Foodgrains

Foodgrains are the backbone of Indian agriculture. Their importance is clear from one simple fact: they occupy about two-thirds of the total cropped area in the country. Whether a farmer practises subsistence or commercial agriculture, foodgrains remain the dominant crop in every part of India.

On the basis of the structure of the grain, foodgrains are classified into two broad groups: cereals and pulses.

Cereals

Cereals occupy about 54 per cent of the total cropped area in India. The country produces about 11 per cent of the world's cereals and ranks third in production after China and the USA. Cereals are further divided into:

• Fine grains: rice and wheat
• Coarse grains: jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), maize, and ragi (finger millet)

Rice

Rice is the staple food for the overwhelming majority of India's population. Though it is considered a crop of tropical humid areas, it has many varieties that are grown in different agro-climatic regions. Rice is successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude, and from the humid areas of eastern India to the dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and northern Rajasthan.

In southern states and West Bengal, climatic conditions allow two or even three crops of rice in an agricultural year. In West Bengal, farmers grow three crops called aus, aman, and boro. In the Himalayas and northwestern parts of the country, rice is grown only as a kharif crop during the southwest monsoon season.

India contributes 22.07 per cent of the world's rice production and ranked second after China in 2018. About one-fourth of the total cropped area in the country is under rice cultivation. The leading rice-producing states are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.

Yield levels are high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, and Kerala. In the first four of these states, almost the entire land under rice is irrigated. Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice-growing areas — rice cultivation was introduced there in the 1970s following the Green Revolution. Genetically improved seed varieties, relatively high usage of fertilisers and pesticides, and lower susceptibility to pests due to dry climatic conditions are responsible for the higher yields in this region. In contrast, yield is very low in the rainfed areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

Wheat

Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India after rice. India produces about 12.8 per cent of the world's total wheat production (2017). It is primarily a crop of the temperate zone, so in India it is grown during winter — the rabi season. About 85 per cent of the total area under wheat is concentrated in the north and central regions of the country: the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Malwa Plateau, and the Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude.

Being a rabi crop, wheat is mostly grown under irrigated conditions. However, it is a rainfed crop in the Himalayan highlands and parts of the Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh. About 14 per cent of the total cropped area in the country is under wheat cultivation. The leading wheat-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

Yield levels are very high (above 4,000 kg per hectare) in Punjab and Haryana. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar have moderate yields. States like Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, where wheat is grown under rainfed conditions, have low yields.

Jowar (Sorghum)

The coarse cereals together occupy about 16.50 per cent of the total cropped area. Among them, jowar alone accounts for about 5.3 per cent of the total cropped area. It is the main food crop in the semi-arid areas of central and southern India. Maharashtra alone produces more than half of the total jowar production of the country. Other leading producers are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

In southern states, jowar is sown in both kharif and rabi seasons. In northern India, it is a kharif crop and is mostly grown as fodder. South of the Vindhyachal range, it is a rainfed crop and its yield level is very low.

Bajra (Pearl Millet)

Bajra is sown in hot and dry climatic conditions in the northwestern and western parts of the country. It is a hardy crop that resists frequent dry spells and drought. It is cultivated alone as well as part of mixed cropping. This coarse cereal occupies about 5.2 per cent of the total cropped area. The leading producers are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

Yield of bajra has increased in recent years in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat due to the introduction of drought-resistant varieties and the expansion of irrigation.

Maize

Maize is both a food and fodder crop, grown under semi-arid climatic conditions and over inferior soils. It occupies only about 3.6 per cent of the total cropped area. Maize cultivation is not concentrated in any specific region — it is sown all over India except Punjab and the eastern and north-eastern regions. The leading producers are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Yield levels of maize are higher than those of other coarse cereals. Yield is high in southern states and declines towards central parts.

Pulses

Pulses are a very important ingredient of vegetarian food because they are rich sources of proteins. They are legume crops that increase the natural fertility of soils through nitrogen fixation. India is a leading producer of pulses in the world.

Pulse cultivation is largely concentrated in the drylands of the Deccan and central plateaus and the northwestern parts of the country. Pulses occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped area. Being rainfed crops of drylands, their yields are low and fluctuate from year to year. Gram and tur (arhar) are the main pulses cultivated in India.

Gram …