Discussion

This map shows the important cotton growing regions in central and northwestern India.

The following acreage (2.2 acres per ha) information is reprinted from this website. Cotton is grown over 7.6 m ha in India. Maharashtra shares 36 per cent (2.8 m ha), followed by Gujarat with 21 per cent (1.6 m ha), Karnataka with 13 per cent (1 m ha) and Madhya Pradesh with 9 per cent (0.6 m ha) of the area. Together, these four states account for about 80 per cent of the area under cotton. Other cottom-growing states with smaller areas are Punjab, with 5 per cent (0.4 m ha), Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu each with 4 per cent (0.31 m ha), Haryana and Rajasthan with 3 per cent of each (0.2 m ha each). Most of the cotton areas in the country are under the high to medium rainfall zone. The cotton grown in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh (4.8 m ha) is rainfed, whereas in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu (1.93 m ha) it receives partial irrigation 16-20 per cent of the area).

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