Class 10 Agriculture Notes

AGRICULTURE — QUALITY NOTES

1. Importance of Agriculture

Agriculture is a major economic activity in India.
It provides food and raw materials for industries.
Agricultural products such as tea, coffee and spices are also exported.
Farming practices vary according to physical environment, technology and socio-cultural conditions.

2. Types of Farming

A. Primitive Subsistence Farming

Practised on small patches of land using simple tools and family/community labour.
Depends heavily on monsoon, natural soil fertility and environmental conditions.
Often follows slash-and-burn / shifting cultivation.
When soil fertility declines, farmers move to another patch.
Productivity is generally low because modern inputs are not widely used.
In different parts of India it has different names, including Jhumming, Bewar, Podu, Penda, Kumari and Kuruwa.

B. Intensive Subsistence Farming

Practised in regions with high population pressure on land.
Requires large amounts of labour.
Farmers use irrigation and biochemical inputs to obtain higher production.
Small holdings often result from division of land through inheritance, increasing pressure on agricultural land.

C. Commercial Farming

Production is mainly intended for the market.
Uses modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides.
The degree of commercialisation differs between regions.
A crop may be commercial in one region but mainly used for subsistence in another.

Plantation Agriculture

A form of commercial farming where one crop is grown over a large area.
Requires considerable capital and labour.
The produce generally supplies processing industries as raw material.
Major plantation crops include tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and banana.
Good transport and communication are important because plantations are connected to processing centres and markets.

3. Cropping Pattern

India has three main cropping seasons:

Season	Period	Major Crops
Rabi	Sown Oct–Dec; harvested Apr–Jun	Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard
Kharif	Grown with monsoon; harvested Sep–Oct	Rice, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, jute, groundnut, soybean
Zaid	Short summer season between Rabi and Kharif	Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder

Rabi crops benefit from winter precipitation associated with western temperate cyclones.
Kharif crops depend largely on the monsoon.
Sugarcane takes almost a year to mature.

4. Major Crops

Rice

A major staple food crop of India.
It is a Kharif crop.
Needs high temperature (above 25°C), high humidity and rainfall above 100 cm.
Where rainfall is inadequate, irrigation allows cultivation.
Important producing areas include northern and north-eastern plains, coastal and deltaic regions, as well as irrigated areas such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

Wheat

A major Rabi cereal and an important food crop of northern and north-western India.
Needs a cool growing season and bright sunshine during ripening.
Requires about 50–75 cm of well-distributed rainfall.
Major producers: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

Millets

Important millets are jowar, bajra and ragi.

They have high nutritional value.
Jowar: mainly rain-fed; important producers include Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Bajra: grows well on sandy and shallow black soils; Rajasthan is an important producer.
Ragi: suited to dry regions and several types of soil; Karnataka is a major producer.

Maize

Used as both food and fodder.
Mainly a Kharif crop.
Requires about 21°C–27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
Major producers include Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Pulses

India is a major producer and consumer of pulses.
Important pulses: tur/arhar, urad, moong, masur, peas and gram.
They are an important source of protein.
Pulses require relatively less moisture.
Most pulses help improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and are therefore often included in crop rotation.
Major producing states include Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Sugarcane

Grows in tropical and subtropical climates.
Best suited to about 21°C–27°C and 75–100 cm rainfall.
Irrigation is useful in areas of low rainfall.
Provides raw material for sugar, gur, khandsari and molasses.
Major producers include Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

Oilseeds

Important oilseeds include:
groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesame, soybean, castor, cottonseed, linseed and sunflower.

Many are used as edible oils.
Some also provide raw material for soaps, cosmetics and ointments.
Groundnut is mainly a Kharif crop.
Mustard and linseed are Rabi crops.

Tea

An important plantation and beverage crop.
Requires warm, moist, frost-free conditions.
Needs deep, fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter.
Cultivation is labour-intensive.
Major producing areas include Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Coffee

Indian coffee is known for its quality.
The Arabica variety is important.
Major cultivation is concentrated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Horticulture

Includes fruits and vegetables.
India produces both tropical and temperate fruits.
Important examples include mangoes, oranges, bananas, litchi, guava, pineapple, grapes, apples, pears, apricots and walnuts.
India is also an important producer of vegetables such as peas, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.

5. Non-Food Crops

Rubber

Mainly an equatorial crop, but can also grow in suitable tropical and subtropical areas.
Needs a moist and humid climate, rainfall above 200 cm and temperature above 25°C.
Important industrial raw material.
Major producers include Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and parts of Meghalaya.

Cotton

An important raw material for the cotton textile industry.
Grows well in the black soil region of the Deccan Plateau.
Needs high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, a long frost-free period and bright sunshine.
It is a Kharif crop and takes about 6–8 months to mature.

Jute

Known as the golden fibre.
Grows well in fertile, well-drained soils of flood plains.
Needs high temperature.
Major producers: West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.
Used for gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other products.

6. Technological and Institutional Reforms

Indian agriculture has faced challenges because many farmers continue to depend on monsoon and natural soil fertility.

Important reforms include:

Land reforms
Consolidation of land holdings
Cooperation and collectivisation
Abolition of zamindari
Green Revolution
White Revolution (Operation Flood)
Land development programmes
Crop insurance
Grameen banks and cooperative societies
Kisan Credit Card (KCC)
Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS)
Minimum support and procurement prices
Agricultural information through radio and television.

Green Revolution

Introduced a package of modern agricultural technologies to increase production.
Its benefits were concentrated in selected areas, so later programmes aimed at broader agricultural development.

7. Bhoodan–Gramdan Movement

Vinoba Bhave initiated the Bhoodan movement.
At Pochampally in Telangana, a landowner offered 80 acres for distribution among 80 landless villagers.
This voluntary donation of land became known as Bhoodan.
Donation of villages by some landowners came to be known as Gramdan.
The movement is also referred to in the chapter as the Blood-less Revolution.

Quick Revision: Must-Remember

Rabi → Winter → Wheat, Gram, Mustard

Kharif → Monsoon → Rice, Maize, Cotton, Jute

Zaid → Summer → Watermelon, Muskmelon, Cucumber

Rice → Hot + Humid + >100 cm rainfall

Wheat → Cool season + Sunshine + 50–75 cm rainfall

Rubber → >200 cm rainfall + >25°C

Jute → Fertile floodplain soil → “Golden Fibre”

Cotton → Black soil + High temperature

Plantation → Single crop + Large area + Market/industry

Pulses → Protein + Nitrogen fixation + Crop rotation

Bhoodan → Land donation

Gramdan → Village donation