RAS question
Jowar (sorghum) cultivation in Rajasthan is predominantly found in which part of the state?
Correct answer: (C) Southern and south-eastern Rajasthan.
Jowar, or sorghum, cultivation in Rajasthan is concentrated in the southern and south-eastern parts of the state.
Explanation
Jowar is a kharif crop in Rajasthan and is mainly associated with the state’s southern and south-eastern belt. Udaipur, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and Rajsamand are important districts because moderate rainfall supports the crop there. Rajasthan Economic Review 2024-25 supports this regional pattern through its agro-climatic crop listing: the Sub-humid Southern Plains include Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Bhilwara with maize, pulses and jowar, while the Humid Southern Plains and Humid South Eastern Plain also list jowar among their crops. That is why the best answer is not a generic dryland or irrigated-plains option, but the southern and south-eastern part of Rajasthan.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The northern irrigated plains are associated mainly with wheat and mustard, not with Rajasthan’s principal jowar belt.
- (B) The Thar Desert region is chiefly identified with bajra cultivation, so it does not match the jowar-focused southern and south-eastern belt.
- (D) Shekhawati is better known here for bajra and gram rather than being the primary jowar-growing region.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan agriculture geography, especially the matching of kharif crops with agro-climatic regions. It recurs in RAS because crop-region mapping links physical geography, rainfall and the state economy in one factual frame.