RAS question
In terms of area sown, which is the most widely cultivated kharif foodgrain crop in Rajasthan?
Correct answer: (B) Bajra (Pearl millet).
Bajra, or pearl millet, is the most widely sown kharif foodgrain crop in Rajasthan by area.
Explanation
Bajra stands out because the question asks about area sown, not yield or market value. The Rajasthan crop estimate table lists bajra at 39,42,600 hectares, well ahead of maize at 9,34,200 hectares, jowar at 5,92,800 hectares and rice at 2,17,543 hectares. That makes pearl millet the widest kharif foodgrain crop in Rajasthan by sown area. This also fits Rajasthan's geography: bajra is concentrated in the western arid belt, with major growing districts such as Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Jaisalmer. Rajasthan is also described as India's largest bajra producer, so the area pattern is not incidental; it reflects the crop's suitability to the state's dry kharif conditions.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Rice is not the widest kharif foodgrain by area; the Rajasthan crop estimate table puts it far below bajra, and its cultivation is mainly limited to parts of Hanumangarh and Banswara.
- (C) Maize is an important kharif foodgrain, but the area figure for maize is much smaller than bajra's, so it cannot be the most widely sown crop.
- (D) Jowar is another coarse cereal grown in Rajasthan, but its listed area is much less than bajra's, which rules it out on the question's area-sown criterion.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan agriculture under the state's physical geography, especially the link between kharif crops and the western arid region. It recurs in RAS because crop-area rankings often turn on the exact criterion used: area sown, production or yield.