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Review key Major Crops & Agricultural Seasons of India: Kharif, Rabi & Zaid exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
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#1
Kharif season (sown June-July, harvested September-October) relies on SW Monsoon rains for crops like rice, cotton, maize, and groundnut.
#2
Rabi season (sown October-December, harvested March-April) relies on sub-tropical winter climate and Western Disturbances for wheat, barley, and mustard.
#3
Zaid season (March-June) represents a short summer transitional period dominated by cucurbitaceous fruits, vegetables, and fodder.
#4
Rice is India's principal staple food grain, cultivated predominantly in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and irrigated tracts of Punjab and Haryana.
#5
Cash crops exhibit defined regional specialization: Sugarcane in UP/Maharashtra, Cotton in Deccan regur tracts, and Coffee in the Western Ghats (Karnataka).
#6
Wheat requires cool growing temperatures of 10°C to 15°C and warm sunshine during ripening (20°C to 25°C), with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab leading national production.
#7
Coarse cereals (millets or Shree Anna), including jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), and ragi (finger millet), thrive in arid and semi-arid tracts requiring minimal rainfall.
#8
Rajasthan is India's leading producer of bajra and mustard, while Maharashtra is the largest producer of jowar, cultivated in both kharif and rabi seasons.
#9
India is the world's largest producer, consumer, and importer of pulses, with gram (chana) and tur (arhar) accounting for the bulk of national output led by Madhya Pradesh.
#10
Sugarcane requires a tropical climate with temperatures between 21°C and 27°C and rainfall between 75 cm and 100 cm, with Uttar Pradesh leading national acreage and production.
#11
Cotton is a tropical/sub-tropical kharif crop requiring 210 frost-free days and 50 to 100 cm rainfall, with Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana being the leading producers.
#12
Jute, known as the 'golden fibre', thrives in well-drained fertile soils of the lower Gangetic delta, with West Bengal accounting for over 70% of total Indian production.
#13
Tea cultivation requires well-drained acidic soil, 150 to 250 cm rainfall, and frost-free weather, with Assam (Brahmaputra Valley) and West Bengal (Darjeeling) dominating production.
#14
Coffee cultivation in India is dominated by Arabica (mild) and Robusta (strong) varieties, grown almost entirely in Karnataka (Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu), Kerala (Wayanad), and Tamil Nadu.
#15
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), launched in 2016, provides comprehensive crop insurance with uniform farmer premiums of 2% for kharif crops, 1.5% for rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
India's farming revolves around three cropping seasons shaped by monsoon rainfall and temperature: Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid. The Kharif season starts with the Southwest Monsoon in June and July, harvesting crops like rice, maize, cotton, and groundnut by autumn. The Rabi season begins in October and relies on cool winter conditions and Western Disturbances to grow wheat, barley, and mustard. In between, the brief summer Zaid season yields watermelons, cucumbers, and fodder.
Classifying crops by season is a frequent question in SSC CGL, State PSCs, and UPSC prelims. A classic exam trap confuses oilseeds and pulses: mustard is strictly a Rabi crop, while groundnut and soybean are Kharif crops. Similarly, remember that gram is a Rabi pulse, whereas arhar (tur) is Kharif. In questions on rice, remember that West Bengal farmers grow three rice crops annually, named Aus, Aman, and Boro.
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