CH1 Crop Production

Agriculture

Growing plants and rearing animals for food, clothing & other useful products

Crops

Plants of the same kind grown on a large scale

Examples of Food crops

Rice
Wheat
Maize
Pulses

Kharif Crops

Crops grown during the rainy season
Sown in June ; Harvested in October

Example of Kharif Crops

Rice , Maize , Cotton

Rabi Crops

Crops grown during the winter season
Sown in November ; Harvested in April

Examples of Rabi Crops

Wheat , Barley , Gram

Agricultural Practices

Sequence of activities performed by farmers to grow crops

All seven acgicultural practices

Soil preparation

Selection of seeds

Sowing

Irrigation

Weeding

Harvesting
Storage

Soil Preperation

Preparing the soil before growing crops by ploughing, levelling & applying fertilizers

Ploughing

Loosening & turning soil to prepare it for planting crops. E.g. - Tilling

Importance of ploughing

Traps air

Helps roots grow

Retains moisture

Removes weeds

Humus

A nutrient rich substance formed from dead plants & animals

Agricultural Implements

Tools used for farming

Levelling

Breaking soil clods after ploughing to make the land even

Fertilizers

Natural & chemical substances nutrients required for plant growth

Examples of natural fertilizers

Manure, Compost, Bone Meal

Examples of chemical fertilizers

Urea, Potash

Leaching

Washing away of chemical fertilizers into water bodies

Overuse of chemical fertilizer

Water pollution & harm to aquatic life

importance of selecting healthy seeds

Healthy seeds produce healthy crops and better yield

Full form in NSC

National Seeds Corporation

Sowing

Process of planting seeds in the soil

Precautions while sowing

Correct distance
Correct depth

Healthy seeds

Broadcasting

Manual sowing by scattering seeds

Seed drill

A machine that sows seeds uniformly at the correct depth

Irrigation

Artificial supply of water to crops

Traditional irrigation methods

Canal, Furrow, Moat, Chain Pump

Modern Irrigation Methods

Sprinkler Irrigation, Drip Irrigation

Advantages of Drip irrigation

Supplies water directly to roots and saves water

Waterlogging

Excess water in fields that damages crops

Weeds

Unwanted plants growing with crops

Weeding

Removing unwanted plants from fields

Weedicides

Chemiicals used to kill weeds

Pests

Animals like rats and insects that damage crops

Pesticides

Chemicals used to kill pests

Harvesting

Cutting & collecting mature crops

tool used for harvesting

Sickle

Threshing

Seperating grains from the harvested crop

Winnowing

Seperating grains from chaff using wind

Food storage

Keeping harvested grains safely to prevent spoilage

Mixed Cultivation

Growing two or more crops together in the same field

Crop rotation

Growing different crops one after another in the same field to improve soil fertility.

Animal Husbandry

Rearing animals on a large scale for food and other needs

Apiculture

Practice of rearing honeybees for honey