Crops of Kharif Season

 CROPS OF KHARIF SEASONS

Kharif (or south-westerly monsoon) crops include rice, maize, jawar, bajra, groundnut, cotton and other crops.

Rice

Rice cultivation in India stretches from 8°N latitude to 34°N latitude. Rice is additionally grown in areas below the ocean level (as in the Kuttanad region of Kerala) as well as at altitudes of about 2000 m (as in parts of Jammu and Kashmir). High rainfall or assured irrigation is important for areas of rice cultivation. Rice crop requires about 30 cm of water per month during the growing period stretching from about 3 to eight months. Rice is grown on about 40 Mha within the country. This area also includes about 7 Mha which is saline, alkaline or flood-prone. Twenty-five per cent of the rice growing area has assured irrigation and about 55 per cent of the rice growing area is ill-drained or waterlogged. the remainder of the rice-growing area is rainfed uplands where the rainfall is marginal to moderate and its distribution is erratic.

Rice cultivation in India is either upland cultivation or lowland cultivation. The upland system of cultivation is confined to such areas which don't have assured irrigation facilities. In this system, fields are ploughed in summer, farmyard manure is uniformly distributed 2–3 weeks before sowing, and therefore the rain water is impounded in the field until the crop is about 45–60 days old.

In the lowland system of rice cultivation, the land is ploughed when 5–10 cm of water is standing within the field. Seeds could also be sown after sprouting. Alternatively, seedling which are 25– 30 days old are transplanted. The nursery area required to supply seedlings for transplanting on one hectare is roughtly one-twentieth of a hectare. The water requirement of lowland rice cultivation is far higher than that of other cereal crops with similar duration.

Maize

Maize is one among the main cereals of the world and ranks first in the average yield. Its world average yield of 27.8 quintals/hectare (q/ha) is followed by the typical yields of rice (22.5 q/ ha), wheat (16.3 q/ha) and millets (6.6 q/ha). In terms of area of maize cultivation, India ranks fifth (after USA, Brazil, China and Mexico) within the world. However, India stands eleventh in the world in terms of maize production. Within India, maize production ranks only next to rice, wheat, jawar, and bajra in terms of area also as production. Most of the maize cultivation (around 75 per cent) is within the states of Uttar Pradesh (1.4 Mha), Bihar (0.96 Mha), Madhya Pradesh (0.58 Mha), Rajasthan (0.78 Mha) and Punjab (0.52 Mha).

Maize requires deep and well-drained fertile soils, but are often grown on any type of soil ranging from heavy clays to light sands provided that the pH does not deviate from the range 7.5 to 8.5. Maize plants, particularly within the seedling stage, are highly vulnerable to salinity and waterlogging, and hence, proper drainage of the land is important for the successful cultivation of maize. Over 85 per cent of the crop area in India is rainfed during the monsoon.

Maize is actually a warm weather crop grown in different regions of the world ranging from tropical to temperate ones. It cannot withstand frost at any stage of its growth. In India, its cultivation extends from the recent arid plains of Rajasthan and Gujarat to the wet regions of Assam and West Bengal .

Maize may be a short-duration (80–95 days) crop and, hence, can conveniently fit into a good range of crop rotations. it's usually grown as a pure crop, but sometimes legumes (e.g., moong, arhar or beans), and quick-growing vegetables (e.g., pumkins, gourds) are grown as mixed crops with it.

The sowing of maize starts 7–10 days before the standard date of the onset of monsoon. One irrigation at the initial stage is beneficial for the establishment of seedlings and the crop yield is increased by about 15–20 per cent. The maize crop is harvested when the grains are nearly dry and don't contain more than 20 per cent moisture. Maize is grown for grains also as fodder.

Sorghum (Jawar)

Sorghum (popularly referred to as jawar) is the main food and fodder crop of dryland agriculture. It is grown over an area of about 18 Mha with the average yield of about 600 kg/ha. Jawar cultivation is concentrated mainly within the peninsular and central India. Andhra Pradesh , Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu , and Uttar Pradesh are the major jawar-growing states. Jawar is especially grown where rainfall distribution ranges from 10–20 cm per month for a minimum of 3 to 4 months of the south-westerly monsoon.

Sorghum is grown during both Kharif (July–October) and Rabi (October–February) seasons. The Rabi cultivation of jawar constitutes about 37 per cent of the entire jawar-growing area. Sorghum cultivation still remains predominantly traditional in most parts of the country. Mixed cropping of jawar and arhar (tur) is extremely common. Harvesting and threshing are still carried out manually or with bullock power. The national average yields are still low and around 500 kg/ha. However, the high-yielding hybrid varieties can yield 2000–3000 kg/ha under average growing conditions.

Spiked Millet (Bajra) 

Bajra may be a drought-resistant crop which is generally preferred in low rainfall areas and lighter soils. it's grown in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh . Over 66 per cent of this crop is grown in areas receiving 10–20 cm per month of rainfall, extending over 1 to 4 months of the south-westerly monsoons. It should be noted that jawar and bajra are grown mostly under identical environmental conditions and both have a good range of adaptability to drought, temperature, and soil.

Groundnut

Groundnut is grown over a neighborhood of about 7 Mha concentrated in the states of Gujarat (24 percent), Andhra Pradesh (20 per cent), Karnataka (12 per cent), Maharashtra (12 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (13 per cent). Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh together have about 20 per cent of the entire groundnut producing area in the country. Groundnut is generally grown as a rainfed Kharif crop. Groundnut is sown during May and June within the subtropics. within the tropics, however, it's sown during either January and February or June and July. Under rainfed conditions the typical yield is 1200–1400 kg per hectare.

Cotton

Cotton occupies about 7.5 Mha in India. Maharashtra (36 per cent), Gujarat (21 per cent), Karnataka (13 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (9 per cent) are the leading states which together grow cotton over a neighborhood of about 6 Mha. Other cotton growing states are Punjab (5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (4 per cent), Tami Nadu (4 per cent), Haryana (3 per cent), and Rajasthan (3 per cent). Most of the cotton-growing areas within the country are in the high to medium rainfall zones. Cotton requires a well-drained soil. it's grown as a rainfed crop in the black cotton and medium black soils and as an irrigated crop in alluvial soils. The sowing season varies from region to region and starts early (April-May) in north India.