AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

LAND UTILIZATION

The total geographical area of the district has remained fairly constant at twenty-nine lakh acres except in the year 1911-12. The following table shows land utilisation in each taluka of the district in 1956-57: —

TABLE No. 10

CULTIVATED AND UNCULTIVATED AREA IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1956-57.

(In acres)

TABLE No. 10 - continued.

Cultivated Area.

The total cultivated area was about 70 per cent, of the total geographical area. This, of course, included cropped areas which were kept fallow during the current year and net area sown during an agricultural year. Nearly one-fourth of this area was in Chalisgaon and Jamner talukas. Rest of it was more or less uniformly distributed over the remaining talukas excepting Bhadgaon and Edlabad where it was relatively small.

Jirayut and Bagayat.

The cultivated area falls under two major heads, namely, jirayat (dry land) and bagayat (irrigated land). The jirayat land, which formed about 96 per cent, of total cultivated area in 1956-57, is cropped only with the help of rain water, while the bagayat land (four per cent) is cropped with the help of irrigation.

Forest Area.

In 1956-57, forests occupied an area of 4,00.366 acres, i.e., 13.92 per cent, of the total geographical area and nearly 46 per cent, of total uncultivated area. The following table shows talukawise distribution of forests in 1956-57, under the charge of the Forest Department :— [It will be observed that total area under forests, as recorded in table No. to and in the above table, do not agree with each other, mainly because the dates of reporting the area figures for annual reports differ in the case of the Forest and Revenue Departments; Forest Department statistics are for the financial year whereas Revenue Department statistics are for the agricultural year.]

TABLE No. 11

DISTRIBUTION OF FORESTS [All the Forests are reserved forests.] (TALUKAWISE) IN JALGAON DISTRICT,1956-57.

Forest Products.

Forest products are divided into two main classes, major and minor. Major forest products comprise mainly wood (i.e., timber and fuel) and were valued at Rs. 3,58,074 in 1956-57. Minor products valued at Rs. 1.71,377, in the same year, included green bamboos, dry bamboos, purana bamboos, lac, tarwad bark, tem- burni leaves, rosha grass, gum, ghat-bori, anjan and palas leaves, charoli, etc.

The remaining uncultivated area is distributed under various categories. Permanent pastures and other grazing lands stand next to forests. Barren land and mountains also occupy a considerable part of the district. The area reported as occupied by buildings, roads and railways and water (i.e., land put to non-agricultural uses), culturable waste and other fallows is almost negligible.

Cropped Area.

The gross cropped area recorded in 1956-57 was 20,96,318 acres including 1,10,215 acres cropped more than once thus bringing the net cropped area in the district to 19,85,903 in 1956-57. It is interesting to study the distribution of the gross cropped area as between food and non-food crops. It can be seen from the following tables that most of the crops in the district are taken in kharip season. About 9 per cent of the gross cropped area was under crops taken in rabi season. Similarly, about 56 per cent, of the cropped area was under food crops as against 44 per cent, under non-food crops.

TABLE No. 12

DISTRIBUTION OF CROPPED AREA IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1956-57

(In acres)

TABLE No. 13

ACREAGE UNDER DIFFERENT CROPS IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1956-57

TABLE No. 13—contd.

ACREAGE UNDER DIFFERENT CROPS IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1956-57

The main food crops of the district are: jowar, bajri, wheat, ragi, varai, sava, maize and other hill-millets among cereals; black gram, green gram, kidney bean, pigeon pea, horse gram, gram, chavli among pulses; banana and lady's linger among fruits and vegetables and sugarcane. Among the important non-food crops, cotton is important among fibres; groundnut and sesamum among oilseeds; tobacco and betel leaf among drugs and narcotics; coriander, chillies and garlic among condiments and spices.

Changes in Crop Pattern.

Even though it is not possible to analyse the changes in the crop pattern followed by the farmers of the district since the compilation of the last Gazetteer (1880), the data available for comparison being not based on identical conditions in regard to total acreage, classification of crops, etc., some broad indications may be obtained as outlined in the following table: —

TABLE No. 14.

CROP PATTERN IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1911-12, 1938-39, 1947-48 AND 1956-57.

(In acres)

*Includes figures for pulses also.

†Figures are for 1918-19.

Gross cropped area seems to have undergone some increase during the last decade. Till then there does not appear to have been any appreciable variation in the area under cultivation. In Jalgaon district non-foods crops arc as important as food crops so much so that in the post-war years acreage under non-food crops exceeded that under food crops. The tendency was arrested in recent years with the inauguration of the Grow More Food Campaign leading to a considerable diversion of area from non-food crops to food crops. The non-food crops are, however, regaining their importance in recent years. Cotton and groundnut are the most important cash crops. The shift in favour of groundnut cultivation is indeed remarkable. Economic prosperity of the. district has much to do with the realisation of groundnut and cotton crops every year. Development of betel-leaf gardens in recent years also deserves special mention. Of late, the district has also emerged as a prominent spices-producing centre. Coriander and chillies are the important crops while turmeric is also under extensive cultivation. Changes are also noticeable in the composition of food crops. Bajri, which was one time the staple food of the district, has given way to jowar. Acreage under pulses has gone up considerably. Fruits and vegetable cultivation has also increased rapidly in recent years. Among fruits, banana has attained an enviable position. Jalgaon is the most important banana-producing district of the State. Cultivation of grapes can also be regarded as a new development.

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