Wondering which rainy season crop is grown during the season of rains? You’ve arrived at the right place. This blog contains thoroughly researched information about the crop sown in rainy season, along with a list of the 5 most important crops in rainy season.
India’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, which employs 60-70% of the country’s total population. Crop cultivation, livestock raising, agroforestry, and other activities included in the said industry.
The Most Crucial Season For The Rainy Season Crops
Amongst the other seasons, the most crucial season for the agricultural industry remains to be the monsoon season, precisely because the rainy season yields the maximum production of the country’s staple food crops like Rice, Cotton, Sugarcane, Tea, Pulses and other rainy season crops like Sorghum (chara), maize, rubber, coffee, Guar, Sesame, and cereals such as Arhar Dal, pearl millet, soybeans, cotton, oilseeds etc.
Monsoon season is an essential season within the agricultural industry. A weak monsoon could lead to lower output of rainy season crops in India which may cause the government to increase the minimum support prices of farmers to support the larger farming community, which easily leads to a higher market price.
Thus, a poor monsoon season can have a rippling effect on India’s economy and growth.
Rainy Season Crop
The crops which are grown in rainy season are called Kharif crops, also known as rainy season crop or monsoon crops. These crops household crop plants grown and harvested in India during the rainy season, which typically lasts from June to November.
Humid, warmer conditions are critical to the sowing and harvesting of crops in the rainy season.
We know that the crops grown in the rainy season called the Kharif crops, but, interestingly, the Mughal Empire’s development in India led to the first usage of the Arabic-derived name Kharif. It has since gained widespread use. Kharif stands for autumn in Arabic; thus, the two seasons coincide.
In contrast to Kharif crops which are the type of crops grown in rainy season, Rabi crops grow successfully during the dry season.
Cultivation And Harvesting Months of The Rainy Season Crop
Depending on the crop and area, the Kharif season can begin as early as May and go as late as January. The season expected to start in India in June and last until October. These rainy season crops are often planted at the start of the first rains as the southwest monsoon season approaches and are harvested in the last months of the monsoon (October–November).
Monsoon sowing can take place as early as the end of May in Kerala in the south and as late as July in other states in northern India like Maharashtra.
Features of The Crops Sown In Rainy Season
- These crops grown in the rainy season.
- Sowing begins right after the first rain of the year in June – July (Monsoon crops).
- Harvested in September-October.
- It requires a ton of water and a hot climate to grow successfully.
- Example: Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Pulses (like Urad Dal), Maize, Groundnut, Jowar, Jute, Sugarcane, Turmeric, etc.
Points To Consider Before You Start The Production Of The Rainy Season Crop
The fact that monsoon crops grown during the monsoon season presents the following difficulties farmers might face:
- Ensuring sufficient water is given to the crop plants is crucial for the successful production of the crops grown in the rainy season since intense rainfall patterns can easily hinder crop development.
- Hailstorms can cause significant agricultural damage. Rainy season crops damaged by severe hailstorms may bend or become permanently ruined, incurring a considerable loss.
- Inappropriate weather can cause a significant impact on the monsoon crops growth pattern. It might result in larger or smaller grains or affect their crop quality.
Top 5 Major Rainy Season Crops In India
Now that we know everything about the crops grown in rainy season, let’s take a look at the most crucial rainy season crops list and get you rid of the question of “which crops are grown in rainy season“
1. RICE
Undoubtedly, rice is one of the most popular crops sown in the rainy season and the most important crop of Kharif season that is found practically everywhere. It is one of the nation’s primary crops. Hence, the food security of the country depends on a healthy Kharif harvest. India is the world’s largest rice exporter and has a sizable local market. Its seeds do best in hot, humid areas with required temperatures between 21 °C to 37 °C. The states that produce the most rice are West Bengal, Punjab, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh. For irrigation, it is reliant on rainfall and atmospheric moisture.
China is the number one rice producer in the world, with an annual average production of 148,032 thousand tonnes (milled basis), making India the second-largest producer with 116,016 thousand tonnes (milled basis).
Paddy fields, typical rice fields, must be flooded with 10-12 cm deep water in the earliest stages.
| Opted Technique | Transplantation technique, Japanese Transplantation technique, new SRI technique |
| Varieties | Aman, Sali, Afghani, Aus, Boro, Palau |
| Required Temperature | ∼ 24° C |
| Water Level | 150 cm |
| Type of Soil | Clay/ Loamy |
| Important Producing States | West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,Assam, Tamil Nadu, Haryana |
| Highest Producing State in the country | West Bengal |
| Highest per Hectare Yield | Punjab |
| Research Centre | Odisha, Cuttack |
| Highest Producing Country | China |
2. COTTON
Cotton is one of the most significant fibre crops in India and throughout the world. This monsoon crop provides the textile industry’s most essential raw material, cotton fibre. Cotton is a crop that demands a consistently high temperature ranging from 21°C to 30°C; if the temperature falls below 21°C, it leads to the growth of this crop significantly slow. Therefore, cotton preferably cultivated in regions with at least 210 frost-free days yearly since frost is its number one enemy.
A yearly rainfall of 50 to 100 cm can supply the meagre requirement for water. But with the help of new irrigation techniques, cultivation in places with less rainfall can effectively be carried out.
Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are the central cotton-producing states, with over 80% of all irrigated land explicitly dedicated to cotton cultivation.
| Varieties | Long Staple, Medium Staple, Short Staple |
| Required Temperature | 21-30° C |
| Water Level | 50-100cm |
| Type of Soil | Black soil (Highly water-retentive soil) |
| Important Producing States | Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra |
| Highest Producing State | Gujarat (According to the 2015 report) |
| Research Centre | Nagpur, Maharashtra |
| Highest Producing Country | China |
3. SUGARCANE
Sugarcane is another one of the most valuable rainy season crops. India, with a yearly production of 281,170 thousand tonnes (milled basis), is the second-largest producer in the world. After only Brazil, with an annual output of 455,291 thousand tonnes (milled basis). A long monsoon season of at least 7-8 months is crucial for sugarcane growth. South India now produces more sugarcane than the traditional location in North India did. The subtropical species of sugarcane grown in North India has much lower sugar content. In North India, sugar industries remain closed during the winter months. Tropical varieties and coastal regions in South India result in high sugar content and great production.
| Required Temperature | 20-26 °C |
| Water Level | 75-150 cm |
| Type of Soil | Black Cotton Soil/ Clayey Loamy Soil/ Brown Loamy Soil / Red Loamy Soil |
| Important Producing States | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar, Uttarakhand |
| Highest Producing State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Highest per Hectare Yield | Tamil Nadu |
| Research Centre | Lucknow |
| Highest Producing Country | Brazil |
4. Tea
Evergreen tea plants primarily found in tropical and subtropical areas. Tea is a rainy season crop that requires much labour, and half of the workers are found to be women. On the other hand, tea crops grown more quickly in soft shade. In India, commercial tea planting first began during the British era. India is the world’s second-largest producer (900,000 metric tonnes) and consumer of tea after China, whose yearly production is 2,400,000 metric tonnes. Tea plants need a lot of rain, but their roots cannot withstand water logging. Therefore, it necessitates messy regions.
| Required Temperature | 20-30 °C |
| Water Level | 150-300 cm |
| Type of Soil | Loamy soil (acidic and rich in organic matter) |
| Important Producing States | Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Kerala |
| Highest Producing State | Assam |
| Research Centre | Assam, Tocklai |
| Highest Producing Country | China |
5. Pulses
Another major rainy season crop in the Indian agricultural industry is Pulses. Crops such as black gramme and green gramme are India’s most significant and vital leading crops during the season of monsoon. These crops have maintained and cared for specifically during each season throughout the year.
For the nation’s sizable and predominantly vegetarian population, pulses are a crucial commodities group of crops offering high-quality protein and cereal proteins. Pulses often produced in rainfed environments and do not require extensive irrigation facilities, which explains why they cultivated and harvested in regions. That are left abandoned after cereal and cash crop demand has been met. Even in these circumstances, pulses provide more significant results. In addition to this, pulses have several other beneficial traits, such as being high in protein, enhancing the physical. And fertility of the soil, fitting into mixed/intercropping systems, crop rotations, and dry farming. With this, producing green pods for vegetables as well as nourishing fodder for cattle.
India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, contributing 26% to global output and 30% to global consumption, respectively.
Pulses are a significant group of crops in India, and because they make up a sizable portion of the country’s exports. They are also responsible for considerable economic advantages. During 2020–2021, the nation exported 2,96,169 MT of pulses to the world for a total of Rs. 2,117 crores.
Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, the West Bengal delta, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, coastal and eastern Karnataka. And some areas of Maharashtra are the primary regions with high output.
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