Food Production and Management

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering agricultural concepts, soil management, cropping patterns, animal husbandry, horticulture, and related practices from Chapter 6: Food Production and Management.

Agriculture

The study of the science and art of production of plants and animals useful to man, derived from the Latin words ager (field) and cultura (cultivation).

Crop Plants

Plants grown on a large scale in vast fields because they are consumed in large quantities by man.

"Rice Bowl" of Kashmir

A common designation for Kulgam in the Kashmir Valley due to its major role in rice production.

Grim

A distinct variety of barley grown specifically in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Horticulture

The large-scale cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, derived from the Latin words hortus (garden) and cultura (cultivation).

Ambri

A famous variety of Kashmiri apple grown particularly in the Shopian District.

Ploughing (Tilling)

The practice of turning the soil over by a few inches using animal-driven or tractor-drawn ploughs to loosen it for root penetration and aeration.

Broadcasting

The method of sowing seeds by scattering them across the field by hand or using a mechanical broadcaster with a hopper and spinning discs.

Transplanting

The agricultural practice of taking young seedlings raised in a nursery bed and transferring them to the prepared main field.

Green Manuring

The agricultural practice of ploughing or turning green leguminous plants (such as cowpea, cluster beans, or horsegram) into the soil to enhance physical structure and fertility.

Compost

Organic manure made by combining cattle shed wastes and available farm refuse, which is applied after undergoing rottening.

Fertilizers

Inorganic nutrient compounds, such as NPK, CAN, super phosphate, or urea, applied to the soil or sprayed on crops to supply essential plant elements.

Irrigation

The artificial application of water to fields to fulfill plant metabolic and evaporative needs once seeds or seedlings become established.

Weedicides

Chemical substances like 2, 4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid) and simazine sprayed to kill undesirable weeds without destroying the primary crop.

Harvesting

The agricultural operation of cutting and gathering mature crops from fields using hand tools like sickles or mechanized combines and harvesters.

Kharif Crops

Crops sown in June and July and harvested post-monsoon in September and October, with rice serving as a primary example.

Rabi Crops

Crops sown from October to December and harvested between March and April, with wheat serving as a primary example.

Threshing

The process of separating edible grains from the cut stalks and chaff, carried out manually or by using threshers and combines.

Winnowing

The method of separating grain seeds from lighter chaff by utilizing air currents or natural wind.

Emasculation

The removal of anthers from a flower with forceps before they mature and shed pollen grains, used in artificial hybridization.

Stock

An improved plant variety obtained after successive cross-breeding cycles that possesses desired traits and disease resistance.

Crop Rotation

The practice of alternating cereal crops with leguminous pulse crops containing nitrogen-fixing root bacteria to naturally replenish soil nutrients.

Mixed Cropping

The practice of cultivating two compatible crops simultaneously on the same plot of land, such as groundnut and cotton, to optimize time, labor, and nutrients.

Field Fallow

The practice of leaving agricultural land unplanted for a season so natural processes, humus accumulation, and microorganisms can replenish soil fertility.

Biocides

Pest-controlling substances synthesized by living organisms designed to eliminate specific pests without inflicting harm on humans or non-target species.

Buffer Stock

The surplus grain stored during years of excess production to ensure food availability during adverse weather conditions or periods of shortage.

Dairying

The business and management practice of maintaining dairy animals and handling an establishment where milk, cream, butter, and cheese are produced.

Livestock

The collective group of all domesticated, economically useful animals kept, bred, and cared for to serve human needs.

Heeding

The proper care, shelter, disease protection, feeding, and management routines applied to maintain the health and welfare of farm livestock.

Poultry Farming

The domestication and rearing of domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys for meat and egg production.

Broody Hen

An egg-laying female bird that sits on its eggs to supply the maternal warmth necessary for incubation and hatching.

Fisheries (Pisciculture)

The large-scale rearing, breeding, and management of fish and other aquatic animals in natural or artificial water bodies for commercial production.

Apiculture

The agricultural management of beehives and the rearing of honeybees to obtain honey and commercial beeswax.