ISSN (Online) : 2455 - 3662 SJIF Impact Factor :3.395 (Morocco) EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Volume: 2 Issue: 5 May 2016 Published By : EPRA Journals CC License EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinar y Research (IJMR) ISSN (Online): 2455-3662 SJIF Impact Factor: 3.395 (Morocco) Volume: 2 Issue: 5 May 2016 SJIF Impact Factor : 3.395 CROPPING PATTERN IN THE PENNAR RIVER BASIN SJIF Impact Factor : 3.395 SJIF Impact Factor : 3.395 Dr.G.Rambabu1 ABSTRACT India being an agrarian country, understanding 1 Department of Geography, the agricultural scenario is very much essential for further S.K.University, Ananathapuramu,A.P, planning, particularly, for arid and semi-arid areas. River India Pennar being a non -perennial river flowing through Anantapuram,Kadapah, Chittor, Kurnool, Prakasam, Nellore and some talukas of Karnataka stateinfluencing the 2 agricultural pattern in a marked way. Hence, an attempt is Prof.A.Krishna Kumari made here to understand the cropping pattern, its 2Department of Geography, diversification and combinations in Pennar river basin S.K.University, Ananathapuramu,A.P, consisting of 198 mandals for the year 2010-11. India KEYWORDS: River, cropping pattern, agricultural scenario, crop diversification INTRODUCTION latitude and 770 and 810 East longitude. The river In recent years a great deal of attention has originates in northern part of Karnataka state in been paid by agricultural geographers and also by Nandi hills and passes through the agricultural economists and rural sociologists to Anantapuram,Kadapah, Chittor, Kurnool, Prakasam, improve the methods of delimiting agricultural Nellore and some talukas of Karnataka stateand regions. Agriculture is not only an economic activity empties into Bay of Bengal, 30km ENE of Nellore and also a form of applied ecology because the after passing through the Pennar delta of Nellore patterns of agricultural distribution and production district. The average annual rainfall of the Pennar are related to divergent agricultural ecological basin is 732.11mm. The average minimum conditions which primarily influence the regional temperature is about 180C and the average maximum diversity and uniformity in farming. On this account, temperature is about 420C. The basin enjoys there is an almost bewildering diversity in semiarid, dry sub-humid and wet sub-humid types of agricultural patterns. Crops in particular, and climate. livestock to a lesser extent, largely depend on the OBJECTIVES resources of their immediate natural endowments The main objectives of the study are which can be modified only at a heavy cost.Hence, an 1. to study the cropping pattern or the Pennar attempt is made here to understand the cropping river basin pattern, its diversification and combinations in 2. to analyze the crop diversification of the Pennar river basin consisting of 198 mandals for the Pennar basin and year 2010-11. 3. to bring out the crop combination of the STUDY AREA Pennar basin. The Pennar River basin covers an area about 55,213km2 and lies in between 100 and 160 North www.eprajournals.com Volume: 2 Issue: 5 May 2016 42 EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) | ISSN (Online): 2455 -3662 | SJIF Impact Factor : 3.395 ( Morocco) METHODOLOGY for each combination but the crop combination is In the present study, simple percentage of actually established by consulting one-sheet table various crops have been taken to study the crop which presents critical values for various elements concentration of the Pennar river basin. Crop here mean crop, livestock or enterprises. The use of diversification is worked out using Bhatia method ( one-sheet table requires only the summing up of 1965). The crop diversification index according to actual percentages under different crop instead of Bhatia (1965) is the percentage of all sown areas of all finding the differences between actual percentages crops divided by number of crops multiply 100. It and theoretical distributions. indicates the crop variety and large number of crops Cropping pattern means the proportion of area grown in a year over the crop land. Movi(1963) under various crops at a point of time. Cropping considered the ratio between mean of the difference in pattern is also determined by the spread of crops percent area covered by successive crops arranged expressed as percentage of total cropped area of rank wise and number of the crops as the measure of major crops. It includes the identification of most diversification. He selected 5% of the crop land efficient crops of the region. The total cropped area instead of 10% of crop land taken by Bhatia. The during 2010-11 amounts to 2,163,804 hectares which quantitative technique used by Gibbs & Martin (1962) accounts 39.19% of the total geographical area. to measure the diversification laborers’ in various About 308,775 hectares (14.27%) is under paddy industries. The diversification index of Punjab was crop, about 1,560,100 hectares of land (72.10%) is studied by Jhujar Singh (1979). under groundnut crop, about 158,176 hectors of land The crop diversification index of the Pennar (7.31%) is under jowar crop, 18176 hectares of land basin varies from minimum of 3% in Atmakur in (0.84%) is under other food crops, 45,009 hectares of Kurnool district to maximum of 75% in Alurmandal. land (2.08%)is under fruits and vegetable, 28,563 The average crop diversification is 23.50% of the hectors of land (1.32%) is under bengal gram crop, Pennar basin. The spatial distribution shows that the 24,452 hectares of land (1.13%) is under sunflower majority of the mandals in the southwest, central, crop, 10,819 hectors of land (0.5%) is under flowers northeast, northern, eastern and southeast, the crop cultivation, and 9,738 hectors of land (0.45%) is diversification is less than 15%. It varies from 15% to under the other non-food crops. 30% in the mandals located in northwestern, western The spatial distribution of paddy crop 2010- a few central mandals, northeastern and southern 11 shows high concentration in Kunderu valley in mandals of the basin. The crop diversification is more northern, eastern and western mandals of the basin. than 30% in twenty eight mandals of the basin. The The paddy concentration is medium in southern combination analysis was originally introduced into mandals of the Pennar basin and low in central geographical research by Weaver (1954) in his mandals of the basin. The paddy crop needs high outstanding study of crop combinations in the amounts of water. The duration of the crop is 100 to Midwestern United States. There are mainly two 120 days and water requirement is 1000mm. to techniques with which we can establish crop 1500mm during the crop period under normal combinations, viz. semi-statistical and statistical. A climatic conditions. The total paddy cropped area is modified form or Weaver’s technique has been put 308,775 hectors. The paddy crop in the basin is forward by Doi’s (1959), which was considered to be cultivated under canal, tank and tube well irrigation. the easiest for combination analysis till the computer The jowar crop concentration is high in northern, programming facilities made the task to tedious northwestern and a few central mandals of the basin. calculations for deviation analysis easy and simple. The jowar concentration is medium in a few mandals The modified format of Doi’s technique solves the and low in the western, central, and eastern mandals problems of Weaver’s technique simultaneously by of the basin. The jowar crop is cultivated both under d 2 rain fed and irrigated sources. The total cropped area substituting the variance or least standard n of the jowar crop is 18,176 hectors of land. The duration of jowar crop is 100 to 105 days and the 2 deviation d of Weaver with the sum of water requirement is about 450mm to 500mm. The m bengal gram cropped area is about 28,563 hectors of land. The duration of bengal gram crop is 70 to 80 squared deviations ( d 2 ). The combination having days and the water requirement is 200mm to 250mm. 2 The bajra crop concentration is high in northwestern, the lowest d will be the crop combination. In southwestern, and northeastern mandals of the basin. Doi’s technique it is not required to calculate Its concentration is low in western, northern, southern, central and eastern mandals of the basin. www.eprajournals.com Volume: 2 Issue: 5 May 2016 43 EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) | ISSN (Online): 2455 -3662 | SJIF Impact Factor : 3.395 ( Morocco) The bajra crop duration is 90 days and it requires food crops, Fruits & vegetables and sugar cane. The 300mm. to 350mm. of water during crop period. The percentage of each crop cropped area is worked out bajra crop is cultivated under rainfed condition in the to the total cropped area of the mandal they are basin. The ragi crop concentration is low in western arranged in hierarchy according to their ranks. and central mandals of the basin. The ragi crop Following Doi’s calculated table of crop combination duration is 100 to 105 days and it requires 450mm to the crop combination of the Pennar basin has been 500mm. The ragi crop is cultivated in the basin under brought out. From the analysis of the crop rain-fed conditions. The ground nut crop combination method it is found that in about 64 concentration during 2010-11 is high in central, mandals distributed in western, southern, northern western, southern, northern and a few northeastern and part of central, mandals mono crop is cultivated. mandals of the basin. The crop is cultivated in about The mono crop is also cultivated in eastern mandals 1,560,100 hectares of land and accounts for 72.10% of the deltaic region of the Pennar basin.