RAS question
Date palm (khajoor) cultivation in Rajasthan is promoted in:
Correct answer: (D) Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer.
Date palm cultivation in Rajasthan is promoted in the western desert districts of Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer.
Explanation
Date palm is linked with western Rajasthan because it suits arid agriculture rather than the better-watered eastern or southern regions. Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer are the western desert districts where date palm cultivation is promoted for diversification with Israeli technology. ICAR supports this desert-region focus: it describes date palm as a crop cultivated under arid conditions, notes that Barmer has heat conditions and saline water where few other crops can grow, and says Rajasthan's Horticulture Department set up a Date Palm Farm and Centre of Excellence at Sagra, Bhojaka, Jaisalmer, along with a mechanised Date Palm Farm at Khara, Bikaner. That is why the correct answer is the desert-district group, not an individual non-desert city.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Jaipur is outside the western desert belt and is not the promotion focus supported by ICAR.
- (B) Kota belongs to the Hadoti region, whereas date palm promotion in Rajasthan is tied to the arid western districts.
- (C) Udaipur is in Mewar and does not match the western desert-district pattern linked with date palm cultivation.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan agriculture geography, especially how arid-zone crops are matched with the state's desert districts. It recurs in RAS because crop-location questions often combine physical geography with government promotion of region-specific agriculture.