Importance of Monsoons in Indian Agriculture

India has a tropical monsoon type of climate. So here the temperature in the summer months is high and the rainfall is heavy. High temperature and heavy rainfall in the summer months are important for the growth of different types of kharif crops in different parts of India.

Unlike other countries in high latitudes, India enjoys long hours of sunshine even during the winter months. So with winter precipitation (supplemented by irrigation) a second rabi crop is easily grown. The amount of rainfall is the most important determinant of the type of crop raised. Wet crops are raised in wet zone and dry crops in the dry zone.

Crops like rice, jute, sugarcane, etc. require high temperature and heavy rainfall for their cultivation. So these crops are cultivated in summer. Crops like wheat, barley etc. require moderate temperature and rainfall. So these are cultivated in winter. Rubber trees require uniformly high temperature and regular rainfall all the year round. In the southern parts of the Deccan, the temperature is fairly high all the year round and the rainfall is well-distributed over 6 to 8 months. So rubber is grown in the southern parts of the Deccan.

The monsoon rainfall is very uncertain. It may arrive early and linger on for a long time or it may arrive too late.

It may cause too heavy rainfall in some parts and too little in others. It may course floods and droughts. So the Indian present lives are at the mercy of the monsoon.