Among the following, which one is the least water-efficient crop?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Sugarcane
Sugarcane is the least water-efficient of the four, because it needs a very large amount of water for each tonne of crop and is normally grown with irrigation. Pearl millet and red gram are hardy dryland crops that manage on little water.
- ✓ (a) NCERT lists sugarcane with rice and jute as crops whose water requirement is very high and can be met only through irrigation.
- ✗ (c) Pearl millet (bajra) is sown in hot, dry regions and resists dry spells and drought, so it is among the most water-efficient crops.
- ✗ (d) Red gram (tur) is a pulse grown as a rainfed crop of drylands, so it does not need heavy irrigation.
Remember · Water-hungry crops: sugarcane, rice, jute (irrigation needed). Water-thrifty crops: bajra, ragi, pulses such as gram and tur (dryland, drought-hardy).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 4 (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 4 “For instance, water requirement of rice, sugarcane, jute, etc. is very high which can be met only through irrigation.”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 3 “Bajra is sown in hot and dry climatic conditions in northwestern and western parts of the country. It is a hardy crop which resists frequent dry spells and drought in this region.”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 3 “Being the rainfed crops of drylands, the yields of pulses are low and fluctuate from year to year.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·