IMPORTANT NOTES
CH-4 AGRICULTURE
1. Agriculture is considered as the backbone of the Indian economy.’ Examine the statement.
(i) Two third of India’s population is engaged in agricultural activities.
(ii) It is a primary activity, which produces most of the food that we consume.
(iii) It produces raw materials for various industries.
(iv) It ensures food security.
(v) By exporting agricultural products like tea, coffee, spices etc, we get foreign currency.
(vi) It contributes to the GDP of the country.
2. Difference between Primitive and Intensive subsistence Farming.
Primitive Subsistence Farming Intensive Subsistence Farming
1. Primitive tools like hoe, dao, digging sticks 1. Modern tools like tractors, power
are used. tillers etc. are used.
2. Farming depends on monsoon rainfall. 2. Farming depends on both monsoon
3. Farming depends on natural fertility of the rain and irrigation facilities.
soil and environmental condition. 3. High doses of chemical fertilisers and
4. Family members and community labour pesticides are used.
are used in farming process. 4. It is a labour-intensive farming.
5. Yield per hectare production is low. 5. Yield per hectare production is high.
3. Write a short note on Commercial farming.
(i) Higher doses of modern inputs, e.g. high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical
fertilisers,
insecticides and pesticides are used to obtain higher productivity.
(ii) A single crop is grown over a large area.
(iii) It is a labour as well as capital intensive farming.
(iv) The degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from one region to another.
(v) For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Odisha, it is a
subsistence crop.
4. Describe the cropping seasons of India.
India has three cropping seasons — rabi, kharif and zaid.
Rabi Crops-
(i) Rabi crops are sown in winter-October to December & harvested in summer-April to June.
(ii) Some of the important rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.
(iii) North and north-western parts such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
(iv) Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones
helps in the success of these crops.
Kharif Crops-
(i) Grown with the onset of monsoon and these are harvested in September-October.
(ii) Important crops grown are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton,
jute, groundnut and soyabean.
(iii) Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
Zaid Crops-
(i) Grown between the rabi and the kharif seasons.
(ii) Mostly fruits and vegetables like watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and
fodder crops are grown.
5. Name the crop which is a staple food of a majority of the people in India. Write down the
geographical condition required to grow such crop.
Ans- Rice
Geographical condition:
(i) It is a kharif crop which requires high temperature, (above 25°C).
(ii) High humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.
6. Name the cereal crop which is mostly grown in north and north-western part of the
country. Write down its characteristics.
Ans- Wheat
(i) It is the second most important cereal crop.
(ii) It is a rabi crop, requires a cool growing season and a bright sunshine at the time of
ripening.
(iii) It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.
(iv) There are two important wheat-growing zones– the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west
and black soil region of the Deccan.
(v) The major wheat-producing states are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar and Rajasthan.
7. Name the coarse grain which is the third most important food crop in the country. Write
down its features.
Ans- Jowar
(i) It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas which hardly needs irrigation.
(ii) Major Jowar producing States-Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and MP.
8. Name the crop which is used both as food and fodder. Explain it on the basis of soil and
temperature required.
Ans- Maize
Soil type- Old alluvial soil
Temperature- Between 21°C to 27°C
9. Name the crop in which India is the largest producer as well as the consumer in the world.
Write down its characteristics.
OR
Define the agricultural term used for growing urad, moong, masur, peas. Write down its
features.
Ans- Pulses/leguminous crops
(i) It is a major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
(ii) Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions.
(iii) Being leguminous crops, all these crops except arhar help in restoring soil fertility.
(iv) Mostly grown in rotation with other crops.
(v) Major pulse producing states-Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh
and Karnataka.
10. Write down the geographical conditions required for growing sugarcane.
(i) It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.
(ii) It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C.
(iii) Requires an annual rainfall between 75cm. and 100cm.
11. Name the beverage crop introduced in India by the British. Write down its features.
Ans- Tea
(i) Grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates.
(ii) Develops in well-drained fertile soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
(iii) Tea bushes require warm and moist frost-free clime throughout the year.
(iv) Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year.
(v) Tea is a labour-intensive industry which requires abundant, cheap and skilled labour.
(vi) Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness.
12. Write down the features of rubber crop.
(i) It is an equatorial crop, but it is also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
(ii) Requires moist & humid climate with rainfall more than 200 cm. & temp. above 25°C.
(iii) Rubber is an important industrial raw material.
(iv) It is mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar islands
and Garo hills of Meghalaya.
13. Name the fibre crop, India believed to be the original home. Write down its features
Ans- Cotton
(i) Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.
(ii) Requires high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sun-shine to grow.
(iii) It is a kharif crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
(iv) Major producing states- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu etc.
14. Name the non-food crop which is known as the golden fibre. Write down its features.
Ans- Jute
(i) Jute grows well on well-drained fertile soils where soils are renewed every year.
(ii) High temperature is required during the time of growth.
(iii) West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya are the major jute producing states.
15. Describe the technological and institutional reforms taken by the government for
development of Indian agriculture.
(i) Collectivisation and consolidation of land holdings to make them economically
viable.
(ii) The green revolution and the White Revolution were some of the strategies initiated to
improve Indian agriculture.
(iii) Cooperation with farmers and Abolition of Zamindari system.
(iv) Provision of crop insurance to protect the farmers against losses caused by natural
calamities, i.e. drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease.
(v) Establishment of Grameen Banks, Cooperative Societies and banks for providing loan
facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest.
(vi) Kissan Credit Card (KCC), Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) are some
other schemes introduced by the government for the benefits of farmers.
(vii) Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers were introduced on
the Radio and TV.
(viii) Announcement of minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices for
crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and middlemen and
removing the elements of uncertainty.
