevea brasiliensis

Family - Euphorbiaceae

Natural rubber, also called Indian rubber, as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds, plus water. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the white latex from rubber plant trunk. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into rubber ready for commercial processing. Latex is allowed to coagulate in the collection cup and lumps are collected and processed into dry forms for marketing. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications.

Teacher's Note

Rubber is made from the latex of rubber trees. The latex is white liquid that comes out when you cut the bark. This latex is used to make many things like tyres for cars and buses.

Exam Trick

Remember: Rubber = Tapping process. Like taking blood from your arm with a needle, latex is taken from the tree by tapping (making small cuts). The white liquid that comes out is latex which becomes rubber.

Points to Remember

Rubber is made from latex of rubber plants.
Latex is obtained by tapping (cutting) the bark.
The white latex is collected and refined to make rubber.
Rubber is used for tyres, tubes and many other products.
It is an important commercial crop.

e. Coconut - Cocos nucifera

Family - Arecaceae

The coconut tree is a member of the palm tree family. The term "coconut" can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe and not a nut. Coconuts are known for their versatility of uses, ranging from food to cosmetics. The inner flesh of the mature seed forms a regular part of the diets of many people known as khobara.

Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of clear liquid and when immature, may be harvested for their coconut water known as shahale. Mature, ripe coconuts can be used as prasad or nariyal (edible seeds), or processed for oil and coconut milk from the flesh, charcoal (active carbon) from the hard shell, cocopeat and coir from the fibrous husk. Dried coconut flesh is called copra, and the oil derived from it is commonly used in cooking as well as in making soaps and cosmetics. The hard shells, fibrous husks and long pinnate leaves can be used as raw material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating, brooms, chatai, etc. The coconut fruit also has cultural and religious significance in certain societies.

Teacher's Note

Coconut trees grow in many coastal areas of India. Almost every part of coconut is useful - the water, flesh, oil, shell and even the leaves. In South India, coconut is very important for both food and money.

Exam Trick

Remember: Coconut = Complete plant. Nothing is wasted from coconut. The water is drunk, flesh is eaten, oil is used for cooking, shell for charcoal, and coir (fiber) for ropes. It is like nature's complete gift.

Points to Remember

Coconut tree is a palm tree and gives many useful products.
Young coconut water is sweet and healthy to drink.
Mature coconut flesh (khobara) is eaten as food.
Coconut oil is used for cooking and making cosmetics.
Coir from the husk is used to make ropes and mats.

f. Arecanut - Areca catechu (Supari)

Family - Arecaceae

It is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of East Africa. The palm is believed to have originated in the Philippines, but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in India, widely grown in Karnataka state. The species has many common names including the areca palm, areca nut palm, betel palm, Indian nut, etc. This palm is called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, is often chewed along with the betel leaf. Further it has medicinal and industrial uses.

Teacher's Note

Arecanut is also called supari. It is grown mainly in Karnataka. Many people in India chew betel leaves with arecanut. It is also used in Ayurvedic medicine.

Exam Trick

Remember: Arecanut = Betel nut = Supari. All three names mean the same thing. It grows on the areca palm tree and is often chewed with betel leaves.

Points to Remember

Arecanut is also called supari or betel nut.
It comes from the areca palm tree.
It is grown mainly in Karnataka state.
It is used for chewing with betel leaves.
It has medicinal and industrial uses.

g. Cashew nut - Anacardium occidentale (Kaju)

Family - Anacardiaceae

The cashew nut, often simply called a cashew, is widely consumed. It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and arms production. The cashew apple has a light reddish to yellow colour. Its pulp can be processed into a light sweet, astringent fruit drink or distilled into liquor (called fenny in Goa). Cashew nut is known as dollar earning crop. India is the world's leading producer and exporter of cashew kernels.

Teacher's Note

Cashew nuts are eaten all over the world. India grows the most cashews and exports them. The cashew apple (the fruit attached to the nut) is also eaten and can be made into juice or drinks.

Exam Trick

Remember: Cashew = Dollar earning. India earns lots of money by exporting cashew nuts to other countries. It is one of India's valuable crops for making foreign money.

Points to Remember

Cashew nut is eaten as a dry fruit all over the world.
India is the biggest producer and exporter of cashews.
The cashew apple (fruit) can be made into juice or drink.
Cashew shell has many industrial uses.
It is known as a dollar earning crop.

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