Important features of 20 agro-ecological zones of India

Important features of  20 agro-ecological zones of India EZ No. Agro-ecological region Geographical area (%) 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 -4.70% 15.2 0.07 Western Himalayas < 150 <800 < 90 Vegetables, millets, wheat, fodder, barley, pulses 2 Hot arid Ecoregion with desert and saline soils -9.70% 31.9 20.85 Western Plain & Kachchha Peninsula < 300 1 500–2 000 < 90 Millets, fodder, pulses 3 Hot arid ecoregion with red and black soils -1.90% 4.9 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 -9.80% 32.2 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 -5.40% 17.6 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 -9.50% 31 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 -5.20% 16.5 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 -5.80% 19.1 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 -3.70% 12.1 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 -5.80% 22.3 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 -4.30% 11.1 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 -8.20% 26.8 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 -3.40% 11.1 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 -5.60% 18.2 3.2 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 3.7%) 12.1 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 -2.90% 9.6 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 -3.30% 10.6 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 -2.60% 8.5 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 -3.60% 11.1 5.7 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 -0.30% 0.8 0.05 Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep 1 600–3 000 1 400–1 600 > 210 Rice, coconut, areca nut, oil palm
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