Crop Production and Management

Crop Production and Management,

Introduction

  • Paheli and Boojho visit their uncle, a farmer, during the summer vacation and observe various tools used in agriculture like khurpi, sickle, shovel, and plough.

  • Providing food to a large population requires regular production, proper management, and distribution.

1.1 Agricultural Practices

  • Early Humans:

    • Around 10,000 B.C.E., people were nomadic, wandering in search of food and shelter.

    • They consumed raw fruits, vegetables, and hunted animals for food.

    • Later, they began to cultivate land, producing rice, wheat, and other food crops, marking the beginning of agriculture.

  • Crop Definition:

    • When plants of the same type are grown at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop.

      • Example: A wheat crop consists of all plants in a field being wheat.

  • Crop Types:

    • Crops are classified into cereals, vegetables, and fruits.

    • Classification is based on the season in which they grow.

  • Seasonal Variation in India:

    • India's diverse climate, with variations in temperature, humidity, and rainfall, results in a rich variety of crops.

    • Two broad cropping patterns are identified: Kharif and Rabi crops.

  • Kharif Crops:

    • Sown in the rainy season (June to September).

    • Examples include paddy, maize, soybean, groundnut, and cotton.

  • Rabi Crops:

    • Grown in the winter season (October to March).

    • Examples include wheat, gram, pea, mustard, and linseed.

    • Pulses and vegetables are grown during summer in some places.

  • Why do we need to eat food?

    • Energy from food is used for body functions like digestion, respiration, and excretion.

    • Food sources include plants, animals, or both.

  • Food Production for a Large Population:

    • Food must be produced on a large scale to feed everyone.

1.2 Basic Practices of Crop Production

  • Cultivation involves activities undertaken by farmers over time, similar to gardening.

  • These agricultural practices include:

    • Preparation of soil

    • Sowing

    • Adding manure and fertilisers

    • Irrigation

    • Protecting from weeds

    • Harvesting

    • Storage

1.3 Preparation of Soil

  • Importance:

    • The first step in growing a crop.

    • Involves turning and loosening the soil.

  • Benefits:

    • Allows roots to penetrate deeply.

    • Enables roots to breathe easily, even deep in the soil.

  • Loosening and Soil Organisms:

    • The loosened soil aids the growth of earthworms and microbes.

    • These organisms further turn and loosen the soil, adding humus.

  • Soil Composition:

    • Soil contains minerals, water, air, and living organisms.

    • Dead plants and animals decompose, releasing nutrients back into the soil.

    • These nutrients are then absorbed by plants.

  • Nutrient Availability:

    • Turning and loosening the soil brings nutrient-rich soil to the top.

    • Only the top few centimetres of soil support plant growth.

  • Tilling or Ploughing:

    • The process of loosening and turning the soil.

    • Done using a plough made of wood or iron.

    • Dry soil may require watering before ploughing.

  • Levelling:

    • Ploughed fields may have large clumps of soil called crumbs, which need to be broken.

    • Levelling is beneficial for sowing and irrigation and is done using a leveller.

  • Manure Addition:

    • Manure is sometimes added before tilling to ensure proper mixing with the soil.

    • The soil is moistened before sowing.

  • Agricultural Implements:

    • Tools are used to break soil clumps for better yield. The main tools include the plough, hoe, and cultivator.

  • Plough:

    • Used since ancient times for tilling, adding fertilisers, removing weeds, and turning the soil.

    • Made of wood and drawn by bulls or other animals.

    • Consists of a strong triangular iron strip called a ploughshare and a long log of wood called a ploughshaft.

    • The ploughshaft has a handle at one end and is attached to a beam placed on the bulls’ necks.

    • Wooden ploughs are increasingly being replaced by iron ploughs.

  • Hoe:

    • A simple tool for removing weeds and loosening soil.

    • Consists of a long rod of wood or iron with a strong, broad, bent plate of iron fixed to one end.

    • Pulled by animals.

  • Cultivator:

    • Ploughing is now often done by a tractor-driven cultivator, saving labour and time.

1.4 Sowing

  • Importance:

    • A crucial part of crop production.

  • Seed Selection:

    • Good quality, clean, and healthy seeds of a good variety are selected.

    • Farmers prefer seeds that give high yield.

  • Damaged Seeds:

    • Damaged seeds become hollow and float on water, allowing them to be separated from healthy seeds.

  • Traditional Tool:

    • Shaped like a funnel.

    • Seeds are filled into the funnel and passed down through two or three pipes with sharp ends.

    • These ends pierce the soil and place the seeds.

  • Seed Drill:

    • Used with tractors for sowing seeds uniformly at equal distances and depths.

    • Ensures seeds are covered by soil after sowing, protecting them from birds.

    • Saves time and labour.

  • Nursery:

    • Seeds of some plants (e.g., paddy) are first grown in a nursery.

    • Seedlings are then transplanted to the field manually.

    • Some forest and flowering plants are also grown in nurseries.

  • Spacing:

    • Appropriate distance between seeds is necessary to avoid overcrowding.

    • This allows plants to get sufficient sunlight, nutrients, and water.

    • Thinning may be required to remove some plants and prevent overcrowding.

1.5 Adding Manure and Fertiliser

  • Definition:

    • Substances added to the soil as nutrients for healthy plant growth.

  • Nutrient Depletion:

    • Soil supplies mineral nutrients essential for plant growth.

    • Continuous cultivation depletes these nutrients.

  • Manuring Definition:

    • Farmers add manure to replenish the soil with nutrients.

    • Improper manuring results in weak plants.

  • Manure:

    • An organic substance from the decomposition of plant and animal wastes.

    • Farmers dump waste in pits and allow it to decompose through microorganisms.

    • The decomposed matter is used as organic manure.

  • Fertilisers:

    • Chemicals rich in particular nutrients, produced in factories.

    • Examples include urea, ammonium sulphate, super phosphate, potash, and NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium).

    • Help farmers achieve better yields for crops like wheat, paddy, and maize.

  • Negative Impacts of Fertilisers:

    • Excessive use can reduce soil fertility and cause water pollution.

  • Maintaining Soil Fertility:

    • Substitute fertilisers with organic manure.

    • Leave the field uncultivated (fallow) between crops.

  • Benefits of Manure:

    • Improves soil texture and water-retaining capacity.

    • Replenishes the soil with nutrients.

  • Crop Rotation:

    • Growing different crops alternately to replenish soil nutrients.

    • Example: Farmers in northern India grow legumes (fodder) in one season and wheat in the next.

    • Legumes help replenish nitrogen in the soil through Rhizobium bacteria in their root nodules.

1.6 Irrigation

  • Importance of Water:

    • Essential for all living beings, including plants.

    • Necessary for proper growth and development.

  • Water Absorption:

    • Plant roots absorb water, along with minerals and fertilisers.

    • Plants contain nearly 90% water.

  • Seed Germination:

    • Germination does not occur under dry conditions.

  • Nutrient Transport:

    • Water is used to transport nutrients to each part of the plant.

  • Crop Protection:

    • Water protects crops from frost and hot air currents.

  • Irrigation Definition:

    • The supply of water to crops at regular intervals.

    • Frequency and timing vary by crop, soil, and season.

    • Watering frequency is higher in summer due to increased evaporation.

  • Sources of Irrigation:

    • Wells, tubewells, ponds, lakes, rivers, dams, and canals.

  • Traditional Methods of Irrigation:

    • Water is lifted from sources and carried to fields using various methods.

    • These methods use cattle or human labour, making them cheaper but less efficient.

    • Examples include moat (pulley-system), chain pump, dhekli, and rahat (lever system).

  • Modern Methods of Irrigation:

    • Help use water economically.

    • Pumps are commonly used and powered by diesel, biogas, electricity, or solar energy.

  • Sprinkler System:

    • Useful for uneven land where water is insufficient.

    • Perpendicular pipes with rotating nozzles are connected to a main pipeline.

    • Water flows under pressure and is sprinkled on the crop.

    • Suitable for lawns, coffee plantations, and other crops.

  • Drip System:

    • Water falls drop by drop directly near the roots.

    • Best for watering fruit plants, gardens, and trees.

    • Minimises water wastage and is beneficial in areas with poor water availability.

1.7 Protection from Weeds

  • Weeds Definition:

    • Undesirable plants that grow naturally alongside crops in a field.

  • Weeding Definition:

    • The removal of weeds.

  • Necessity of Weeding:

    • Weeds compete with crops for water, nutrients, space, and light, affecting crop growth.

    • Some weeds can interfere with harvesting and may be poisonous.

  • Weed Control Methods:

    • Tilling before sowing helps uproot and kill weeds, which then dry and mix with the soil.

    • Manual removal involves physically uprooting or cutting weeds close to the ground using a khurpi.

    • A seed drill can also be used to uproot weeds.

  • Weedicides:

    • Chemicals like 2,4-D are used to control weeds by spraying in the fields.

    • Weedicides kill weeds without damaging crops.

    • They are diluted with water and sprayed using a sprayer.

  • Timing of Weedicide Application:

    • Sprayed during the vegetative growth of weeds before flowering and seed formation.

  • Health Precautions:

    • Spraying weedicides may affect the health of farmers, so they should use these chemicals carefully.

    • Farmers should cover their nose and mouth with a cloth during spraying.

1.8 Harvesting

  • Definition:

    • The cutting of a mature crop.

  • Process:

    • Crops are pulled out or cut close to the ground.

    • Cereal crops usually take 3 to 4 months to mature.

  • Methods:

    • Manual harvesting using a sickle.

    • Mechanical harvesting using a machine called a harvester.

  • Threshing:

    • The process of separating grain seeds from the chaff.

    • Carried out using a machine called a ‘combine’, which acts as both a harvester and a thresher.

  • Post-Harvest Practices:

    • Stubs left in the field after harvesting are sometimes burnt by farmers, causing pollution and potential fire hazards.

  • Harvest Festivals:

    • After months of hard work, the harvest season brings joy and a sense of well-being to farmers.

    • Festivals associated with the harvest season include Pongal, Baisakhi, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya, and Bihu.

1.9 Storage

  • Importance:

    • Essential to protect harvested grains from moisture, insects, rats, and microorganisms.

  • Moisture Content:

    • Freshly harvested grains have high moisture content.

    • Storing without drying can lead to spoilage or attack by organisms, making them unfit for use or germination.

  • Drying:

    • Grains are properly dried in the sun to reduce moisture.

    • This prevents attacks by insect pests, bacteria, and fungi.

  • Traditional Methods:

    • Farmers with small land holdings separate grain and chaff by winnowing.

  • Storage Methods:

    • Farmers store grains in jute bags or metallic bins.

    • Large-scale storage is done in silos and granaries to protect grains from pests and insects.

    • 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.

1.10 Food from Animals

  • Animals as a Food Source:

    • Like plants, animals provide us with different kinds of food.

  • Examples:

    • Milk from cows, buffaloes, she-goats and she-camels.

    • Fish, a major part of the diet in coastal areas and a source of cod liver oil rich in vitamin D.

  • Animal Husbandry:

    • Animals reared at home or in farms need proper food, shelter, and care.

    • When this is done on a large scale, it is called animal husbandry.