Which one of the following is that crop?
(a) Cotton
(b) Jute
(c) Sugarcane
(d) Tea
2. Ans: a
Explanation:
Cotton is a kharif crop which requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
Cotton is the most important fibre crop not only of India but of the entire world. It provides the basic raw material (cotton fibre) to the cotton textile industry. Its seed (binola) is used in the vanaspati industry and can also be used as part of fodder for milch cattle to get better milk.
Conditions of Growth
a. Temperature:
- Cotton is the Crop of tropical and sub-tropical areas and requires uniformly high temperatures varying between 210C and 300C.
- The growth of cotton is retarded when the temperature falls below 200C.
- Frost is the no. one enemy of the cotton plant and it is grown in the areas having at least 210 frost-free days in a year.
b. Rainfall:
- The modest requirement of water can be met by an average annual rainfall of 50-100cm. However, it is successfully grown in areas of lesser rainfall with the help of irrigation.
- About one-third of the total area under cotton cultivation is irrigated. About 80 percent of the total irrigated Area under Cotton is in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- Moist weather and heavy rainfall at the time of boll-opening and picking are detrimental to cotton as the plant becomes vulnerable to pests and diseases.
- High amount of Rainfall in the beginning and sunny and dry weather at ripening time are very useful for a good crop.
c. Soil:
- Cotton cultivation is closely related to deep black soil (because black soil has high fertility and retentivity of moisture) of the Deccan Plateau and the Malwa Plateau and those of Gujarat.
- It also grows well in alluvial soils of Sutlej-Ganga plain and Red and Laterite soils of the Peninsular region.
- Cotton quickly exhausts the fertility of the soil. Therefore, regular application of Manures and fertilisers to the soil is necessary.
Hence, option a is correct.
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