Distribution of Crops in Pakistan
On the basis of growing season, the crops in Pakistan are divided into the following two types.
Kharif Crops
These are cultivated at the beginning of summer and harvested at the beginning of winter. These include rice, maize, cotton and sugarcane etc.
Rabi Crops
These crops are cultivated at the beginning of winter and harvested at the beginning of summer. These include wheat, millet, sorghum, and gram etc.
Important Crops of Pakistan
Wheat
Wheat is an important food crop of Pakistan. Low temperature, moderate rainfall and plain areas are suitable for its cultivation. Apart from the upper and lower Indus plains of our country, wheat is also cultivated in the plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan province. Important areas for wheat cultivation are Lahore, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Multan, Khairpur, Nawabshah, Peshawar, Mardan and Naseerabad etc.
Rice
Rice is the second important food crop of Pakistan. Its cultivation requires a climate having high temperature and excessive water.
It is cultivated in the plains of Punjab, Sindh and also on the mountainous terrace fields in Mansehra, Swat and Gilgit. The important areas of rice cultivation are Gujeranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Larkana, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, D.I.Khan and Nasgerabad etc.
Cotton
It is the major cash crop of Pakistan. Its cultivation requires high temperature and litte amount of water. The semi-arid regions of Punjab and Sindh are suitable for its cultivation. Multan, Vehari, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Dadu, Badin, Noshero Feroz and Sanghar etc,are the important areas of its cultivation.
Sugarcane
Next to cotton, sugarcane is the second major cash crop of Pakistan. Its cultivation requires high temperature and excessive water. Apart from the upper and lower Indus Plains, sugarcane is also cultivated on a large scale in the plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The important areas of its cultivation are Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Nawabshah, Tharparkar, Peshawar, Charsada and Mardan etc.
Maize/Corn
It is one of the important food crops of Pakistan, from which edible oil is also extracted. Its cultivation requires moderate temperature and water. Maize is cultivated in irrigated areas of Punjab as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern Areas. The important areas of its cultivation are Sargodha, Faislabad, Jhang, Okara, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Charsada and Bannu etc.
