CBSE Class 10 SST: Agriculture — Geography Notes 2026

Types of Farming

• Subsistence farming: for own consumption; low surplus; primitive subsistence (jhum/shifting) or intensive subsistence
• Jhum cultivation: slash-and-burn; practised in northeast India; shifting from one plot to another every 2–3 years
• Commercial farming: large scale, mechanised; crops grown for market; Punjab wheat, Maharashtra cotton

Kharif and Rabi Crops

• Kharif: sown with SW monsoon (June); harvested September–October; rice, maize, cotton, soybean, groundnut
• Rabi: sown after monsoon (October–November); harvested March–April; wheat, barley, mustard, peas, gram
• Zaid: between Rabi and Kharif; short summer crops; melon, cucumber, fodder crops

Major Food Crops

• Rice: needs 100+ cm rainfall or irrigation; Assam, West Bengal, coastal states, Tamil Nadu, Punjab
• Wheat: major food crop of north India; 75–100 cm rainfall; cool winters; Punjab, Haryana, UP, MP
• Millets (jowar, bajra, ragi): drought-resistant; Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka; nutritious but declining production

Commercial Crops

• Cotton: black soil Deccan plateau; Maharashtra (Vidarbha), Gujarat, Telangana; India 2nd largest producer
• Jute: 'golden fibre'; West Bengal, Bihar, Assam; river floodplains; industry declining due to plastic competition
• Tea: hilly regions with >150 cm rainfall; Assam, West Bengal (Darjeeling), Tamil Nadu, Kerala; 30% of world export

Green Revolution

• 1960s: HYV (High Yielding Variety) seeds, chemical fertilisers, irrigation expanded → wheat and rice production doubled
• Wheat revolution: Punjab, Haryana became India's 'food bowl'; from food importing to food self-sufficient by 1970s
• Negative effects: regional inequality (benefited only irrigated areas), groundwater depletion, soil degradation from chemical use

Agricultural Challenges Today

• Land fragmentation: repeated division of land among heirs → small unviable holdings; India average holding < 1 ha
• Crop loan burden: indebted farmers vulnerable to crop failure; 3,000+ farmer suicides annually in Vidarbha
• Climate change: irregular monsoon, heat stress on crops, rising temperatures reduce yield of wheat and rice

CBSE Map and Exam Tips

• Map: mark major producing states for rice, wheat, cotton, tea, coffee, sugarcane, jute
• Define: kharif, rabi, HYV seeds, subsistence farming, commercial farming
• Green Revolution impact: positive and negative; 4-mark question in CBSE