Lecture No. 3 Agroclimatic zones of india

Rainfed Agriculture And Watershed Management Notes

1. Lecture No. 3 : Agroclimatic Zones Of India Preapred By : Dr. Pooja Goswami Assistant Professor Department of Agronomy College of Agriculture, Balaghat

2. The Planning Commission of India , as a result of the mid-term appraisal of the planning targets of the Seven five year plan(1988), has divided the country into fifteen broad agro-climatic zones Based on Physiography , Soils, Geological formation, Climate, Cropping patterns, and development of irrigation and mineral resources for broad agricultural planning and developing future strategies.  Introduction

3. Agro climatic zone is a land unit is terms of major climates suitable for a certain range of crops and cultivars(FAO,1983)

4. objective To integrate plans of the agro- climatic regions with the state and national plans to enable policy development based on techno-agro-climatic considerations. In the agro-climatic regional planning, further sub-regionalization was possible based on agro-ecological parameters.

5. 1. Weatern Himalaya Region This Region covers Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the hilly region of U.P. Climate is cool and humid. Annual rainfall- 1650-2000mm. Soil is predominantly alluvial. The valley floors grow rice, while the hilly tracts grow maize in the kharif season. Winter crops are barley, oats, and wheat. The region supports horticultural crops like apple, peaches, apricot, pears, cherry, almond, litchis, walnut, etc. Saffron is grown in this region. Cropping intensity is lowest in J&K and highest in Himachal pradesh .

6. Major Constraints of this region The main problems of this region are poor accessibility, soil erosion, landslides, inclement weather, inadequacy of marketing and storage facilities. The population is generally rural-based and poor. Measures to develop this region:- I ntensify the soil and water conservation planning . Land utility planning should be implemented. Good storage for transportation, marketing & processing. Irrigation management like water harvesting technique.

7. 2. Eastern Himalaya Region This region includes Arunachal Pradesh, the hills of Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Climate is humid and sub humid. Annual rainfall- 1840-3528 mm. The main crops are rice, maize, potato, tea. Jhuming (shifting cultivation) prevails in the hilly areas. The major constraint is soil erosion.

8. Measures to develop this region  Soil and water conservation for each watershed. Educate the people about the harmful effect of land erosion. Facilities of good supply of inputs, marketing, transportation, processing & storage. Adoption of integrated farming system.

9. 3. Lower Gangatic Plains West Bengal, eastern Bihar and the Brahmaputra valley lie in this region. Climate is moist humid and dry humid. Annual rainfall- 1302-1607mm. Productivity of rice is lower than national average but contributes 12% of total rice production of country. Rice is the main crop and others are jute, rapeseed, wheat.

10. Major Constraints Lack of good water management. Use of local variety. Less use of HYV. Inadequate supply of inputs. Poor marketing and processing. Dependency on monsoon. Uneducated and poor farmers.

11. 4. Middle Gangetic Plain This region includes eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is a fertile alluvial plain drained by the Ganga and its tributaries. Climate is moist sub humid to dry humid.  Annual rainfall- 1211-1470mm. 40% of total cropped area is irrigated and cropping intensity is 142%. Main crops- sugarcane, paddy, maize, wheat.

12. 5. Upper Gangetic Plain This region includes the central and western parts of Uttar Pradesh and the Haridwar and Udham Nagar districts of Uttarakhand . Climate is dry sub humid to sub dry climate. Annual rainfall- 721-979 mm. Main crops- rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane.  Irrigation intensity is 131% and cropping intensity is 145%. Milk production and processing units are being established.

13. 6. Transgangetic Plain This region (also called the Satluj -Yamuna Plains) extends over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Semi-arid characteristics prevail in this region. Annual rainfall- 650-1250 mm. Cropping intensity is highest. Important crops include wheat, sugarcane, cotton, rice, gram, maize, millets, pulses and oilseeds.

14. Measures to develop this region Good water management. Management and reclamation of user soil. Proper use of ground water. Diversification of crops. Proper livestock and pasture management. Increasing of area under vegetables, fruits and pastures.

15. 7. Eastern Plateau and hills This region includes the Chhotanagpur Plateau, extending over Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh. Climate is moist subhumid to dry subhumid . Annual rainfall is 1271-1436mm. The region is deficient in water resources due to plateau structure and non-perennial streams. Important crops are rice, millets, maize, oilseeds, ragi , gram and potato. Soils are red and yellow with occasional patches of laterites and alluvium.

16. 8. Central Plateau and Hills The region includes 46 districts of M.P, Chhattisgarh, U.P and rajasthan . Undulating soil topography, ravines are present. Climate is semi arid to dry sub humid. Annual rainfall is 400-1550mm. Main crops are Wheat, Gram, Jowar , Bajra , Paddy, millets, oilseeds, cotton and sunflower.  Soils are mixed red, yellow and black.  Scarcity of water is major constraint .

17. Measures to develop this region water conservation through water saving devices like sprinklers and drip system. crop diversification. ground water development. reclamation of ravine lands.

18. 9. Western Plateau and Hills This region includes Malwa plateau and Deccan plateau (Maharashtra), some parts of M.P and Rajasthan. It covers maximum parts of peninsular area. This is a region of the regur (black) soil. Climate is semi-arid. Annual rainfall- 602-1040 mm. Net sown area-65%, forest area-11%, irrigated area-12.4%. Major crops- jowar , bajra , cotton and wheat. Irrigation is mainly done by canals. This region provides 50% jowar of our country and best quality of orange, grape and banana.

19. Measures to develop this region Increasing water efficiency by popularizing water saving devices like sprinklers and drip system. The lower value crops of jowar , bajra and rainfed wheat should give way to high value oilseeds. Improvement of milk production of cattle and buffalo through cross-breeding along with poultry development should be encouraged.

20. 10. Southern Plateau and Hills About 35 district of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu include in this region It is an area of Semi arid zone agriculture. Annual rainfall- 677-1000mm. 81% dry land farming and 111% cropping intensity. Major crops-Coffee, tea, cardamom and spices. Proper utilization of dry land technology in water shed area. Increase fertilizer use efficiency. Minor irrigation use programme.

21. 11. East Coast Plain This region includes east coast of Tamil Nadu, A.P and Orissa. Climate is semi arid and dry sub humid. Annual rainfall- 780-1287 mm. Soils are mainly alluvial and coastal sands and are troubled by the problem of alkalinity. Irrigation through canals and tanks. Major crops- Rice, Ragi , Jowar & Bajra . This region contributes 20.3% in total rice production and 17.5% in groundnut production. 75% area is rainfed .

22. Measures to develop this region Main agricultural strategies include improvement in the cultivation of spices (pepper and cardamom) and development of fisheries. Discouraging growing of rice on marginal lands and bringing such lands under alternate crops like oilseeds and pulses. Diversifying cropping and avoiding mono-cropping. Developing horticulture in upland areas.  Social forestry and dairy-farming.

23. 12. West Coast Plains and Ghats This region includes west coast of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Goa. Climate is dry sub humid to humid. Annual rainfall- 2226-3640mm. The soils are laterite and coastal alluvial. Main occupation is cultivation of spices and plantation crops which are raised along the hill slopes of the Western Ghats. Major crops- Rice, Ragi , Groundnut, Tapioca.

24. Measures to develop this region Storage of rain water. Proper use of ground water. Raising of high value crops (pulses, spices, and coconut). Development of infra- structural facilities Promotion to prawn culture in brackish water.

25. 13.Gujrat Plains and Hills This region includes 19 districts of Gujarat. It is an arid and semi-arid region. Annual rainfall- 340-1793 mm. 32.5% land is irrigated through wells and tube wells. Main crops- maize, Wheat, Groundnut, Tobacco, Cotton, Jowar , Bajra . This zone is famous for oilseed crop hence known as oilseed region. Cropping intensity is 114% About 60% area is drought prone. 78% area is rainfed . Soils are regur in the plateau region, alluvium in the coastal plains, and red and yellow soils in Jamnagar area.

26. Measures to develop this region Rain water harvesting and its management. Dryland farming and management of canal and ground water. Development of agro-forestry and arid-horticulture.

27. 14. Western Dry Region This region includes 9 districts of Rajasthan. This region has an erratic rainfall of an annual average of 95mm. The desert climate further causes high evaporation. This region has scanty vegetation and no perennial rivers. Main crops- bajra , gram, wheat, rapeseed. This region has 1.2% forest area, 4.5% pasture area, 6.3% irrigated area. Cropping intensity is 105%. Drought occurs frequently.

28. Measures to develop this regions  Rainwater harvesting. Increasing yield level of horticultural crops like water melon, guava and date palm. Adopting high quality germ- plasm in cattle to improve their breed. Adopting silvi -pastoral system over wastelands.

29. 15. Island Regions This region includes Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshwadeep . Climate is humid. Annual rainfall is 300mm spread over 8-9 months. Largely forest zone with undulating land. Main crops are rice, maize, millets, pulses, arecanut , turmeric and cassava. Nearly half of the cropped area is under coconut.

30. Measures to develop this regions Crop improvement. Water management and fisheries. Improved variety of rice seeds should be popularised so as to enable farmers to take two crops of rice in place of one. Brackish water prawn culture should be promoted in the coastal areas.

31. References 1. Agronomy : Basic and Applied Gajendra Singh Tomar ., Agroclimatic Zones and crop Classification PP 40-47. 2. Fundamentals of Agriculture, vol.1- Arun Katyayan . Crop ecology- Agroclimatic regional planning: 34-39. 3. 3.Principles of Agronomy- T. Yellamanda Reddy, G.H. Sankara Reddy. 4. PowerPoint Presentation uploaded in Slide Share by Swarupa Kumari , Agroclimatic Zones of India. Pp 1-33.

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