A Geographical Analysis of Changing Cropping Pattern in Haryana

Abstract

In a geographical study, it is essential to study the cropping pattern because it plays a vital role in finding an agricultural transformation of an area. The present paper attempts to study the trends and fluctuations in an area under important crops in Haryana, depicting the changes in the cropping pattern in the state from 1966-67 to 2014-15 and taking five points of time, i.e., 1980-81, 1990-91, 2000-01, 2010-11 and 2014-15. Statistics of cropping pattern reveals that cereals, particularly wheat and rice, have come to dominate the cropping pattern in the state in the wake of new farm technology, and the area mainly under pluses, sugarcane, bajra, maize, barley, and jowar have declined.The changing structure of irrigation and a shift in cropping pattern gives rise to two corresponding facts. First is the increase in demand for water with an increase in rice cultivation. Secondly, this increase in demand for water is increasingly met by groundwater irrigation as water availability in the canals has declined on account of low maintenance, and the tubewells have their own set of advantages regarding flexibility and reliability of irrigation. Result also clarifies that the extent of tubewell irrigation highly corresponds to the rice crop area, which shows the considerable pressure on groundwater resources, so, there is a need for crop diversification in the study area.