This document discusses India's 15 agroclimatic zones and their climates, livestock priorities, and key agricultural products. The zones vary in annual rainfall, temperature, soil types, and are defined by their suitability for certain crops and livestock. Priority livestock species in each zone include buffalo, cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs. Key agricultural products distributed across zones include milk, meat, wool, and draft power. Challenges faced in the zones relate to water management, inputs, marketing, and infrastructure. Suggested measures to develop the zones involve soil/water conservation, breeding, pasture/fishery development, and crop diversification.

1. CLIMATOLOGY AND AGROCLIMATIC ZONE
OF INDIA
Dr. Rajesh K. Yadav
MVSc. Scholar
( DEPARTMENT OF LPM )

2. DEFINITIONS:
Atmosphere- it can be described as a thin
layer of odourless, colourless and tasteless
gases held to earth by force of gravity.
 Composition of Atmosphere-
Nitrogen(78%),Oxygen(21%),Argon(0.93%),CO
2(0.03),other He, Ozone, Hydrogen, Krypton,
Xenon, Methane.

3. Conti….
 Climatology- the Scientific study of the climate of a place or
region on the basis of weather records accumulated over a
long period of time.
 Bioclimatology-the study of climate in relation to living
organism.
 Meteorology- the study of an interdisciplinary science
involving integrated system of atmosphere, land and ocean
for observation, understanding and prediction of weather.

4. Conti…
 Climate- the long term(about 30 years) average of meteorological
variables in a given region.
 Microclimate- the climatic condition directly surrounding the animal.
 Macroclimate- climatic condition of a large geographical area like state or
country e.g. climate of countries near equator is tropical.
 Humidity- it is the amount of water vapour present in atmosphere. It is
expressed in two ways- Absolute humidity which is actual mass of water
contained in a unit volume of moist air and Relative humidity which is ratio
of actual vapour pressure of given air to the saturation vapour pressure at a
given temperature.

5. Conti…..
 Weather- short term day by day fluctuations in meteorological
variables viz. daily/weekly weather reports and forecasts.
 Pyrometer- measure total incoming radiation is called as Pyrometer.
 Thermoneutral zone- environmental temperature at which an animal’s
body is at equilibrium; i.e., neither tends to gain or lose heat.

6. Agro Climatic Zone Of India
 Agro Climatic Zone- According to FAO(1983),Agro Climatic zones is a
land unit, in terms of major climate and growing period, that is climatically
suitable for a certain range of crops and cultivars.
 The planning aims at scientific management of regional resources to meet
the food, fibre, fodder and fuel wood without adversely affecting the status
of natural resources and environment.
 Agroclimatic conditions mainly refers to soil type, rainfall, temperature
and water availability which influence the type of vegetations.

7. Conti…
 Agro-climatic region : the term is used
to denote regions with a characteristic
inter-relationship between agronomy/
farming systems and climate.
 15 agroclimatic regions as per
Planning Commission, Govt of India.

9. 1. WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION-
 This region covers Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the hilly
region of Utter Pradesh.
 Climate is cool and humid.
 Annual rainfall = 1650-2000mm.
 Soil is predominantly alluvial.
 Livestock species priority= high- Sheep
Low- cattle, buffalo and goat
very low- pig
Product priority= Wool-Meat

10. Conti…..
Major constraints:
 The main problems of this region are poor accessibility, soil erosion,
landslides, inclement weather, inadequacy of marketing and storage
facilities.
 The population is generally rural- based and poor.
Measures to develop this region:
 Intensify the soil and water conservation planning.
 Land utility planning should be implemented.
 Good storage for transportation, marketing & processing.

11. 2. EASTERN HIMALAYAN REGION-
 The region includes Arunachal Pradesh, the hills of Assam,
Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, and
Darjeeling district of west Bengal.
 Climate is humid and sub humid.
 Annual rainfall =1840-3528mm.
 Livestock species priority= high- cattle and pig.
low- goat.
very low- buffalo and sheep.
Product priority= Meat-Draft.

12. Conti..
 Major constraint is soil erosion.
Measures to develop this region:
 Soil and water conservation planning.
 Educate people about harmful effect of
land erosion on farming and animals.
 Facilities of good supply of inputs,
marketing, transportation, processing &
storage.

13. 3. LOWER GANGETIC PLAIN-
 West Bengal, eastern Bihar and the Brahmaputra valley lie in this region.
 Climate is moist humid and dry humid.
 Annual rainfall= 1302-1607mm.
 Livestock species priority= very high- cattle, goat, pig
high- sheep
low- buffalo
Product priority= Draft-Meat

14. GANGETIC REGION-

15. Major constraints-
 Lack of water management.
 Inadequate supply of inputs.
 Poor marketing and processing.
 Dependent on monsoon.
 Uneducated and poor farmers.
 Poor electricity supply.

16. 4. MIDDLE GANGETIC PLAIN-
 This region includes eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
 In this region high level of livestock and crops due to fertile alluvial soil
present which drained by the Ganga and its tributaries.
 Annual rainfall= 1211-1470mm.
 Climate is moist sub humid to dry humid.
 Livestock species priority= very high-pig.
high- cattle, buffalo, goat.
low- sheep.
Product priority= Draft-Meat.

17. 5. UPPER GANGETIC PLAIN-
 This region includes the central and western parts of Uttar Pradesh
and the Haridwar and Udham Nagar districts of Uttarakhand.
 Climate is dry sub humid to sub dry.
 Annual rainfall= 721-979mm.
 Milk production and processing units are being established.
 Livestock species priority= very high- buffalo, pig.
high- goat.
low- sheep.
Product priority= Milk-Meat.

18. 6. TRANSGANGETIC PLAIN(SATLUJ-YAMUNA
PLAIN)-
 This region extends over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and
Ganganagar district of Rajasthan.
 Climatic is semi-arid.
 Annual rainfall= 65-125mm.
 Livestock species priority= very high- buffalo.
high- sheep, pig.
low- cattle, goat.
Product priority= Milk-Meat.

19. Measure to develop this region-
 Good water management.
 Proper use of ground water.
 Proper livestock and pasture management.
 Increasing of area under vegetables, fruits
and pastures.

20. 7. EASTERN PLATEAU AND HILLS-
 This region includes the Chhota Nagpur Plateau, extending over
Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh.
 Climate is moist subhumid to dry subhumid.
 annual rainfall=1271-1436mm.
 The region is deficient in water resources due to plateau structure.
 Livestock species priority= high- cattle.
low- buffalo, sheep/goat, pig.
Product priority= Draft-Meat.

21. 8. CENTRAL PLATEAU AND HILLS-
 The region includes 46 district of M.P., Chhattisgarh, U.P. and
Rajasthan.
 Climate is semi arid to dry subhumid.
 Annual rainfall = 400-1550mm.
 Soils are mixed red, yellow and black.
 Livestock species priority= very high- sheep/goat.
high- buffalo.
low- cattle, pig.
Product priority= Wool-Meat.

22. 9. WESTERN PLATEAU & HILLS-
 This region includes Malwa Plateau and Deccan
Plateau(Maharashtra), some parts of M.P. and Rajasthan.
 Climate is semi-arid.
 Annual rainfall = 602-1040mm.
 Livestock species priority = cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat all are
limited in this area.
 Product priority= supplementary.

23. Plateau

24. Measures to develop this region-
 Increasing water efficiency by
popularizing water saving devices like
sprinklers and drip system.
 Improvement of milk production of
cattle and buffalo through cross-
breeding along with poultry
development should be encouraged.

25. 10. SOUTHERN PLATEAU & HILLS-
 This region includes the greater parts of Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
 It is an area of dry-zone agriculture.
 Annual rainfall = 677-1000mm.
 Livestock species priority= very high- sheep.
low in cattle, buffalo and goat.
Product priority = Wool-Supplement.

26. 11. EAST COAST PLAINS-
 This region includes east coast of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
Orissa.
 Climate is semi-arid and dry subhumid.
 Annual rainfall = 780-1287mm.
 Soils are mainly alluvial and coastal sands and are troubled by the problem
of alkalinity.
 Livestock species priority = high- buffalo, sheep.
low- cattle, goat, pig.
Product priority = Milk-Supplementary.

27. Suggestions for this area-
 Main agricultural strategies includes
improvement in the cultivation
spices(peeper and cardamom) and
development of fisheries.
 Diversifying cropping and avoiding
mono-cropping.
 Social forestry and dairy-farming.

28. 12. WEST COAST PLAINS AND GHATS-
 This region includes west coast of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Goa.
 Climate is dry subhumid to humid.
 Annual rainfall – 2226-3640mm.
 Main occupation is cultivation of spices and plantation crops which are raised
along the hill slopes of the Western Ghats and fisheries.
 Livestock species priority= very high- cattle.
high- goat.
low- pig.
very low- buffalo and sheep.
Product priority= Draft-Meat.

29. Suggestions for this region-
 Storage of rain water.
 Proper use of ground water.
 Raising of high valve crops(pulses, spices
and coconut).
 Development of infra-structural facilities.
 Promotion to prawn culture in blackish
water.

30. 13. GUJARAT PLAINS AND HILLS-
 This region includes 19 districts of Gujarat.
 It is an arid and semi-arid region.
 Annual rainfall = 340-1793mm.
 Livestock species priority = low- cattle,
buffalo, sheep, goat.
very low- pig.
Product priority = Supplementary.

31. 14. WESTERN DRY REGION-
 This region includes 9 districts of Rajasthan.
 This region has an erratic rainfall of an annual average of 95 mm.
 The desert climate further causes high evaporation.
 This region has scanty vegetation.
 Drought occurs frequently.
 Livestock priority = very high- sheep.
low- buffalo and goat.
very low- cattle.
Product priority = Wool-Meat.

32. Suggestion for this region-
 Rainwater harvesting.
 Adopting high quality germ-plasm in
cattle to improve their breed.
 Adopting silvi-pastoral system over
wastelands.

33. 15. ISLAND REGIONS
 This region includes Andaman & Nicobar and
Lakshadweep.
 Climate is humid.
 Annual rainfall = 300 mm spread over 8-9
months.
 Livestock species priority = low- goat, pig.
very low-cattle, buffalo/sheep.
Product priority = Supplementary

34. SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS REGION-
 Crop improvement.
 Water management and fisheries.
 Blackish water prawn culture should be
promoted.

35. DISTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK IN 15 AGROCLIMATIC ZONES
S.N
o.
REGION SPECIES PRIORITY
VERY HIGH HIGH LOW VERY
LOW
PRODUCT
PRIORITY
1. Western Himalayan - Sheep Cattle, Buffalo,
Goat
Pig Wool-meat
2. Eastern Himalayan - Cattle, Pig Goat Buffalo, Sheep Meat-draft
3. Lower Gangetic Plains Cattle, Goat,
Pig
Sheep Buffalo - Draft-meat
4. Middle Gangetic Plains Pig Cattle, Buffalo,
Goat
Sheep - Draft-meat
5. Upper Gangetic Plains Buffalo, Pig Goat Sheep - Milk-meat
6. Trans Gangetic Plains Buffalo Sheep, Pig Cattle, Goat - Milk-meat
7. Eastern Plateau and
Hills
- Cattle Buffalo,
Sheep/Goat,
- Draft-meat

36. 8. Central Plateau and Hills Sheep, Goat Buffalo Cattle, Pig - Wool-meat
9. Western Plateau and
Hills
- - Cattle, Buffalo,
Sheep, Goat
- Supplementary
10. Southern Plateau and
Hills
Sheep - Cattle, Buffalo,
Goat
- Meat-
supplementary
11. East Coast Plain and
Hills
- Buffalo, Sheep Cattle, Goat,
Pig
- Milk-
supplementary
12. West Coast Plain and
Hills
Cattle Goat Pig Buffalo,
Sheep
Draft-meat
13. Gujarat Plains and Hills - - Cattle, Buffalo Pig Supplementary
14. Western Dry Sheep - Buffalo, Goat Cattle, Pig Wool-meat
15. Islands - - Goat, Pig Cattle,
Sheep,
Buffalo
Supplementary