Science class 8 // important notes // Ak learning //Ak Raj.

Ch-01

          CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

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Notes…!        

Till 10,000 B.C.E people were nomadic. They were wandering in groups from place to place in search of food and shelter.They ate raw fruits and vegetables and started hunting the animals foe food . Later they could cultivate land produce rice, wheat and other food crops. Thus was born ”AGRICULTURE”.

• CROPS:-

When the same kind of plants are grown and cultivated at one place on a large scale. This is known as crops.

• Types of crops:- 1. cereals,2. vegetables,3. fruits

 

• India is a vast country. The climatic conditions like temperature,humidity and rainfall vary from one region to another.Accordingly, there is a rich variety of crops grown in many parts of our country.

• There are two broad cropping pattern are:-

• Kharif crops
• Rabi crops

• KHARIF CROPS:- The crops which are grown in the rainy season are called kharif crops. The rainy season in India generally from JUNE TO SEPTEMBER.

EXAMPLES:-

• Paddy
• Maize
• Soyabean
• Groundnut
• Cotton

• Paddy requires a lot of water. Therefore, it is grown only in the rainy season.  

• RABI CROPS:- The crops grown in the winter season(OCTOBER TO MARCH)are called rabi crops.

EXAMPLE:-

• Wheat
• Gram
• Pea
• Mustard
• Linseed

AGRICULTURE PRACTICES:-

Cultivation of crops involves several activities undertaken by farmers over a long period of time.these activities or tasks referred to as agriculture practices.

• some are listed below:-

• Preparation of soil
• Sowing
• Adding Manure and Fertilisers
• Irrigation
• Protecting from weeds
• Harvesting
• Storage

1.2 PREPARATION  OF SOIL:-

The preparation of soil is the first step before growing crops.It is the most important task in agriculture is to turn the soil and loosen it.

• This allows the roots to penetrate deep into the soil.
• The loose soil allows the roots to breathe easily even when they go deep into the soil.
• The loosened soil helps in the growth of earthworms and microbes present in soil.These are the friends of the farmer since they turned the loosen soil into humus.
• The loosening and turning the soil is called tilling or ploughing.

1.3 AGRICULTURE IMPLEMENTS

Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to break soil clumps to get better yield.This is done with the help of various tools

• Plough
• Hoe
• Cultivator

• PLOUGH:- This has been  used since ancient times for tilling the soil, adding fertilisers to the crops, removing the weeds and turning the soil.

• HOE :- It is a simple tool which is used for removing weeds and for loosening the soil.

• CULTIVATOR:- Nowadays, ploughing is done by tractor-driver cultivators. The use of the save the effort and time.

1.4 SOWING

Sowing is the important part of crop production.Before sowing,good quality,clean and healthy seeds are selected. Farmers prefer to use seeds which give high yield.

• Traditional tool:- Those tools used traditionally for sowing seeds is shaped like a funnel. The seeds are filled into the funnel, passed down through two three pipes having  sharp ends.These ends pierce into the soil and place seeds there.
• Seed drill:- Nowadays the seed drill is used for sowing with the help of tractors. This sows the seeds uniformly at equal distance and depth.It ensures that seeds get covered by the soil after sowing. This protects seeds from being eaten by birds. Sowing by using a seed drill saves time and labour.

• Seeds of few plant such as paddy are first grown nursery. When they into seedlings, they are transplanted to the field manually. Some forest plants and flowering plants are also grown nursery.

1.5 ADDING MANURE AND FERTILISERS

The substances which are added to the soil in  the form of nutrients for the healthy growth of plants are called manure and fertilisers.

• Continuous growing of crops makes the soil poorer in certain nutrients. Therefore,Farmers have to add manure or fertilisers to the soil/ field to replenish the soil with nutrients. This process is called manuring.

MANURE:-

Manure Is a organic substance obtained from the decomposition of  plants and animals wastes. Farmers dump plant and animals waste in a pit at open place and allow it to decompose. The decomposition is caused by microorganisms.

THE USE OF MANURE:-

• It improves the soil texture.
• It provides the nutrients to the soil.
• It increase the water retaining (holding) capacity.

    ADVANTAGES OF MANURE:-

• It enhance the water holding capacity of the soil.
• It makes the soil porous due to which exchange of gases becomes easy.
• It increases the number of friendly microbes.
• It improves the  texture of the soil.

FERTILISERS:-

Fertilisers are chemical substances which are rich in particular nutrients.It is produce by factories.some fertilisers are like Urea,Ammonium sulphate,super phosphate, potash, NPK (Nitrogen,phosphorus,potassium). It helps the farmers to get better yield of crops suhc as wheat,paddy and maize.

EXCESSIVE  USE OF FERTILISERS:-

• It makes the soil less fertile.
• It also become a source of water pollution

REPLENISHING THE SOIL WITH NUTRIENT:-

• Therefore, in order to maintain the fertility of the soil.we have to substitute fertilisers by organic manure or leave the field uncultivated (fallow)in between two crops.
• Another way to replenishing the soil with nutrient is through crop rotation (The production of growing different crops in succession on the same land cheifly to preserve the productive capacity of the soil.

1.6 IRRIGATION:-

All living beings need water to live.Water is important for proper growth and development of plant.Water is absorbed by the roots along with the minerals and fertilisers.Water is very essential because germination of seeds does not take place under dry conditions.

The supply of water to the crops at different intervals are called irrigation.

SOURCE OF IRRIGATION:-

• Wells
• Tubewells
• Ponds
• Lakes
• Rivers
• Dams
• Canals

TRADITIONAL METHODS OF IRRIGATION

1. Moat(pulley-system)
2. Chain pump
3. Dhekli
4. Rahat(lever system)

MODERN METHODS OF IRRIGATION

1. Sprinkler system
2. Drip system

• Sprinkler system:-This system is more useful on the uneven land where sufficient  water is not available.It is useful for sandy soil.

• Drip system:- In this system the water falls drop by drop just at the roots of the plant.So, it is called drip system.It is the best technique for watering fruit plants,gardens and trees.

1.7 PROTECTION FROM WEEDS

In the fields many other undesirable/unwanted plants may grow naturally along with the crops. These undesirable/unwanted plants are called weeds.

• Weeding is necessary since weeds compete with the crop plant for water,nutrients,space and light.Thus they affect the growth of the crop.Some weeds interfere even in harvesting and may be poisonous for animals and humans.

Farmers adopt many ways to remove weeds:-

1. Tilling
2. Manual removals (by uprooting and cutting)
3. Weedicides

    :-It is used during the vegetative growth of weeds before flowering and fruit formation.

Spraying weedicides may affect the health of farmers. So they should cover their nose and mouth with a piece of cloth during  spraying these chemicals.

1.8 HARVESTING:-

• Harvesting of crops is an important task. The cutting of crops after it is mature is called harvesting. In harvesting crops are pulled out or cut close to the ground.It usually takes 3 to 4 months for a cereal crop to mature.It is usually done by a machine called harvester.
• The grain seeds used to be separated from the chaff. This process is called threshing. This is carried out with the help of a machine called "combine"
• Farmers with the small holding of land do the separation of grain by winnowing.

1.9 STORAGE:-

• Storage produce  is an important task. Farmer store the grain in jute bags or metallic bins. Large scale of grains is done in silos and granaries to protect them from pests like rats and insects.
• Dried neem leaves are used for storing food grains at home. For storing large quantities of grains in big godown,specific chemical treatments are required to protect them from pests and microorganisms.

• ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with the animals that are raised for meat,fibre,milk,egg or other products. It includes day-to-day care , selective breeding and the raising of livestock.