Wheat Cultivation in India: Conditions, and
Distribution
Wheat Cultivation in
India: Conditions, and Distribution!
Next to rice, wheat is the most important food-grain of India
and is the staple food of millions of Indians, particularly in the northern and
north-western parts of the country.
It is rich in proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates and provides
balanced food. India is the fourth largest producer of wheat in the world after
Russia, the USA and China and accounts for 8.7 per cent of the world’s total
production of wheat.
Conditions of Growth:
Conditions of growth for wheat are more flexible than those of
rice. In contrast to rice, wheat is a rabi crop which is sown in the beginning
of winter and is harvested in the beginning of summer. The time of sowing and
harvesting differs in different regions due to climatic variations.
The sowing of wheat crop normally begins in the
September-October in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
West Bengal; October-November in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and
Rajasthan and Nov.-Dee. In Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
The harvesting is done in Jan.-
Feb. in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, M.P., and in West Bengal; March-April in
Punjab, Haryana, U.P. and Rajasthan and in April-May in Himachal Pradesh and
J&K. The growing period is variable from one agro climatic zone to other
that effects the vegetative and reproductive period leading to differences in
potential yield. The important factors affecting the productivity are seeding
time and methodology, crop establishment and climatic conditions during the
growing season. Wheat is primarily a crop of mid-latitude grasslands and
requires a cool climate with moderate rainfall. The ideal wheat climate has
winter temperature 10° to 15°C and summer temperature varying from 21°C to
26°C. The temperature should be low at the time of sowing but as the harvesting
time approaches higher temperatures are required for proper ripening of the
crop. But sudden rise in temperature at the time of maturity is harmful.
Wheat
thrives well in areas receiving an annual rainfall of about 75 cm. Annual
rainfall of 100 cm is the highest limit of wheat cultivation. The isohyet of
100 cm marks the boundary between wheat growing areas on one hand and rice
growing areas on the other.
In areas
of less than 50 cm annual rainfall, irrigation is necessary for its successful
growth. In fact, wheat can be grown in areas with as little as 20-25 cm annual
rainfall provided proper irrigation faculties are available.
About 5 to
7 watering are required in irrigated areas depending upon the amount of
rainfall. While prolonged drought, especially in rainfed areas, at the time of
maturity is harmful, light drizzles and cloudiness at the time of ripening help
in increasing the yield. Frost at flowering time and hail storm at the time of
ripening can cause heavy damage to the wheat crop.
Although
wheat can be grown in a variety of soils, well drained fertile, friable loams
and clay loams are the best suited soils for wheat cultivation. It also grows
well in the black soil of the Deccan plateau.
Wheat
cultivation is an extensive type of farming which is highly mechanized and
requires comparatively less labour. It is mainly grown in the flat alluvial
plains of north India.
To sum up
wheat requires a combination of factors including cool climate with moderate
rainfall, flat and well drained plain areas, fertile friable loam and heavy
inputs in the form of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilizers and mechanization.
Production:
Wheat is
grown on 13 per cent of the cropped area of India. Table 24.5 shows the
production trends of wheat in India.
It is clear from the
table that all the three aspects of the crop i.e. production, area and yield
have recorded rapid growth particularly after the introduction of the Green
Revolution strategy in 1967. The production had more than doubled from 109.97
lakh tonnes in 1960-61 to 238.3