From the archive record
Traditional agricultural methods: Farmer ploughs his field with the help of cattle in Karnataka. For many rural residents of Karnataka, agriculture is the major occupation. A total of 123,100 km² of land is cultivated in Karnataka constituting 64.6% of the total geographical area of the state. According to the 2001 census, farmers and agricultural labourers formed 56% of the workforce of Karnataka. Agriculture in Karnataka is heavily dependent on the southwest monsoon since the extent of arid land in the state is second only to Rajasthan.Only 26.5% of sown area (30,900 km²) is subjected to irrigation. The state has three agricultural seasons -- Kharif (April to September), Rabi (October to December) and Summer (January to March). The main crops grown here are rice, ragi, jowar, maize, and