Chapter 1 Crop Production And Management Notes

  • Living organisms require energy to carry out various body processes. Energy is obtained from food. Plants can make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. Animals depend directly or indirectly on plants for their food.
  • Agricultural Practices:
    • Same type of plants which is grown and cultivated on large scale is called crops. E.g. wheat, jowar, sugarcane, etc.
    • Agriculture is the practice of farming and crop cultivation.
    • Variety of crops are found in India due to different climatic conditions like temperature, humidity and rainfall. Therefore, crop are classified on basis of season, that are Kharif and Rabi crops
    • Comparison between Kharif and Rabi crop:
    • Kharif Crop Rabi Crop
      Kharif crops are rainy season crops Rabi crops are winter season crops
      These crops are sown and harvested between period of June to September These crops are sown and harvested between the period of October to March
      E.g: Paddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, cotton etc. Wheat, gram, pea, mustard, linseed,etc.
    • Other than kharif and rabi crops, some crops like pulses, vegetables, etc are grown during the summer season.
  • Click here to watch video on Agricultural Practices

  • Basic Practices of crop production:
    • Preparation of soil
    • Sowing
    • Adding manure and fertilisers
    • Irrigation
    • Protection from weeds
    • Harvesting
    • Storage
  • Preparation of soil:
    • Ploughing or tilling is the method used for preparing the soil
    • Process of loosening and turning the soil using a plough is called ploughing or tilling.
    • Ploughing forms big pieces of soil called crumbs. Crumbs are broken with help of plank forming soil. Soil is levelled using leveller.
  • Advantages of soil preparation:
    • Brings nutrient rich layer at the top
    • Allows the roots to go deep in the soil and breathe easily
    • Helps earthworms and microorganisms in the soil to grow. These organisms decompose the organic matter into nutrients for plants. The black color nutrient rich organic matter present in soil is called humus.
  • Agricultural Implements:
    • Plough: It is used for soil preparation which is operated by man using pair of bulls. It is made up of ploughshare, plough shaft, the long log wood, handle at one end, and beam at other end.
    • Hoe: It is used to remove weeds from field and is pulled by animals. It is made up of long rod tied to strong, broad and bent plate of iron that works like blade.
    • Cultivator: It is tractor driven tool used for ploughing.
  • Sowing:
    • Method of spreading seeds in soil
    • For higher yield, good quality of seed must be chosen. High Yielding Variety Seeds (HYV seeds) have better quality that gives higher agricultural produce.
    • A funnel shaped tool connected with two or three pipes having sharp edges, is used for sowing. These ends go into soil and helps the seeds to go into the soil.
    • Seed drill is operated using the tractor. It helps to sow seeds uniformly at the proper distances and depth. It places soil on the seeds and avoid eating of seed by birds. It avoids overcrowding and so plants get sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water
  • Click here to watch video on Sowing

  • Adding manure:
    • Decomposition of plants and animals by microorganisms forms manure.
    • Manuring is the process of adding manure to the soil.
    • Manuring replenish nutrients in the soil, which are lost due to repetitive production of same crop.
  • Advantages of manure to the soil:
    • Enrichment of soil with humus
    • Enhances water holding capacity of soil
    • Loosen soil which makes roots to breathe easily
    • Increases useful microbes in soil
    • Improves soil texture
  • Adding Fertilisers:
    • Fertilisers are chemical substances which are rich in particular nutrients.
    • Fertilisers are added to soil to increase the nutrients in the soil. E.g. NPK contain, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and potassium nutrients.
    • Excessive use to fertilisers, make it acidic or alkaline which in turn makes soil less fertile. Also, these can cause water pollution when entered into water resources.
  • Adding Fertilisers: Crop Rotation:
    • Growing different crop alternately one after the other on same field is called crop rotation.
    • It replenishes nutrients in the soil
  • Irrigation:
    • Irrigation is supply of water to crops at regular time interval.
    • Plant need water for germination, growth and development of flowers, fruits and seeds, regulation of temperature, protection from frost or hot winds. Plant obtain water and nutrients from soil with the help of roots.
    • Frequency of irrigation depends on crop, soil type and season.
    • Sources of irrigation depends on crop, soil type and season
    • Methods of Irrigation includes moat, chain pump, dhekli, rahat, and level system to bring out water from wells, lakes or canals to irrigate land. These are cheaper, but labour intensive, and less efficient methods.
    • Modern method of irrigation includes Sprinkler System and Drip System.
    • Sprinkler System: Vertical pipes are fitted with rotating nozzle on top and are joined to main pipeline at regular intervals. When water flows, due to rotating nozzle it is sprinkled on crop similar to rain. It is suitable if ground is not levelled or if water is insufficient for irrigating whole land.
    • Drip System: Irrigation is done drop by drop, such that only the part of soil near the roots get wet. It is useful for irrigating fruit plants, garden and trees. Its is also useful if availability of water is poor. This method show less wastage of water and irrigation is done more frequently.
  • Protection from weeds:
    • Weeds are the unwanted plants growing in the crop field. E.g. Grasses.
    • Weeds consumes water, nutrients, space, light and affect growth of crop.
    • Sometime toxins release weeds which damages the crops. Hence it is necessary to remove weeds.
    • The method of removing weeds is called weeding.
  • Methods of weed removal:
    • Tilling before sowing uproots and kills weeds.
    • Trowel i.e. khurpi is used to remove weed manually.
    • Spraying weedicides also helps to control weed. E.g 2,4-D and methachlor. These are toxic to human body, so nose and mouth must be covered with clean cloth.
  • Harvesting:
    • The process of cutting matured crops is called harvesting.
    • Crops are pulled out or cut close to ground by using sickle or harvester.
    • Grains are separated from harvested crops using thresher.
    • Combine is a machine which is combination of harvester and thresher.
    • After separation, the stem of crop is cut into small pieces and stored as hay. It is used as fodder i.e. food for cattle.
    • Grains and chaff are separated by winnowing. Chaff being lighter fall away from the grains thus grain is separated from chaff.
  • Storage of food grains:
    • Grains must be kept away from moisture, insect, rats and microorganisms.
    • Grains must be dried and kept in jute bags or metallic bins.
    • Dried neem leaves are used to protect grains from harmful microorganisms
    • For large scale storage silos and granaries are used. These are protect from moisture, rats and other insects.
    • “Food Corporation of India” (FCI) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWC) offer to store food in large godowns. Chemical treatments are done to protect food from microorganisms and pests.
  • Animal husbandry:
    • Rearing and caring of animals for food and other products is called animal husbandry.
    • Cow, Buffalo, She-goat, She- camel provides milk. Fish is major part of diet in coastal areas.