Indian Agriculture – Key Concepts and Crops

These flashcards cover major themes from the lecture: importance and types of Indian agriculture, regional names for shifting cultivation, characteristics of major cropping systems, climatic and soil requirements, leading producer states for key crops, plantation and fibre crops, sericulture, and government reforms such as the Green Revolution, land reforms and Kisan Credit Cards.

What percentage of India’s population is directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture?

About two-thirds (roughly 66 %).

Which type of agriculture involves clearing small patches of forest, burning the debris and cultivating for a few years before shifting?

Primitive subsistence or shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn).

What local name is given to shifting cultivation in the North-Eastern states of India?

Jhum cultivation.

Name any two regional terms (other than ‘jhum’) used for shifting cultivation in India.

Examples: Podu/Penda (Andhra–Odisha), Bewar (Madhya Pradesh), Dahiya (Rajasthan), Koman or Bringa (Odisha), Kumari (Western Ghats).

List two characteristic features of shifting cultivation.

Low productivity, use of primitive tools, dependence on family labour, and long fallow periods to restore soil fertility.

Which type of agriculture is practiced on small landholdings with intensive use of labour and high doses of fertilizers and irrigation?

Intensive subsistence agriculture.

Why is mechanisation limited in intensive subsistence farming?

Holdings are very small and fragmented, making large machines uneconomic.

What is the main aim of commercial agriculture?

Production of crops primarily for sale in the market, using large holdings, mechanisation and high capital input.

Give two examples of commercial food crops widely grown in India.

Wheat and cotton (others include sugarcane, groundnut, etc.).

Which agricultural system is characterised by a single crop grown over a large area with capital-intensive management and migrant labour?

Plantation agriculture.

Name three major plantation crops of India.

Tea, coffee and rubber (others: banana, sugarcane in some contexts).

What are the three main cropping seasons in India?

Kharif, Rabi and Zaid.

During which season is rice mainly sown and harvested?

Sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon (Kharif) and harvested in autumn.

State two climatic requirements for successful rice cultivation.

Mean temperature above 25 °C and annual rainfall over 100 cm (or assured irrigation).

Which two states are the leading producers of rice in India?

West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh (others: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh).

Under what soil and climate conditions is wheat best grown in India?

Cool growing season (10–15 °C) with 50–75 cm winter rainfall and well-drained alluvial or loamy soils.

Name the two principal wheat-producing regions of India.

The Ganga-Satluj plains (Punjab, Haryana, western U.P.) and the black soil plateau of Madhya Pradesh.

Millets are often called ‘coarse grains’. Mention one nutritional advantage of millets.

They are rich in iron, calcium, roughage and certain vitamins.

Which millet ranks third as India’s food grain after rice and wheat?

Jowar (sorghum).

List two major jowar-producing states.

Maharashtra and Karnataka (others: Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu).

Bajra thrives on poor soils and low rainfall. Name two states where it is important.

Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (others: Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra).

Ragi grows well on red and black soils in hilly areas. Mention one leading ragi state.

Karnataka (others: Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Sikkim).

Which cereal is both a food and fodder crop and requires moderate rainfall and well-drained fertile soil?

Maize.

Name two top maize-producing states in India.

Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (others: Telangana, Rajasthan, U.P.).

Which pulse crop makes India the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses?

Gram (chickpea).

Sugarcane needs high temperature and rainfall or irrigation. State two leading sugarcane states.

Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra (others: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).

Why is groundnut considered both an oilseed and an industrial crop?

Its kernels yield edible oil while the shells and cake serve as industrial raw material and cattle feed.

Name India’s ‘golden fibre’ crop and one major state producing it.

Jute; West Bengal (others: Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Meghalaya).

Cotton grows best on which type of soil?

Black cotton soil (regur) of the Deccan plateau.

List two major cotton-producing states.

Gujarat and Maharashtra (others: Telangana, Punjab, Haryana).

Which beverage crop requires warm and humid climate, abundant rainfall and hill slopes for growth?

Tea.

Identify two principal tea-growing regions of India.

Assam and the Darjeeling-Jalpaiguri hills of West Bengal (others: Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka).

In which state is India’s arabica coffee mainly grown?

Karnataka (especially Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts).

What is sericulture?

Rearing of silkworms for obtaining silk fibres.

Name the fibre crop in which India stands second globally after China (2017 data).

Cotton (also acceptable: silk from mulberry silkworm, depending on interpretation, but cotton fits 2017 ranking).

What were the two main components of India’s Green Revolution?

Use of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds and increased irrigation/chemical inputs (fertilisers & pesticides).

Mention one institutional reform introduced to help Indian farmers post-Independence.

Land reforms such as abolition of zamindari, consolidation of holdings, and tenancy regulation.

What is the purpose of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme?

To provide farmers with short-term, low-interest credit for agricultural inputs and needs.

Name the online portal that supplies comprehensive agricultural information to Indian farmers.

The Farmer Portal (https://farmer.gov.in).