Explain the conditions for the growth of rice.

Explanation

Rice is a staple food for the overwhelming majority of population in India.
Conditions:
(a) Though, it is considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas, it has about 3,000 varieties which are grown in different agro-climatic regions.
( b) These are successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude and from humid areas in eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and northern Rajasthan.
(c) In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year. But in Himalayas and northwestern parts of the country, it is grown as a kharif crop during southwest Monsoon season.
(d) West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were the leading rice producing states in the country in 2009-10.