Rice and wheat are the two most important cereal crops grown in India.
Rice is the staple food crop of most people in India especially in coastal regions.
The geographical condition required for growth of rice are as follow :
(i) It is a kharif crop and requires hot and humid climate for cultivation. Temperature above 25∘C and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm is favourable for growth of rice.
(ii) Rich alluvial soils of the flood plains, river basins and deltaic areas which are renewed every year are ideal for rice cultivation.
(iii) Rice requires abundant rainfall or good water supply through irrigation and flooded fields during the earlier part of its growing season in June-July. Ankle deep water in the field helps the crops grow.
(iv) Plenty of cheap labour is required as most of the farming involves manual labour.Wheat is the main food crop for the people residing in the North and North-western part of the country.
The geographical conditions favourable for growth of wheat are as follows :
(i) Wheat is a rabi crop and requires a cool growing season. Average temperature should be between 10∘C to 5∘C at the time of sowing, but higher temperatures and bright sunshine is required at the time of harvesting for proper ripening of grains.
(ii) Wheat requires moderate rainfall of 50 cm to 75‌cm annually, evenly distributed over the growing season. A little winter rain before ripening helps in increasing the yield.
(iii) Deep alluvial clayey soils of Northern Plains and black soil of Deccan are suitable for growing wheat.
There are two important wheat-growing zones in the country : the Ganga-Satluj plains in the North-west and the black soil region of the Deccan. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh are the major wheat-growing states.