Climate, Seasons and Crops
Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 13: The Story of Indian Farming · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 13.2
Learn
India has varied climates, so it is divided into 15 agroclimatic zones based on climate, soil, terrain and vegetation. The southwest monsoon (June–September) brings most of the rain; the northeast monsoon (October–December) waters parts of the south, which is why Tamil Nadu can grow rice almost all year. Farmers plan crops around these seasons.
There are three cropping seasons. Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon and harvested in autumn: rice, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, groundnut and sugarcane. Rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in spring: wheat, barley, gram, peas and mustard. Zaid crops grow in the short summer between them: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber and pumpkin. These words are Arabic; older Indian texts used names like kedāra, haimana and graiṣhmika.
Explore: which season?
- Sort each crop.
Remember
- India has 15 agroclimatic zones; the southwest and northeast monsoons shape farming.
- Kharif crops grow with the monsoon, rabi in winter, zaid in the short summer.
Quick check
Wheat and mustard are … crops.
- rabi
- kharif
- zaid
- plantation
Answer
rabi. Rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in spring.
Think about it
Why might a farmer in Punjab and one in Tamil Nadu grow different crops in October?
One answer
Punjab gets little rain then and is turning cold, so rabi sowing begins, while Tamil Nadu receives the northeast monsoon and can grow another rice crop.
Practice
Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.