2. The science that deals with the growth of
plants & animals
for human
use is called Agriculture. In broad sense
agriculture include :
Cultivation of the soil (soil management)
Growing & harvesting of crops (crop
farming)
Growing & harvesting of
vegetables, fruits, flowers & decorative
plants (horticulture)
Breeding & raising of livestock
including poultry (animal husbandry)
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3. 3
MEANING OF AGRICULTURE?
Agriculture is a primary
activity & is closely related to
the natural environment . The
term agriculture has been
derived from the Latin word
‘Ager’ meaning field &
‘cultura’ meaning cultivation.
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4. 4
The
first great revolution in human history was
the spread of agriculture which can be traced
back to the growing of wheat and barley
about 10,000 years ago. Learning to grow
crops meant that humans no longer had to
wander around for food, and could settle
down in communities. They also started
domesticating animals for food and other
purposes. It was now possible to sustain a
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large population at one place.
5. The land where plants are cultivated is known as a
field. Plants grown in large quantities in a field are
known as crop or crop plants.
The products obtained from these crops are called
produce.
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7. RABI CROPS
KHARIF CROPS
Rabi crop(winter
crop) is the spring
harvest in India, &
usually spans from
mid/late October to
mid/late March,
when the crop is
harvested. The
term “Rabi” means
“Spring” in Arabic.
Kharif crop(summer
or monsoon crop) is
the autumn harvest
in India, & usually
spans from mid/late
April to mid/late
September. The
term Kharif means
“Autumn” in Arabic.
Example- Wheat.
Example- rice.
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9. 1)Preparation of soil
Soil is the natural medium for plants
to grow. It is
prepared for
cultivation by
Ploughing/Tilling
and Levelling.
To prevent the loose soil from being
eroded by wind or water, it is
levelled using a wooden or an iron
leveller. This also ensures uniform
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irrigation.
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10. Seeds used for sowing should be of good
quality, healthy, viable{capable of doing there task}
and free of infections. Adequate care must be taken while
sowing seeds.
Seeds must be grown at a correct depth in
the soil. If they are planted too deep they
will not be able to respire & if on the
surface they will be eaten by birds.
The soil should have enough water for
seeds to germinate. They would however
not germinate if excess of water in the
soil.
Seeds should be planted at right distance
from each other. If they are planted too
close they will have to share water,
sunlight & nutrients. Planting them too
far is wastage of land.
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11. 3) Manuring
Plants require certain nutrients for their proper growth. Plants
obtain carbon from air, oxygen from air and water and
hydrogen from water. the remaining nutrients are obtained
from the soil.
The elements in soil get used up when the land is cultivated
for a long time. Fallow is an old method of allowing the soil
to regenerate the lost nutrients by leaving it free .However
this method is not applicable due to high
demand of food.
Since each crop uses more of one
element,
some farmers grow alternate crops so
the
land is not drained of any one nutrient.
This is called crop rotation. For
example,
after the season of wheat or
rice which uses
a lot of
nitrogen, a legume can be grown as
it
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fixes nitrogen Motwani
unable nitrogen. The soil is then ready
for the next wheat or rice crop.
12. However, the previous methods alone
are not enough to maintain fertility of
the soil and farmers have to add
manures or fertilizers from time to
time .There are two ways of doing
this:-
Organic method which involves using
organic manures.
Inorganic method which involves
using fertilizers made by humans.
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14. 4) Irrigation
Due to unpredictable & uneven
rainfall, it is important to supply
water to the fields. Irrigation is
the artificial supply of water to
farms when needed.
Drip irrigation
Traditional methods of
irrigation include swing basket
method, Persian wheel(Rahat
system) and rope & bucket with
pulley system(moat).
Modern methods include
sprinkler irrigation & drip
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irrigation.
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Persian wheel
15. 5) Weeding
Weeding is the removal of unwanted
plants(weeds) that grow along with
crops. Some common weeds are wild
oat, chaulai, grass.
Manual weeding
Weeding can be done manually or by
using a trowel or harrow. Weeding
can also be done by spraying
weedicides(herbicites) which
destroy the weeds but not the crop.
Some common weedicides are
Dalapon, Siniazine and Picloram.
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Weedicides
16. Weevils
Ground beetle
6) CROP PROTECTION
Crops are attacked by many types of organisms(pests) &
microorganism. We can get rid of them by chemical control and
biological control. Chemical control involves spraying the ground
with a chemical substance which kills the pests. Biological control
involves making use of another organisms that kills the pests.
Aphid
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Locust
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17. 7)Harvesting
Harvesting is the cutting and
gathering of the mature crop
from the fields in small farms
grains are harvested manually
using a sickle. In larger farms
it is done by expansive and
sophisticated farm machinery
like the combine
harvester, which does bothharvesting as well as
threshing.
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Combine harvester
Manual harvesting
18. 8) Storage
Food products obtained from the
crops after harvesting have to be
preserved and stored for future use.
Proper storage ensures that food is
free from infestation by fungi &
insects. It can be made available
throughout the year &
transported to different
places easily.
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A Grain silo
