Karnataka (Nammak) PSC Agriculture Study Material: Food Crops

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  1. Sugarcane:

    1. It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.

    2. It grows well in hot and humid climate

    3. It require a temperature of 21° C to 27° C

    4. and an annual rainfall between 75cm. And 100cm.

    5. Irrigation is required in the regions of low rainfall.

    6. It can be grown on a variety of soils

    7. It needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.

    8. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.

    9. It is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari and molasses.

    10. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

  2. Oil Seeds:

    1. India is the largest producer of oilseeds in the world.

    2. Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12 per cent of the total cropped area of the country.

    3. Main oil-seeds produced in India are groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower.

    4. Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums. However, some of these are also used as raw material in the production of soap, cosmetics and ointments.

  3. Groundnut

    1. It is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country.

    2. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of groundnut followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra

  4. Linseed and mustard

    1. These are rabi crops.

    2. Sesamum is a kharif crop in north and rabi crop in south India.

    3. Castor seed is grown both as rabi and kharif crop.

  5. Tea:

    1. Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture.

    2. It is also an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British.

    3. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates

    4. It needs deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.

    5. Tea bushes require warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.

    6. Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves.

    7. Tea is a labour-intensive industry. It requires abundant, cheap and skilled labour.

    8. Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness.

    9. Major tea-producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also tea-producing states in the country.

    10. India is the leading producer as well as exporter of tea in the world.

  6. Coffee:

    1. India produces about four per cent of the world's coffee production.

    2. Indian coffee is known in the world for its good quality.

    3. The Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is produced in the country.

    4. Intially its cultivation was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and even today its cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.