Cotton requires 210 frost-free days and grows best on black (regur) soil, while jute requires high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and well-drained fertile flood-plain soil. Both are classified as kharif fibre crops. Using these contrasting requirements, explain why major cotton-producing states and major jute-producing states barely overlap in India. Are there any geographical conditions that could allow a state to cultivate both? Justify your answer.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:32 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Cotton thrives on black (regur) soil in drier parts of the Deccan plateau with 210 frost-free days, making Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka its major producers. Jute requires high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and fertile flood-plain soils renewed annually, making West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha its major producers. Since black soil zones and flood-plain regions are geographically distinct, these states barely overlap.
However, states like Andhra Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh, which have both alluvial flood plains near rivers and areas of suitable temperature, could potentially cultivate both crops depending on local soil and water availability.
Source: Chapter 4 — Non-Food Crops (Fibre Crops), Cropping Pattern
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Explanation
- Examiners expect you to directly link soil type (black soil vs. flood-plain alluvial) and climatic needs (dry vs. heavy rainfall) to the regional separation.
- Name specific states from the textbook for both crops — don't generalise.
- For the "both crops" part, pick a state that appears in neither exclusive list but has mixed geographical features; justify briefly. You won't lose marks for a reasonable geographical justification even if the exact state isn't named in the textbook for both.
- Do not write more than 3–4 sentences total for a 3-mark answer.