Agriculture in India / ভারতের কৃষি- // 'Thirsty Crop', 'Plantation Agriculture', 'Shifting Cultivation'

Agriculture in India/ ভারতের কৃষি - // 'Thirsty Crop', 'Plantation Agriculture, 'Shifting Cultivation'

1. What are Kharif crops?

= The crops which are associated with the South-West Monsoon and are sown in the months of June and July and harvested in autumn months, i.e., in September and October.

Important Kharif crops are rice, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, sugarcane, cotton, jute, etc.

2. What do you know about Rabi crops?

= The Rabi season begins with the onset of winter in October-November and ends in March-April. The low-temperature conditions during this season help cultivate temperate and subtropical crops like wheat, barley, peas, linseed, rapeseed, gram, and mustard.

3. Which crop is known as 'Thirsty Crop'?

= Rice is a Kharif crop in north India. It can be grown throughout the year if irrigation is available in the south.

                As water is mainly needed to grow this crop, it is known as 'Thirsty Crop'.

4. What do you mean by 'millets'?

= The term 'millets' refers to a number of inferior grains like jowar (or cholam), bajra (or cumbu), and ragi, which serve as foodgrains for the poorer sections of society. 

5. What do you mean by 'Cash Crops'?

= Cash crops are those that are primarily grown for sale and not only for use by the grower and his family, for example, sugarcane. The cash crops also provide raw materials to agro-based industries. 

6. What is Ginning?

= Ginning is the process used to separate the fibers or lint from the cotton seeds and the short fibers or linters which adhere to them. 

7. What is agriculture?

= The practice of growing crops is called agriculture. Agriculture jas played a key role in the development of human civilisation. 

8. What is plantation agriculture?

= It is a type of agriculture in which crops are grown on a large-scale basis for commercial purposes. Tea, coffee, and rubber are the main plantation crops in India.

9. What do you mean by shifting cultivation?

= It is a type of cultivation in which a piece of forest land is cleared by burning the forest wood and then cultivated for a few years till it loses its fertility. It is then left fallow for some time in order to let the soil regain its fertility.

10. What do you mean by 'Food Crops'?

= Food crops are grown to feed people in the country. They form the staple diet of the people. Rice, wheat, pulses, millets, and maize are the main food crops of India.