Agro-ecological Zones

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Agriculture is highly dependent on soils and climate. The ever-increasing need for food to support the growing population in the country demands a systematic appraisal of its soil and climate resources in order to prepare effective land-use plans. India has a variety of landscapes and climate conditions and this is reflected in the development of different soils and types of vegetation. Based on 50 years of climate data and an up-to-date soil database, the country has been divided into 20 agro-ecological zones (AEZs). Each AEZ is as uniform as possible in terms of physiography, climate, length of growing period and soil type for macrolevel land-use planning and effective transfer of technology.

FIGURE 2

 

Important Features of Agro-ecological Zones of India

AEZ No. Agro-ecological region Geographical area (million ha) Gross cropped area (million ha)

Physiography

 Precipitation (mm) PET (mm) Length of growing period (days) Major crops
1. Cold arid ecoregion with shallow skeletal soils 15.2
(4.7%)		 0.07

Western Himalayas

 < 150 <800 < 90 Vegetables, millets, wheat, fodder, barley, pulses
2. Hot arid ecoregion with desert and saline soils 31.9
(9.7%)		 20.85 Western Plain & Kachchha Peninsula < 300 1500–2000 < 90 Millets, fodder, pulses
3. Hot arid ecoregion with red and black soils 4.9
(1.9%)		 4.18 Deccan Plateau 400–500 1800–1900 < 90 Sorghum, safflower, cotton, groundnut, sunflower, sugar cane
4. Hot semi-arid ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils 32.2
(9.8%)		 30.05 Northern Plain & Central Highlands including parts of Gujarat Plains 500–800 1400–1900 90–150 Millets, wheat, pulses, maize; irrigated cotton & sugar cane
5. Hot semi-arid ecoregion with medium and deep black soils 17.6
(5.4%)		 11.04 Central (Malwa) Highlands,Gujarat Plains & Kathiawar Peninsula 500–1000 1600–2000 90–150 Millets, wheat, pulses
6. Hot semi-arid ecoregion with shallow and medium (dominant) black soils 31.0
(9.5%)		 25.02 Deccan Plateau 600–1000 1600–1800 90–150 Millets, cotton, pulses, sugar cane under irrigation
7. Hot semi-arid ecoregion with red and black soils 16.5
(5.2%)		 6.19 Deccan (Telangana) Plateau & Eastern Ghats 600–1000 1600–1700 90–150 Millets, oilseeds, rice, cotton & sugar cane under irrigation
8. Hot semi-arid ecoregion with red loamy soils 19.1
(5.8%)		 6.96 Eastern Ghats (Tamil Nadu uplands) & Deccan Plateau (Karnataka) 600–1000 1300–1600 90–150 Millets, pulses, oilseeds (groundnut), sugar cane & rice under irrigation
9. Hot subhumid (dry) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils 12.1
(3.7%)		 11.62 Northern Plain 1000–1200 1400–1800 150–180 Rice, wheat, pigeon pea, sugar cane, mustard, maize
10. Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and black soils 22.3
(5.8%)		 14.55 Central Highlands (Malwa & Bundelkhand) 1000–1500 1300–1500 150–180 Rice, wheat, sorghum, soybean, gram, pigeon pea
11. Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and yellow soils 11.1
(4.3%)		 6.47 Eastern Plateau (Chhattisgarh Region) 1200–1600 1400–1500 150–180 Rice, millets, wheat, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram
12. Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and lateritic soils 26.8
(8.2%)		 12.09 Eastern (Chhota Nagpur) Plateau and Eastern Ghats 1000–1600 1400–1700 150–180 Rice, pulses, millets
13. Hot subhumid (moist) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils 11.1
(3.4%)		 10.95 Eastern Plains 1400–1600 1300–1500 180–210 Rice, wheat, sugar cane
14. Warm subhumid to humid with inclusion of perhumid ecoregion with brown forest and podzolic soils 18.2
(5.6%)		 3.20 Western Himalayas 1600–2000 800–1300 180–210 Wheat, millets, maize, rice
15. Hot subhumid (moist) to humid (inclusion of perhumid) ecoregions with alluvial-derived soils 12.1
3.7%)		 8.99 Bengal Basin and Assam Plain 1400–2000 1000–1400 > 210 Rice, jute, plantation crops
16. Warm perhumid ecoregion with brown and red hill soils 9.6
(2.9%)		 1.37 Eastern Himalayas 2000–4000 <1000 > 210 Rice, millets, potato, maize, sesame, Jhum* cultivation is common
17. Warm perhumid ecoregion with red and lateritic soils 10.6
(3.3%)		 1.56 North-Eastern Hills 1600–2600 1000–1100 > 210 Rice, millets, potato, plantation crops, Jhum* cultivation is common
18. Hot subhumid to semi-arid ecoregion with coastal alluvium-derived soils 8.5
(2.6%)		 6.12 Eastern Coastal Plains 900–1600 1200–1900 90>210 Rice, coconut, black gram, lentil, sunflower, groundnut
19. Hot humid perhumid ecoregion with red, lateritic and alluvium-derived soils 11.1
(3.6%)		 5.70 Western Ghats and Coastal Plains 2000–3200 1400–1600 > 210 Rice, tapioca, coconut, spices
20. Hot humid / perhumid island ecoregion with red loamy and sandy soils 0.8
(0.3%)		 0.05 Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep 1600–3000 1400–1600 > 210 Rice, coconut, areca nut, oil palm

 

(Source: www.fao.org)