Topic
Agriculture and Diversification
- Net sown area is about 10–11% of the geographical area; over 80% of holdings are small or marginal.
- Kharif: maize, rice, ragi, pulses. Rabi: wheat, barley, gram, oilseeds. Maize and wheat are the principal cereals.
- Cropping systems: maize–wheat, rice–wheat, maize–potato–wheat.
- Much of the cultivation is rainfed; irrigation covers under a fifth of the sown area, mostly by kuhls (traditional channels), lift schemes and tubewells in Una and Kangra.
Diversification — the named syllabus topic
- Off-season vegetables — the biggest success. Tomato, capsicum, peas, cauliflower and cabbage from the mid hills reach the plains when nothing is available there. Solan is the tomato and mushroom centre; the state is called the 'vegetable bowl' of north India for the summer months.
- Mushroom — Solan is known as the Mushroom City of India; the Directorate of Mushroom Research is at Chambaghat.
- Floriculture — carnations, lilium, gladiolus from Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla.
- Hops, olives, kiwi, hazelnut, saffron (Kinnaur/Lahaul), Kala Zeera and Chilgoza from the tribal belt.
- Milk and poultry — the Milkfed cooperative; Himachal has a substantial dairy programme.
- Medicinal and aromatic plants in the alpine belt.
Institutions
- CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur.
- Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni (Solan).
- CSIR–Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur.
- Kangra tea — planted from 1849, GI tag 2005; production is small but the brand is examined.