DISTRICT PROFILE
The Buldana district of Western Vidarbha Zone of Maharashtra State is located between 190, 51” to 210, 17” of North Latitude while 750, 57” to 760, 49” of Eastern Longitude and situated 305 m above mean sea level.. It is surrounded by Akola and Washim districts in the East, Jalgaon districts in the West, Parbhani and Jalna districts in the South and Nimad district of Madhya Pradesh in the North.
Cotton and Soybean are the major cash crops grown in all the 13 Tehsils of the district. The district has only 9% irrigation potential and hence cotton is predominantly grown under rainfed conditions. The district comes under assured rainfall area of VIIth Agro climatic Zone with average annual rainfall of 712.9 mm (52 rainy days) mostly received during June to September months from the south west monsoon rains.
The soils of the district are 37% light (7.5 – 25 cm i.e. Entisol), 36% medium (26-50 cm i.e. Inceptisol) and 27% black cotton soils (51 – 100 cm i.e. Vertisol).
| GENERAL CENSUS | ||
| LOCATION | ||
| North Latitude (degrees) | : | 19.51 to 21.17 |
| East Longitude (degrees) | : | 75.57 to 76.59 |
| AREA | ||
| Total Geographical area (ha) | : | 967099 |
| ADMINISTRATION | ||
| Sub – Divisional Offices | : | 05 |
| Tahasils | : | 13 |
| Panchayat Samiti | : | 13 |
| GRAM PANCHAYAT | ||
| Total | : | 867 |
| VILLAGES | ||
| Inhabited | : | 1299 |
| Uninhabited | : | 128 |
| Total | : | 1427 |
| TEMPERATURE | ||
| Minimum Temperature (0C) | : | 8.3 |
| Maximum Temperature (0C) | : | 41.6 |
| Average Rainfall (mm) | : | 712.9 |
| POPULATION | ||
| Rural population | : | 17.59 lakh |
| Urban population | : | 04. 73 lakh |
| Total population | : | 22.32 lakh |
| S.C. population | : | 02.41 lakh |
| S.T. population | : | 01.15 lakh |
| Male | : | 11.47 lakh |
| Female | : | 10.85 lakh |
| Sex ratio | : | 945 |
| Density of population | : | 230 |
| AGRICULTURAL AND ALLIED CENSUS | ||
| Geographical Area | : | 967099 ha |
| Area Under Forest | : | 76600 ha |
| Barren and uncultivable land | : | 23487 ha |
| Land put to non-agricultural uses | : | 62400 ha |
| Cultivatable waste | : | 16400 ha |
| Permanent pastures and other grazing | : | 27200 ha |
| Land under Miscellaneous tree crop | : | 4700 ha |
| Current follows | : | 33100 ha |
| Other fallows | : | 13400 ha |
| Net area sown | : | 753600 ha |
| Gross cropped area | : | 735100 |
| IRRIGATION | ||
| No of irrigated Wells | : | 48585 |
| Area Irrigated by different sources(ha) /Surface Irrigation(ha) | : | 9538 |
| Wells & other Irrigation(ha) | : | 58588 |
| Total | : | 68126 |
| Average rainfall (mm) | : | 805.5 mm (52 rainy days) |
| Rainfall during 2018-19 | : | 693 mm (34 rainy days) |
OTHER INFORMATION
Land Holding Pattern
There are 2.81 lakh landholders covering an area of 7.21 lakh hectares of land in district. The Percentage of Landholders holding land below 2 hectares is 56% while 4% are big landholders holding land above 10 hectors. The classification of landholders with area and percentage holding is given in the following table
| Sr. No. | Descriptions | Size of holding (ha) | No. of holders | % | Area (ha) | % |
| 1 | Marginal | 1 | 64013 | 22.73 | 40908 | 5.67 |
| 2 | Small | 1-2 | 95309 | 33.86 | 138574 | 19.23 |
| 3 | Semi medium | 2-5 | 88924 | 31.58 | 272440 | 37.81 |
| 4 | Medium | 5-10 | 27180 | 9.66 | 184064 | 25.54 |
| 5 | Large | 10 above | 6108 | 2.17 | 84747 | 11.75 |
| Total | 281534 | 100 | 720733 | 100 |
AGRO-CLIMATIC ZONES
The district Buldana falls under Agro-climatic Zone No. 7 i.e. Assured Rainfall Zone. The Average rainfall received in this Zone usually exceeds 700 m. m. The climate is hot and dry. More than 75% rainfall in this zone is received in Kharif season, hence Kharif cropping system Predominates in the zone. In general, all types of soils are observed in this zone. Preferably, medium and heavy in texture, fairly high in clay content, alkaline in reaction, high lime reserve with high base saturation of the exchange complex. The soils are severely eroded & shallow. They are uneven in depth and are uncertain by stony substrata. They are intercepted by gullies having rapid run off resulting in severe erosion & prone to drought.
Agro Ecological Situations (AES) Of Buldana District
| Agro Ecological Situations | Characteristics | Blocks Covered |
| I | Medium to heavy soils, rainfed area,Hilly topography | Sangrampur,Jalgaon Jamod |
| II | Plain topography with saline soils, well irrigation | Malkapur, Nandura, Shegaon, Khamgaon |
| III | Medium to shallow soils, Hilly topography, Surrounded by forest. | Motala ,Buldana,Chikhali |
| IV | Medium to shallow soils, assured rainfall, irrigation through wells, Horticulture crop pocket | Mehkar, Part of Khamgaon and Chikhali |
| V | Hilly and undulating topography,Medium to shallow soils , rainfed area, | Lonar, Deulgaon Raja, Sindkhed Raja |
Major And Micro-Farming Systems
Soil Type in Buldana District
| Heavy Black Cotton Soil | Medium Black Cotton Soil | Light Soil |
| 27% | 36% | 37% |
Major Farming Situation:
| Sr. No. | Farming Situation | Cropping System exists |
| 1 | Medium to heavy soils, rainfed area, Hilly topography | Cotton – fallow Cotton- Summer Gr.nut Citrus – vegetable (Intercrop) |
| 2 | Plain topography with saline soils, well irrigation | Cotton – fallow Cotton- Summer Gr.nut Soybean – Chickpea Soybean – Wheat |
| 3 | Medium to shallow soils, Hilly topography, Surrounded by forest. | Soybean –Chickpea Cotton – fallow Soybean – Wheat |
| 4 | Medium to shallow soils, assured rainfall, irrigation through wells, Horticulture crop pocket | Cotton – Fallow Soybean- Chickpea Soybean – Wheat Greengram-Rabi sorghum |
| 5 | Hilly and undulating topography, Medium to shallow soils, rainfed area | Cotton – fallow Soybean – Chickpea Soybean – Wheat Greengram-Rabi sorghum |
Different types of intercropping system:
| Sr. No. | Intercropping system | Ratios |
| 1 | Hy. Jowar + Pigeonpea | 6:2 |
| 2 | Pigeonpea + Greengram | 1:2 |
| 3 | Pigeonpea +Blackgram | 1:2 |
| 4 | Pigeonpea +Soybean | 1:5 |
| 5 | Pigeonpea +Sesame | 1:4 |
| 6 | Cotton + Greengram | 1:1 |
| 7 | Cotton + Soybean | 1:1 |
| 8 | Cotton + Pigeonpea | 4:2 |
Major Product
Recommended Cropping Pattern for Western Vidarbha Zone in irrigated situation
| Sr. No. | Kharif | Rabi | Summer |
| 1 | Cotton | – | Summer Ground nut |
| 2 | Chilli (Green) | – | Summer Ground nut |
| 3 | Sorghum | Wheat | Green Gram / Cowpea |
| 4 | Soybean | Chickpea | Summer Ground nut |
| 5 | Soybean | Wheat | – |
Major Agriculture and Allied Enterprises
The district economy is predominantly agro based. A number of Ginning and pressing units for cotton ,92 oil mills and 32 dal mills are working in the district Two co-operative and three private sugar industries are there in the district
The district seems to be industrially backward and there is no major industrial production unit working in the district. Though the forest and Agriculture products are available in the district as a raw material, basic industry utilizing the same is not established till now. There is one mix fertilizer unit in co-operative sector.
