Pushkar agriculture is influenced largely by the regional location of Pushkar on the eastern edge of the Thar desert in Rajasthan . It is because of this reason that Pushkar agriculture does not feature as the main economic subsistence of the town. Most parts of the land is under the government and are used as residential areas, for transportation, for public use etc. Pushkar agriculture thus is left with a meager portion of the total land area.
Agriculture in Pushkar is restricted to only a few areas in the region due to lack of sufficient amount of water and fertile and arable lands. The soil cover in Pushkar is of poor quality and does not allow the growth and cultivation of crops. Moreover, major parts of the town are residential areas and tourist sites. The remaining land consists of sand dunes. This fact coupled with the problem of soil erosion are major handicaps in agricultural production in Pushkar.
These drawbacks cannot prevent the cultivation of several crops in Pushkar. Irrigation acts as the main aid in the cultivation of crops in Pushkar. The principle crops grown in Pushkar are wheat, millets, maize and corn. Pushkar agriculture includes the growing of pink roses. These crops are grown as subsistence agriculture rather than commercial agriculture. The villagers use cattle and irrigation facilities to produce the crops. Women along with men also are involved in agriculture. The agricultural products in Pushkar are for mostly for consumption purpose. Few crops are sold in the markets.
The limited availability of quality water in the Pushkar region due to high content of nitrate and fluoride in groundwater is an impediment in agricultural production of Pushkar. Therefore Pushkar agriculture depends heavily on irrigation.
Last Updated on : 19/06/2013
