India Food Grain

These crops were brought to India by the Portuguese. The cashew tree is an evergreen tree, and the seed is developed in a kidney-like structure beneath the cashew apple. Cashews are most commonly used in south Asian countries as garnishing on various sweets and dishes. India is the largest producer of cashew in the world. Cashew is also known as a ‘wonder nut’ and is an important cash crop. The cashew tree is valued for not only its nuts but for its supply of timber, firewood, medicines, and fodder. Natural farming is mostly practiced for its cultivation, only 20% of farmers use chemical fertilizers for cultivating cashew.

The world’s most popular beverage, coffee, is prepared from the seeds of berries of the coffee plant. Indian coffee is the finest quality coffee in the world. It is grown in the hilly regions of Kerala, Karnataka, and other south Indian states. India exports about 80% of the total produced coffee. It requires a warm rainy season with a temperature of about 20-27 degrees Celsius and high rainfall of 100-200 cm. A good nitrogenous and humus mixed soil and shade of taller trees, all these factors add up to provide a perfect harvest. It requires labor forces, capital and has high competition in the international market.

Like other leguminous plants, white peas have high nutritional value and are a source of proteins, dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals, and most precisely, fat-free. it is obtained from the pod that occurs on the pea plant and is consumed after drying. The production of white peas in India does not suffice the demand and therefore is imported. Also called Kabuli pea, It is mostly grown in the rabi season whereas in hilly regions March-May can be a suitable period.

This Kharif crop is used both as food and fodder and has become a principal food crop with wheat and rice. It is the third most important crop in India and the country is 4th in area and 7th in production among the other leading maize producing countries. Maize can also be grown in the rabi season in some areas, the rabi maize is 17% of the total produced maize. A temperature of 21 to 27 degrees Celsius is suitable with a downpour of 50-100 cm for a healthy yield and is traditionally grown in monsoon. Because of its high genetic yield potential among other cereals, it is worldwide known as the ‘Queen of cereals’.

Widely known as coarse grains, millets have high nutritional value. These crops are well known for their short growing season and high productivity. Finger millet, proso millet, foxtail millet, and pearl millet which is the most grown, an important crop in India and Africa. Millets in India are more popular than Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi, some of these require good rain while some can grow perfectly for dry reasons. Their highly tolerant nature towards tough environments makes them the most reliable crop in problematic soils. The Indian government has approved 2018 as the national year of millets to boost its production.

The only remaining member of the Euryale species of southern and eastern Asia, the Euryale Ferox seeds are more commonly known as fox nuts or Makhanas in India, is commonly used as a food in the Asian region. These nuts are largely produced in the Indian state of Bihar which produces 90% of the total production of the world. A part of a water lily or lotus plant, fox nuts have high nutritional value. Harvesting them is a laborious process as these are to be collected from the bottom of rivers or ponds. After drying and roasting, fox nuts prove to be a delicious snack.

A plant of the Brassica family, mustard is widely consumed as spices, in form of seed as well as oil and varies from brown Indian mustard to white/yellow mustard. Parallel to other rabi crops, mustard requires a cold atmosphere with moist soil. After its germination period, mustard grows rapidly and bears yellow flowers, the mustard fields, during this period, are a stretch of yellow beauty. With the increasing demand for edible oils, the rate of production of mustard is increasing rapidly. India is one of the leading producers of mustard in the world, with a 21.7% share in the total data of the world.

One of the first cultivated crops of history, barley is a highly adaptable crop. It is cultivated as a summer crop in temperate zones, on the other hand, it can be a winter crop in tropical areas. It has a rich nutritional value and is used in food and the production of beverages. In India, barley is grown parallel with wheat, though it can grow well in less rainfall than wheat. It is the fourth important crop in terms of production across the world. Its low input requirement and adaptability to severe environments gave it the title of “poor man’s crop”.

Rice feeds more than half of the world population and is an important crop in India in the aspects of subsistence as well as economy. This Kharif crop requires more than 100 cm of rainfall and a humid temperature of 25 degrees. India is the largest producer of rice in the world only after China, while the country tops the graph in exports. The nutrition values of rice differ with the variety, namely white, brown, red, and black, and also the type of soil it is cultivated in. Mostly grown in eastern and western coastal areas, it is also the main crop in Assamese hills and the northern plains of India.

The most commonly consumed grain, wheat, is a Rabi crop which usually requires 15 to 20 degrees of temperature for a good harvest. All other crops combined are less than wheat alone in worldwide trade and also wheat takes up the most sown area. It is the major ingredient in a variety of foods and dishes and is a precise source of carbohydrates. Wheat is an adaptable crop, it can tolerate intensive cold weather as well as bright sunshine and even grow in temperate as well as tropical regions. The production of wheat underwent a gradual upliftment with the Green Revolution and is still increasing in its area and export every year.