Agro Climatic Zones of India: Detailed Notes

An Agro-Climatic Zone is a land unit delineated based on the climate, soil, topography, and vegetation, which collectively influence the type of crops that can be cultivated and the agricultural practices that can be employed.

Evolution of Agro-Climatic Zones in India

The concept of agro-climatic zoning in India has evolved over time:

• 1971: The National Commission on Agriculture initiated the classification of the country into 127 agro-climatic zones to address regional disparities in agricultural development.
• 1979: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP), which further refined the classification based on parameters like soil, climate, topography, vegetation, and crops, leading to the delineation of 126 zones.
• 1988: The Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) adopted a more holistic approach, dividing the country into 15 Agro-Climatic Zones and 73 sub-zones. This classification considered physiography, soils, rainfall, temperature, water resources, and cropping patterns.

Advantages of Agro Climatic zoning

• This enables in exploring agricultural potentiality of the region based on mainly soil and climatic resources.
• The map (with LGP) can be used for the crop planning e.g. a region with LGP 270 days. This enables in exploring agricultural potentiality of the region based on mainly soil and climatic resources.
• Agro climatic map has an important role in transferring technology/ knowledge/ experience from one region to another region
• Agro climatic maps prepared on the similar Agro climatic parameters with LGP makes possible to identify homo climates and enable to introduce a new crop in one region already tested in the another region.
• To identify the constraints and potentials in specific zone and to develop suitable, zone specific technology.
• To undertake the research with priority on zone specific problems

The 15 Agro-Climatic Zones of India

1. Western Himalayan Zone
2. Eastern Himalayan Zone
3. Lower Gangetic Plains zone
4. Middle Gangetic Plains Zone
5. Upper Gangetic Plains Region
6. Trans-Gangetic Plains Zone
7. Eastern Plateau and Hills Zone
8. Central Plateau and Hills Zone
9. Western Plateau and Hills Zone
10. Southern Plateau and Hills Zone
11. East Coast Plains and Hills Zone
12. West Coast Plains and Ghats Zone
13. Gujarat Plains and Hills Zone
14. Western Dry Zone
15. The Islands Zone

Western Himalayan Zone

This zone consists of three distinct sub-zones of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Lands of the region have steep slopes in undulating terrain. Soils are generally silty loams and these are prone to erosion hazards. Climate is generally cool and temperate with cold winters; high snowfall. Rice, maize, wheat, barley, apple, apricot, almond are the major crops produced in this region. There is generally high rainfall and snowfall.

Eastern Himalayan Zone

Sikkim and Darjeeling hills, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Jalpaiguri and Coochibihar districts of West Bengal fall under this region, with high rainfall and high forest cover. Shifting cultivation is practiced in nearly one-third of the cultivated area and this has caused denudation and degradation of soils with the resultant heavy runoff, massive soil erosion and floods in lower reaches and basins. Rice, maize, tea, ginger, cardamom, fruits are the major crops taken in this region.

Lower Gangetic Plains zone

In this region, mostly the area of West Bengal is covered. The soils are mostly alluvial and are prone to floods. The climate is Humid and high rainfall is observed. There is high groundwater table and issues with waterlogging in some areas. Rice, jute, sugarcane are the major crops grown.

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 39% of gross cropped area is irrigated and the cropping intensity is 142%. There is generally Subtropical with moderate rainfall. Soil type is Alluvial. Fertile plains are conducive to diverse cropping patterns. Rice, wheat, pulses are the major crops produced.

Upper Gangetic Plains Region

This zone consists of 32 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Irrigation is through canals and tube wells. A good potential for exploitation of ground water exists. Climate is subtropical with moderate rainfall. Soil type is alluvial. There is Extensive irrigation infrastructure that supports intensive agriculture. Wheat, sugarcane and rice are the major crops grown.

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. Climate is Semi-arid with hot summers and cold winters. Wheat, rice, maize are the major crops produced.

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. Soil is generally red and lateritic soils. In the Eastern Plateau and Hills Zone, Rice, millets, pulses are generally produced.

Central Plateau and Hills zone

This zone comprises of 46 district of Madhya Pradesh, 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. There is an intensive need for alternate high value crops including horticultural crops. In this zone, Wheat, Soybean, Pulses are generally produced.

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. Soil is generally black and red. Cotton, groundnut, millets crops are produced in this zone.

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 and the cropping intensity is 111 percent. Soils are generally black and red soil. Millets, oilseeds and pulses at the major crops grown in this zone.

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. In this zone, there is coastal agriculture with significant aquaculture activities are done.

West Coast Plains and Ghats Zone

This zone comprises west coast of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa with a variety of crop patterns, rainfall and soil types. In this zone, there is humid climate which very high rainfall. Rice, coconut and spices are the major crops produced in this zone. There is high biodiversity and plantation agriculture is prominent.

Gujarat Plains and Hills Zone

This zone consists of 19 districts of Gujarat. This zone is arid with low rainfall in most parts and only 32.5% of the area is irrigated largely through wells and tube wells. soils are generally black and alluvial soils. Cotton, groundnut and millet at the major crops grown in this zone.

Western Dry Zone

This zone comprises nine districts of Rajasthan and 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. There is generally 70 soils. Bajra Pearl Millet, pulses, oilseeds are the major crops produced in this zone.

The Islands Zone

This zone covers the island territories of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep which are typically equatorial with rainfall of 3000 mm spread over eight to nine months. It is largely a forest zone with undulated lands. Climate is tropical with high humidity and rainfall. There is coastal alluvial soil. Coconut, rice and spices are the major crops grown in this zone.