Rabi crops or the rabi harvest, also known as winter crops, are agricultural crops that are sown in winter and harvested in the spring in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.[1] Complementary to the rabi crop is the kharif crop, which is grown after the rabi and zaid crops are harvested one after another respectively.
The words kharif and rabi have their origins in Arabic. These came to be used in India with the ascent of the Mughal empire in the Indian subcontinent and have been widely used ever since. The term is derived from the Arabic word for "spring", which is used in the Indian subcontinent, where it is the spring harvest (also known as the "winter crop").
Rabi season in India
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 rabi crops but is good for kharif crops.
The major rabi crop in India is wheat, followed by barley, mustard, sesame and peas. Peas are harvested early, as they are ready early: Indian markets are flooded with green peas from January to March, peaking in February.
Many crops are cultivated in both kharif and rabi seasons. The crops produced in India are seasonal and highly dependent on these two monsoons.[2] The table below contains a list of differences between the three cropping seasons in India.
The Indian government also offers Minimum Support Price for these crops, so that the farmers can benefit from the harvest.[3]
