Kharif Crop and Rabi Crops in Bangladesh

      Kharif Crop: Crops that are grown during the season that starts from April and extends up to November, when the moisture supply from rainfall plus soil storage is enough to support rainfed crops. In other words, Kharif crops are grown in the spring or summer season and harvested in late summer or in early winter. The season is conveniently divided into Kharif I and Kharif II. Kharif I, often called Pre-kharif, actually starts from the last week of March and ends in May. The Kharif season is characterized by high temperature, rainfall and humidity.

The principal crops grown in the country during this season are as follows: (i) cereals- broadcast and transplant aus, transplant aman, prosomillet, foxtail millet, and sorghum; (ii) tuber and root crops- panikachu, mukhikachu, olkachu, mankachu, and pancha mukhikachu; (iii) oilseeds- sesame, groundnut, and soybean; (iv) pulses- black gram, mungbean, and pigeon pea; (v) summer vegetables- lady's finger, red amaranths, amaranths, Indian Spinach, sweet gourd, ash gourd, bitter gourd, squash, palwal, snake gourd, teasle gourd, yardlong bean, brinjal, and summer tomato; (vi) spices- green chillies, ginger, and turmeric; (vii) fibre crops- jute, kenaf, mesta, and cotton; (viii) sugar crops- sugarcane; (ix) stimulant- tea, and (x) fruit plants- banana, pineapple, papaya, and melon. Most Kharif crops are subject to drought and floods in areas where there are no irrigation systems and flood control measures.

   Rabi Crop: Crops that are grown in one of the two agricultural seasons called Rabi that begins at the end of the humid period when the Southeast monsoon begins to stop in November and extends up to the end of March. The season is characterized by dry sunny weather, warm at the beginning and end, but cool in December-February. The average length of the Rabi growing period ranges from 100-120 days in the extreme west to 140-150 days in the Northeast part of Bangladesh.

Major Rabi crops grown in the country include: (i) cereals- wheat, maize, barley, and boro rice; (ii) tuber and roots crops- potato and sweet potato; (iii) oilseeds- mustard, sesame, groundnut, niger, sunflower, linseed, and safflower; (iv) pulses- chickpea, lentil, grass pea, and cowpea; (v) winter vegetables- cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, tomato, carrot, turnip, radish, spinach, lettuce, bottle gourd, country bean, and garden pea; (vi) spices- chilli, onion, garlic, coriander, sweet cumin, black cumin, and fenugreek; (vii) fibre crops- sunhemp; (viii) sugar crop- sugarcane; (ix) stimulant- tobacco, and (x) fruit plants- watermelon. Rabi crops can use residual moisture stored down to 125 cm in soils. [MS Islam]