Cash Crops

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Cash Crops

Sugarcane, cotton, jute, oilseeds, tobacco and mentha — who leads now and the traps.

On this map (18)

Sugarcane — Uttar Pradesh · Uttar Pradesh — Sugarcane · #1 cane and sugar. No. 1 in cane area and cane output; No. 1 sugar too in 2024-25 (87.5 lakh t)
Sugarcane — Maharashtra · Maharashtra — Sugarcane · #2 · co-op mills. No. 2 (UPSC 1984: “UP first, which is second?” → Maharashtra)
Sugarcane — Karnataka · Karnataka — Sugarcane · #3 · Mandya. No. 3; Belagavi belt and Mandya — Mandya is SUGAR, not coffee (UPSC 2008 trap)
Sugarcane — Tamil Nadu · Tamil Nadu — Sugarcane · high yield. Among the highest cane YIELDS; Sugarcane Breeding Institute at Coimbatore
Cotton — Maharashtra · Maharashtra — Cotton · #1 (2024-25) · Vidarbha. No. 1 in 2024-25 (89 lakh bales) and the largest cotton AREA
Cotton — Gujarat · Gujarat — Cotton · #2 · highest yield. No. 1 until 2023-24, No. 2 in 2024-25 — highest yield of the big three
Cotton — Telangana · Telangana — Cotton · #3. No. 3 — Maharashtra + Gujarat + Telangana ≈ two-thirds of India’s cotton
Cotton — Punjab–Haryana–Rajasthan belt · Punjab — Cotton · north-west irrigated. North-west irrigated belt (Bathinda, Sirsa, Ganganagar) — pink bollworm hits here
Jute — West Bengal · West Bengal — Jute · #1 (~3/4 of India). About three-fourths of India’s jute; Hooghly jute mills
Jute — Bihar · Bihar — Jute · Purnia. No. 2 jute — Purnia–Katihar (Kosi plain)
Jute — Assam · Assam — Jute · Brahmaputra valley. No. 3 jute — Brahmaputra valley (Nagaon)
Rapeseed-mustard — Rajasthan · Rajasthan — Oilseed · rabi. No. 1 rapeseed-mustard (~45%, Bharatpur–Alwar) — a RABI oilseed
Groundnut — Gujarat · Gujarat — Oilseed · kharif. No. 1 groundnut — Saurashtra (Junagadh); kharif and rainfed (UPSC 2012)
Soybean — Maharashtra · Maharashtra — Oilseed · kharif. No. 1 soybean in 2024-25 (Latur–Marathwada), just ahead of MP
Soybean — Madhya Pradesh · Madhya Pradesh — Oilseed · largest soybean area. “Soya State” — largest soybean AREA; Malwa plateau (Indore: ICAR soybean institute)
Tobacco — Andhra Pradesh · Andhra Pradesh — Tobacco · Virginia FCV. Guntur — flue-cured Virginia tobacco; AP + Gujarat are the main pair (UPPCS)
Tobacco — Gujarat · Gujarat — Tobacco · bidi. Kheda–Anand (Charotar) — bidi tobacco; a top producer
Mentha (mint oil) — Uttar Pradesh · Uttar Pradesh — Aromatic crop. UP gives about 90% of India’s mentha oil (UPPCS) — Barabanki, Sambhal; India leads the world

Asked in exams

UPPCSLargest producer of sugarcane → Uttar Pradesh
UPPCSMaximum land under sugarcane → Uttar Pradesh
UPPCSLargest producer of sugar → Uttar Pradesh
UPSC 1984UP tops sugarcane — which state is second? → Maharashtra
UPPCSSugarcane (2015-16) → Maharashtra, UP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
UPSC 2008Chikmagalur is known for sugar ✗; Mandya for coffee ✗ → neither statement correct
UPPCSIndia’s largest cotton producer → Maharashtra
UPPCS“White gold” of Maharashtra → cotton
UPSC 2011Arid north, cotton centre, cash crops over food crops → Gujarat
UPSC 1996Area producing most cotton → western and southern India
UPSC 2011Lower Gangetic plain → paddy and jute
UPSC 1991Bangladesh is India’s main world-market rival in → jute
UPPCSMost jute area → West Bengal
UPPCSHighest oilseeds producer → Madhya Pradesh (old key; Rajasthan today)
UPPCSNot a kharif crop → mustard
UPSC 1989Not true about Gujarat → “largest producer of tobacco”
UPSC 2012Groundnut is predominantly rainfed ✓
UPPCSMore than half of India’s soybean → Madhya Pradesh
UPPCSMP first in area and production of → soybean
UPPCSMain tobacco-producing pair → Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat
UPSC 2019Domesticated in the New World → tobacco, cocoa, rubber
UPPCSUP’s share of India’s mentha oil → 90%

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