Guided by:-dr. amitesh kumar

singh

Submitted by:-Swarupa kumarii.d- r-12039b.sc(ag.) 4th yr.

presentation on

Agro-climatic zones of india

ABSTRACT Agriculture occupies a pride place in the country’s economy. It is

the main source of raw material for India’s leading industries, providing employments to a vast number of people in the villages and towns. It also provides a large part of market for industrial goods, particularly the farm inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, implements, machinery pumps etc. It is agriculture which supplies not only food grains, beverages and nutritious food but also sustains a large number of industries. Thus it becomes vital to have knowledge about the agricultural development of the regions. In the ACRP (Agro Climatic Regional Planning) Programme the country was divided into 15 major Agro Climatic regions, later subdivisions were also done according to the homogeneity in agricultural characteristics and feasibility in terms of planning and operationalisation with reference to the geographical area covered.

With the 329 million hectares of the geographical area the country presents a large number of complex agro-climatic situations.

INTRODUCTION The Planning Commission, as a result of the mid-term appraisal of

the planning targets of the Seventh Plan, 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. Fourteen regions were in the main land and the remaining one in the islands of Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.  The main objective was 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.

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

1.WESTERN HIMALAYAN 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.

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:- intensify the soil and water conservation planning. Land utility planning should be implemented. Good storage for transportation, marketing & processing. Irrigation management like water harvesting technique.

Major constraints:-

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.

2. Eastern himalayan region

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.

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.

3. Lower gangetic plain

Major constraints:- Lack of good water management. Use of local variety. Less use of HYV. Inadequate supply of inputs. Poor marketing and processing. Dependent on monsoon. Uneducated and poor farmers. Poor electricity supply.

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.

4. Middle 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.

5. Upper gangetic 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- 65-125 cm. Cropping intensity is highest. Important crops include wheat, sugarcane, cotton, rice,

gram, maize, millets, pulses and oilseeds.

6. Transgangetic plains

Good water management. Management and reclaimation of user soil. Proper use of ground water. Diversification of crops. Proper livestock and pasture management. Increasing of area under vegetables, fruits and pastures.

Measures to develop this region:-

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.

7. Eastern 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.

8.CENTRAL PLATEAU AND HILLS

water conservation through water saving devices like sprinklers and drip system.

crop diversification. ground water development. reclamation of ravine lands.

Measures to mitigate water scarcity:-

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.

9. Western plateau & hills

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.

Measures to improve its condition:-

This region includes the greater parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

It is an area of dry-zone agriculture. Annual rainfall- 677-1000mm. 81% dry land farming and 111% cropping

intensity. Major crops-Coffee, tea, cardamom and

spices.Suggestions:-

10. Southern plateau & hills

Proper utilization of dry land technology in water shed area.Increase fertilizer use efficiency.Minor irrigation use programme.

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.

11. East coast plains

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.

Suggestions for this area:-

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.

12. West coast plains and ghats

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.

Suggestions for this region:-

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.

13. Gujarat plains and hills

Rain water harvesting and its management. Dryland farming and management of canal and ground

water. Development of agro-forestry and arid-horticulture.

Suggestions for this 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.

Drought occurs frequently. 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%.

14.Western dry region

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.

Suggestions for this region:-

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.

15. Island 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.

Suggestions for this region:-

Agro Climatic zone Planning aims at scientific management of regional resources to meet the requirements of food, fibre, fodder and fuel wood without eroding the status of natural resources and environment. The understanding of agro climatic regions can also help to increase the share of agriculture in state’s GDP.

CONCLUSION

The Rural peoples can be benefited a lot if they have better understanding of Agro Climatic Regions and knowledge of related programmes. This can diversify and stabilise the earnings of the farmers.People involved with agricultural sector should have complete knowledge regarding land, soil types, irrigation facilities, water availability, seeds, amount and distribution of rainfall, human resource, livestock, marketing, credit institutions, input supply system, processing facilities available in the area which can bring better results to the individuals, state and ultimately to the country.

Fundamentals of Agriculture, vol.1- Arun Katyayan. Crop ecology- Agroclimatic regional planning: 34-39.

Principles of Agronomy- T. Yellamanda Reddy, G.H. Sankara Reddy. Climate- Agro-climatic zones of India: 38-39

http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp11/wg11_agrclim.pdf.

http://www.agriinfo.in/. Agronomy- Agro Climatic Zones Of India In General.

http://www.imd.gov.in/doc/Anil_Kumar_Singh.pdf . World Meteorological Day 2011: Climate for you. Climate Resources for Agriculture- Anil Kumar Singh, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (New Delhi)

REFERENCES:-

THANK YOU