Cash and Plantation Crops

Sugarcane

• Tropical to sub-tropical; needs 21-27°C, 75-150 cm rain, rich loamy soil, much water.
• India and Brazil compete as the top producers; India is the largest consumer and a leading producer of sugar.
• States: Uttar Pradesh (first), Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat.
• The FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) is fixed for sugarcane.
• Sugar mills in the south are more efficient because of longer crushing seasons and cooperatives.

Cotton

• Kharif crop of black soil, 21-30°C, 50-100 cm rain.
• India is the largest area under cotton; among the top producers with China.
• States: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka.
• Bt cotton introduced in 2002.
• Cotton Corporation of India; Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai.

Jute

• Golden fibre: needs hot humid climate, 100-200 cm rain, alluvial soil and plenty of retting water.
• India is the largest producer (Bangladesh is the top exporter).
• States: West Bengal (leading), Bihar, Assam.
• Jute mills are along the Hooghly.
• National Jute Board; JCI procures. Mandatory packing norms for jute bags.

Tea

• Needs warm, moist, frost-free climate, 150-300 cm rain, well-drained slopes, acidic soil.
• India is the second largest producer after China and a leading consumer.
• Assam is the largest producing state (Brahmaputra valley), then West Bengal (Darjeeling, Dooars), Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris), Kerala.
• Tea Board of India, Kolkata. Darjeeling tea was India's first GI-tagged product (2004).

Coffee

• Grown under shade on hill slopes, 15-28°C, 150-250 cm rain.
• India is the seventh largest producer.
• States: Karnataka (about 70 percent, Kodagu, Chikmagalur, Hassan), Kerala, Tamil Nadu.
• Varieties: Arabica (mostly) and Robusta. Introduced by Baba Budan at Chandragiri hills.
• Coffee Board, Bengaluru.

Rubber

• Equatorial crop; 200+ cm rain; temperature above 25°C.
• Kerala produces about 75 percent, then Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam.
• Rubber Board, Kottayam.

Spices and others

Horticulture

• India is a leading producer of mango, banana, papaya, lemon, guava, and vegetables; horticulture output exceeds foodgrains in recent years.
• Apple: J&K (largest producer), Himachal, Uttarakhand.
• Mango: UP, Andhra, Karnataka. Banana: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra.
• Potato: UP, West Bengal, Bihar. Onion: Maharashtra (Lasalgaon, Nashik), Karnataka.
• Grapes: Maharashtra (Nashik, Sangli), Karnataka.
• National Horticulture Board (NHB), MIDH mission.