8 crop production and management

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  • 1. CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENTP aheli and Boojho went to their uncle’s house during the summer vacation. Their uncle is a farmer.One day they saw some tools like khurpi, Food has to be produced on a largesickle, shovel, plough, etc., in the field. scale. In order to provide food for a large population— regular production, proper I want to know management and distribution of food is where and how we necessary. use these tools. 1.1 Agricultural Practices You have lear nt that all livingorganisms require food. Plants can make Till 10,000 B.C. people were nomadic.their food themselves. Can you recall They were wandering in groups fromhow green plants synthesise their own place to place in search of food andfood? Animals including humans can shelter. They ate raw fruits andnot make their own food. So, where do vegetables and started hunting foranimals get their food from? animals for food. Later, they could But, first of all why do we have to eat cultivate land and produce rice, wheatfood? and other food crops. Thus, was born You already know that the energy ‘Agriculture’.from food is utilised by organisms forcarrying out their various body When plants of the same kind are grownfunctions, such as digestion, respiration and cultivated at one place on a largeand excretion. We get our food from scale, it is called a crop. For example,plants, or animals, or both. crop of wheat means that all the plants grown in a field are that of wheat. You already know that crops are of different types like cereals, vegetables and fruits. These can be classified on the Since we all need food, basis of the season in which they grow. how can we provide India is a vast country. The climatic food to a large number conditions like temperature, humidity of people in our and rainfall vary from one region to country? another. Accordingly, there is a rich
  • 2. variety of crops grown in different parts to as agricultural practices. Theseof the country. Despite this diversity, activities are listed below.two broad cropping patterns can be (i) Preparation of soilidentified. These are: (ii) Sowing(i) Kharif Crops : The crops which are (iii) Adding manure and fertiliserssown in the rainy season are called (iv) Irrigationkharif crops. The rainy season in India (v) Protecting from weedsis generally from June to September. (vi) HarvestingPaddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, (vii) Storagecotton, etc., are kharif crops.(ii) Rabi Crops : The crops grown in the 1.3 Preparation of Soilwinter season are called rabi crops.Their time period is generally from The preparation of soil is the first stepOctober to March. Examples of rabi before growing a crop. One of the mostcrops are wheat, gram, pea, mustard important tasks in agriculture is to turnand linseed. the soil and loosen it. This allows the Besides these, pulses and vegetables roots to penetrate deep into the soil. Theare grown during summer at many loose soil allows the roots to breatheplaces. easily even when they go deep into the soil. Why does the loosening of soil allow1.2 Basic Practices of Crop the roots to breathe easily? Production The loosened soil helps in the growth of earthworms and microbes present in the soil. These organisms are friends of the farmer since they further turn and loosen the soil and add humus to it. Why can paddy not be But why does the soil need to be turned grown in the winter season? and loosened? You have learnt in the previous classes that soil contains minerals, water, air and some living organisms. Paddy requires a lot of In addition, dead plants and animals water. Therefore, it is grown get decomposed by soil organisms. In only in the rainy season. this way, various nutrients held in the dead organisms are released back intoCultivation of crops involves several the soil. These nutrients are againactivities undertaken by farmers over a absorbed by plants.period of time. You may find that these Since only a few centimetres of theactivities are similar to those carried out top layer of soil supports plant growth,by a gardener or even by you when you turning and loosening of soil brings thegrow ornamental plants in your house. nutrient-rich soil to the top so thatThese activities or tasks are referred plants can use these nutrients. Thus, 2 SCIENCE
  • 3. turning and loosening of soil is very Plough : This is being used sinceimportant for cultivation of crops. ancient times for tilling the soil, adding The process of loosening and turning fertilisers to the crop, removing theof the soil is called tilling or ploughing. weeds, scraping of soil, etc. ThisThis is done by using a plough. Ploughs implement is made of wood and is drawnare made of wood or iron. If the soil is by a pair of bulls or other animalsvery dry, it may need watering before (horses, camels, etc.). It contains aploughing. The ploughed field may have strong triangular iron strip calledbig pieces of soil called crumbs. It is ploughshare. The main part of thenecessary to break these crumbs with a plough is a long log of wood which isplank. The field is levelled for sowing as called a ploughshaft. There is a handlewell as for irrigation purposes. The at one end of the shaft. The other end islevelling of soil is done with the help of attached to a beam which is placed ona leveller. the bulls’ necks. One pair of bulls and a Sometimes, manure is added to the man can easily operate the ploughsoil before tilling. This helps in proper [Fig. 1.1 (a)].mixing of manure with soil. The soil is The indigenous wooden plough iswatered before sowing. increasingly being replaced by ironAgricultural Implements ploughs nowadays.Before sowing the seeds, it is necessary to Hoe : It is a simple tool which is usedbreak soil to the size of grains to get better for removing weeds and for looseningyield. This is done with the help of the soil. It has a long rod of wood orvarious tools. The main tools used for this iron. A strong, broad and bent plate ofpurpose are the plough, hoe and cultivator. iron is fixed to one of its ends and beam ploughshaft ploughshare Fig. 1.1 (a) : The ploughCROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 3
  • 4. works like a blade. It is pulled by Activity 1.1animals [Fig. 1.1 (b)]. Take a beaker and fill half of it grip beam with water. Put a handful of wheat handle seeds and stir well. Wait for some time. bent plate Are there seeds which float on rod Fig. 1.1 (b) : A hoe water? Would those be lighter or heavier than those which sink? WhyCultivator : Nowadays ploughing is would they be lighter? Damaged seedsdone by tractor driven cultivator. The become hollow and are thus lighter.use of cultivator saves labour and time. Therefore, they float on water.[Fig. 1.1 (c)]. This is a good method for separating good, healthy seeds from the damaged ones. Before sowing, one of the important tasks is to know about the tools used for sowing seeds [Fig. 1.2 (a), (b)]. Traditional tool : The tool used traditionally for sowing seeds is shaped like a funnel [Fig. 1.2 (a)]. The Fig. 1.1 (c) : Cultivator driven by a tractor seeds are filled into the funnel, passed down through two or three1.4 Sowing pipes having sharp ends. TheseSowing is the most important part of ends pierce into the soil and placecrop production. Before sowing, good seeds there.quality seeds are selected. Good qualityseeds are clean and healthy seeds of agood variety. Farmers prefer to use seedswhich give a high yield.Selection of Seeds One day I saw my mother put some gram seeds in a vessel and pour some water on them. After a few minutes some seeds started to float on top. I wonder why some seeds float on water! Fig. 1.2 (a) : Traditional method of sowing 4 SCIENCE
  • 5. sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water from the soil. Sometimes a few plants have to be removed to prevent overcrowding. 1.5 Adding Manure and Fertilisers The substances which are added to the soil in the form of nutrients for the healthy growth of plants are called manure and fertilisers. Fig. 1.2 (b) : A seed drillSeed drill : Nowadays the seed drill [Fig. I saw a healthy crop growing1.2 (b)] is used for sowing with the help in a farm. In the neighbouringof tractors. This tool sows the seeds farm, the plants were weak.uniformly at proper distances and Why do some plants growdepths. It ensures that seeds get covered better than others?by the soil after sowing. This preventsdamage caused by birds. Sowing by Soil supplies mineral nutrients to theusing a seed drill saves time and labour. crop. These nutrients are essential for the growth of plants. In certain areas, farmers grow crop after crop in the same There is a nursery near my field. The field is never left uncultivated school. I found that little or fallow. Imagine what happens to the plants were kept in small nutrients? bags. Why are they Continuous growing of crops makes kept like this? the soil poorer in certain nutrients. Therefore, farmers have to add manure to the fields to replenish the soil with nutrients. This process is called Seeds of a few plants such as paddy are first manuring. Improper or insufficient grown in a nursery. When manuring results in weak plants. they grow into plantlets, Manure is an organic substance they are transplanted in obtained from the decomposition of the field manually. Some plant or animal wastes. Farmers dump forest plants and flowering plant and animal waste in pits at open plants are also grown in places and allow it to decompose. The the nursery. decomposition is caused by some microorganisms. The decomposed An appropriate distance between the matter is used as organic manure.seeds is important to avoid overcrowding You have alr eady lear nt aboutof plants. This allows plants to get vermicomposting in Class VI.CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 5
  • 6. Activity 1.2 showed better growth of plants? In which glass was the growth fastest? Take moong or gram seeds and Fertilisers are chemical substances germinate them. Select three equal which are rich in a particular sized seedlings out of these. Now take three empty glasses or similar nutrient. How are these different from vessels. Mark them A, B and C. To manure? Fertilisers are produced in glass A add little amount of soil factories. Some examples of fertilisers mixed with a little cow dung manure. are— urea, ammonium sulphate, In glass B put the same amount of super phosphate, potash, NPK soil mixed with a little urea. Take (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium). the same amount of soil in glass C The use of fertilisers has helped without adding anything [Fig. farmers to get better yield of crops 1.3(a)]. Now pour the same amount of water in each glass and plant the such as wheat, paddy and maize. But seedlings in them. Keep them in a excessive use of fertilisers has made safe place and water them daily. After the soil less fertile. Fertilisers have also 7 to 10 days observe their growth become a source of water pollution. [Fig. 1.3(b)]. Therefore, in order to maintain the fertility of the soil, we have to substitute fertilisers by organic manure or leave the field uncultivated (fallow) in between two crops. The use of manure improves soil texture as well as its water retaining capacity. It replenishes the soil with all the nutrients. Another method of replenishing Fig. 1.3 (a) : Preparation of the experiment the soil with nutrients is through crop rotation. This can be done by growing different crops alternately. Earlier, farmers in northern India used to grow legumes as fodder in one season and wheat in the next season. This helped in the replenishment of the soil with nitrogen. Farmers are being encouraged to adopt this practice. In the previous classes, you haveFig. 1.3 (b) : Growing seedlings with manure learnt about Rhizobium bacteria. and fertiliser These are present in the nodules of Did all the plants in all the glasses the roots of leguminous plants. Theygrow at the same pace? Which glass fix atmospheric nitrogen. 6 SCIENCE
  • 7. Table 1.1 : Differences between Fertiliser and Manure S. No. Fertiliser Manure 1. A fertiliser is an inorganic Manure is a natural substance obtained salt. by the decomposition of cattle dung, human waste and plant residues. 2. A fertiliser is prepared in Manure can be prepared in the fields. factories. 3. A fertiliser does not provide Manure provides a lot of humus to the soil. any humus to the soil. 4. Fertilisers are very rich in Manure is relatively less rich in plant plant nutrients like nitrogen, nutrients. phosphorus and potassium. Table 1.1 gives the differences each part of the plant. Water alsobetween a fertiliser and manure. protects the crop from both frost and hot air currents. To maintain theAdvantages of Manure : The organic moisture of the soil for healthy cropmanure is considered better than growth, fields have to be wateredfertilisers. This is because regularly. it enhances the water holding The supply of water to crops at capacity of the soil. different intervals is called irrigation. it makes the soil porous due to which The time and frequency of irrigation exchange of gases becomes easy. varies from crop to crop, soil to soil and it increases the number of friendly season to season. In summer, the microbes. frequency of watering is higher. Why is it improves the texture of the soil. it so? Could it be due to the increased rate of evaporation of water from the soil1.6 Irrigation and the leaves?All living beings need water to live.Water is important for proper growthand development of flowers, fruits and I am very careful thisseeds of plants. Water is absorbed by year about wateringthe plant roots. Along with water, the plants. Lastminerals and fertilisers are also summer my plantsabsorbed. Plants contain nearly 90% dried up and died.water. Water is essential becausegermination of seeds does not take place Sources of irrigation : The sources ofunder dry conditions. Nutrients irrigation are— wells, tubewells, ponds,dissolved in water get transported to lakes, rivers, dams and canals.CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 7
  • 8. Traditional Methods of Irrigation The water available in wells, lakes and canals is lifted up by different methods in different regions, for taking it to the fields. Cattle or human labour is used in these methods. So these methods are cheaper, but less efficient. The various traditional ways are: (i) moat (pulley -system) (ii) chain pump Fig. 1.4 (a) : Moat Fig. 1.4 (b) : Chain pump Fig. 1.4 (c) : Dhekli (iii) dhekli, and (iv) rahat (Lever system) [Figs. 1.4 (a)- (d)]. Pumps are commonly used for lifting water. Diesel, biogas, electricity and solar energy is used to run these pumps. Fig. 1.4 (d) : Rahat8 SCIENCE
  • 9. Modern Methods ofIrrigationModern methods of irrigationhelp us to use watereconomically. The mainmethods used are as follows:(i) Sprinkler System: Thissystem is more useful on theuneven land where sufficientwater is not available. Theperpendicular pipes, havingrotating nozzles on top, arejoined to the main pipelineat regular intervals. When Fig. 1.5 (a) : Sprinkler systemwater is allowed to flowthrough the main pipe underpressure with the help of a pump, it position of the roots. So it is called dripescapes from the rotating nozzles. It gets system. It is the best technique forsprinkled on the crop as if it is raining. watering fruit plants, gardens and trees.Sprinkler is very useful for sandy soil The system provides water to plants drop[Fig. 1.5 (a)]. by drop [Fig. 1.5(b)]. Water is not wasted(ii) Drip system : In this system, the at all. It is a boon in regions wherewater falls drop by drop just at the availability of water is poor. Fig. 1.5 (b) : Drip SystemCROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 9
  • 10. 1.7 Protection from WeedsBoojho and Paheli went to a nearbywheat field and saw that there were someother plants in the field. Have these other plants been planted purposely? In a field many other undesirableplants may grow naturally along with Fig. 1.6 : Spraying weedicidethe crop. These undesirable plants arecalled weeds. The removal of weeds is calledweeding. Weeding is necessary since Do weedicides have anyweeds compete with the crop plants for effect on the person handling the weedicide sprayer?water, nutrients, space and light. Thus,they affect the growth of the crop. Some As already mentioned, the weedicidesweeds interfere even in harvesting and are sprayed during the vegetative growthmay be poisonous for animals and of weeds before flowering and seedhuman beings. formation. Spraying of weedicides may Farmers adopt many ways to remove affect the health of farmers. So theyweeds and control their growth. Tilling should use these chemicals very carefully.before sowing of crops helps in They should cover their nose and mouthuprooting and killing of weeds, which with a piece of cloth during spraying ofmay then dry up and get mixed with these chemicals.the soil. The best time for the removalof weeds is before they produce flowers 1.8 Harvestingand seeds. The manual removal includesphysical removal of weeds by uprooting Harvesting of a crop is an importantor cutting them close to the ground, task. The cutting of crop after it isfrom time to time. This is done with the mature is called harvesting. Inhelp of a khurpi. A seed drill [Fig. 1.2(b)] harvesting, crops are pulled out or cutis also used to uproot weeds. close to the ground. It usually takes 3 Weeds are also controlled by using to 4 months for a cereal crop to mature.certain chemicals, called weedicides, Harvesting in ourlike 2,4-D. These are sprayed in the country is either donefields to kill the weeds. They do not manually by sickledamage the crops. The weedicides are (Fig. 1.7) or by a machinediluted with water to the extent required called harvester. In theand sprayed in the fields with a sprayer. harvested crop, the grain Fig. 1.7 :(Fig. 1.6). seeds need to be separated Sickle10 SCIENCE
  • 11. from the chaff. This process is called Harvest Festivalsthreshing. This is carried out with thehelp of a machine called ‘combine’ which After three or four months of hard work there comes the day of theis in fact a combined harvester and harvest. The sight of golden fieldsthresher (Fig. 1.8). of standing crop, laden with grain, fills the hearts of farmers with joy a n d a s e n s e o f w e l l -b e i n g . T h e efforts of the past season have borne fruit and it is time to relax and enjoy a little. The period of harvest is, thus, of great joy and happiness in all parts of India. Men and women celebrate it with great enthusiasm. Special festivals associated with the h a r v e s t s e a s o n are P o n g a l , Baisakhi, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya Fig. 1.8 : Combine and Bihu. 1.9 Storage After harvesting, sometimes Storage of produce is an important task. stubs are left in the field, which are burnt by farmers. Paheli is If the crop grains are to be kept for worried. She knows that it longer time, they should be safe from causes pollution. It may also moisture, insects, rats and catch fire and damage the crops microorganisms. The fresh crop has lying in the fields. more moisture. If freshly harvested grains (seeds) are stored without drying, Farmers with small holdings of land they may get spoilt or attacked bydo the separation of grain and chaff by organisms, losing their germinationwinnowing (Fig. 1.9). You have alreadystudied this in Class VI. capacity. Hence, before storing them, the grains are properly dried in the sun to reduce the moisture in them. This prevents the attack by insect pests, bacteria and fungi. Farmers store I saw my mother putting some dried neem leaves in an iron drum containing wheat. I wonder why? Fig. 1.9 : Winnowing machineCROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 11
  • 12. Fig. 1.10 (a) : Silos for storage of grains 1.10 Food from Animals Activity 1.3 Make the following Table in your note book and complete it. S.No. Food Sources 1. Milk Cow, Buffalo, She- goat, She-camel . . . 2. 3. 4. After completing this Table, you must have seen that, like plants, animals also provide us with different kinds of food. Many people living in the coastal areas consume fish as a major part of their diet. In the previous classes Fig. 1.10 (b) : Storage of grains in granaries you have learnt about the food that we obtain from plants. We have just seengrains in jute bags or metallic bins. that the process of crop productionHowever, large scale storage of grains involves a number of steps like selectionis done in silos and granaries to protect of seeds, sowing, etc. Similarly, animalsthem from pests like rats and insects reared at home or in farms, have to be[Fig. 1.10 (a) and (b)]. provided with proper food, shelter and Dried neem leaves are used for care. When this is done on a large scale,storing food grains at home. For storing it is called animal husbandry.large quantities of grains in biggodowns, specific chemical treatments Fish is good for health.are required to protect them from pests We get cod liver oil from fishand microorganisms. which is rich in vitamin D.12 SCIENCE
  • 13. KEYWORDS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT AGRICULTURAL In order to provide food to our growing PRACTICES population, we need to adopt certain agricultural practices. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY Same kind of plants grown and cultivated at CROP a place constitute a crop. In India, crops can be broadly categorised into FERTILISER two types based on seasons - rabi and kharif GRANARIES crops. It is necessary to prepare soil by tilling and HARVESTING levelling. Ploughs and levellers are used for this purpose. IRRIGATION Sowing of seeds at appropriate depths and KHARIF distances gives good yield. Good variety of seeds are sown after selection of healthy seeds. MANURE Sowing is done by seed drills. Soil needs replenishment and enrichment PLOUGH through the use of organic manure and RABI fertilisers. Use of chemical fertilisers has increased tremendously with the introduction SEEDS of new crop varieties. Supply of water to crops at appropriate SILO intervals is called irrigation. SOWING Weeding involves removal of unwanted and uncultivated plants called weeds. STORAGE Harvesting is the cutting of the mature crop manually or by machines. THRESHING Separation of the grains from the chaff is called WEEDS threshing. Proper storage of grains is necessary to protect WEEDICIDE them from pests and microorganisms. Food is also obtained from animals for which WINNOWING animals are reared. This is called animal husbandry. Exercises 1. Select the correct word from the following list and fill in the blanks. float, water, crop, nutrients, preparation (a) The same kind of plants grown and cultivated on a large scale at a place is called _____________. (b) The first step before growing crops is _____________ of the soil.CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 13
  • 14. (c) Damaged seeds would _____________ on top of water. EXERCISES (d) For growing a crop, sufficient sunlight and _____________ and _____________ from the soil are essential. 2. Match items in column A with those in column B. A B (i) Kharif crops (a) Food for cattle (ii) Rabi crops (b) Urea and super phosphate (iii) Chemical fertilisers (c) Animal excreta, cow dung urine and plant waste (iv) Organic manure (d) Wheat, gram, pea (e) Paddy and maize 3. Give two examples of each. (a) Kharif crop (b) Rabi crop 4. Write a paragraph in your own words on each of the following. (a) Preparation of soil (b) Sowing (c) Weeding (d) Threshing 5. Explain how fertilisers are different from manure. 6. What is irrigation? Describe two methods of irrigation which conserve water. 7. If wheat is sown in the kharif season, what would happen? Discuss. 8. Explain how soil gets affected by the continuous plantation of crops in a field. 9. What are weeds? How can we control them? 10. Arrange the following boxes in proper order to make a flow chart of sugarcane crop production. Sending crop to Irrigation Harvesting Sowing sugar factory 1 2 3 4 Preparation of Ploughing the Manuring soil field 5 6 714 SCIENCE
  • 15. 11. Complete the following word puzzle with the help of clues given below. EXERCISES Down 1. Providing water to the crops. 2. Keeping crop grains for a long time under proper conditions. 5. Certain plants of the same kind grown on a large scale. Across 3. A machine used for cutting the matured crop. 4. A rabi crop that is also one of the pulses. 6. A process of separating the grain from chaff. Extended Learning — Activities and Projects 1. Sow some seeds in the soil and arrange to water them by drip irrigation. Observe daily. (i) Do you think it can save water? (ii) Note the changes in the seed. 2. Collect different types of seeds and put them in small bags. Attach these bags in a herbarium file and label them. 3. Collect new agricultural machine pictures and paste in a file with their names and uses. 4. Project Work Visit a farm, nursery or a garden nearby. Gather information about (i) importance of seed selection. (ii) method of irrigation.CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT 15
  • 16. (iii) effect of extreme cold and extreme hot weather on the plants. (iv) effect of continuous rain on the plants. (v) fertilisers/manure used. For more information, visit : www.krishiworld.com/html/balanced fertiliser. htm. www.ikis.com/links/ap.cultivation.html An Example for Field Trip Work Himanshu and his friends were very anxious and curious to go to Thikri village. They went to Shri Jiwan Patel’s farmhouse. They had taken bags to collect some seeds and other things. Himanshu : Sir namaskar, I am Himanshu. Here are my friends Mohan, David and Sabiha. We want some information about crops. Please guide us. Shri Patel : Namaskar and welcome all of you. What are your queries? Sabiha : When did you start this work and what are the main crops that you grow? Shri Patel : About 75 years ago, my grandfather started this work. The main crops that we grow are wheat, gram, soyabean and moong. David : Sir, can you tell us the difference between traditional and modern agricultural practices? Shri Patel : Earlier we used traditional tools like sickle, bullock plough, trowel, etc., and depended on rain water for irrigation. But now we use modern methods of irrigation. We use implements like tractors, cultivators, seed drill and harvester. We get good quality seeds. We carry out soil testing and use manure and fertilisers. New information about agriculture is obtained through radio, T.V. and other sources. As a result we are able to get good crops on a large scale. This year we got 9 to 11 quintals of gram crop/acre and 20 to 25 quintals of wheat/acre. In my opinion awareness of new technology is important for better crop yield. Mohan : Sabiha, come here and see some earthworms. Are they helpful to the farmers? Sabiha : Oh Mohan! we learnt about it in Class VI. Shri Patel : Earthworms turn the soil and loosen it for proper aeration, so they help the farmer. David : Can we have some seeds of the crops you grow here? [They put some seeds, fertilisers and soil sample in the bags.] Himanshu : Sir, we are thankful to you for making this visit pleasant and for providing useful information.16 SCIENCE