Kharif crop

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Kharif crop, UrduPunjabi: refers to the planting, cultivation and harvesting of any domesticated plant sown in the rainy (monsoon) season on the Asian subcontinent. Such crops are planted for autumn harvest and may also be called the summer or monsoon crop in India and Pakistan. Kharif crops are usually sown with the beginning of the first rains in July, during the south-west monsoon season. In Pakistan the kharif season starts on April 16 and lasts until October 15. In India the kharif season varies by crop and state, with kharif starting at the earliest in May and ending at the latest in January, but is popularly considered to start in June and to end in October. Examples include Millet, Paddy, etc.[1] Rabi ( Also called Rabbi ) and Kharif are the two agricultural crops related words that have come with the Mughals in the Indian subcontinent and are widely used ever-since.

The Kharif crops are better known as the monsoon crops in Indian sub continent (India, Pakistan Sri Lanka, Nepal). Kharif crops are usually sown with the beginning of the first rains towards the end of May in the state of Kerala during the advent of south-west monsoon season.

As the Monsoon rains advance towards the north India the sowing dates accordingly vary and it is done in July in North Indian states.

These crops are totally dependent on the quantity of rain water as well its timing. Too much, too little or at wrong time may lay waste the whole year's efforts.

The harvesting begins with Diwali days or slightly earlier during Vijayadashmi days. Since this period coincides with the beginning of Autumn / winter in the Indian sub-continent It is called "Kharif period " and the crops are "kharif crops".

Etymology

Kharif means "autumn" in Arabic.

Common kharif crops

See also

Rabi crop
Irrigation

References

  1. ↑ Crop Calendar of Major Crops, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

Other sources


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