The lower Gangetic plain is characterised by humid climate with high temperature throughout the year. Which one among the following pairs of crops is most suitable for this region?

The answer is C (Paddy and Jute). The lower Gangetic plain, covering West Bengal and the eastern Bihar belt, has alluvial soil, high rainfall, high humidity and high temperature through most of the year. These are kharif conditions, and both paddy and jute thrive in them. Paddy needs standing water and heavy rain, and jute needs warm, humid weather during its growth and retting stages. This is why West Bengal is the country's leading jute tract.

• A (Paddy and cotton): Paddy fits, but cotton needs black cotton soil and a drier, well-drained climate with a long frost-free season. The Deccan trap region suits it, not the waterlogged delta.
• B (Wheat and Jute): Jute fits, but wheat is a rabi crop that needs a cool growing season and dry, mild weather at ripening. Humid heat is hostile to it.
• D (Wheat and cotton): Both crops are unsuited to this climate.

The Mains angle is agro-climatic zoning and why cropping patterns follow rainfall, soil and temperature rather than just river valleys.

Trap: Aspirants pick B because wheat is famous across the Gangetic plain. That is true of the upper plain, not the humid lower plain.