Agriculture Test - 12

Majority of farmers in India practice subsistence farming. It is characterised by small and scattered landholdings and use of primitive tools, like hoe and digging sticks by family members. As the farmers are poor, they do not use fertilisers or (HYV) seeds in their fields. Most of the food production is consumed by the farmers and their families.

India contributes 22% of rice production in the world. Our country is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China. 

Leguminous crops are plants which belong to Leguminosae family. Legumes are grown, primarily for their grain seed called pulse. Some examples of pulses include beans, peas, cowpea, dry beans like pinto beans, kidney beans, navy beans, dry peas, lentils, lupins, and peanuts, mung bean, golden gram, green gram, etc.

Assam is the largest producer of Tea in India, followed by West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and other states of North India. Most popular tea types in India are Assam tea, Nilgiri tea, Darjeeling tea and Kangra tea. Tea plantation require 150-200 cm of rainfall.

Basmati rice is long, slender aromatic rice basically from Indian subcontinent. During 2015-16, export of non-basmati and Basmati rice has been assumed to be 8.0 million and 4 million tonnes respectively.

• Wheat is considered as the major Rabi crop of Punjab which is a winter crop.
  
• Top three states producing wheat are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh
  
• After Rice, wheat is the second most important crop of India.
  
• The staple food in north and north western India is wheat.
  

Rice is the most important staple food crop of India, which feeds more than half of our population. It accounts for one-third production of foodgrains in the country. Rice, an indigenous crop is grown all over the country with highest concentration in North-eastern and southern parts of the country.

It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop. It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm.

• Rice is the important staple food crop of India which feeds more than half of our population.
  
• India is next to China in the world in the production of rice
  
• Rice is grown in approximately 34% of the overall cropped area of the country.
  
• Rice production comprises 42% of the overall food crop production in the country.
  

India is the third-largest producer of cotton in the world. Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.