Cropping Patterns, Crop Seasons and Major Crops

Agriculture in the Indian economy

Share of the economy: agriculture and allied sectors contribute about 18% of GVA but employ about 46% of the workforce (PLFS 2023–24). This gap explains low farm incomes.

Growth: agriculture has grown at about 4–5% a year in recent years, faster than its long-run average, led by allied sectors: livestock, fisheries and horticulture.

Production: India is the largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and the second-largest of rice, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, cotton and groundnut. It became the world's largest rice exporter around 2012. Food grain output reached a record of about 354 million tonnes in 2024–25 (fourth advance estimates).

Holdings: the Agriculture Census 2015–16 recorded an average holding of 1.08 hectares. 86% of holdings are small and marginal (below 2 ha).

Cropping seasons

Kharif:

• sowing: with the south-west monsoon, June–July;
• harvest: September–October;
• crops: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soybean.

Rabi:

• sowing: October–December;
• harvest: March–April;
• crops: wheat, barley, gram, mustard and rapeseed, peas and linseed.
• Rabi crops rely on western disturbances and irrigation.

Zaid:

• the short summer season, March–June;
• crops: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder.

Cropping patterns and systems

Cropping pattern: the proportion of area under different crops at a given time. It is shaped by:

• physical factors: soil, rainfall, temperature and irrigation;
• economic factors: prices, MSP, procurement, input subsidies and market access;
• institutional factors: landholding size and tenancy;
• technology: high-yielding varieties.

Cropping systems:

• Monocropping.
• Mixed cropping: two or more crops grown together on the same field.
• Intercropping: crops grown in distinct rows, such as sugarcane with pulses.
• Relay cropping: the next crop is sown before the previous one is harvested.
• Crop rotation: legumes alternated with cereals to restore nitrogen.

Cropping intensity: gross cropped area divided by net sown area, multiplied by 100. It is about 155% in India.

Major crops: conditions and regions

Rice:

• conditions: 22–32°C, 150–300 cm of rainfall, alluvial clayey soil;
• leading states: West Bengal, UP, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana;
• grown in all three seasons in parts of eastern and southern India.

Wheat:

• conditions: cool growing season, 50–75 cm of rain, bright sunshine at ripening, well-drained loam;
• leading states: Uttar Pradesh, MP, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Millets ("Shree Anna"):

• jowar (Maharashtra, Karnataka), bajra (Rajasthan), ragi (Karnataka);
• drought-tolerant and nutritious;
• the UN declared 2023 the International Year of Millets on India's proposal.

Pulses:

• India is the largest producer, consumer and importer;
• leading states: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan;
• the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses (2025–26 Budget) focuses on tur, urad and masoor.

Oilseeds:

• groundnut (Gujarat), mustard (Rajasthan), soybean (MP, Maharashtra);
• India imports about 55–60% of its edible oil (palm from Indonesia and Malaysia, soybean and sunflower oil);
• programmes: the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm (2021, focus on the North-East and Andaman) and NMEO–Oilseeds (2024).

Sugarcane:

• tropical, 21–27°C, 75–100 cm of rain;
• leading states: UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka;
• water-intensive;
• linked to ethanol policy.

Cotton:

• black (regur) soil, 210 frost-free days;
• leading states: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana;
• Bt cotton has been approved since 2002. It is the only GM crop approved for cultivation; GM mustard (DMH-11) received environmental release approval in 2022 but is under litigation.

Jute:

• the "golden fibre", grown in the West Bengal and Assam delta;
• warm, humid conditions.

Plantation crops:

• tea (Assam, West Bengal, the Nilgiris);
• coffee (Karnataka, Kerala, TN);
• rubber (Kerala);
• spices, especially in Kerala.

Problems in cropping patterns

The rice–wheat system in Punjab and Haryana, promoted by the Green Revolution and assured MSP procurement, has caused:

• groundwater depletion: many blocks are over-exploited, with extraction above 100% of recharge;
• soil degradation and micronutrient deficiency;
• stubble burning, which pollutes Delhi's air in October–November.

Distortions:

• Water-intensive crops (paddy, sugarcane) are grown in water-scarce regions.
• Oilseeds and pulses are neglected, which raises imports.

Diversification efforts:

• crop diversification programmes (Punjab and Haryana incentives such as Mera Pani Meri Virasat);
• price incentives for pulses and oilseeds;
• millet promotion;
• shifting procurement towards nutri-cereals.

Analysis: the case for diversification

What experts recommend: a shift from the "food security" paradigm to a "nutrition and income security" paradigm. The Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers' Income (2017–18) recommended higher-value horticulture, livestock and fisheries.

Why:

• demand is shifting to fruits, vegetables, dairy and protein as incomes rise;
• climate resilience favours drought-tolerant crops;
• these crops use less water per rupee of output.

What gets in the way: MSP and procurement are skewed towards rice and wheat; market infrastructure for perishables is weak; and price risk is higher for horticulture.

Common prelims traps

• Gram (chickpea) is a rabi crop; tur (arhar) is a kharif crop.
• Cotton grows best on black soil.
• Bt cotton is the only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation.
• Cropping intensity uses gross cropped area over net sown area.

Quick self-test

1. *Which season depends on western disturbances?* Rabi.
2. *Which state leads in mustard production?* Rajasthan.
3. *Why does Punjab burn stubble?* The short window between the paddy harvest and wheat sowing, combined with mechanised harvesting that leaves stubble.

Practice: Mains question

*"The cropping pattern in north-west India is ecologically unsustainable." Discuss its causes and suggest measures for diversification. (250 words)*

Agro-climatic zones

The Planning Commission (1989) divided India into 15 agro-climatic zones based on soil, climate, rainfall and water resources, so that crop planning could match local conditions. Examples are the Western Himalayan region, the Trans-Gangetic plains, the Eastern plateau and hills, and the Western dry region. The NARP (National Agricultural Research Project) used 127 smaller agro-climatic sub-zones.

Why zones matter: recommendations on varieties, sowing dates and inputs differ by zone. District-level contingency plans (ICAR-CRIDA) guide farmers when the monsoon is delayed or fails.

Horticulture and the "rainbow" of revolutions

Horticulture: horticultural output (fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops and spices) has exceeded food grain output since 2012–13, at about 360 million tonnes in recent years. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Its constraints are high post-harvest losses and a lack of cold chains.

Programmes: the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH, 2014) and the Clean Plant Programme (2024).

Other revolutions:

• the White Revolution (milk, Operation Flood, Verghese Kurien);
• the Blue Revolution (fish);
• the Yellow Revolution (oilseeds, the Technology Mission of 1986);
• the Golden Revolution (horticulture and honey);
• the Pink Revolution (meat and onions);
• the Silver Revolution (eggs).

These show the diversification of Indian agriculture beyond cereals.

Quick self-test (more)

1. *Which crop is called the "golden fibre"?* Jute.
2. *What is relay cropping?* Sowing the next crop into the standing previous crop before harvest, to save time.

Key term

Green Revolution belt: Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, where high-yielding wheat and rice varieties, irrigation and assured procurement transformed farming after the mid-1960s.