Crop science is a branch of agriculture focused on plants, particularly food and cash crops. Professionals in this field are concerned with enhancing grain and seed nutrition, as well as increasing the amount and quality of food. They also work to improve crop and soil conditions in cost effective and environmentally sound ways.
Crop science is the study of the world's major food, feed, turf, and fiber crops and their environment. It is a broad discipline encompassing breeding, genetics, production, and management.
Categories of Crops in India
The major crops can all be divided into four main categories depending on their usage.
- Food Crops (Wheat, Maize, Rice, Millets and Pulses etc.)
- Cash Crops (Sugarcane, Tobacco, Cotton, Jute and Oilseeds etc.)
- Plantation Crops (Coffee, Coconut, Tea, and Rubber etc.)
- Horticulture crops (Fruits and Vegetables)
- Sown in June-July when rains first begin (Monsoon crop).
- Harvested in September-October.
- Requires lot of water and hot weather to grow.
- Example: Rice, Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Cotton, Groundnut, Jute, Sugarcane, Turmeric, Pulses (like Urad Dal) etc.
2. Rabi Crops - Sown in October-November
- Harvested in April-May.
- Requires warm climate for germination of seeds and maturation and cold climate for the growth.
- Example: Wheat, Oat, Gram, Pea, Barley, Potato, Tomato, Onion, Oil seeds (like Rapeseed, Sunflower, Sesame, Mustard) etc.
3. Zaid Crops - Grown between March-June between Rabi and Kharif crop seasons.
- Early maturing crops.
- Example: Cucumber, Bitter Gourd, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Muskmelon, Moong Dal etc.
1. Kharif Crops
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