Abstract

Madhya Bharat is situated in the centre of the Indian Union extending over an area of 47,000 square miles. The central part of this State is called Malwa Plateau situated at a height of 1,200 to 1,800 ft. above sea level. It consists of black cotton soils varying in depths from 1 to 6 feet and receives an annual rainfall of about 30 inches. On account of its high moisture- retaining capacity, the main crops of wheat, cotton, groundnut and jowar (sorghum) etc., are grown under rainfed conditions while sugarcane and other garden crops are cultivated on irrigated lands. The total area under sugarcane is about 55 thousand acres representing about 14% of the irrigated area of the State. The yields of indigenous cane varieties were only 10 to 12 tons per acre, but as a result of evolution of improved hybrid canes developed at the Central Sugarcane Research Institute at Coimbatore, the yields have increased by about 200 to 400%, but still it is not equal to the other sugarcane-growing areas of the country such as U. P., Bihar and Madras etc.

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