Which crops did farmers in the Indus civilization grow?

Farmers in the Indus civilization relied on a diverse range of crops to support their urban centers. The primary crops cultivated by these ancient people included:

• Cereals: Wheat and six-row barley were the foundational crops of their agricultural system.12
• Legumes and Oilseeds: Farmers grew field peas, lentils, mustard, and sesame.12
• Other Crops: Cotton was cultivated for textile production, and dates were also a part of their diet.12

It is believed that these cereals were often sown in the fall on land inundated by the annual flooding of the Indus River and harvested in the spring, a method that required minimal equipment. While evidence of rice cultivation exists in the later Harappan period at sites like Lothal and Rangpur, it was not among the primary crops of the earlier, core Indus civilization period.1