District Profile

Bikaner is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is located 330 kilometres northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner, the city was founded by Rao Bika in 1486 and from its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganges Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development. Major farming systems/enterprises (based on the analysis made by the KVK) District Profile Background Information Bikaner is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is located 330 kilometres northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner, the city was founded by Rao Bika in 1486 and from its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganges Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development. Major farming systems/enterprises (based on the analysis made by the KVK) S.N. Farming System/Enterprise 1 Agriculture 2 Agriculture + Animal Husbandry 3 Agricultural + Horticulture 4 Agriculture + Horticulture + Animal Husbandry Description of Agro-climatic Zone & major agro ecological situations (based on soil and topography) Soil Type S.N. Agro-climatic Zone Characteristics 1 Zone IC (Hyper arid partially irrigated western plain) In this zone, mean daily maximum temperature goes up to 42 ºC during summer and 24 ºC during winter. Similarly, Mean daily minimum temperature during summers comes down to 27 ºC and to freezing point during winters. The rainfall rages from 185 to 399mm. The area is characterized by strong southwest winds during summer with frequent dust storms. The major Kharif crop of the zone are pearl millet, moth bean, cluster bean and sesame under rainfed conditions and groundnut, cotton under irrigated conditions. In Rabi, chickpea, mustard and wheat are major crops in this zone. Topography S.N. Agro Ecological Situation Characteristics 1 Rain fed – Very low rainfall (RF-VLR-CTS) Coarse textured hardpan soils 2 Canal Irrigated (WI-LTS) Light texture soils Soil Type S.N. Agro Ecological Situation Characteristics Area in ha 1 Sandy & aeoline in nature The soils of the zone are sandy in texture and aeoline in nature having high permeability at surface and very low in fertility with respect to almost all the nutrients. The nutrient and water retention capacity is very low. Considerable area has hard pen at varying depths. Some soils of the zone are gypsiferous. Description of Agro-climatic Zone & major agro ecological situations (based on soil and topography) Soil Type S.N. Agro-climatic Zone Characteristics 1 Zone IC (Hyper arid partially irrigated western plain) In this zone, mean daily maximum temperature goes up to 42 ºC during summer and 24 ºC during winter. Similarly, Mean daily minimum temperature during summers comes down to 27 ºC and to freezing point during winters. The rainfall rages from 185 to 399mm. The area is characterized by strong southwest winds during summer with frequent dust storms. The major Kharif crop of the zone are pearl millet, moth bean, cluster bean and sesame under rainfed conditions and groundnut, cotton under irrigated conditions. In Rabi, chickpea, mustard and wheat are major crops in this zone. Topography S.N. Agro Ecological Situation Characteristics 1 Rain fed – Very low rainfall (RF-VLR-CTS) Coarse textured hardpan soils (Lunkaransar) 2 Canal Irrigated (WI-LTS) Light texture soils (Khajuwala, Pugal, Chhattargarh & Lunkaransar) Soil Type S.N. Agro Ecological Situation Characteristics Area in ha 1 Sandy & aeoline in nature The soils of the zone are sandy in texture and aeoline in nature having high permeability at surface and very low in fertility with respect to almost all the nutrients. The nutrient and water retention capacity is very low. Considerable area has hard pen at varying depths. Some soils of the zone are gypsiferous. .