Wheat Cultivation in India
Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India, following rice. As a rabi crop, it is sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June. The major wheat-producing states include Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan. Wheat requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the ripening stage, with an annual rainfall of 50 to 75 cm distributed throughout the growing period. The success of these crops is greatly aided by winter precipitation resulting from western temperate cyclones.
The wheat cultivation significantly benefits from the Green Revolution, which introduced high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds and modern agricultural techniques. The region of the Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and the black soil region of the Deccan are recognized as two major wheat-growing zones in the country. The cultivation not only aids in sustaining the large population of India but also supports the economy through trade and exports.