Class IX BIOLOGY

Need to improve crop

production
As population of India is
increasing day by day there
is also a need to increase
the production of crops.
 What are the various
ways to improve crop
production
• The major group activities for
improving crop yield can be
classified as :
• Crop variety improvement
• Crop production
improvement
• Crop protection
management
Crop variety improvement
• The approach in crop variety improvement
depends on finding a crop variety that can
give a good yield. Varieties for strain crops
can be selected by breeding for various
characteristics such as disease
resistance , response to fertilisers,
production quality and high yields .One
way of incorporating desirable characters
into crop varieties is by hybridization.
 Hybridisation
• Hybridisation refers to crossing
between two genetically dissimilar
plants each having at least one
desired to incorporate both desired
characters in single variety . This
crossing may be inter varietal
(between two different species) and
inter specific (between two different
species of same genus).
Desired characteristics
in crops
• Higher yield .
• Better Quality .
• Resistance to biotic and
abiotic factors
• Reduction in maturation
period.
• Wider adaptability.
Crop production management
– In India, farming ranges from small
to very large farms. Different
farmers thus have less land ,
money and access to information
and technologies. There is a
correlation between higher inputs
and yields .Thus the farmers
purchasing capacity for inputs
decides cropping system and
production practices. Therefore
What does crop production
management include
• Nutrient management
• Irrigation
• Cropping patterns
 Nutrient management
• Just as we need food for
development ,growth and well being
plants also require nutrients for
growth .Nutrients are supplied to plants
by air water and soil. There are sixteen
nutrients essential for plants .Soil
provides them thirteen nutrients and rest
all they get from surroundings. That is
why to maintain the fertility of soil
manure and fertilisers are added to it.
 Macronutrients:
The essential elements, which are utilized by plants relatively in
large quantities, are called macronutrients.
Micronutrients:
The essential elements, which are used by plants in small
quantities, are called micronutrients.
Effect of Deficiency of nutrients
Deficiency of these nutrients affects physiological processes in
plants including reproduction, growth and susceptibility to
diseases.
Source Nutrients Type

Air Carbon (C), Oxygen (O) Macronutrient

Water Hydrogen (H) Macronutrient

Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Macronutrient

Calcium (C), Magnesium (Mg), Sulphur (S)
Soil
Iron (Fe), Maganese (Mn), Boron (B), Zinc (Zn),
Copper (Cu), Molybdenum (Mo), Chlorine (Cl) Micronutrient
 Manure
• Manure contains large amount of organic
matter and also supplies small quantities of
nutrients to the soil. Manure is prepared by
the decomposition of animal excreta and
plant waste. It increases the fertility of soil
and improves the structure of the soil .In
sandy soils it increases the water holding
capacity and in clayey soil organic matter
helps in drainage .Manure is of two types.
Green manure and compost and vermi
compost .
 Green manure and compost
manure
• Green manure -Prior to the sowing of crop seeds
some plants like sun hemp or guar are grown and
then mulched by ploughing them into the soil
these plants form green manure which helps in
increase of nitrogen and phosphorus in soil.
• Compost and vermi-compost--The process in
which farm waste material like livestock vegetable
waste sewage waste etc .is decomposed in pits is
known as composting .To fasten the decomposition
of waste the red worms are put in the pit this
process is known as vermi compost.
 Fertilisers
• Fertilisers are commonly used plant nutrients.
They are made in factories and are man made .
They supply nitrogen phohosphorus and
potassium to plants . They are ensured to use
good vegetative growth giving rise to healthy
plant . Fertilisers are factor of higher yields of
high cost . But excessive use of fertilisers have
adverse effect on soil . Fertilisers get washed
away with excessive irrigation. Fertilisers also
harm the useful micro organisms of soil . The
fertilisers give short term benefits whereas
manure gives long term benefits.
• Organic farming is a method of farming using
less or no amount of fertilizers, herbicides,
pesticides etc. This method uses
only organic matters
like organic manures, farm-wastes. It uses
blue green algae in preparation of bio
fertilizers.
 Irrigation
• Most agriculture in India is rain
led ,that is why the success of
crops in most areas is dependant
on timely monsoons . Hence
poor monsoons cause cause crop
failure . Ensuring that the crop
get water at the time of growing
time can give higher yield .
 Methods of irrigation
Wells – There are two types of wells namely dug wells
and tube wells. Water is collected from water bearing
strata . Tube wells can tap more amount of water than
dug ones.
Canals – this usually an elaborate and extensive
irrigation system. In this system canals receive water
from rivers. The main canal is divided into branches
having further distributaries to irrigate fields.
River lift system-In areas where canal flow is
insufficient the water is directly drawn from river .
Tanks- These are small storage reservoirs which
intercept and store the run off of smaller catchment
areas
Cropping Systems
 Cropping patterns
• Crop Rotation: Example Planting maize one
year, and beans the next. Crop Rotation means
changing the type of crops grown in the field
each season or each year (or changing from
crops to fallow).
• Crop rotation is a key principle of agriculture
conservation because it improves the soil
structure and fertility, and because it helps
control weeds, pests and diseases.
 Croping patterns
• Intercropping: Examples- Planting alternating rows of
maize and beans, or growing a cover crop in between
the cereal rows. Intercropping means growing two or
more crops in the same field at the same time.
• Mixed Intercropping: Distribution of the seeds of both
the crops, or dibbling the seeds without any row
arrangement. This process is called mixed
intercropping. It is easy to do but makes weeding,
fertilization and harvesting difficult. Individual plants
may compete with each other because they are too
close together.
 Crop protection management
weeds
• Field crops are infested by a large number of weeds ,
insect pests and diseases. If weeds and pests are not
controlled at the appropriate time then they can
damage the crops so much that most of the crop is
lost
• Weeds are unwanted plants in the cultivated field ,
for example, gokhru ,gajarghaas , motha etc.
• Weeds take up the nutrients and reduce the growth
of the crop .Weeds should be taken out at right time
as they cause problem at the time of maturation of
the crop. Weeds can be removed out by use of
weedicides . It can also been removed deep
ploughing at the time of summer
 Storage of grains
• Storage losses in agriculture produce can be
very high. Factors responsible for such losses are
• biotic:insects, rodents, fungi, mites and bacteria
• abiotic factors: inappropriate temperatures and
moisture in the place of storage. These factors
cause reduction in weight all leading to poor
marketability. These factors can be controlled by
proper and systematic management. The use of
chemicals can kill pests and save the crop from
loss.
 Cattle Farming
• Cattle farming is done for two purposes:
Dairy: for getting milk.
Draught: animals are used for agricultural tasks like tilling,
irrigation and carting.
On the above basis, the cattle are divided into two
categories:
Milch breeds (dairy animals): These include the animals
which are kept for obtaining milk. Indian milch cattle belong
to two different species- Cows (Bos indicus) and Buffaloes
(Bos bubalis).
Draught animals: These animals are used in agriculture and
transportation
Breeds of cow Breeds of buffaloes

Indigenous breeds Exotic breeds Cross-breeds

Murrah, Meshsana and Surti

Jersey, Brown
Sahiwal, Gir, Red
Swiss, Holstein- Karan Swiss, karan
Sindhi, Tharparkar
friesian Fries, Frieswal
Maintenance requirement: The food which helps in maintaining
Food requirement of dairy animals: It is of two types:

normal metabolic activities of the body.

Milk producing requirement: The food which is required during the
lactation period. Components of cattle feed- roughage and
concentrate.
Roughage: It largely contains fibres such as green fodder, silage, hay
and legumes like berseem, cowpea.
Concentrates: It is low in fibres but contains relatively high proteins
and other nutrients. It includes cotton seeds, oilseeds, oats, barley,
gram and their by-products like wheat, beans and molasses etc.
Cattle need balanced rations containing all nutrients in proportionate
amounts. Besides such nutritious food material, certain feed additives
containing micronutrients promote the health and milk output of
dairy animals.
 Diseases of cattle:
The diseases of dairy animals are broadly classified as:
Diseases caused by parasites (external parasites are
tick mite, lice and internal parasites are worms)
Communicable (infectious) diseases caused by
pathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi etc.
Non-communicable (non-infectious) diseases caused
due to deficiency of nutrients or malfunctioning of
body organs.
BEE KEEPING
The act of rearing, raising and caring of honey bee
on a large scale to obtain honey and wax from
them is called apiculture.
 Varieties of bees used for profitable honey
production are as follows:
Apis dorsata (Rock bee)
Apis florea (Little bee)
Apis indica (Indian bee)
Apis mellifica (European bee)
The quality depends upon the following
factors:
Pasturage or the kind of flowers availableto the
bees to collect the nectar and pollen grains.
Kind of flowers available determines the taste.