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Chapter 1 Crop Production and Management

Crop

Plants of the same kind that are grown and cultivated as a source of
food in a large cultivable land is called a crop.

Types of crops

There are mainly two type of crop kharif and rabi crop

Agricultural practices

All the activities that farmers undertake during cultivation of crops is referred as
agricultural practices

add manure protecting

preparation sowing and Irrigation from harvesting
of soil fertilisers weeds

Preparation of soil

➢ It is the first step before growing a crop.

➢ This method employed for loosening the soil.
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➢ This allow the soil to penetrate deep into the soil and root can
breathe easily even when they are deep into the soil.

Tilling or ploughing

➢ The process of loosening and turning the soil is called tilling or

ploughing

➢ The tilling of soil brings the nutrient rich soil to top. So that plants
can utilize the nutrient for their growth and function .

➢ The loosing of soil helps in the growth of earthworm and

microbes present in the soil .as the organisms are friends of
farmer as they further add humus to the loosen soil.

➢ This is done with the use of plough it is made up of wood and

iron

➢ If the soil is dry it may need watering before ploughing because

it have big clumps of soil known as crumbs it is necessary to
break this crumbs .
➢ Levelling the field is beneficial for sowing as well as irrigation
➢ Levelling is done with the help of leveller

Agricultural implements (Plough)

This is being used from ancient time

A plough is a device that is used by farmers for different purposes,
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such as adding fertilizers, tilling and loosening the soil. It is also used
for adding fertilizers to the soil, removing weeds, scraping of soil, etc.
now a days wooden plough is replaced with iron plough

(hoe)

It is simple tool which is used for removing weeds and for loosening
the soil it work as a blade it is pulled by animal

cultivator

• A cultivator is attached to the tractor and

helps in loosening soil.
• Cultivators are used instead of ploughs
since they are faster and same labour and
time

Sowing
• Sowing is the process of planting seeds in the soil.
• The seeds are sowed in the soil that is loosened by a cultivator or plough.

Quality of the Seeds

• The quality of the seed is an important factor that determines the crop yield.
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• The selection of good seeds is done by putting the seeds in water.
• The dead and damaged seeds become hollow and float on water, whereas the good seeds
sink.

Traditional Tools
1)Before the advent of modern agricultural
machinery, traditional tools were used by farmers.
2)These include ploughs, shovels, scythes and
pickaxes.
3)The traditional tool used to sow the seeds was
like a funnel.
4)Once seeds were put into this funnel, they would
go into 2-3 tubes having sharp ends.
5)The ends will pierce into the soil and place the
seeds there.

Seed Drill

• Seed drills are used for sowing with

the help of tractors.
• It ensures that seeds are sown
uniformly, at a particular depth and
are covered by soil after sowing

Appropriate distance between seeds is necessary to avoid overcrowding of

plant tis allow plant to get sufficient sunlight nutrients and water from the soil
Manure and fertilisers
➢ The substances which are added to the soil in the form of nutrients for health growth
of plant are called manure and fertilisers
➢ Continuous cultivation of crop makes the soil poor in nutrients therefor farmer have
to add manure. This process in know as manuring
Manure
manure is an organic substance obtained from the decomposition of plant and animal
wastes ex. cow dung, slurry from biogas plant. The use of manure improves soil texture as
well as water retaining capacity.
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How farmers make manure
The farmer dumps the wastes in pit at open place and allow it to decompose. It is caused by
microorganisms this process is known as vermicomposting
Advantages of Manure: The organic manure is considered better than fertilisers. This is
because it enhances the water holding capacity of the soil’s it makes the soil porous due to
which exchange of gases becomes easy it increases the number of friendly microbes. l it
improves the texture of the soil.

Fertilisers
➢ Fertilisers are chemicals which are rich in a particular nutrient.
Some ex. Are urea, ammonium, sulphate, super phosphate, potash, NPK (nitrogen,
phosphorus, potassium)
➢ The use of fertilisers helps the farmer to get better yield of crop such as paddy maize,
wheat.
➢ But excessive use of fertiliser can make the soil less fertile it also pollutes water

➢ Another method of replenishing the soil with nutrients is through crop rotation
This can be done by growing different crop alternatively.

➢ Earlier farmers from northern India used to grow legumes as fodder in one season and
wheat in the next season this help in replenishing soil with nitrogen
➢ Rhizobium bacteria. These are present in the nodules of roots of leguminous plants.
They fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Disadvantages of Using Fertilizers

• Excessive use of fertiliser can cause pollution.

• It can also change the pH of the soil in certain rare cases.

➢ Plants contain nearly 90% water.

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➢ Nutrients dissolved in water are transported to each part of the plant. Water
also protects the crop from both frost and hot air currents. To maintain the
moisture of the soil for healthy crop growth, fields have to be watered
regularly.
Irrigation
➢ The supply of water to crops at regular intervals is called irrigation.
➢ The time and frequency of irrigation varies from crop to crop, soil to soil and
season to season.
➢ In summer, the frequency of watering is higher.
Sources of irrigation: The sources of water for irrigation
are— wells, tubewells, ponds, lakes, rivers, dams and
canals.

Traditional Methods of irrigation

Cattle or human labour issued in these methods. So these methods are
cheaper, but less efficient. The various traditional ways are:(i) moat
(pulley-system) (ii)chain pump(iii) Dhekli, and(iv) Rahat (Lever system)

➢ Pumps are commonly used

for lifting water. Diesel,
biogas, electricity and solar
energy is used to run these
pumps.
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Modern Methods of Irrigation
Modern methods of irrigation help us to use water economically. The main
methods used are as follows

Sprinkler/spray irrigation
is the method of applying water to a controlled manner in
that is similar to rainfall.
How this works

This system is more useful on the uneven land where sufficient

water is not available. The perpendicular pipes, having rotating
nozzles on top, are joined to the main pipeline at regular intervals.
When water is allowed to flow through the main pipe under
pressure with the help of a pump, it escapes from the rotating
nozzles. It gets sprinkled on the crop as if it is raining. Sprinkler is
very useful for lawns, coffee plantation and several other crop

Drip system
In this system, the water falls drop by drop directly near the roots
How this work
So it is called drip system. It is the best technique for watering fruit plants,
gardens and trees Water is not wasted at all. It is a boon in regions where
availability of water is poor.
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Weed
In a field many other undesirable plants may grow naturally along with the crop.
These undesirable plants are called weeds
Weeding
The removal of weeds is called weeding. Weeding is necessary since
weeds compete with the crop plants for water, nutrients, space and
light.
Some weeds interfere even in harvesting and may be poisonous for animals and
human beings
The best time for the removal of weeds is before they produce flowers
and seeds.
Tilling
Tilling before sowing of crops helps in uprooting and killing of weeds,
which may then dry up and get mixed with the soil.
The manual removal includes physical removal of weeds by uprooting
or cutting them close to the ground, from time to time. This is done
with the help of a khurpi. A seed drill is also used to uproot weeds
Weedicides
➢ Weeds are also controlled by using certain chemicals, called
weedicides, like 2,4-D.
➢ These are sprayed in the fields to kill the weeds.
➢ They do not damage the crops.
➢ The weedicides are diluted with water to the extent required and
sprayed in the fields with a sprayer.
➢ Spraying of weedicides may affect the health of farmers. So they
should use these chemicals very carefully. They should cover their
nose and mouth with a piece of cloth during spraying of these
chemicals.
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Harvesting

Harvesting of a crop is an important task. The cutting of crop

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.

Methods of Harvesting

• Harvesting is done by two methods.

• First is the manual method, where a sickle is used.
• Second is the mechanical method, where a huge
machine called a harvester is used.
the grain seeds need to be separated from the chaff. This process is
called threshing
This is carried out with the help of a machine called ‘combine’ which is
in fact a harvester as well as a thresher
Farmers with small holdings of land do the separation of grain and chaff
by winnowing
Storage
Storage of produce is an important task. If the harvested grains are to
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be kept for longer time,
they should be safe from moisture, insects, rats and microorganisms.
before storing them, the grains are properly dried in the sun to reduce
the moisture in them. This prevents the attack by insect pests, bacteria
and fungi.
Farmers store grains in jute bags or metallic bins. However, large scale
storage of grains is done in silos and granaries to protect them from
pests like rats and insects
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Dried neem leaves are used for storing food grains at home. For storing
large quantities of grains in big go downs,

Animal Husbandry
• Animal husbandry is the management and care of farm animals for milk, egg or meat.

Winnowing

• Winnowing is the process that separates grain seeds from the chaff
using the help of the wind.
• Due to the wind, the lighter chaff flies away, and the heavier grains
fall down.

Leaving the Land Fallow

• When land is left fallow for a certain period of time, the land replenishes its nutrients by itself.
• This land can be used for agriculture again.

Crop Rotation

• Crop rotation ensures that the same crop will not grow continuously and lead to the erosion
of soil fertility.
• By growing crops that require different sets of nutrients, we can ensure that soil fertility is
restored.

Granaries:
The harvested grains, usually are stored in huge stores, after
they are’ properly dried in sunlight. Such stores are called granaries.

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