INDIAN CROPPING Systems and Cropping SEASONS

INDIAN CROPPING Systems and Cropping  SEASONS
Commerce Gurukul

Cropping pattern used on a farm and its interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology that determines its make up, is called a cropping system.

Cropping systems of an area are decided by several soil and climatic parameters which determine overall agro-ecological setting for nourishment and appropriateness of a crop or set of crops for cultivation. However, at farmers’ level, potential productivity and financial benefits act as guiding principles while opting for a particular crop/cropping system. These decisions with respect to choice of crops and cropping systems are further narrowed down under influence of several other forces related to infrastructure facilities, socio-economic factors and technological developments, all operating interactively at micro-level.

These factors are:

1. Infrastructure facilities: Irrigation, transport, storage, trade and marketing, post-harvest handling and processing etc.
2. Socio-economic factors: Financial resource base, land ownership, size and type of land holding, household needs of food, fodder, fuel, fibre and finance, and labour availability etc.
3. Technological factors: Enhanced varieties, cultural requirements, mechanization, plant protection, access to information, etc.

Cropping season	Major crops cultivated
	Northern States	Southern States
Kharif June-September	Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Maize, Jowar, Tur	Rice, Maize, Ragi, Jowar, Groundnut
Rabi October-March	Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds and Mustard, Barley	Rice, Maize, Ragi Groundnut, Jowar
Zaid April-June	Vegetables, Fruits, Fodder	Rice, Vegetables, Fodder

There are three distinct crop seasons in the northern and interior parts of country, namely kharif, rabi, and zaid. The kharif season largely coincides with Southwest Monsoon under which the cultivation of tropical crops such as rice, cotton, jute, jowar, bajra and tur is possible. The rabi season begins with the onset of winter in October-November and ends in March-April. The low temperatureconditions during this season facilitate the cultivation of temperate and subtropical crops such as wheat, gram and mustard. Zaid is ashort duration summer cropping season beginning after harvesting of rabi crops, the cultivation of watermelons, cucumbers, vegetables and fodder crops during this season is done on irrigated lands. However, this type of distinction in the cropping season does not exist in southern parts of the country. Here, the temperature is high enough to grow tropical crops during any period in the year provided the soil moisture is available. Therefore, in this region same crops can be grown thrice in an agricultural year provided there is sufficient soil moisture.

These crops are grown sole or mixed (mixed-cropping), or in a definite sequence (rotational cropping). The land may be occupied by one crop during one season (mono-cropping), or by two crops (double-cropping) which may be grown in a year in sequence. Of late, the trend is even more than two crops (multiple-cropping) in a year. These intensive cropping may be done either in sequence or even there may be relay-cropping - one crop under-sown in a standing crop. With wide-rowed slow growing cropping patterns, companion crops may be grown.

CROPPING PATTERNS

Cropping pattern means the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time. This is, however, a dynamic concept as it changes over space and time.

A broad picture of the major cropping patterns in India can be presented by taking the major crops into consideration. With such an approach, the crop occupying the highest percentage of the sown area of the region is taken as the base crop and all other possible alternative crops which are sown in the region either as substitutes of the base crop in the same season or as the crops which fit in the rotation in the subsequent season, are considered in the pattern.

Also these crops have been identified as associating themselves with a particular type of agro-climate, and certain other minor crops with similar requirements are grouped in one category. For example, wheat, barley and oats, are taken as one category.

Certain other crops, such as the plantation crops and other industrial crops are discussed separately. Among the kharif crops, rice, jowar, bajra, maize, groundnut and cotton are the prominent crops to be considered the base crops for describing the kharif cropping patterns. Among the rabi crops, wheat, gram and sorghum or jowar are considered the base crops for explaining the rabi cropping pattern.

PLANTATION AND OTHER COMMERCIAL CROPS

Crops under this category include sugarcane, tobacco, potato, jute, tea, coffee, coconut, rubber and other crops, such as spices and condiments. Some of them are seasonal, some annual and some perennial. Generally, the areas occupied by them are very limited as compared with food and other crops. Nevertheless, they are important commercially. Most of them require specific environmental conditions and from the point of view of cropping patterns, they are concentrated in some particular regions. Besides, certain horticultural crops, such as apple, mango and citrus, are important.

In several sugarcane-growing areas, mono-cropping is practised, and during the interval between the crops, short duration seasonal crops are grown. In U.P., Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, wheat and maize are the rotation crops, rice is also grown in some areas. In the southern states, namely Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, ragi, rice and pulses are grown along with sugarcane. In Maharashtra, pulses, jowar and cotton are grown.

In the potato-growing region, maize, pulses, wheat are the alternative crops. In the tobacco growing areas, depending on the season and the type of tobacco, jowar, oilseeds and maize are grown in rotation. In the jute-growing areas, rice is the usual alternative crop.

In the case of plantation-crops, intercropping with pulses and fodder crops is common. Spices and condiments are generally grown on fertile soils. Chillies are rotated with jowar, whereas onion, coriander, turmeric and ginger are grown as mixed crops with other seasonal crops.

MIXED CROPPING

Crops mixtures are widely grown, especially during the kharif season. Pulses and some oilseeds are grown with maize, jowar and bajra. Lowland rice is invariably grown unmixed, but in the case of upland rice, several mixtures are prevalent in eastern Uttar Pradesh, with Chotanagpur division of Bihar and in the Chhatisgarh division of Madhya Pradesh. During the rabi season, especially in the unirrigated area of the north, wheat and barley and wheat and gram or wheat + barley + gram are the mixtures of grain crops. Brassica and safflower are grown mixed with gram or even with wheat. Mixed cropping was considered by researchers a primitive practice, but now many researchers regard mixed cropping as the most efficient way of using land. Several new mixtures have recently been suggested. They ensure an efficient utilization of sunshine and land. Breeders are developing plant types in pulses and oilseeds, with good compatibility with row crops.

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