Question

Which of the following is a cash crop?
A. Maize
B. Potato
C. Rubber
D. Gram

Answer 1

Hint: Cash crops are the crops, which are grown, and sold for profit. They are purchased separately from the farm. Occasionally, they are used for the personal use of farmers, and cattle feed. Some of the cash crops are jute, sugarcane, coffee, tea, rubber, oil seeds, gram, and groundnut. Other cash crops are sesame, mustard, horticulture crops, Jatropha curcas, fruits, spices, coconut, and cotton.

Complete answer:
Cash crops are cultivated for commercial purposes. They are generally grown on the slopes of the hilly areas since rain water must not stand in the roots. Most of the cash crops are perennials and they live for more than two years. Crops like coffee and tea need pruning before the commencing of winter.

Rubber is one of the significant cash crops, mainly cultivated in Kerala and North India. It is a rabi crop, being sown in June-July and is cut in November-December. It is grown in ecologically sensitive areas like hilly areas, coastal belts, and areas experiencing high humidity and greater rainfall.

Fig: Latex Trapping in a Rubber Tree
So rubber is also an equatorial crop since it is grown near the equatorial region. The latex from rubber provides strength to many human-made applications.
Hence Option (C) is the correct answer.

Additional Information:
Option (A) Maize: Maize is the third important food crop after rice and wheat. In Africa, maize contributes $20\mathrm{\%}$of calories. So, Option (A) is not correct

Option (B) Potato: Potato is a major food crop since it is cultivated in more than $100$countries in the world. So, Option B is not correct

Option (D) Gram: Gram accounts for $50\mathrm{\%}$ of production of pulses in India and occupies one-third of the area of pulses. It is also known as chickpea, having medicinal effects as it is useful for blood purification. So, Option (D) is not correct

Note:
The crops of India are categorized into food crops and cash crops. Maize, wheat, pulses, barley, rice, millet, pea, and mower are some examples of food crops Though food crops are grown at a limited level, cash crops are grown in large areas like estates since they offer more income for selling. Food crops grown in plains are annuals and finish their complete cycle in one season.