Agricultural Practices in India

Market gardening includes horticulture and floriculture (growing fruits, vegetables and flowers) in large scale for supply to the urban markets and also for export purposes. Districts such as Madurai, Nilgiris, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram practice this type of farming.

Plantation farming is yet another type of farming where crops are grown on large farms or estates. Plants like tea, coffee, rubber and pepper are grown as plantation crops on the hill slopes of Tamil Nadu.

Most of the farmers in Tamil Nadu practice subsistence intensive and irrigation farming. As the water requirement for each crop varies, irrigation plays a major role in the agricultural development of Tamil Nadu.

• The physical factors influencing agriculture are:
  
• 1. Temperature
  
• 2. Rainfall
  
• 3. Soil 
• 4. Humidity
• 5. Climate
• 6. Slope of land 

Mixed farming is one wherein land is allotted for more than one activity along with agriculture. The farmer grows two or three varieties of crops along with cattle rearing, poultry and fishing on a large land holding. This method is profitable to the farmer as it provides regular and continuous income. This type of farming is prevalent in the Kaveri delta.

Farmers select particular crops to be cultivated in a season, to suit soil and availability of water in that season. Thus, most farmers in Tamil Nadu cultivate crops in three different seasons, namely Sornavari (Kharif season); Samba (Summer season); and Navarai (Winter season or Rabi).

Market gardening includes horticulture and floriculture (growing fruits, vegetables and flowers) in large scale for supply to the urban markets and also for export purposes. Districts such as Madurai, Nilgiris, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram practice this type of farming.

Cotton is a major fibre crop in Tamil Nadu, and its cultivation is widespread across several districts, including Coimbatore, Thirunelveli, Cuddalore, and Villupuram.

Coimbatore district is a major agricultural hub in Tamil Nadu and is recognized for leading the production of Bengal gram among other pulses.

• Sugarcane is the most important commercial crop grown in Tamil Nadu. 
  
• Villupuram, Erode, Cuddalore, Thiruvannamalai, Vellore, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Dharmapuri, Namakkal and Salem districts are the major sugarcane producing areas of the state.
  

Tamil Nadu grows a variety of oilseeds, including groundnuts, sunflower, safflower, castor, and linseed, to meet the demand for vegetable oils.

In mixed farming, the farmer grows two or three varieties of crops along with cattle rearing, poultry, fishing, etc. It comprises farming along with the raising of livestock simultaneously. 

Globalization has introduced modern technology, better market access, and international trade opportunities, which have positively influenced agricultural production in Tamil Nadu.

Farming that is carried on small land holdings that produces food crops for local consumption is known as Subsistence intensive farming. It is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. The output is mostly for local requirements with little or no surplus trade. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to feed and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made principally with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, and secondarily toward market prices.

Before the advent of modern agricultural practices and the Green Revolution, agriculture in Tamil Nadu relied heavily on traditional, time-tested methods of cultivation.