Previous Year Question

The lower Gangetic plain primarily includes the plains and deltaic region of West Bengal. It has recent alluvial soil deposited by the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, adequate rainfall, high humidity, the availability of rivers and other water sources and a long warm season. These conditions are suitable for both paddy and jute.

Paddy: Paddy requires high temperature, adequate water and humid conditions during its growth. In the lower Gangetic plain, monsoon rainfall, level land, river water and water-retentive alluvial soil support paddy cultivation. It is also comparatively easy to maintain standing water in fields over the level terrain.

Jute: Jute is a fibre crop of warm and humid climates. High temperature, adequate and well-distributed rainfall and alluvial soil are favourable for its growth. Floods also periodically deposit fresh and fertile alluvium in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. The retting process used to separate fibre from jute stems requires sufficient clean and slow-moving water, which is available in this river-rich region.

Why is wheat unsuitable? Wheat requires cool and comparatively dry weather during its initial growth and clear, warm and dry weather during ripening. Therefore, year-round warm and humid conditions are not the most suitable for wheat.

Why is cotton unsuitable? Cotton requires a long, frost-free warm period, but dry and sunny weather is needed during maturity and boll opening. Persistently high humidity and rainfall can increase pest, disease and fibre-quality problems. Its principal concentrated cultivation occurs in the comparatively dry black-soil regions of the Deccan.

Therefore, paddy and jute constitute the most suitable crop pair for the lower Gangetic plain.