The three areas which receive enough rainfall to carry on humid farming are Turkish Black Sea coast, the Caspian lowlands of Iran and the highlands of Yemen. In other areas water is the dominant resource constraint where agriculture is not possible without irrigation. Between these two extremes lie the true Mediterranean areas. In this area it is possible to grow winter crops by irrigation. In the cold winter, steppe areas of Turkey and Iran, dry farming is practiced in summer.
Where winters are mild, in steppe areas dry farming is carried on during winter. Wheat and barley are winter crops. Except in Iraq the chief summer crop is maize. In the cooler mountain areas, of the north, oats is cultivated. Barley is the chief native crop of Iraq.
Because of deficiency of pasture, fruits and vegetables form an essential part of cultivation. Dates, fig, apricot, olive and onion are cultivated in orchards and gardens. Sometimes cereals are cultivated as' intercrops. Since the climate of south west Asia is the combination of tropical and temperate region, both tropical and temperate fruits are grown. Olive, wine, apricot, fig, cherry, peach, banana, orange, sugarcane, apple, potatoes etc., are important crops. Olive occupies more than 50% of the area of fruits cultivation. Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel are the producers of wine followed by Turkey and Iran. Fig along the Mediterranean coast, walnut in south west Anatolia and Iran are the dominant crops in their areas. Date palms mark the limit of tropical climate. Dates form the staple food in south west Asia. Rice, sugarcane and maize tend to replace olive and wheat. Market gardening is preferred because of quick returns of the capital. Cotton tobacco and mulberry are the cash crops. Hemp is meant for medicinal purpose.
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