The system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area is called plantation agriculture.

Direct answer

In geography and agriculture MCQs, the phrase “a system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area” specifically refers to plantation agriculture.

Typical examples include tea, coffee, sugarcane, rubber, banana, and cotton grown as single-crop estates over large tracts of land.

Why it’s plantation agriculture (not the others)

Many exam questions frame it with options like:

  1. Shifting agriculture
  2. Plantation agriculture
  3. Horticulture
  4. Intensive agriculture

The keyed correct option is Plantation agriculture.

  • Plantation agriculture : Commercial farming where one major crop is grown on large estates mainly for the market, often in tropical and subtropical regions.
  • Shifting agriculture : Small patches, moving from one plot to another after soil fertility declines, not large, permanent single-crop estates.
  • Horticulture : Fruits, vegetables, flowers, usually in varied, smaller plots, not one crop over vast areas.
  • Intensive agriculture : High inputs on small land areas, can involve multiple crops, not necessarily a single one on a large area.

So, for the question:

“Which one of the following describes a system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area?”

the correct term is plantation agriculture.

Note: In general agronomy, growing only one crop on a large area is also described as monoculture or monocropping , but in school-level geography MCQs with the standard options above, the marked answer is plantation agriculture.

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