Agriculture — IV: Cash Crops (2) — Question 3

(i) Two chief cotton-growing areas in India are-

1. The north western Deccan on the fertile Black cotton soil
2. The central and southern Deccan of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

(ii) The climatic conditions that favour the cultivation of cotton are:

1. Temperature — Cotton requires uniformly high temperatures between 21°C and 30°C. A long growing period of at least 200 frost-free days is required for the plant to mature.
2. Rainfall — Rainfall should be moderate, ranging between 50 to 75 cm. Sufficient rainfall is required during the early stages of the growth, but a sunny and dry weather is required after flowering.