Consider the following crops:
- 1.Cotton
- 2.Groundnut
- 3.Rice
- 4.Wheat
Which of these are Kharif crops?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3 only
Cotton, groundnut and rice are sown with the onset of the monsoon (June–September) and are Kharif crops. Wheat is sown in winter and is a Rabi crop, so it is excluded.
- ✓ 1. Cotton is a Kharif crop. NCERT's table of cropping seasons lists it among the Kharif crops of the northern states.
- ✓ 2. Groundnut is largely a rainfed Kharif crop of drylands. The table of cropping seasons also lists it as a Kharif crop of the southern states.
- ✓ 3. Rice is grown in the Kharif season (June–September) in both northern and southern states.
- ✗ 4. Wheat is grown in the winter (Rabi) season, mostly under irrigation, so it is not a Kharif crop. This rules out options (a) and (d).
Remember · Kharif (June–September): rice, cotton, groundnut, maize, bajra, jowar, tur. Rabi (October–March): wheat, gram, mustard, barley. Zaid is the short summer season.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 3 “Kharif Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Rice, Maize, Ragi, June-September Maize, Jowar, Tur Jowar, Groundnut Rabi Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds Rice, Maize, Ragi, October – March”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 3 “It is largely a rainfed kharif crop of drylands.”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 3 “Being a rabi crop, it is mostly grown under irrigated conditions.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
