Q1.
Prepare a list of the crops that are cultivated in your state or union territory in a year and classify them into kharif, rabi, and zaid.
Answer
Method. Ask a farmer, a grandparent or your state's agriculture department website for the crops of your district. Then sort each crop by the month it is sown, using Fig. 1.5 as your key:
Sown June–July, grows Aug–Sep, harvested Oct–Nov → KHARIF (hot, heavy rainfall)
Sown Oct–Dec, grows Jan–Feb, harvested Mar–Apr → RABI (cool, less water)
Sown Mar–May, harvested from June → ZAID (summer season)
Sown Oct–Dec, grows Jan–Feb, harvested Mar–Apr → RABI (cool, less water)
Sown Mar–May, harvested from June → ZAID (summer season)
The crops Fig. 1.5 itself names, which you can use to check your list:
| Season | Conditions | Crops named in Fig. 1.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | Hot, heavy rainfall | rice, maize, jowar, bajra, sugarcane, groundnut, cotton |
| Rabi | Cool, less water | wheat, barley, peas, mustard, gram |
| Zaid | Summer season | watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, pumpkin |
Sample answer: Punjab
| Kharif | Rabi | Zaid |
|---|---|---|
| Rice (paddy), maize, cotton, sugarcane, bajra, moong, groundnut | Wheat, barley, gram, mustard (sarson), peas, potato, lentil (masur) | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd, summer moong, fodder |
Sample answer: Tamil Nadu — note that the local names differ
| Kharif | Rabi | Zaid |
|---|---|---|
| Rice (kuruvai), groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, ragi, bajra | Rice (samba, grown on the northeast monsoon), pulses, gingelly (sesame), maize | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, fodder crops, vegetables |
Why the calendar shifts from state to state: the seasons are named after the rains, and the rains do not arrive everywhere at the same time. North and central India are watered by the southwest monsoon (June–September), so their kharif is sown in June. Tamil Nadu gets much of its rain from the northeast monsoon (October–December), so its big paddy crop is sown later. Always classify by the sowing month in your own district, not by the crop's name.
Did you know? Before the Arabic words kharif, rabi and zaid came into use, these three seasons were called kedāra (wet crops), haimana (winter crops) and graiṣhmika (summer crops).