Which of the following is grown during the Zaid season?

Concept: India follows a three-season crop calendar. Kharif crops are sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon (June–July) and harvested in September–October. Rabi crops are sown in the cool, dry winter (October–December) and harvested in March–April. Zaid is the short summer season that fills the gap between the rabi harvest and the kharif sowing — roughly March to June.

A Zaid crop is therefore defined by two agronomic requirements: it must complete its cycle in about 90–100 days of high summer temperature and long day length, and it must be grown under assured irrigation, because this window falls before the monsoon rains arrive. Quick-maturing cucurbits (the gourd and melon family, Cucurbitaceae), summer vegetables, fodder crops and summer moong are the standard members of this group.

Application: Test each crop named in the question against that definition of the Zaid window.

1. Muskmelon (Cucumis melo) — a warm-season cucurbit sown in February–March on irrigated sandy-loam and riverbed (diara) land, harvested May–June. It falls in the Zaid window.

2. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) — a warm-season cucurbit sown in February–March under irrigation and picked from April to June. It falls in the Zaid window.

3. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) — a warm-season cucurbit sown in February–March on light alluvial and riverbed soils, harvested May–June. It falls in the Zaid window.

4. All three named crops therefore satisfy the Zaid definition, so the number of correct crops among those listed is greater than one. The answer is More than one of the above.

Cross-check: Compare the three cropping seasons side by side to confirm that none of these crops belongs to kharif or rabi.

This is also the list given in the NCERT Class X textbook Contemporary India II, Chapter 4 (Agriculture), which names watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops as the crops of the Zaid season. Because more than one listed crop qualifies, neither a single-crop choice nor "None of the above" can be the answer.