CBSE Class 10 Social Science - Agriculture

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering farming techniques, cropping patterns, major crops, and institutional reforms based on CBSE Class 10 Geography Chapter 4.

Primitive Subsistence Farming

A type of farming practised on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao, and digging sticks, depending on the monsoon and natural fertility of the soil.

Jhumming

A 'slash and burn' agriculture practised in northeastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

Dipa

The name given to 'slash and burn' agriculture in the Bastar district of Chattisgarh and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Milpa

The term used for 'slash and burn' agriculture in Mexico and Central America.

Intensive Subsistence Farming

A labor-intensive agricultural method practised in areas of high population pressure on land, using high dosages of biochemical fertilisers and irrigation to increase yield.

Commercial Farming

A style of farming that uses higher amounts of contemporary inputs, such as High-Yielding Variety ($HYV$) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides, and herbicides to achieve higher production.

Plantations

A type of commercial farming where a single crop is produced over a wide region using capital-intensive inputs and migrant labourers.

Rabi Season

A cropping season where crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June; examples include Wheat, Barley, and Peas.

Kharif Season

A cropping season where crops are grown at the beginning of the rainy season and harvested in September-October; examples include Paddy, Maize, Jowar, and Bajra.

Zaid Season

A short season during the summer months between the Rabi and Kharif seasons, occurring from March to July and featuring crops like watermelon, cucumber, and fodder.

Rice

India's staple food crop and a Kharif crop that requires high humidity, temperatures above $25^\text{o}C$, and more than $100\,cm$ of yearly rainfall.

Wheat

A Rabi crop that requires a cool growing season, bright sunshine for ripening, and $50$ to $75\,cm$ of yearly precipitation spread evenly throughout the growing season.

Millets

Coarse grains with very high nutritional value, including Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi.

Ragi

A crop of dry regions grown on red, black, sandy, loamy, and shallow black soils, which is rich in iron, calcium, other micro nutrients, and roughage.

Maize

A Kharif crop used for both food and fodder that flourishes in old alluvial soil and needs temperatures between $21^\text{o}C$ and $27^\text{o}C$ to thrive.

Pulses

Major source of protein in a vegetarian diet, these leguminous crops (except Arhar) replenish soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.

Sugarcane

A tropical and subtropical crop that thrives in hot, humid regions with temperatures between $21^\text{o}C$ and $27^\text{o}C$ and annual rainfall between $75$ and $100\,cm$.

Groundnut

A Kharif crop that accounts for half of the major oilseeds produced in India, with Gujarat being the largest producer.

Sericulture

The rearing of silkworms for the production of silk fibre.

Rubber

An equatorial crop that requires a moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than $200\,cm$ and temperatures above $25^\text{o}C$.

Cotton

A Kharif crop grown in the drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau, requiring high temperatures, light rainfall, and $210$ frost-free days.

Jute

Known as the 'golden fibre', it grows well on well-drained fertile soils in flood plains and requires high temperatures during its growth.

Kissan Credit Card (KCC)

A scheme launched by the government of India to provide credit and financial benefit to farmers.

Bhoodan-Gramdan

A movement initiated by Vinoba Bhave, also known as the 'Blood-less Revolution', which involved the voluntary donation of land to landless villagers.

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

A government-declared price for significant crops to prevent middlemen and speculators from exploiting farmers.