K.S.N.

SECONDARY SCHOOL, THIRUVANMIYUR

CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT
1. Why do we need food?

We need food because it gives us energy, keeps us healthy, and helps us to grow as well as
repair and replace damaged and worn-out tissues.

2. How do plants and animals get their food?

Most plants make their own food through the process of Photosynthesis. Animals feed on
plants or other animals to get energy.

When we cultivate same kind of plants on a large scale at one place, it called ‘Crop’.
Basic Practices of Crop Production

Seven agricultural practices followed while growing a crop are:

 Preparation of Soil: To loosen and turn the soil.

 Sowing: Planting of seeds of a crop in soil.
 Adding Manure and Fertilisers: Adding essential nutrients to soil for growth and
development of plants.
 Irrigation: Supplying water to plants at regular intervals.
 Protection from Weeds: Removal of unwanted plants from the cultivated field to allow
crops proper access to lights, space, and nutrients.
 Harvesting: Cutting mature crops from fields.
 Storage: Keeping grains or produce safe from rats, insects, microorganisms and
moisture.
3. Why do we loosen or turn the soil?

Loosening the soil is important because it:

  allows the toots to go deeper into the soil and yet, breathe easily (allowing air to reach
the roots),
 helps in growth of microbes and earthworms that add humus to the soil and turn and
loosen the soil further, and
 nutrient-rich soil comes to the top and can be used by plants.

The process used to loosen and turn the soil is called Tilling or Ploughing. After
tilling, Levelling is done in which the big clumps of soil called crumbs are broken (and levelled).
Levelling the field helps in the process of sowing and irrigation.
4. Why is levelling the field important?

Land levelling is typically done in mildly sloping lands where farmers use surface irrigation
methods such as furrows, borders, basins or floods. It ensures uniform distribution of irrigation
water in the root zone of the crop. It also helps in seeding and managing the crop better, which
means that the yield and quality of the crop is better.

5. Which kind of seeds should farmers use?

Farmers should use good-quality seeds that are clean, healthy and give high yield. Selection of
the right variety of seeds depends on the soil, climate, irrigation method, and other regional
factors.

The Ministry of Agriculture in India has set up a national-level organization called the National
Seeds Corporation (NSCC) that tests the quality of seeds. State Seeds Corporations and
Agricultural Universities have also set up seed testing laboratories throughout India. These labs
test seeds for their:

 purity,
 resistance to diseases and pests,
 germination and vigor,
 suitability to regional climatic conditions, and
 general seed health.

6. How to separate damaged seeds from healthy seeds?

Put the seeds in water. Damaged seeds are hollow and lighter and thus, float on water. Good
and healthy seeds sink in water and settle down.

7. What precautions should be taken while sowing?

While sowing seeds, it is essential to make sure that:

 Seeds are healthy and of high quality.

 They are planted at correct distance from each other so that they can get proper light,
water and nutrients from soil.
 They must be sown deep enough to protect them from animals and birds (which might
eat them) and wind (which might blow them away) but not so deep that they may not
get enough air to germinate.

8. Why it is better to sow seeds uniformly?

Seeds should be planted at appropriate distance to avoid overcrowding of plants. It allows

plants to get proper sunlight as well as sufficient water and nutrients from the soil.

9. Why are plants kept in small bags in nursery?

Few plants (like paddy, forest plants, and flowering plants) are first grown in a nursery into
seedlings and then, transplanted manually. Keeping the seedlings in bags makes it easier to
transfer them to another place.

10. Why are manure and fertilizers added to the soil?

When crop after crop is grown in the same field, the soil becomes poor in certain nutrients.
Manure and fertilizers are added to the soil to replenish it with nutrients to ensure healthy
growth of plants.

11. What are different types of manure that farmers can use?

Manure can be of various types, such as:

Natural Organic Manure: This includes raw manure, compost, and green manure:

 Raw manure is a mixture of cattle and domestic waste.

  Compost is well-rotted plant and animal residue.
 Green Manure are crops grown in the field as the pure crop or as an intercrop between
the main crops - and then, buried in the field to enrich the soil.

Biofertilizers: These are the nitrogen-fixing organisms that are widely used in organic farming
and make agriculture sustainable. These include Rhizobium, Azotobacter, blue-green algae, and
Mycorrizae (a type of fungi that increases phosphorus uptake in fruit crops like papaya and
citrus fruits).
Vermi-Compost: It is a type of compost which is made using earthworms.

12. What are the three methods of replenishing the soil with nutrients?

The three methods of replenishing the soil are:

 Adding organic manure to the soil,

 Adding chemical fertilizers to the soil,
 Leaving the field uncultivated (or fallow) between two crops, and
 Crop rotation, in which different crops are grown alternately to allow the soil to
replenish with different nutrients.
13. Why is Manure better than Fertilizers?

Organic Manure is better than fertilizers because:

 It adds humus to the soil and increases its water holding capacity,
 Improves soil texture,
 Makes soil porous which makes exchange of gases easier, and
 Increases the number of friendly microbes.

14. State an example of Crop Rotation

 In North India, farmers used to grow legumes in one season as fodder and wheat in the
next season. This helped the soil to get replenished with nitrogen.
 Root nodules of leguminous plants have Rhizobium bacteria that fix atmospheric
nitrogen and make it usable by plants.
15. Why is Irrigation necessary?

Irrigation is essential because:

 Plants contain 90% water and need it for proper growth and development.
 When roots absorb water, they also absorb minerals and fertilisers.
 Germination of seeds does not take place in dry conditions.
 Nutrients dissolved in water get transport to different parts of the plant.
 Water also protects crops from frost and hot air currents.

16. What are the traditional Methods of Irrigation? Explain it briefly.

Traditional irrigation methods can be of two types:

 Ones that use cattle and human labour: They are cheaper but less efficient. These include:

Moat (Pulley System)

 Chain Pump Dhekli

Rahat (Lever System)

17. Explain the modern Methods of Irrigation.

They are best for saving water. Two main irrigation methods in use today are:

Sprinkler system and Drip System.

Sprinkler system

Best for places where:

 land is uneven, and

 sufficient water is not available.
 It has perpendicular pipes, with rotating nozzles on top, joined to the main pipeline at
regular intervals. Water flows through the main pipeline under pressure (created with
the help of a pump). It escapes from rotating nozzles and sprinkles on the crop like rain.
 Sprinkler system

 Drip System

Best for places where availability of water is poor.

Water falls drop-by-drop directly near the roots of the crop. There is no wastage of water at all.

Often used in watering:

 Fruit Plants,
 Gardens, and
 Trees

18. How does over-irrigation harmful for crop production?

Like irregular or under-irrigation, excessive water can also damage crops. In a waterlogged field:

 Seeds do not germinate properly as they do not get sufficient air to respire,

 Roots do not grow properly due to lack of proper soil aeration,

 Water evaporates more which leads to accumulation of salt which in turn damages soil
fertility, and

 Roots do not go deep in soil and hence, plants are not able to get full nutrients from the
soil. Roots are also unable to anchor the plants properly and the crop can easily get
damaged by strong winds.

19. Why is weeding necessary?

Removal of weeds is essential because:

 Weeds compete with crops for space, light, water, and nutrients.
 They may interfere in harvesting and can be poisonous for animals and human beings.

20. How do farmers remove weeds?

Farmers remove weeds by:

 Tilling before sowing of crops (to uproot and kill weeds),

 Manually removing them using khurpi to uproot them or cut them close to the ground,

 Spraying weedicides (chemicals that kill weeds but do not damage crops), such as 2, 4
Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D), Naphthalene acetic acid, and Atrazine.

21. What should farmers keep in mind while using weedicides?

  The best time to remove weeds is before they produce flowers and seeds.
 Weedicides are diluted with water and sprayed in the fields. Farmers should cover their
nose and mouth with a piece of cloth while spraying them.

22. What is Harvesting?

 The process of cutting and gathering mature crops from the field with sickle is called
harvesting.
 Harvesting can be done manually (using sickle) or by machine (called Harvester).
 After harvesting, separating chaff from grain can be done
through threshing and winnowing.
 Threshing is separating chaff from grain by beating the crop against a stone or wooden
bar. In this process, grains fall from the stalk due to force.

 After threshing, winnowing separates the husk from the seeds by blowing air through it.
In this process, the husk (which is lighter) flies away and the seeds (which are heavier)
fall down.
 23. How are grains protected from pests, bacteria and fungi?

 Grains (seeds) are dried in the sun to reduce their moisture.

 At small scale, grains are stored in jute bags or metallic bins.
 At large scale, they are kept in silos and granaries.
 Dried neem leaves are used at home to protect food grains.
 In big godowns, chemical treatments are done to protect the large quantities of grain.

24. What precautions should be taken during storage of grains?

Precautions to be taken during storage of food grains are:

 Grains should be dried properly or they might rot easily.

 They should be stored in completely dry gunny bags.
 The bags should be kept in a place which is completely moisture-free.
 Storage areas should be well-ventilated.
 In larger godowns, care should be taken that chemicals used to repel or kill insects and rats
do not contaminate food grains.

25. What do you mean by animal husbandry?

When animals are reared at a large scale to obtain food from them, it is called Animal
Husbandry.

Animal husbandry includes taking care of animals, breeding them, and domesticating them for
different purposes such as meat, wool, milk, eggs, honey etc. Types of animal husbandry
popular in India include:

 Beekeeping or Apiculture
 Cattle farming
 Dairy farming
 Fish Farming or Aquaculture
 Poultry farming
 Sheep farming