What has been the share of area under fruits, vegetables and flowers in the…

Concept — A part's share of a whole, written as a percentage, is (part ÷ whole) × 100. When the part is itself made up of several components, add the components first and divide that sum by the whole. The whole is always read from the total column supplied in the data, never assumed to equal the sum of the listed components, because a total can include further items that are not listed separately.

Applying this to the 2007-08 row of the table:

1. Read the three component figures for 2007-08: fruits = 58 lakh hectares, vegetables = 78 lakh hectares and flowers = 2 lakh hectares.

2. Read the whole for the same year from the total horticulture area column: 202 lakh hectares.

3. Add the three components: 58 + 78 + 2 = 138 lakh hectares.

4. Convert to a percentage share: (138 ÷ 202) × 100 = 68.3 percent, correct to one decimal place.

5. Round to the nearest whole-number value available among the choices: 68 percent.

Cross-check — Work the percentage backwards: 0.68 × 202 = 137.4 lakh hectares, which agrees with the combined 138 lakh hectares to within rounding. The balance of 202 − 138 = 64 lakh hectares, about 31.7 percent of the horticulture area, is under other horticulture crops such as plantation crops, spices, and aromatic and medicinal plants, so the three named groups cannot cover the entire area.

Note on method — The same three-step routine (add the components, divide by the total for that same year, multiply by 100) answers any share question from this table; the common slip is to divide by the total of a different year's row, or to treat a raw area figure in lakh hectares as if it were already a percentage.