Chapter 4 Solutions — Agriculture

Tea is an important beverage crop and an example of plantation agriculture, introduced in India initially by the British.

The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter. Tea bushes require a warm, moist, frost-free climate all through the year, and frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves. It also needs abundant, cheap and skilled labour.

Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of people in India, and it is a kharif crop.

According to the source, rice requires a high temperature (above 25°C) and high humidity, with annual rainfall above 100 cm. In areas of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation.

It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions. The development of a dense network of canal irrigation and tubewells has made it possible to grow rice even in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.

Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India, and India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.

The source states that rice is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions. With canal irrigation and tubewells it is also grown in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan. Important rice-growing regions include Assam, West Bengal, coastal Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.