Indian Agriculture Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, crop types, farming systems and reforms discussed in the Indian agriculture lecture.

Agriculture

Primary economic activity in India employing about two-thirds of the population; produces food grains and industrial raw materials.

Primitive Subsistence Farming

Age-old, small-patch cultivation using simple tools and family labour; relies on monsoon and natural soil fertility.

Slash and Burn Agriculture

Method where vegetation is cut and burned to clear land for crops; soil is left to recover when fertility declines.

Jhumming

Local name for slash-and-burn farming in North-East India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland).

Intensive Subsistence Farming

Labour-intensive cultivation on small holdings using high doses of irrigation and biochemical inputs to feed dense populations.

Commercial Farming

Market-oriented agriculture using HYV seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and mechanisation for high productivity.

Plantation Agriculture

Commercial system where a single crop (e.g., tea, coffee, rubber) is grown on large estates with capital-intensive methods and migrant labour.

Rabi Crops

Winter-sown (Oct–Dec) and summer-harvested (Apr–Jun) crops such as wheat, barley, gram and mustard.

Kharif Crops

Monsoon-sown (Jun–Jul) and autumn-harvested (Sep–Oct) crops like paddy, maize, cotton, jute and soyabean.

Zaid Crops

Short summer-season crops between rabi and kharif, including watermelon, cucumber and fodder crops.

Rice

Staple kharif cereal requiring >25 °C, high humidity and >100 cm rainfall; India is the world’s 2nd largest producer.

Wheat

Major rabi cereal needing cool growing season, 50–75 cm rain and bright sunshine; dominant in Ganga-Satluj plains and Deccan black soils.

Millets

Coarse grains (jowar, bajra, ragi) valued for nutrition and drought tolerance.

Jowar

Rain-fed millet grown mainly in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Bajra

Millet thriving on sandy or shallow black soils; leading states: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana.

Ragi

Iron-rich millet suited to dry red or black soils; produced in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Maize

Food-cum-fodder kharif crop (21–27 °C) grown widely; modern inputs raise yields in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Pulses

Protein-rich leguminous crops (tur, moong, gram) that fix nitrogen and need low moisture; India is the largest producer.

Sugarcane

Tropical/sub-tropical cash crop (21–27 °C, 75–100 cm rain) supplying sugar, gur and molasses; grown in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Oilseeds

Crops yielding edible and industrial oils—groundnut, mustard, sunflower, soyabean, etc.—covering ~12 % of cropped area.

Groundnut

Major kharif oilseed; Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are top producers.

Tea

Labour-intensive plantation beverage needing warm, moist, frost-free climate and acidic, well-drained soils; key areas: Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiris.

Coffee

Arabica plantation crop first grown on Baba Budan Hills; confined to Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Horticulture

Cultivation of fruits and vegetables; India ranks 2nd globally with mangoes, bananas, grapes, onions, etc.

Rubber

Industrial latex crop requiring >25 °C and >200 cm rain; mainly in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman Islands.

Cotton

Kharif fibre grown on black soils of Deccan; needs high temperature and 210 frost-free days; India is 2nd largest producer.

Jute

‘Golden fibre’ grown in flood-plain alluvium of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam; used for bags, ropes and mats.

Sericulture

Rearing of silkworms on mulberry leaves to produce natural silk fibre.

High-Yielding Variety (HYV) Seeds

Genetically improved seeds central to the Green Revolution for boosting crop yields.

Leguminous Crop

Plant family capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen; improves soil fertility (e.g., pulses, soyabean).

Green Revolution

1960s package-technology programme (HYV seeds, fertilisers, irrigation) that dramatically raised wheat and rice output in select regions.

White Revolution (Operation Flood)

National dairy development programme of the 1970s–80s that increased milk production and farmer income.

Kisan Credit Card (KCC)

Banking facility giving farmers easy, low-interest credit for agricultural needs.

Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS)

Government insurance providing coverage to farmers against accidental death or disability.

Bhoodan Movement

Vinoba Bhave’s voluntary land-gift campaign where landowners donated land to the landless.

Gramdan

Extension of Bhoodan in which entire villages were donated for collective ownership by villagers.

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

Government-declared price guaranteeing farmers a remunerative return for key crops.

Western Temperate Cyclones

Winter storms bringing rainfall to North-West India, aiding rabi crop success.

Canal Irrigation

Artificial water supply through man-made channels, enabling rice cultivation in low-rainfall areas like Punjab and Rajasthan.