Agriculture in Rajasthan- At a Glance

Agriculture in Rajasthan- At a Glance
1. Agriculture in Rajasthan- At a Glance
Rajasthan is the largest state of India with a geographical area of 34.2 million hectares.

It represents around 10.4 per cent land area of the country. It is situated in North -

Western part of India between 230 3’ and 300 12’ N latitudes and 690 30’ and 780 17’ E

longitudes. The Western and Northern boundaries touch the boundary of Pakistan while in

North and North -East it is bounded by Punjab, Haryana and U.P. The boundary is further

shared in the East and South -East by M.P. and in the South- West by Gujarat. The tropic of

Cancer passes through South of Banswara town. Presently, with an irregular rhomboid shape,

the state has maximum length 869 km from West to East and 826 km from North to South.
Physiography:
Physiographically the Aravallis divide the state into two major physiographic units : i.e.

I.Western plain and II. Central high lands. Which were further demarcated into six sub

units
I.Western plain:
(i) Sandy arid plain (Wa)
(ii) Semi arid transitional plain (Wb)
II. Central high lands:
(i) Aravalli landscape (Ca)
(ii) Eastern Rajasthan upland (Co)
(iii) Pathar &Bundelkhand upland (Cp)
(iv) Malwa plateau (Cm)
The western plain is desert sandy plain, scattered aeolian dunes and interdunal flats. The

Central high lands are mostly alluvial and southern part has heavy soils or rocky eroded

upland mostly hilly in nature. Nearly 40 per cent of the area located primarily in the

Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Churu districts had a variable coverage of dunes

being dominated by longitudinal and coalesced parabolic types. The continuity of these is

interrupted by hills and sheet rock exposures. Physiography of Rajasthan is depicted in

Fig-1

Fig. 1 : Physiography of Rajasthan
Climate:
The climate of Rajasthan ranges from semi arid to arid on the west of Aravalli and semi

arid to sub – humid on the east of Aravalli. Rainfall in the state varies from 920 mm in

South-East to merely 100 mm in the extreme western districts. The distribution of rainfall

is generally erratic, occurring mostly during the period from July to September. About 57

per cent of the total geographical area is arid, 37 per cent semi-arid and 6 per cent is

sub humid to humid. There is a wide variation in the temperature ranging from below

freezing point in winter to sometimes as high as 520 C in summer. Soil temperature at 5-cm

depth ranges from 35 to 450C during monsoon period. In general the month of May is the

hottest and January is the coolest. The mean relative humidity in the afternoon during

summer ranges from 20 to 35 per cent and during monsoon from 48 to 60 per cent. The mean

evaporative rate during summer exceeds 10 mm per day. The highest PET of 2063 mm has been

recorded in Jaisalmer in the West and 1745 mm in the East at Jaipur. The average relative

humidity in Rajasthan is 60 to 66 per cent being as low as 50 per cent in the West to above

80 per cent in the East of Rajasthan. On an average, the wind velocity of 1 to 19 km hr-1

for majority of days is common through out Rajasthan. It is lowest during November and the

highest in June. During the summer months the winds are characteristically dry and warm as

they blow from West to East. Dust storms are common in western Rajasthan, but are few in

eastern Rajasthan.
Soils
The soils of the state belong to 5 orders, 8 sub-orders, 16 great groups, 32 sub groups and

117 soil series . Entisols are dominantly observed covering around 36 per cent area

followed by Inceptisols, Aridisols , Vertisols and Alfisols covering 22.8, 19.55, 2.33 and

0.73 per cent of total geographical area of the state, respectively. The names of the soil

orders, sub-divisions up to great group along with their equivalents in old system of soil

classification are presented in Table 1.1. The distribution scenario of soils in the state

is visualized in Fig 2.

Table 1.1: Approximate equivalent of old and new system of classification.
Order Sub-Order Great Group** Approximate equivalent in old system*
Aridisols Orthids Camborthids
Calciorthids
Salorthids
Paleorthids
Gypsiorthids Sierozems,desert soils

Saline soils of depression

Gypsiferous soils
Argids Haplargids
Alfisols Ustalfs Haplustalfs Red loam, black soils, brown soils, yellowish brown soils of

foothills, alluvial soils
Entisols Psamments Torripsamments
Quartzipsamments Desert soils and sand dunes
Fluvents Torrifluvents
Ustifluvents Alluvial soils (old and recent )
Orthents Torriorthents
Ustorthents
Inceptisols Ochrepts Ustochrepts Brown soils, red and yellow soils of foothills
Vertisols Usterts Chromusterts
Pellusterts Black soils
Source : *Soils of Rajasthan : Survey and classification in Retrospect and Prospect.

Department of Agriculture, Rajasthan, Jaipur 1974-75. ** (Shyampura and Sehgal, 1995)






Agroclimatic Zones :
Based on physiographic divisions of state, its rainfall pattern, soil types, availability

of irrigation water, cropping patterns and administrative units, the state of Rajasthan has

been classified into ten agro-climatic zones (Fig-3). Crops and cropping pattern as

determined by soil and climatic conditions of the zone differ greatly. Major crops of

different districts of Rajasthan are presented in table 1.2

Fig 3: Agro climatic zone of Rajasthan
Vegetation:
A wide variation in the climate of the state has accommodated a large diversity of

vegetation. In the arid zone Prosopis, Capparis and Zizyphus, spp. predominate, whereas in

the most desertic part Calligonum polygonoides is the main species. The semi-arid tract is

dominated by Acacia catechu and Anogeissus pendula. All these vegetation types are

associated with a large variety of annual and perennial grasses and shrubs. The main

vegetation of salt affected soils are salvadora spp., tamarix spp. and prosopis juliflora

as tree spp.
Table1.2: Main features, districts, area, rainfall and crops of the agro-climatic zones of

Rajasthan.
S.N Name of Zone Area
(Mha) Districts covered % of
state area Normal
Rainfall
(mm) Major Crops
I a Arid Western Plain 4.44 Barmer and part of Jodhpur 13.6 100-370 Pearl millet, kharif

pulses, cluster bean
I b

Irrigated North-Western plain 2.06 Sriganganagar &
Hanumangarh 6.0 100-350 Gram, Wheat, mustard, cotton, cluster bean, Pearl millet
I c Hyper Arid partially irrigated Western plain 7.71 Jaisalmer,Bikaner and part of Churu

22.5 100-300 Pearl millet, kharif pulses, cluster bean
II a Transitional Plain of
Inland Drainage 3.69 Sikar,Nagaur,
Jhunjhunu and part of Churu 10.8 300-350 Pearl millet, cluster bean, kharif pulses, gram
II b Transitional Plain of Luni Basin 3.01 Jalore,Pali, part of Sirohi and Jodhpur 8.8 300

-500 Pearl millet, cluster bean, sesame, kharif pulses, wheat, rape and mustard
III a Semi-Arid Eastern Plain 2.98 Ajmer,Dausa,
Jaipur and Tonk 8.6 500-700 Pearl millet, sorghum, sesame, wheat, barley, gram, mustard
III b Flood prone
Eastern Plain 2.70 Alwar,Dholpur
Bharatpur and part of Swai-.Madhopur 6.9 500-700 Pearl millet, sorghum, mustard, wheat

,gram
IV a Sub-Humid Southern Plain and Aravalli Hills 3.36 Bhilware,Rajsamand and part of Sirohi

Udaipur & Chittorgarh 9.8 700-900 Maize, sorghum,
Groundnut, sesame wheat, barley, gram, mustard
IV b Humid Southern Plain 1.72 Dungarpur, Banswara and part of Udaipur and Chittorgarh 5.0

500-1100 Maize, paddy, kharif pulses, wheat, gram
V Humid South-Eastern Plain 2.70 Jhalawar,Kota, Bundi and part of Swai-Madhopur 7.9 650-

1000 Sorghum, maize, sesame, wheat, gram, mustard
Source: Souvenir -25 years of soil based research (1965-90), RAU, Bikaner.
Water resources and land use pattern:
The water resources in Rajasthan state are very limited. These could be classified into two

i.e. (i) Surface and (ii) Ground water. Five rivers viz. Luni, Mahi, Sabarmati, Chambal and

Banas flow through the state. The first three rivers drain into Arabian sea and the rest

two join Jamuna. With an impressive performance of the state the development of irrigation

facilities specially through the canal network and tapping of under ground water, the gross

irrigated area during last four decades has risen from 10.07 lac hectares during 1950-51 to

69.34 lac hectares during 1999-2000 (Table1.3). Available land use pattern in Rajasthan

indicates an increasing trend in the net & gross sown area and area under forest

(Table1.4). The cropping intensity of the state increased from 109.5 per cent (1961-62) to

133.2 per cent (1998-99).
Table 1.3: Source wise net irrigated area in Rajasthan ( ‘000 ha)
Year Net irrigated area Gross irrigated area
Canals Tanks Wells/ Tube wells Others Total Canals Tanks Wells/
Tube wells Others Total
1951-52 - - - - - 224 82 684 17 1007
1960-61 - - - - - 422 255 985 21 1675
1966-67 553 185 1033 22 1794 641 214 1241 23 2120
1971-72 811 179 1151 32 2173 914 192 1298 34 2040
1976-77 867 238 1485 16 2608 1051 255 1651 16 2975
1981-82 946 85 1827 45 2903 1333 201 2239 49 3722
1986-87 1205 124 2054 37 3420 1634 140 2534 40 4350
1991-92 1424 163 2702 54 4343 1856 181 3170 57 5264
1996-97 1534 207 3793 54 5588 2200 218 4266 59 6743
1997-98 1525 182 3657 57 5421 2238 191 4164 61 6675
1998-99 1557 93 3801 48 5499 2275 100 4382 52 6809
1999-2K 1619 78 3866 47 5611 2319 81 4482 50 6934
2000-01 1354 38 3473 42 4907 1976 41 4072 45 6134
Source: Trend in land use statistics. Directorate of Agriculture. GOR,1992-93and Some focus

on Rajasthan, 2002, DES, Jaipur.50 years of Agril. Dev. in Rajasthan, 1999.Stastistical

Deptt., Jaipur
Table 1.4 Land utilization pattern in Rajasthan (Lac ha.)
Particulars 1961-62 1971-72 1981-82 1991-92 1994-95 1998-99 1999-2k 2000-01
Geographical Area 339.9 342.9 342.3 342.5 342.4 342.7 342.7 342.6
Forest 8.79 14.01 20..78 23.70 24.51 25.57 25.80 26.06
Not available for cultivation 63.13 60.51 44.71 43.93 43.37 43.08 43.06 43.06
Other cultivated land excluding fallow land 84.33 79.26 80.75 73.68 69.33 68.01 67.15 66.29
Fallow land 46.26 36.46 40.32 46.33 38.01 45.25 51.48 48.59
Net sown area 137.4 152.6 155.8 154.9 170.2 160.7 155.1 158.7
Gross cropped area 150.5 167.7 186.0 180.9 203.8 214.0 192.9 193.0
Cropping intensity 109.5 109.9 119.4 116.8 119.7 133.2 124.3 121.6
Source: 50 years of Agril. Dev. in Rajasthan, 1999 Statistical Deptt., Jaipur Vital Agril

Statistics, 2000 –2001 &2001-02
Fertilizer consumption and soil fertility:
The consumption of fertilizers in Rajasthan is very low as compare to other states in

India. During 1980 – 81, fertilizer consumption on the basis of cropped area in Rajasthan

was 10 Kg ha-1.Although the farmers of Rajasthan are using more fertilizers now than

before, but it is quite inadequate and also imbalance (Table 1.5).




Table: 1.5 Progress in NPK consumption (,000 t) and NPK use (Kg ha-1) over the years in

Rajasthan
Year NPK consumption (,000 t) NPK use (Kg ha-1)
N P2O5 K2O Total N P2O5 K2O Total
1990-91 242.7 121.4 7.0 371.1 12.9 6.4 0.4 19.7
1991-92 291.9 140.8 8.2 440.9 16.3 7.9 0.5 24.6
1992-93 349.4 136.1 5.1 490.5 18.0 7.0 0.3 25.3
1993-94 366.0 133.8 2.6 502.4 20.2 7.4 0.1 27.8
1994-95 451.1 142.8 8.0 602.0 24.9 7.9 0.4 33.3
1995-96 486.4 150.5 5.7 642.6 25.3 7.8 0.3 33.4
1996-97 546.2 147.0 7.3 700.5 26.8 7.2 0.4 34.4
1997-98 591.8 190.1 5.5 787.4 29.0 9.3 0.3 38.6
1998-99 532.5 188.5 6.1 727.1 25.7 9.1 0.3 35.1
1999-2K 546.0 246.9 6.3 817.2 27.3 11.9 0.3 39.5
2000-01 495.2 164.2 5.3 664.7 22.2 7.4 0.2 35.5
2001-02 583.3 199.7 6.8 788.9 29.1 9.9 0.3 39.3
Source: Fertilizer Statistics 1999 – 2000 and 2002 FAI, New Delhi.
On the basis of report of fertilizer and Agril. Statistics (2000-2001) district wise

fertility status of Rajasthan have been presented in Table 1.6




Table 1.6 Soil fertility status of different districts of Rajasthan
S.No Name of Districts Fertility groups
Available N Available P Available K
1 Ajmer,Alwar,Bikaner,Baran, Bharatpur,Jalore,Nagaur,
Hanumngarh, Chittorgarh Low Medium Medium
2 Jodhpur, Barmer, Jhunjhunu Low Medium High
3 Banswara,Sirohi,Bhilwara, Bundi Medium Medium Medium
4 Churu,Ganganagar, Sikar Low Low to Medium High
5 Dausa, Jaipur, Swai Madhopur Low High Medium
6 Dholpur, Rajsamand, Udaipur Low Medium Low to Medium
7 Dungarpur Low Medium Medium to High
8 Pali, Jhalawar Low Low to Medium Medium
9 Kota Low to Medium Low to Medium Medium
10 Tonk Low to Medium Medium Medium
Nitrogen 0-200 Kg ha-1 Low , 200-400 Kg ha-1 Medium , above 400 Kg ha-1 high
Phosphorus 0 - 20 Kg ha-1 Low , 20 - 50 Kg ha-1 Medium , above 50 Kg ha-1 high
Potash 0 -100 Kg ha-1 Low , 100-250 Kg ha-1 Medium , above 250 Kg ha-1 high


Crop Yields:
Data on the production and productivity trends of major crops in Rajasthan over the last 10

years (Table1.7 & 1.8) reveal that both yield and total production has been increasing

steadily. The productivity of different crops in Rajasthan with an exception for wheat and

pulses are generally low as compared to other states of the West zone of India.
Table 1.7: Stability of food grains production in Rajasthan
Year Yield (kg ha-1) Production (Mt)
1990-91 864 10.93
1991-92 705 7.95
1992-93 894 11.48
1993-94 607 7.05
1994-95 906 11.70
1995-96 805 9.56
1996-97 998 12.82
1997-98 1022 14.03
1998-99 961 12.93
2000-01 880 10.00
2001-02 1099 13.98
Source: Vital Agril Statistics, 2000 –2001 &2001-02 and Fertilizer and Agriculture

Statistics: Northern Region FAI, New Delhi (1998 – 1999)

Table: 1.8 Trend of Productivity of major field crops (Kg ha-1) in Rajasthan
Crops 1961 - 62 1971 – 72 1981 - 82 1991 - 92 1998– 99 1999-2k 2000-01 2001-02
Rice 881 1195 993 857 1220 1260 940 1247
Wheat 981 1249 1659 2517 2487 2540 2404 2793
Pearl millet 244 267 159 233 430 330 441 744
Sorghum 274 274 424 222 288 311 199 414
Maize 1038 994 822 808 1080 1037 1047 1454
Total cereals 505 551 610 835 1188 1155 1036 1341
Chickpea 618 599 650 548 737 695 587 759
Total pulses 417 353 405 324 530 360 306 425
Total food grains 479 499 550 707 982 975 884 1099
Groundnut 521 674 571 798 1090 964 923 1226
Soya bean - - 1000 756 1316 1222 692 1092
Total oil seeds 262 293 488 762 887 937 768 1008
Sugarcane 23265 42954 36646 43871 46913 41421 43154 47484
Cotton 120 196 130 303 230 287 268 94
Source: Basic Statistics, Govt. of Rajasthan. (2000) and Some focus on Rajasthan, 2002,

stastical Deptt., Jaipu

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