CROPS OF RABI SEASON

Main crops of Rabi (Post-monsoon) season are wheat, barley and gram.

WHEAT

In terms of production, wheat occupies the primary place among the food crops in the world. In India, it's the second most important food crop, next only to rice. The Indo-Gangetic plains form the foremost important wheat area. The cool winters and hot summers are conducive to a good crop of wheat. Well-drained loams and clayey loams are considered good soils for the cultivation of wheat. However, good crops of wheat are often raised in sandy loams and black soils also.
Wheat crop requires a well-pulverized but compact seedbed permanently and uniform germination. Under irrigated conditions, the primary fortnight of November is considered the optimum time for sowing the medium to long-duration wheats (e.g. the ‘Kalyanasona’ variety). For short-duration wheats (e.g. the ‘Sonalika’ variety) the second fortnight of November is that the optimum time of sowing. In eastern India, wheat is sown within the third week of December due to the late harvesting of paddy. In north-western India also, wheat sowings get delayed thanks to the late harvesitng of paddy, sugarcane or potato.
For wheat sown under irrigated conditions, four to 6 irrigations are required. the primary irrigation should tend at the stage of initiation of the crown root, i.e., about 20–25 days after sowing. Two or three extra irrigations could also be required in case of very light or sandy soils.
The crop is harvested when the grains harden and therefore the straw becomes dry and brittle. The harvesting time varies in several regions. within the peninsular region, harvesting starts in the latter half February and is over in the first week of March. within the central zone, the peak season for harvesting is within the month of March. within the north-western zone, the height harvesting period is that the latter half of April. within the eastern zone, harvesting is over by mid–April. However, in the hills, the wheat crop is harvested within the months of May and June.

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, and West Bengal together grow wheat over an area exceeding 70 per cent of the total area of wheat crop for the country. These states also produce 76 percent of the entire what production of India and have extensive irrigation systems covering from 85 per cent of the world in Punjab to 51 per cent in Bihar.

BARLEY

Barley (Jau) is a crucial rabi crop ranking next only to wheat. the entire area under this crop is about 3.0 Mha, producing nearly 3 million tonnes of grain. Main barley growing states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar which together grow barley over a neighborhood which is about 80 per cent of total barley growing area.

This crop are often grown successfully on all soils which are suitable for wheat cultivation. Barley crop needs less water and is tolerant to salinity. Recent experiments indicate that this crop are often grown on coastal saline soils of Sunderbans in West Bengal and on saline soils in areas of north Karnataka irrigated by canals.

The normal sowing season for barley extends from middle of October to the middle of November, but it are often sown as late as the first week of January. Barley is grown either on conserved moisture or under restricted irrigation. Generally, it needs two to 3 irrigations. On highly alkaline or saline soils, frequent light irrigations are given.

Harvesting period for barley is between mid-March to mid-April. Harvesting starts in the month of February in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka. within the foothills of the Himalayas, harvesting time varies from the top of April to the end of May. the typical grain yield of the ‘dry’ crop is about 700–1000 kg/ha whereas that of the irrigated crop is about twice as much.

GRAM

Gram (Chana) is that the most important pulse which accounts for more than a third of the pulse growing area and about 40 per cent of the assembly of pulses in India. the typical annual area and production of gram are about 7–8 Mha and about 4–5 million tonnes of grain respectively. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh together grow gram over a neighborhood exceeding 6 Mha.
In North India, gram is grown on light alluvial soils which are less suitable for wheat. In south India, gram is cultivated on clay loams and black cotton soils. ‘Kabuli gram’, however, requires soil better than light alluvial soils. Gram is usually grown as a dry crop in the Rabi season.
The preparation of land for gram is analogous to that for wheat. The seeds are sown in rows from the center of October to the beginning of November. The crop matures in about 150 days in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and in 120 days in south India.