Question

Which crops were not cultivated in India during the Sultanate period?
1. Potato
2. Barley
3. Sesame
4. Maize
Select your answer using the options given below:
A. 1, 4
B. 1, 2, 3
C. 3, 4
D. 1, 2

Answer 1

Hint: Agriculture formed a very important part of the Delhi sultanate economy. Individual peasant farming was in practice with the presence of both large holdings as ‘khots’ and small plots ‘balahars.’

Complete answer: Foreign traveller Ibn Battuta also mentioned various crops harvested in Indian subcontinent during Sultanate times. He refers to the harvest of both Rabi and Kharif crops by the same peasant. Thakkura Peru, another writer has described the yields of different crops but unfortunately, these couldn’t be translated relative to present standards. Still, historians use this to take an estimate with wheat as base quantity. Price records are another source used to know the crops present.
The major Rabi crops of the period included wheat, barley and gram with latter two almost half of wheat’s price. These crops also needed artificial irrigation, which led to an increase in the price. Kharif crops included paddy; pulses as moth, masoor, arhar and mung: and oilseeds as sesame, mustard and linseed.
Maize is a very later day addition in 17th c by Portuguese though few historians hint at the presence of its wild relatives in ancient times. Potatoes too were introduced by the Portuguese around the same time and these got popularized during Jahangir's reign.
Apart from staple crops, sugarcane was produced on a large scale for the production of sugar. Fruit cultivation was prominent as the production of mango and grapes both completely seed grown.

Hence, option A is the correct answer.

Note: Apart from edible ones, cotton and indigo were important crops. There were two kinds of cotton produced, a wild one for quilts, bedding and winter cloths; and a second seasonal one for producing fabric. Hemp was also grown and used to make cheaper coarse fabric.