Food Crops — Part 1: Rice and wheat: visual lesson, ICSE Class 10 Geography (H.C.G. Paper 2)

Lesson

The two great cereals

Part 1 — Rice and wheat are India’s two main food grains: rice is the staple of the east and south, wheat of the north and north-west. Each needs its own mix of temperature, rainfall and soil, and each has its own season.

In this lesson you will

State the temperature, rainfall and soil needed for rice and describe the transplantation method
Name the leading rice-producing states
Explain why wheat is a rabi crop and why winter rain helps it, and name the leading wheat-producing states

Table of four food crops with their season and main region
Crop	Season	Main region
Rice	Mainly kharif	East, south, deltas; irrigated north-west
Wheat	Rabi	Northern plains; Malwa plateau
Millets	Mainly kharif	Dry Deccan and Rajasthan
Pulses	Kharif and rabi	Central and western India

Concept

Rice: what it needs

Temperature: high, above about 22–25 °C through the growing season (up to about 32 °C). Rainfall: 100–200 cm or more; fields are kept under standing water for much of the growing period; where rain is less, irrigation makes up the gap (Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu). Soil: heavy clayey or loamy alluvium that holds water, with an impervious layer below — river valleys, deltas and coastal plains. Relief: flat land, or terraces on hill slopes. Labour: plenty of cheap labour for transplanting and harvesting.

Table of the conditions needed for rice
Condition	Rice needs
Temperature	Over about 22–25 °C
Rainfall	100–200 cm or irrigation
Soil	Clayey alluvium that holds water
Relief	Flat plains, deltas, terraces
Labour	Plentiful and cheap

Diagram

Growing rice: methods of cultivation

Broadcasting — seed scattered by hand; easy but low yield. Drilling — seed sown in lines by a seed drill. Dibbling — seed placed in holes at regular spacing. Transplantation (most common in wet areas): (1) seed sown thickly in a nursery; (2) after about four to six weeks the seedlings are uprooted; (3) planted in rows in a puddled, flooded field. It saves seed, lets the main field be used for another crop meanwhile, and gives higher yields. The Japanese method adds HYV seeds, heavy manuring and careful row planting.

Cookies