CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS BASED ON CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS

CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS BASED ON CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS

Agro-climatic zones of India

 Agro ecological zone is defined as a land unit in terms of major climates, suitable for certain range of crops and cultivars. Fruits are broadly classified on the basis of their temperature requirement such as, temperate, subtropical and tropical. However, some fruits may be grown under more than one climate. For example, mango is grown under both tropical and subtropical climates. Grape and peach can be grown in both temperate and subtropical regions. The agro climatic zones of India are as follows.
       Zones

1.  Temperate Subtropical Tropical
2.   North western North eastern
3.  Central southern coastal  

Characteristics of different zones 
                                                                                                        
1.Temperate zone:
 Vegetative and flower buds of most of the temperate zone fruits enter into dormancy in late summer or autumn and require a substantial amount of winter cold before they can resume growth in the following spring.
 i. these fruit plants are frost - hardy and even tolerant to snowfall and ice,
 ii. the soil is mainly shallow and acidic in nature, and
 iii. rainfall is adequate.
 In India, temperate zone climatic environment occurs at sufficiently high elevations.

Subtropical zone:
 i. Temperature is of intermediate in nature,
 ii. chilling temperature, if occurs, is for a brief spell and beneficial for many fruits,
 iii. the fruits grown have no distinct rest period,
 iv. light frost may occur in this zone,
 v. rainfall varies widely from low to high,
 vi. soil reaction is generally neutral,
vii. soil fertility status is not satisfactory,
 viii. the majority areas have sandy loam and alluvial soil,and
  ix. the fruits have no marked photoperiodic requirement.

Tropical zone:
 i. Chilling temperature is practically absent,
 ii. high temperature occurs during most part of the year,
 iii. day and night temperature variation is narrow,
iv. photoperiodic requirement in very insignificant,
 v. rainfall varies widely,
 vi. soil type varies greatly (clay loam, alluvial, saline, sandy, laterite etc.,) Besides, the arid region of India which occupies nearly 12 percent of the total land area is of immense importance for fruit growing because of the development of highly efficient irrigation management methods.

In India, the hot, arid zone covers over 3.2 lakh.Sq.km.in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharastra. There is about 70,300 sq. km area under the cold arid zone of Ladadh in Jammu & Kashmir.

 Fruits for different climates        
             

Tropical Climate.	Sub-Tropical Climate	Temperate Climate
Mango, Banana, Papaya, Pineapple, Guava, Sapota, Aonla, Custard apple, Carambola, Mangosteen, Jack fruit, Grape, Citrus (mandarin, Sweet orange, Lime)etc.	Mango, Citrus (mandarin, Sweet orange, Lime, Lemon, Grape fruit ), Grape, litchi, Avocado, Passion fruit, Ber, Bael, Aonla, Phalsa, Karonda, Pomegranate, Date palm, Strawberry, Loquat, Fig, Kair etc.	Apple, Almond, Walnut, Pear, Peach, Plum, Apricot, strawberry, Cherry, Kiwi fruit, Pecan nut, Pistachio nut and Hazel nut etc.

 Leading tropical fruit producing states in India

Fruits	States
Mango	Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala.
Banana	Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
Citrus	Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, Assam and North Eastern region.
Papaya	Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
Pineapple	West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar and Orissa
Sapota	Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Grapes	Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.