How does its sown area compare to wheat and maize?

Wheat and maize together occupy a large share of India’s cereal-growing area. Wheat covers roughly 30 million hectares, while maize is sown on about 10 million hectares. 

When compared with crops like pulses, cotton, or onions, these cereals dominate India’s rabi (winter) and kharif (monsoon) seasons respectively. Crops like onions or vegetables cover smaller but high-value areas onion around 1.3 million hectares nationwide. 

The difference lies in purpose: wheat and maize are staple food grains with government procurement and support prices, while onions are commercial horticultural crops grown for cash income. 

Farmers in irrigated northern belts prefer wheat, whereas central and southern India emphasize maize and onions under semi-arid conditions. Unlike cereals, onions are often grown twice a year rabi and kharif allowing higher income per unit area but requiring more care. Therefore, while onion’s area is only a fraction of wheat’s, its market and export value make it economically significant.