Geography

• Major cotton-producing states in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
• Jute, known as the golden fibre, grows well on well-drained fertile soils in flood plains where soils are renewed annually, requiring high temperatures during growth
• Major jute-producing states in India are West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and Meghalaya
• Rubber, an equatorial crop, requires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm and temperature above 25°C, mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar islands, and Garo hills of Meghalaya
• India, the original home of the cotton plant, is the second largest producer of cotton after China, with cotton growing well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau, requiring high temperatures, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days, and bright sunshine for growth
• Tea cultivation in India requires a climate with frequent showers evenly distributed over the year, abundant cheap and skilled labour, and major tea-producing states include Assam, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala
• Indian coffee, known for its quality, is produced in the country with the Arabica variety in great demand worldwide, initially cultivated in the Baba Budan Hills and now confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu
• India, the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China, produces tropical and temperate fruits, with various states known for specific fruits like mangoes, oranges, bananas, lichi, guava, pineapples, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, and walnuts
• India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world, with major pulses grown including tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas, and gram, helping restore soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air
• Sugarcane, a tropical and sub-tropical crop, grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm and 100cm, requiring irrigation in regions of low rainfall, and is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggery), khandsari, and molasses
• India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil, with major producing states being Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana
• Sugarcane is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggery), khandsari, and molasses in India
• Groundnut is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in India, with Gujarat being the largest producer followed by Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh
• Tea cultivation in India is an example of plantation agriculture, introduced initially by the British and now mostly owned by Indians, thriving in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep, fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter
• Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil, with major producing states being Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana
• Ragi, a crop of dry regions, grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy, and shallow black soils, with major producing states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh
• Maize is a crop used as food and fodder, a kharif crop requiring temperatures between 21°C to 27°C and growing well in old alluvial soil, with major producing states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana
• Wheat, the second most important cereal crop in India, grows well in the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan, with major producing states being Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan
• Rice, the staple food crop of India, is the second largest producer in the world after China, growing in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas, and deltaic regions, with major producing states like Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan