Important features of agro-ecological zones of India

AEZ No.

Agro-ecological region

Geographical area (million ha)

Gross cropped area (million ha)

Physiography

Precipitation (mm)

PET (mm)

Length of growing period (days)

Major crops

1.

Cold arid ecoregion with shallow skeletal soils

15.2
(4.7%)

0.07

Western Himalayas

< 150

<800

< 90

Vegetables, millets, wheat, fodder, barley, pulses

2.

Hot arid ecoregion with desert and saline soils

31.9
(9.7%)

20.85

Western Plain & Kachchha Peninsula

< 300

1 500–2 000

< 90

Millets, fodder, pulses

3.

Hot arid ecoregion with red and black soils

4.9
(1.9%)

4.18

Deccan Plateau

400–500

1 800–1 900

< 90

Sorghum, safflower, cotton, groundnut, sunflower, sugar cane

4.

Hot semi-arid ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

32.2
(9.8%)

30.05

Northern Plain & Central Highlands including parts of Gujarat Plains

500–800

1 400–1 900

90–150

Millets, wheat, pulses, maize; irrigated cotton & sugar cane

5.

Hot semi-arid ecoregion with medium and deep black soils

17.6
(5.4%)

11.04

Central (Malwa) Highlands,Gujarat Plains & Kathiawar Peninsula

500–1 000

1 600–2 000

90–150

Millets, wheat, pulses

6.

Hot semi-arid ecoregion with shallow and medium (dominant) black soils

31.0
(9.5%)

25.02

Deccan Plateau

600–1000

1 600–1 800

90–150

Millets, cotton, pulses, sugar cane under irrigation

7.

Hot semi-arid ecoregion with red and black soils

16.5
(5.2%)

6.19

Deccan (Telangana) Plateau & Eastern Ghats

600–1 000

1 600–1 700

90–150

Millets, oilseeds, rice, cotton & sugar cane under irrigation

8.

Hot semi-arid ecoregion with red loamy soils

19.1
(5.8%)

6.96

Eastern Ghats (Tamil Nadu uplands) & Deccan Plateau (Karnataka)

600–1 000

1 300–1 600

90–150

Millets, pulses, oilseeds (groundnut), sugar cane & rice under irrigation

9.

Hot subhumid (dry) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

12.1
(3.7%)

11.62

Northern Plain

1 000–1 200

1 400–1 800

150–180

Rice, wheat, pigeon pea, sugar cane, mustard, maize

10.

Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and black soils

22.3
(5.8%)

14.55

Central Highlands (Malwa & Bundelkhand)

1 000–1 500

1 300–1 500

150–180

Rice, wheat, sorghum, soybean, gram, pigeon pea

11.

Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and yellow soils

11.1
(4.3%)

6.47

Eastern Plateau (Chhattisgarh Region)

1 200–1 600

1 400–1 500

150–180

Rice, millets, wheat, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram

12.

Hot subhumid ecoregion with red and lateritic soils

26.8
(8.2%)

12.09

Eastern (Chhota Nagpur) Plateau and Eastern Ghats

1 000–1 600

1 400–1 700

150–180

Rice, pulses, millets

13.

Hot subhumid (moist) ecoregion with alluvium-derived soils

11.1
(3.4%)

10.95

Eastern Plains

1 400–1 600

1 300–1 500

180–210

Rice, wheat, sugar cane

14.

Warm subhumid to humid with inclusion of perhumid ecoregion with brown forest and podzolic soils

18.2
(5.6%)

3.20

Western Himalayas

1 600–2 000

800–1 300

180–210

Wheat, millets, maize, rice

15.

Hot subhumid (moist) to humid (inclusion of perhumid) ecoregions with alluvial-derived soils

12.1
3.7%)

8.99

Bengal Basin and Assam Plain

1 400–2 000

1 000–1 400

> 210

Rice, jute, plantation crops

16.

Warm perhumid ecoregion with brown and red hill soils

9.6
(2.9%)

1.37

Eastern Himalayas

2 000–4 000

<1 000

> 210

Rice, millets, potato, maize, sesame, Jhum* cultivation is common

17.

Warm perhumid ecoregion with red and lateritic soils

10.6
(3.3%)

1.56

North-Eastern Hills

1 600–2 600

1 000–1 100

> 210

Rice, millets, potato, plantation crops, Jhum* cultivation is common

18.

Hot subhumid to semi-arid ecoregion with coastal alluvium-derived soils

8.5
(2.6%)

6.12

Eastern Coastal Plains

900–1 600

1 200–1900

90>210

Rice, coconut, black gram, lentil, sunflower, groundnut

19.

Hot humid perhumid ecoregion with red, lateritic and alluvium-derived soils

11.1
(3.6%)

5.70

Western Ghats and Coastal Plains

2 000–3 200

1 400–1 600

> 210

Rice, tapioca, coconut, spices

20.

Hot humid / perhumid island ecoregion with red loamy and sandy soils

0.8
(0.3%)

0.05

Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep

1 600–3 000

1 400–1 600

> 210

Rice, coconut, areca nut, oil palm

* Slash and burn cultivation. Source: Sehgal et al., 1992 http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0257e/A0257E02.htm