The principal foodgrain crops of Bihar

The correct answer is rice, wheat and maize.

 Key Points

AGRICULTUR IN BIHAR

• Bihar is located in the eastern part of India (between 83°-30′ to 88°-00′ longitude), surrounded by Nepal in the north, West Bengal in the east, Uttar Pradesh in the west, and Jharkhand in the south.
• 76% of its population is engaged in agricultural pursuits. Bihar has-
  • Total geographical area= 93.60 lakh hectare,
  • Net cultivated area= 56.03 lakh hectare,
  • Gross cultivated area= 79.46 lakh hectare.
• Principal food crops are paddy, wheat, maize and pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, potato, tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies and jute.
• Bihar is divided by river Ganges into two parts, the north Bihar with an area of 53.3 thousand square km and the south Bihar having an area of 40.9 thousand square km.
• Bihar is the third largest producer of vegetables and fourth largest producer of fruits in the country.
• It is the largest producer of Litchi, Makhana, Guava, Lady’s finger in India. The state already exports Litchi, Basmati rice and snow pea.
• There are three major types of soil in Bihar i.e. Piedmont Swamp Soil (found in West Champaran district), Terai Soil(found in northern part of the state along the border of Nepal), Gangetic Alluvium (the plain of Bihar is covered by gangetic alluvium both new/Khadar as well as old/Bangar).
• The state was awarded the Krishi KarmanAward for rice production in the year 2013 and for maize production in 2016. The Government of India has conferred the “Krishi Karman Award” to the state on 2nd January 2020, for its achievements in production and productivity of Maize and Wheat.