Cropping Pattern UPSC By Home Academy
Different crops grown in an area at a
particular point of time is called
cropping pattern.
Cropping pattern depends on climate
(temperature, rainfall, wind etc.), soil,
support price, value, demand -
market, labor availability, historical
setting, etc.
Climate: Rice is cultivated extensively
when the monsoons are good. But
when monsoons are weak, millets are
grown instead of rice.
Cotton in Maharashtra, tea in
Assam and jute in West Bengal
remain the dominant crops due to
highly favorable conditions for
cultivation.
Soil: Regur soils are ideal for cotton
cultivation. Cotton is the obvious
choice in such soils when the climate
is favorable.
Minimum Support Price (MSP): Rice
and wheat which are offered MSP are
preferred by farmers.
Value: Millets in the hilly areas of HP
and Uttarakhand are replaced by high
value horticulture crops like apple.
Demand: Rice is the preferred crop in
the densely populated regions as
there is a ready market.
Historical setting: Sugarcane is grown
more extensively in North India
even though the conditions are most
favorable in South India.
This is because the sugarcane
cultivation was encouraged by British
as an alternative to indigo which lost
its significance and market in states
like Uttar Pradesh due to introduction
of artificial dyes.
Diversification of crops due to
surplus food grain production post
Green Revolution has led to
significant changes in cropping
pattern.
Other than rice and wheat, oilseeds
and pulses also became more
prominent.
Crop diversification in certain regions
has been negligible. E.g.
1. Rice dominates in well irrigated
parts of south India.
2. Wheat dominates north-western part of the country.Coarse grains like jowar, bajra, maize, barley, ragi etc. are given comparatively less importance in
these regions.
Factors affecting cropping pattern
Geographical Factors: relief, soil,
temperature and rainfall.
Economic Factors: Irrigation, power,
size of land holdings, sale price of
crops, income of farmers, insurance
and investment etc.
Political Factors/Government Policies:
Government can encourage or
discourage certain crops due to
various reasons like drought, flood,
inflation etc.
Relief
Rice is the main crop on the irrigated
hill terraces (terraced cultivation).
Crops like tea and coffee can be
grown only on well drained slopes
that receive good amount of rainfall.
Rice (tropical crop) and sugarcane
dominates well irrigated regions with
fairly warm climate.
Wheat (temperate crop) grows well in
plain regions with moderate
temperature and rainfall.
Temperature
Most crops require lower temperature
at the time of sowing and higher
temperature at the time of ripening.
Some crops require higher
temperature and are sown in the
summer season. Most of the growth
period falls under the rainy season.
These are known as kharif crops
(rice, cotton, etc.). [They are sown
just before the burst of south-west
monsoons]
There are other crops which require
lower temperature and moisture
and are sown in the winter season
(wheat). These are known as rabi
crops.
Rainfall
Areas of Heavy Rainfall
More than 150 cm of annual rainfall.
East India and the west coastal
plains.
Animal population is fairly high due
to availability of fodder and grazing
area.
Rice, tea, coffee, sugarcane, jute
etc.
Areas of Medium Rainfall
75 to 150 cm.
150 cm annual rainfall isohyets are
suitable for the cultivation of rice.
75 cm annual rainfall isohyets are
suitable for maize, cotton and
soyabean.
These areas are rich in natural
resources. E.g. Eastern part of Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, eastern parts
of Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha
region of Maharashtra.
Wheat is the principal rabi crop.
Millets are the natural priority.
Wheat, maize, cotton, soyabean,
millets, etc.
Areas of Low Rainfall
25 to 75 cm (Semi-arid stretches of
India).
Major crops in this belt are
1. millets, jowar, and bajra in
the northern,
2. jowar in central and
3. ragi in the southern part.
Wheat is the main rabi crop which is
grown in irrigated areas.
Mixed cropping is very common in
which pulses are mixed with
cereals.
Cropping has been developed in such
a way that no one crop dominates.
Soil
Rice is mainly grown in clayey soils
while loamy soils are best for wheat.
The regur soil of the Deccan Plateau
is ideal for cultivation of cotton.
Coarse grains such as jowar, bajra,
maize, ragi, barley etc. are grown in
inferior soils (light sandy soils, light
black soils, red and laterite soils etc.)
Delta soils of West Bengal are
renewed by floods every year and are
very fertile. They are ideal for jute
cultivation. The farmers grow 2-3
crops in a year.
Soils of the Darjeeling hills contain
sufficient quantities of humus, iron,
potash and phosphorus which are
necessary for tea bush to grow.
Irrigation
Rice is a dominant crop in regions
with reliable irrigation and warm
climate (coastal plains and irrigated
belts of south India).
North Indian plain regions are well
irrigated and support 2-3 crops of rice
a year.
Size of Land Holdings
In case of small holdings, the priority
of the farmers would be to grow food
grains for his family members
(subsistence farming).
Farmers with large holdings can opt
for cash crops and help in crop
diversification, leading to changes in
the cropping pattern (commercial
farming).
But in spite of crop diversification
potential, large holdings are used
mostly for monoculture of rice, wheat
etc.