Crop Production and Management - biology notes CBSE NCERT | biochunks.com

Agricultural Practices

Introduction:

Before 10,000 B.C.E., people lived as nomads, moving in search of food and shelter. With time, they settled down and began farming, giving rise to agriculture.

Crops:

Crops are plants of the same kind grown at one place on a large scale. For example, a wheat crop means all the plants in a field are wheat.
Crops include cereals, vegetables, and fruits.

Plants (Crops)	e.g.
Cereals	Wheat, Rice, Barley, Maize(Corn), Millets, Oats.
Vegetables	Potato, Tomato, Onion, Cabbage, Carrot
Fruits	Apple, Banana, Orange, Mango

Types of Crops

2 main categories of crops based on the season they grow.

(1) Kharif Crops:

Sown during the rainy season (June to September).
Examples – paddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, and cotton.

(2) Rabi Crops:

Grown in the winter season (October to March).
Examples – wheat, gram, pea, mustard, and linseed.

Summer Crops:

Pulses and vegetables are grown during the summer in various regions.

Basic Practices of crop Production:

1. Preparation of Soil

2. Sowing of seeds

3. Adding Manure and Fertilizers

4. Irrigation

5. Protecting from Weeds

6. Harvesting

7. Storage

Preparation of Soil

Before growing a crop, preparing the soil is the first crucial step in agriculture. It involves Turning and loosening of soil.

Why Soil Preparation Matters: Benefits & Steps

Turning and loosening the soil is essential as it allows roots to penetrate deep and breathe easily.
This process also promotes the growth of earthworms and microbes, which further enrich the soil with nutrients.

Nutrient Recycling:

Soil contains minerals, water, air, and living organisms. Dead plants and animals decompose, releasing nutrients back into the soil.
Turning and loosening the soil brings nutrient-rich soil to the top layer, accessible for plant growth.

Tilling or Ploughing:

The process of loosening and turning the soil is called tilling or ploughing, done using a plough made of wood or iron.
Dry soil may need watering before ploughing, and clumps of soil called crumbs should be broken.

Levelling the Field:

Levelling the field is essential for sowing and irrigation, achieved with the help of a leveller.
Sometimes, manure is added to the soil before tilling to ensure proper mixing.

Moistening Before Sowing:

The soil is moistened before sowing seeds to facilitate germination and growth.

Agricultural Implements

Before sowing seeds, it’s crucial to break soil clumps for better yield, and this is where various tools come into play. These tools make soil preparation easier, allowing farmers to effectively cultivate crops and improve yield.

Main Tools for Soil Preparation:

Plough:
- Ancient tool used for tilling soil, adding fertilizers, removing weeds, and turning soil.
- Typically made of wood, drawn by bulls or other animals, with a strong iron strip called ploughshare.
- Operated by one pair of bulls and a person, though modern iron ploughs are replacing wooden ones.

Hoe:
- Simple tool for removing weeds and loosening soil, consisting of a long rod with a broad iron plate at one end acting like a blade.
- Pulled by animals for operation.
Cultivator:
- Modern tractor-driven tool used for ploughing, saving labor and time compared to traditional methods.

Sowing Seeds

Sowing seeds is a crucial step in crop production, ensuring farmers plant good quality seeds of high-yielding varieties.

Selection of Seeds:

Farmers choose seeds carefully, preferring those that promise high yield and are clean and healthy.

Activity for Seed Quality Test:

A simple activity involves placing seeds in water to separate healthy seeds from damaged ones, as damaged seeds float due to being lighter.

Tools for Sowing:

Traditional Tool:
- A funnel-shaped tool used traditionally for sowing seeds, with sharp-ended pipes piercing the soil to place seeds.
Seed Drill:
- Modern equipment used with tractors, ensuring uniform sowing at the right depth and distance, protecting seeds from birds and saving time and labor.

By Hand:

Spacing Between Seeds:

Maintaining appropriate distance between seeds prevents overcrowding, ensuring each plant receives enough sunlight, nutrients, and water.

Transplanting from Nursery:

Some plants, like paddy, are first grown in nurseries as seedlings before being transplanted to the field manually.

Adding Manure and Fertilisers

Manure and fertilisers are essential substances added to soil to provide nutrients for healthy plant growth.

Nutrient Supply from Soil:

Soil naturally supplies mineral nutrients to crops, crucial for their growth. Continuous cultivation depletes soil nutrients, requiring replenishment through manuring.

Manure:

Definition:
- Organic substance obtained from decomposed plant or animal waste.
Production:
- Farmers decompose plant and animal waste in pits through microbial action to produce organic manure.

Fertilisers:

Definition:
- Chemicals rich in specific nutrients, manufactured in factories.
Examples:
- Urea, ammonium sulphate, superphosphate, potash, NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium).

Effects of Fertilisers:

Advantages:
- Improve crop yield, including wheat, paddy, and maize.
Disadvantages:
- Excessive use reduces soil fertility and contributes to water pollution.
Solution:
- Farmers encouraged to use organic manure or fallow fields between crops to maintain soil fertility.

Other Methods of Nutrient Replenishment:

Crop Rotation:
- Growing different crops alternately helps replenish soil nutrients. Leguminous crops, like beans, fix atmospheric nitrogen, enriching the soil.

Advantages of Manure:

Enhances soil’s water retention capacity.
Makes soil porous, facilitating gas exchange.
Increases beneficial microbial activity.
Improves soil texture.

Irrigation

Importance of Water:

Water is vital for all living beings, including plants.
It is absorbed by plant roots along with minerals and fertilizers, essential for plant growth.
Nearly 90% of a plant’s composition consists of water.
Water is crucial for seed germination and nutrient transportation within plants.
Additionally, water protects crops from frost and hot air currents.

Irrigation:

Irrigation is the regular supply of water to crops.
The frequency of irrigation varies based on crop type, soil condition, and season.
In summer, watering is more frequent due to increased evaporation rates.
Water for irrigation comes from various sources like wells, tubewells, ponds, lakes, rivers, dams, and canals.

Traditional Methods of Irrigation:

These methods involve manually lifting water from wells, lakes, or canals.
Examples include the moat (pulley-system), chain pump, dhekli, and rahat (Lever system).
They are cheaper but less efficient due to reliance on human or animal labor.

Modern Methods of Irrigation:

Sprinkler System:
- Suitable for uneven land where water availability is limited.
- Consists of perpendicular pipes with rotating nozzles attached to the main pipeline.
- Water flows under pressure from the main pipe, sprinkling over crops like rainfall.
- Beneficial for lawns, coffee plantations, and other crops.
Drip System:
- Water drips directly near the plant roots, minimizing wastage.
- Ideal for watering fruit plants, gardens, and trees.
- Highly efficient, especially in regions with water scarcity.

Protection from Weeds

Understanding Weeds:

Weeds are undesirable plants that grow naturally alongside crops.
They compete with crop plants for water, nutrients, space, and light, hindering crop growth.
Some weeds can interfere with harvesting and may even be harmful to humans and animals.

Importance of Weed Removal:

Weeding is essential to ensure the healthy growth of crops.
It involves the removal of weeds before they flower and produce seeds.

Methods of Weed Control:

Manual Removal:
- Physically uprooting or cutting weeds close to the ground using tools like a khurpi.
- Tilling before sowing helps in uprooting and killing weeds, which then decompose and enrich the soil.
Chemical Control (Weedicides):
- Weedicides like 2,4-D are chemicals sprayed in fields to kill weeds without harming crops.
- Spraying is done during the vegetative growth stage of weeds, before flowering and seed formation.
- Farmers should use weedicides carefully, covering their nose and mouth during spraying to avoid health risks.

Conclusion:

Effective weed control methods, including manual removal and careful use of weedicides, are crucial for maintaining crop health and productivity.

Harvesting

Harvesting is the process of cutting or pulling out mature crops.
It usually takes 3 to 4 months for cereal crops to mature.

Methods of Harvesting:

Manual Harvesting: Done using a sickle or by hand, especially on small farms.
Mechanical Harvesting: Utilizes machines called harvesters, which cut and collect crops.

Threshing:

After harvesting, grain seeds need to be separated from the chaff.
Threshing is the process of separating grain from chaff, often done using a machine called a ‘combine’.

Winnowing:

Farmers with small land holdings separate grain and chaff by winnowing, a process already studied in Class VI.

Post-Harvest Practices:

After harvesting, some stubs are left in the field, which farmers may burn, though this can cause pollution and crop damage.

Harvest Festivals:

The harvest season is a time of great joy for farmers.
Special festivals like Pongal, Baisakhi, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya, and Bihu are celebrated with enthusiasm across India to mark the occasion.

Storage of Produce

Importance of Storage:

Storing harvested grains is crucial to keep them safe from moisture, insects, rats, and microorganisms.
Without proper storage, grains can spoil or become unfit for use.

Drying Before Storage:

Freshly harvested grains have more moisture, making them prone to spoilage.
Grains are dried in the sun before storage to reduce moisture content, preventing attacks by pests and microorganisms.

Methods of Storage:

Farmers use jute bags, metallic bins, silos, and granaries to store grains.
Dried neem leaves are used for storing food grains at home.
Large quantities of grains in big godowns require specific chemical treatments to protect them from pests and microorganisms.