Question

What is multiple cropping? Explain multiple cropping and crop rotation as ‘ a part of modern agriculture in India.

Answer 1

Multiple Cropping:

The practice of growing two or more crops in the same piece of land during a single growing season is called multiple cropping.

Mostly two types of crops are grown more. They are:

1. Food grains such as wheat, paddy, jowar, maize, pulses, etc. and
2. Cash crops such as oil seeds such as groundnut, sesame, castor, soyabean, etc. and other crops such as sugarcane, rubber, cotton, jute, etc.

Multiple cropping has become wide spread because of two major reasons.

1. Technological factors and
2. Economic factors.

1. Technological factors:

• Multiple cropping depends on the soil, weather, rainfall, etc. of the region. For example, in Madhya Pradesh after taKing crop of bajri, the farmers sow paddy, sugarcane, tobacco, etc. depending upon the irrigation facilities available there.
• Multiple cropping has become possible due to capital, new seeds, fertilizer and credit facilities.

2. Economic factors:

Economic factors also play important role in multiple cropping.
The factors are:

1. Maximization of price and income
2. Availability of agricultural equipment
3. Size of farm
4. Crop insurance
5. Tenure (Tenure avail from landlord), etc.

• Which crops will be selected for multi-cropping as well as rotation of crops is dependent on the availability or scarcity of these factors. ‘
• In 1950-51, India cultivated approximately 75% food grains and 25% cash crops. After 1966, under the ‘Green Revolution’, India started taking multiple crops using the method of crop rotation.
• In the year 1970-71, India cultivated 74% food grains and about 26% cash crops. In 2006-07 this changed to 64% food grains and 36% cash crops. Again in the year 2010-11, India cultivated about 66% of food grains and about 34% of cash crops. These figures clearly indicate that India has been adopting crop rotation and cultivating multiple crops.