Crops - 

In this article - 

1. Definition of Crops 
2. Types of Crops 
3. Crops in detail 
4. Food crops 
5. Commercial Crops 
6. Crops and their origin 
7. Top producer states of different Crops 
8. Green Revolution 

Definition of Crops - 

The crop is a plant that is harvested on a large scale for profit . The crop is cultivation of the same kind plants produced on a large scale . 

The plants grown by the farmers are called crops. 

Classification of Crops - 

1. Crops on the basis of season - 

The crops can be classified in three types on basis of  season -

• Kharif Crops 
• Jayad Crops 
• Rabi Crop 

1. Kharif Crops - 

• It lasts from June to december
• Monsoon Crops 
• Needs Higher temprature
• Needs large amount of rain about 150 cm.
• The main kharif crops are -rice , millet , arhar , soyabean , groundnut, cotton ,tobacco, tea, coffee, jute, millet, ragi, and many other crops come in this category.

2. Jayad crops -

• It lasts from March to June 
• It is also called summer crops.
• It has resistivity against hot winds.
• The main Jayad crops are - watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.

3. Rabi crops -

• It lasts from October to March 
• It needs less temprature
• It needs less amount of rain about 75 cm.
• The main rabi crops are - Cereals, Fruits, Vegetables ; Barley, Banana, Cabbage ; Gram, Lady Fingers, Capsicum ; Rapeseed, Tomato, Onion ; Mustard, Grapefruit, Potato.

  2. On the basis of time period - 

On the basis of time period the crops can be classified - 

• One year crop 
• Biennial crop 
• Perennial Crop 

One year crop - These crops complete their life cycle in less than one year. 

Rice ,Wheat, Jowar , Bajra , Millets , Soyabean , Arhar, Mustard 

Biennial crop - These crops complete their life cycle in two years. These crops have vegetative growth in first year and in second year fruits , flowers appears. 

Beetroot , chenopodium alba 

Perennial crop - The life cycle of these crops is more than two years. 

Lursan, Napier grass

3. On the basis of family -

• Gramineae 
• Coarse grain 
• Legume 
• Solanaceae 
• Liliaceae 
• Oilseed 
• Chenopodiaceae 
• Cucurbits
• Malvaceae 

Gramineae - The family of grain crops is called gramineae.

Rice, wheat, Mustard , kodo , madwa , kakun , bajra are major crops of this family . 

Legume - This is the family of pulses .

Arhar, pea, Soyabean, chana , urad are the main crops of legume. 

Solanaceae - Potato, Tomato , ladyfinger, datura, pepper are the main crops of this family. 

Liliaceae - garlic, onion are the main crops of this family. 

Oilseed - This is the family of crops that consists oil. 

Mustard, linseed, safflower, niger , castor are the main crops . 

Chenopodiaceae - This is the family of flowering plants.

goosefoot, beetroot, tumbleweeds, pigweeds are the main crops of this family . 

Cucurbitaceae - This is a family of climbing plants. 

Pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon , gourd , cantaloupe 

Malvaceae - This is a family of flowering plants. 

Hibiscus, Cacao, Cotton, Abutilon 

4. Commercial Crops - 

These crops are grown to get instant profit. The main commercial crops - 

1. Jute
2. Cotton 
3. Tea 
4. Coffee 
5. Rubber
6. Groundnut 

5. Plantation crops - 

The major plantation crops include - 

1. Coconut 
2. Tea 
3. Cashew 
4. Coffee 
5. Rubber 
6. Cocoa
7. Areca nut 
8. Oil palm 

6. Energy Crops - 

The crops that are grown for the production of energy is called energy crops. The main energy crops - kenaf , eucalyptus, miscanthus, sorghum, jatropha

Cereal Crops - 

Cereal crops are the member of grass family and is primarily cultivated for starchy dry fruits. The term cereal also refers to grain . Rice , wheat , barley , corn , bajra , jowar , oilseed, pulses are main cereal crops. 

1. Rice - This is the largest cereal crop of India.It covers 43 percent land area of the total area in India. It is mainly cultivated in Alluvial Soil. The Godavari and Kaveri river basin is the large producer of rice in India. The cultivation of rice needs high temprature and high rain . Th largest producer of Rice in India is West Bengal. It needs about150cm to 200 cm rain for cultivation. It needs high temprature about 27 degree celcius during sowing and 20 degree celcius during harvesting. The cultivation of rice is dependent on monsoon. It needs a large amount of water .

Golden rice is a genetically modified rice. It contains Vitamin - A in large amount. 

2. Wheat - This is the second largest cereal crop of India. It covers about 15 percent land area of total area in India. It needs about 50 cm to 75 cm rain. The China is the largest producer of wheat in the world . India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world. It is  mainly cultivated in red and alluvial soil. It needs less temprature about 10 degree celcius during sowing and needs about 25 degree celcius during harvesting. 

3. Barley - It is a important cereal crop of India. It is a coarse grain. Barley is the first crop that is grown. It needs less fertile soil. It needs less amount of rain and high temprature.

4. Bajra - It is a coarse grain. it needs less rain and high temprature. The largest producer of bajra is Rajasthan. The India is ther largest producer of bajra in the world.

5. Maize - It is originated from pop corn. It is mainly produced in dry climate area of India. It is a cereal crop. The largest producer is Karnataka. 

6. Oilseed - It is a family of the crops that contains oil. These crops are used to produce oil.  Mustard, linseed, safflower, niger , castor . 

It is mainly cultivated in red soil. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka produces oilseed in large amount. 

7. Pulses - It consists a good amount of protein. Arhar, Chana , urad , peas,  soyabean are main pulse crops. It is mainly cultivated in red soil. These are dry grains. It needs less amount of rain. The dry and edible seeds in legume family can be defined a pulses. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world . 

8. Oat - It is a cereal crop. It is a healthy grain and good source of vitamins and minerals. Oat consists a good amount of fibre beta glucan. It helps to lower level of cholesterol. It is cultivated mainly in laterite soil. 

Commercial Crops - 

The major commercial crops - Cotton , Jute , Rubber, Tea , Coffee 

1. Cotton - It is obtained from seed. It is the raw material of cotton textile industry. The largest producer of cotton in India is Gujarat. The second largest producer of cotton is Maharashtra. It needs about 200 frost free days to produce. It is called white fibre. Cotton is mainly cultivated in Black soil. It needs about 26 degree celcius temprature during sowing. It lasts from october to May. It needs about 50cm - 75 cm rain. 

2. Jute - It is obtained from the stem of the plant. It is mainly cultivated in Alluvial soil. The delta are good for producing jute. It needs temprature about 25 degree celcius.It needs about 150 cm - 200 cm rain for good cultivation. The largest producer of Jute is West Bengal. 

3. Tea - It is obtained from leaves. It consists thene that is helpful for relief from fatigue. India is the largest producer of tea. It is mainly cultivated in Mountain soil and laterite soil. It needs about 15 degree celcius temprature. It needs about 150 cm rain for good cultivation. Assam is the largest producer of tea in India. And West Bengal is the second largest producer of tea in India. The largest consumer of tea in the world is India. 

4. Coffee - It is obtained from seed. It contains caffeine. It is cultivated in laterite and red soil. It needs about 15 degree celcius to 25 degree celcius temprature. It needs about 100 cm rain for good cultivation. The largest producer of coffee is Karnataka. 

5. Rubber - It is originated in Brajil. It is mainly cultivated in laterite and peat soil. It needs about 200 cm rain for good cultivation. It needs about 25 degree celcius temprature.The largest producer of Rubber is Kerala. It is grown in tropical climate. Rubber needs wet climate. 

Crops and their origin - 

             Crops      ----------------------------------- Origin

1.           Rice                                                                     Indo- China
2.          Maize                                                                  Central America 
3.          Jowar                                                                   India 
4.          Bajra                                                                    Africa
5.          Wheat                                                                  India
6.          Barley                                                                  China 
7.          Mango                                                                  Indian subcontinent
8.          Lemon                                                                           "
9.          Coconut                                                                 Indo - Atlantic Region 
10.          Cucumber                                                             Indian subcontinent 
11.         Oil palm                                                                 Africa 
12.         Jute                                                                          South Asia 
13.         Cotton                                                                      Indus River basin  
14.         Tea                                                                           China
15.        Coffee                                                                      Ethopia

  

Important Crops and their producers in India - 

1. Saffron                      -       Kashmir
2. Black Pepper           -       Kerala, Karnataka Tamilnadu
3. Cardamom               -       Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu 
4. Turmeric                  -       Tamilnadu, Karnataka
5. Pepper                       -       Karnataka, West Bengal 
6. Cloves                        -       Tamilnadu, Kerala
7. Ginger                        -       Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh
8. Rice                             -       West Bengal 
9. Jute                             -        West Bengal 
10. Tea                              -        Assam , West Bengal 
11. Coffee                         -        Karnataka
12. Rubber                      -         Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka
13. Cotton                        -        Gujarat, Maharastra
14. Millet                          -        Rajasthan
15. Oilseed                       -        Gujarat, Karnataka

Important fruits and their producer - 

1. Banana             -      Gujarat
2. Grapes              -      Maharastra
3. Guava               -       Bihar
4. Lychee              -       Bihar
5. Jackfruit           -      Assam 
6. Cashew              -     Maharastra
7. Walnut               -     Jammu - Kashmir
8. Papaya              -   Gujarat
9. Orange               -     Maharastra
10. Lemon                -     Maharastra, Gujarat , Odisha
11. Apple                  -      Jammu - Kashmir 
12. Pineapple           -     West Bengal 
13. Coconut               -     Kerala
14. Sepota                  -     Gujarat
15. Pear                      -      Jammu - Kashmir 

Green Revolution - It is mainly for cereal crops. It is started by the Norman Borlaug in world. Norman Borlaug won the nobel  of peace in 1970, In India Green Revolution is started by Indian Scientist MS Swaminathan in year of  1966 . The word Green Revolution is given by William Gard. Green revolution is mainly for the production of High Yield Variety Seed. The Green Revolution affected the production of rice and wheat, production of rice increased by 200 times and production of wheat increased by 500 times. Green Revolution made India self sufficient in food production.