Agro Climatic Zones | Agricultural Metereology | Agro Climatic Regional Planning

Agro Climatic Zones | Agricultural Metereology | Agro Climatic Regional Planning

An agro-climatic zone is a land unit uniform in respect of climate and length of growing period (LGP) which is climatically suitable for a certain range of crops and cultivars .

Planning Commission of India (1989) made an attempt to classify the country into different agro climatic regions based on homogeneity in rainfall, temperature, topography, cropping and farming systems and water resources.

India is divided into 15 agro-climatic regions.

1. Western Himalayan Zone:-

• This zone consists Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh hills. 
• The region consists of skeletal soils of cold region, podsolic mountain meadow soils and hilly brown soils. 
• Lands of the region have steep slopes in undulating terrain. 
• Soils are generally silty loams and these are prone to erosion hazards. 
• Annual rainfall - 1650-2000mm.
• Main crops are Wheat, Maize, Potato etc.

2. Eastern Himalayan Zone:-

• Sikkim and Darjeeling hills, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal comes under this region. 
• This region is having high rainfall and high forest cover. 
• Shifting cultivation is practiced in 1/3 of the cultivated area and this has caused degradation of soils with the resultant heavy runoff, massive soil erosion and floods in lower reaches. 
• Annual rainfall = 1840-3528mm. 
• Main crops are Maize, Paddy, Jute and Rapeseed etc.

3. Lower Gangetic Plains Zone:-

• This zone consists of West Bengal-lower Gangetic plain region. 
• This zone contributes 12% of the total rice production in India. 
• The soils are mostly alluvial and are prone to floods. 
• Annual rainfall = 1300-1600mm.
• Main crops are Rice, Jute and Rapeseed etc.

4. Middle Gangetic Plains Zone:-

• This zone consists of 12 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and 27 districts of Bihar plains. 
• This zone has a geographical area of 16 million hectares and rainfall is high.
• About 40% of gross cropped area is irrigated and the cropping intensity is 142%. 
• Annual Rainfall - 1211-1470mm.
• Main crops are Sugarcane, Paddy, Maize and Wheat etc.

5. Upper Gangetic Plains Zone:-

• This zone consists of 32 districts of Uttar Pradesh. 
• Climate is dry sub humid to sub dry climate and annual rainfall occurs between  721-979mm.  
• Irrigation is through canals and tube wells. 
• A good potential for exploitation of ground water exists. 
• Main crops are Rice, wheat, Maize and Sugarcane etc.

6. Trans-Gangetic Plains Zone:-

• This zone consists of Punjab, Haryana, Union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh and Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan. 
• The major characteristics of this area are:-
• Highest net sown area 
• Highest irrigated area High cropping intensity and 
• High groundwater utilization.

7. Eastern Plateau and Hills Zone:-

• This zone consists of eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, southern part of West Bengal and most of inland Orissa. 
• The soils are shallow and medium in depth and the topography is undulating with a slope of 1-10%. 
• Irrigation is through tanks and tube wells. 
• Annual rainfall = 1271-1436mm. 
• Main crops are Rice, Wheat, Maize and Ragi etc.

8. Central Plateau and Hills zone

• This zone comprises some parts of Madhya Pradesh, little part of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 
• The topography is highly variable nearly 1/3rd of the land is not available for cultivation. 
• Irrigation and cropping intensity are low. 
• 75% of the area is rainfed grown with low value cereal crops like Wheat, Gram, Jowar, Bajra etc. 

9. Western Plateau and Hills Zone

• This zone comprises the major part of Maharashtra, parts of Madhya Pradesh and one district of Rajasthan. 
• The average rainfall of the zone is 904 mm. 
• The net sown area is 65% and forests occupy 11%. 
• The irrigated area is only 12.4% with canals being the main source. 
• Main crops of this region is Jowar, Bajra, Cotton and Wheat etc.

10. Southern Plateau and Hills zone

• This zone comprises 35 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which are typically semi-arid zones. 
• Dryland farming is adopted in 81% of the area. 
• The cropping intensity is 111 percent. 
• Annual rainfall is about 677-1000 mm. 
• Cultivation of low value crops.

11. East Coast Plains and Hills Zone

• This zone comprises of east coast of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. 
• Soils are mainly alluvial and coastal sands. 
• Irrigation is through canals and tanks. 
• Annual rainfall is about 780-1287 mm. 
• Main growing crops are Rice, Groundnut, Ragi, Jowar and Bajra etc.

12. West Coast Plains and Ghats Zone

• This zone comprises west coast of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. 
• This region having variety of crop patterns, rainfall and soil types.
• This region is dry sub humid to humid and about 2226-3640 mm rainfall occurs.
• Main crops are Rice, Ragi, Groundnut and Tapioca etc.

13. Gujarat Plains and Hills Zone

• This zone consists of 19 districts of Gujarat. 
• This zone is arid with low rainfall in most parts. 
• Only 32.5% of the area is irrigated largely through wells and tube wells.
• Annual Rainfall - 340-1793 mm
• Main crops are Maize, Rice, Wheat, Groundnut, Tobacco, Cotton, Jowar and Bajra etc.

14. Western Dry Zone

• This zone comprises nine districts of Rajasthan. 
• This region is characterized by hot sandy desert, erratic rainfall, high evaporation, scanty vegetation. 
• The ground water is deep and often brackish. 
• Famine and drought are common features of the region.
• Annual Rainfall - 95 mm
• Main Crops are Bajra, Gram, Wheat and Rapeseed etc.

15. Islands Zone

• This zone covers the island territories of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep.
• This region is typically equatorial with rainfall of 3000 mm spread over 8-9 months. 
• It is largely a forest zone with undulated lands.
• Main crops are Coconut and Rice.

Thank You

Vikas Kashyap:)

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