Food Crops other than Grains

Introduction

India is an agrarian society saturated with several equatorial, tropical, and subtropical crops and produces multiple food products under required climatic conditions. The primary food crops other than rains are sugarcane, a major commercial crop rich in nutrients, Oilseeds, Tea that is a medicinal beverage, coffee, and horticulture crops located where the frost in winter occurs. Two-thirds of the Indian population are involved in various agricultural activities that produce abundant raw materials and food provisions. They are a prime source of employment in today’s growing industrial era.

Subsistence agriculture and plantations are edible, which is used for human consumption. The food crops primly include grains, fruits, vegetables, and tubers. Though grains are the most grown food crop globally, there are plantations grown and harvested on a large scale to meet the needs of people. This is the essential topic listed in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than Grains to teach agriculture to the students.

Sugarcane

Sugarcane grows in tropical regions and is called a Tropical crop and is also a subtropical crop.

It belongs to the grass family and is essential as it forms the primary source for gur (jaggery), Khansari, sugar, and molasses. India is the second-largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil and is produced in many states of India, of which Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana are the primary producers.

The climatic conditions are mentioned in the Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains to upskill the proficiency on Indian agriculture. Sugarcane survives in a hot, humid climate with temperatures ranging from 21 °C to 27 °C and yearly rainfall varying from 75 cm to 100 cm. In low-rainfall areas, irrigation is essential. From sowing to harvesting, it may be cultivated on various soils and requires physical labour.

Oil Seeds

There are many types of oilseeds grown in approximately 12 per cent of the total cropped area

of India. Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums, but some are also used as raw materials in the production of soap, cosmetics, and ointments. The main Oilseeds produced in India are listed in the Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains like castor seeds, cotton seeds, groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soybean, linseed, and sunflower.

Groundnut is a Kharif crop, and Gujarat is the largest producer of Groundnuts in India, followed by coffee, a beverage crop. Similarly, Mustard is a Rabi crop, Sesamum (til): is a Kharif crop in the north, and rabi crop in south India, castor seeds are grown as both Rabi and Kharif, and Linseed is a rabi crop.

Groundnut

The major Kharif crop grown in India is responsible for about half of the major oilseeds produced. As per the reports in 2016, India was the second-largest producer of groundnut in the world, followed by coffee, after China. Central groundnut-producing states: Gujarat was the largest producer, followed by Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

Groundnuts are rich in protein and have low calories. The significant benefit is that it promotes health and fertility, enhances memory power and hair growth, and also assists in combating depression. The prime uses and disadvantages are mentioned in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains.

Sunflower

Sunflower oil is obtained from the seeds of sunflowers. Sunflower oil can be commonly used as a frying oil, and the oil can be used to run diesel engines. It is a heliotropic plant, which means its movement is under the sun. The best time for its cultivation is after the spring frost has passed anytime, and after the soil has warmed to at least 10 °C. The detailed information about its plantation is given in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains. India is a major producer of sunflower oil that is followed by coffee. They are expected to fall between April and mid-July. In the south, this will probably occur in mid-March or early April. 

Coconut

Coconut is also referred to as the ‘tree of heaven’. Every part of the coconut plant is useful to mankind. The major coconut-producing states of India include Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Coconut is used as a source of cooking oil in many South Indian states after coffee. It is a tropical plant, and the ideal temperature for the cultivation of coconut is 27 ± 5° C and humidity > 60 per cent. The additional information is mentioned in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains.

Other oil seeds

Linseed and Mustard are rabi crops. Sesamum is grown in different seasons in North and South India and is a Kharif crop in north and rabi crop in south India. Like Sesamum, Castor seed is also grown as rabi and Kharif crops. In India, rapeseed is also harvested, and India is the third-largest producer in the world after Canada and China in 2016 after coffee, which is a medicinal beverage crop. The climatic conditions for the ideal growth of each plant are listed in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains for having a better analysis of its plantation and production.

Plantation Crops

Tea

Tea was introduced in India by the British and is now an important beverage crop. It is a Labor-intensive industry as it necessitates a large supply of inexpensive, trained labour like coffee. To maintain its freshness, tea is processed in the tea garden. The major producing states are Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, and Tripura are also among the states that produce them.

The ideal climatic conditions for the growth of tea plants given in  Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than Grains are:- Tea grows in tropical and subtropical regions with deep, fertile, well-drained soil that is high in humus and organic matter. Across the year, tea bushes require a warm, wet, frost-free climate. Frequent rainfall evenly dispersed throughout the year ensures the consistent growth of sensitive leaves.

Coffee

The quality of Indian coffee is well known throughout the world. The Arabica variety, brought from Yemen, is grown in the country. It was first planted on the Baba Budan Hills, and its cultivation is still limited to the Nilgiris in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The plants are an export crop in many countries worldwide and are a native tropical crop of Asia and the South African continent. It further contributes to the economic development in many countries, and its uses are listed in  Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains.

Horticulture Crops

After China, India was the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in 2016. India is a tropical as well as a temperate fruit producer. Pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal, potato also coffee are important beverage crops in India mentioned in Geography Class 10: Food Crops other than grains.

There are great demands of Maharashtra’s, Andhra Pradesh’s, Telangana’s, Uttar Pradesh’s, and West Bengal’s mangoes, Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya) oranges, Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu bananas, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar’s litchi and guava, Meghalayan pineapples, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra grapes and Jammu and Kashmir’s apples, pears, apricots, and walnuts, as well as Himachal Pradesh’s.

Conclusion

Besides cereal grains, many food crops such as sugarcane, oilseeds, plantation crops, and various horticulture crops. Sugarcane grows in tropical regions. It is essential as it forms the primary jaggery, Khansari, sugar, and molasses. It is produced in many states of India. Oilseeds are also grown in various parts of India; they are grown in approximately 12 percent of the total cropped area of India. The major oilseeds include castor seeds, cotton seeds, groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesame, soybean, linseed, and sunflower. Groundnut is a Kharif crop, and India represents the second-largest producer of groundnut in the world, after China. Sunflower oil is obtained from the seeds of sunflowers. It can be used as a frying oil. Coconut is also used as a source of cooking oil in many South Indian states. Other oil seeds include mustard, which is normally used as a cooking oil in many parts of India. Plantation crops include tea and coffee.