The present study was undertaken in order to analyse the growth pattern of production and productivity of important crops across the districts and state and to trace the determinants for changes in productivity and stagnation of important crops in the state. The present study was conducted in the Punjab state of India and was based on the secondary data. The Punjab state manifests the growth in agriculture sector achieved by India after the green revolution period. The productivity of wheat in Punjab rose from 1.1 t/ha during 1960-61 to 4.5 t/ha during 2007-08 and that of paddy from 1.6 t/ha to 6.0 t/ha over the same period. The total production of wheat rose from 1.74 million tons in 1960-61 to 15.7 million tons in 2007-08 and that of paddy from 0.34 million tons to 15.7 million tons during this period. Per cultivated hectare fertilizer consumption in Punjab was about 213 kg as compared to the national average of 90 kg. Almost 97 per cent of the cultivated area is under assured irrigation which is the major reason for higher productivity and input use in agriculture. The proportion of net sown area to total geographical area had reached to 83.14 per cent by triennium ending 2006-07. The proportion of gross capital formation in Punjab agriculture at current prices to the gross capital formation showed a decline from 21.7 per cent in 1980-81 to 9.8 per cent by the year 2005-06. The growth of capital formation in public sector was lesser as compared to the private sector since 1980s. The average total expenditure on agriculture, which was Rs 14.55 crore during 1981-85, declined to Rs 9.44 crore during 1996-00 and became Rs. 55.67 crore during the period 2001-05. The state is dominated by paddy wheat crop rotation. But the problem of stagnation of productivity was found to be more acute in wheat crop as compared to rice. The problem has further aggravated recently, as there was deceleration in growth in productivity of these crops in most of the districts of the state in recent years. Due to revival of cotton during the recent years, the area under rice was found to decrease and replaced by cotton in south western districts of the state (cotton belt). The stagnation in area under the pulses and oilseed crops had been the main impediment in their receding output in the state. For paddy and wheat, the TFP index showed higher increase in average annual growth rate for period II (1990-91 to 2004-05) as compared to period I (1981-82 to 1989-90), which shows the higher profitability of these crops in period II as compared to the earlier period. The TFP index for cotton showed higher increase in average annual growth rate for period II as compared to period I, which shows the higher profitability of cotton in period II as compared to the earlier period, which is due to the adoption of Bt cotton variety in the state since 2002-03, which has increased the productivity and reduced the cost of cultivation due to lesser number of sprays required for the control of insect pest and diseases in the variety. The results of decomposition of TFP confirm that market infrastructure, June to August rainfall, the agricultural terms of trade and investment on Research and Development (R&D) were the most important instruments of growth in TFP. The predominance of paddy-wheat monoculture was posing a serious threat to soil health and disturbing underground water, along with creating marketing problems and disturbing ecological balances in the state. To overcome these constraints, the study highlighted the need for evolution of high yielding variety of crops, contract farming scheme for diversification of agriculture, creation of more non-farm opportunities, integrated use of balanced chemical fertilizers in conjunction with organic manures (compost and green manure), to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology, to increase the investment on R & D, infrastructure for agro-processing industry, seed, biotechnology and product quality development.