Which of the following is a crop of the Zaid season?

   The correct answer is Pumpkin.

• Pumpkin is a crop of the Zaid season.

Key Points

• The pumpkin belongs to the “Cucurbitaceae” family and is grown extensively during the Kharif season and Zaid/Summer season.
• Prepare the soil to a fine tilth by plowing and pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are taken at a spacing of 4.5 x 2 m.
• Zaid crops are summer season crops grown on the sub-continent on irrigated lands that do not have to wait for monsoons.
  • They grow in the short duration between Rabi and Kharif crop season, mainly from March to June.
  • Zaid is the season of cropping which is between the Winter and Rainy seasons.
  • These types of crops are grown in summer: E.g. Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, and sugarcane.
  • They require warm dry weather as a major growth period and longer day length for flowering

Additional Information

• Crops grew: Intensive subsistence farming yields.
  • Two types of crops- wet and dry 
    • Wet crops - paddy
    • Dry crops - wheat, pulses, maize, millets, sorghum, soya-beans, tubers, and vegetables
• India is diverse in all spheres.
• The country is bestowed with a plethora of flora fauna.
• The crops in India have divided into four categories :
  • Cash Crops - Spices, Tobacco, Cotton, Oilseeds 
  • Plantation Crops - Rubber, Coffee, Coconut, and Tea
  • Food Crops -  Rice, Wheat, Maize, Pulses, and Millets
  • Horticulture crops - Vegetables and fruits
• India has three cropping seasons: Rabi, Kharif, and Zaid.
  • Rabi season :
    • The rabi crops are sown around mid-November, preferably after the monsoon rains are over, and harvesting begins in April / May.
    • The crops are grown either with rainwater that has percolated into the ground or using irrigation.
    • Good rain in winter spoils the rabi crops but is good for Kharif crops.
    • The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds), etc.
  • Kharif season :
    • The Kharif season varies by crop and region, starting at the earliest in May and ending at the latest in January.
    • In India, the season is popularly considered to start in June and end in October.
    • Kharif crops are usually sown at the beginning of the first rains during the advent of the south-west monsoon season.
    • They are harvested at the end of the monsoon season.
    • The Kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soybean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton, etc.