Cropping pattern is a dynamic concept because it changes over space and time. It can be defined as the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time. In other words, it is a yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of sowing and fallow on a given area. In India, the cropping pattern determined by rainfall, climate, temperature, soil type and technology.

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Major important cropping patterns of India:

Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June. Some of the important Rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. Though, these crops are grown in large parts of  India,  states  from  the  north  and  north-western  parts  such  as  Punjab,  Haryana, Himachal  Pradesh,  Jammu  and  Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important for  the  production  of  wheat  and  other  rabi crops.  Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones helps in the success of these crops. However, the success of the green revolution in  Punjab,  Haryana,  western  Uttar  Pradesh and  parts  of  Rajasthan  has  also  been  an important factor in the growth of the above-mentioned rabi crops.

Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Important crops grown during this season are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean. Some  of  the  most  important  rice-growing regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra,  particularly the (Konkan coast) along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Recently, paddy has also become an important crop of Punjab and Haryana. In states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro.

In between the Rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during ‘zaid’ are watermelon,   muskmelon,   cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops. Sugarcane takes almost a year to grow.

Some of the most commonly followed crop patterns:

• Rice-Wheat: UP, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Rice-Rice: Irrigated and Humid coastal system of Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
• Rice- Groundnut: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and Maharashtra
• Rice-Pulses: Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Bihar.
• Maize-Wheat: UP, Rajasthan, MP and Bihar.
• Sugarcane-Wheat: UP, Punjab and Haryana accounts for 68% of the area under sugarcane. The other states which cover the crops are; Karnataka and MP.
• Cotton-Wheat: Punjab, Haryana, West UP, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.
• Soya bean-Wheat: Maharashtra, MP and Rajasthan
• Legume Based Cropping Systems (Pulses-Oilseeds): MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Factors affecting Cropping pattern: Cropping pattern of any region depends upon many factors

• Physical and Technical Factors:
  • These include the physical characteristic as soil, climate, weather rainfall etc. In the dry regions where the rainfall is scanty and where there is high uncertainty of monsoons, the dependence is on jowar and bajra. Water logging areas cultivate rice.
  • Cropping pattern also depend upon irrigation facilities. Where ever water is available, not only can a different crop be grown but even double or triple cropping will be possible.
• Economic Factors:
  • Economic motivation is the most important in determining the cropping pattern of the country. Among the various economic factors affecting crop pattern, the following are important:
  • Price and Income Maximisation: Price variations exert an important influence on acreage shifts. The variation in the inter-crop prices led to shifts in acreage as between the crops.
  • Farm Size: There is a relationship between the farm size and the cropping pattern. The small farmers are first interested in producing food grain for their requirements. Small holder therefore devotes relatively small acreage to cash crops than large holders.
  • Insurance against risk: The need to minimise the risk of crop failures not only explains diversification but also some specific features of crop patterns.
  • Availability of Inputs: Seeds, fertilizers, water storage, marketing, transport etc. also affect the cropping pattern.
  • Tenure: Under the crop sharing system, the landlord has a dominant voice in the choice of the cropping pattern and this helps in the adoption of income maximising crop adjustments.
• Infrastructure facilities:
  • Irrigation, transport, storage, trade and  marketing,  post-harvest  handling  and processing etc
• Government Policies:
  • The legislative and administrative policies of the government may also affect the cropping pattern. Food Crops Acts, Land Use Acts, intensive schemes for paddy, for cotton and oilseeds, subsidies affect the cropping pattern.
  • MSP – farmers shifting to wheat, rice
  • Green Revolution – skewed cropping pattern in Northern India towards wheat and rice from coarse cereals and pulses
• Social factors
  • Food habits also play a role – East and South India prefers rice as staple food while it is wheat in North India.

Conclusion:        

The cropping pattern in India has undergone significant changes over time. As the cultivated area remains more or less constant, the increased demand for food because of increase in population and urbanisation puts agricultural land under stress resulting in crop intensification and substitution of food crops with commercial crops.