Improvement in food resources

• We need to improve food resources for the following

reasons: 1) To improve the quality and nutritional
value of food. ... 3) To make the food products and
crops free from diseases and pests. 4) To reduces the
cost of the food products and increase their
availability.
Cropping Season Crops
1. Rabi Wheat, barley, peas, gram,
mustard etc.

2. Kharif Rice, maize, jowar , bajra , tur,

moong, urad, cotton, jute,
groundnut, soybean etc.

3. Zaid Seasonal fruits, vegetables,

fodder crops etc.
• Consider these 9 tips, techniques, and methods
regarding how to increase your crop yield
• Plant Early, Plant Effectively. ...
• Practice Seasonal Soil Rotation. ...
• Know The Yield Potential. ...
• Always Scout Your Fields. ...
• Ensure Proper Water Drainage. ...
• Utilize Fertilizers. ...
• Test Your Soil. ...
• Weed Early and Often.
• What are the three major groups of activities
for improving crop yields?
• There are three basic approaches that are
adopted in our country to
increase the yield from agricultural fields.
They are:
• Crop variety improvement.
• Crop production management.
• Crop protection management
Crop variety improvement is the primary step to improve food
crop production. It helps in the development of crops with desired traits such
as high yields, disease resistance, quality product and response to fertilizers.
We can raise different strains of food crops with desirable traits naturally as
well as scientifically. Two of them are as follows:
Hybridization
The crossing of genetically dissimilar plants is referred to as hybridization.
Hybridization may take place between different varieties(intervarietal),
between two different species of the same genus(interspecific) or between
different genera (intergeneric).
Gene Incorporation
Genes are responsible for the traits. Thus, we can improve crop quality and
quantity by incorporating the genes with desirable traits. This method is
more scientific and results in genetically modified food crops.

Crop production is more like a business in many countries. Thus, the strains
we develop must be economically profitable. The new varieties should be
able to produce maximum quality and quantity under different conditions and
regions. Hence, we need to be very selective about seeds for its acceptance.
Why is Crop Variety Improvement Important?
We know resources are very limited but the demands are very high. Thus, the basic
reason for variety improvement is to meet the requirements. However, the quality and
quantity of the crop produced shouldn’t be compromised due to the limited resource
and present scenario. This is why scientist developed different varieties. The different
strains should be able to show maximum productivity under any diverse condition. This
leads to the idea of improvement of food crops variety.
The variety improvement is done for the following reasons.
Higher yield: Crop variety improvement’s main goal is to increase the productivity of
the crop. To develop high yielding variety.
Quality product: To improve the quality of the food crops. The quality of crop depends
on the type of crop. Considering the pulses and grains, they must have good baking
quality. Oil crops should give a quality oil.
Resistance: To develop resistance to both living and non-living factors. Biotic factors
like insects, parasites, diseases, etc. and abiotic factors like hot, cold, drought, salinity,
etc. affect the crop production. Resistant variety can withstand these factors and give a
high yield.
Maturity period: To shorten and to develop uniform maturity period. The short
maturity period of crops helps farmers in multiple rounds of cultivation in less
expenditure during a short period. Also, the uniform maturity of crops helps in easy
harvesting. Thus, overall variety improvement makes the situation more profitable.
Adaptation: To develop tolerance and make crops more adaptable to different
conditions. The crops can be grown even in diverse conditions. For example, crops with
tolerance to high salinity soil.
Desirable agronomic characteristics: To develop desired agronomic characters in
crops. This helps in a higher yield in less expenditure. For example, dwarfness in
cereals helps to reduce the nutrient consumption without affecting the yield.
 Crop Production and Management. The entire world
depends on agriculture for its food. Therefore, it is very
important to produce and store the harvested crops carefully.
The soil should be loosened and aerated properly during crop
production. Manures and fertilizers need to be added
carefully. Crop production and management is necessary to
feed such a large population of India. Increasing risk of
diseases, pests, insects and weeds makes it necessary to
manage the crop properly to get good yield and quality
of crops.
It includes
Nutrient management
Irrigation
Cropping pattern
Nutrient management
Is the process which involves using crop nutrients as efficiently as
possible to improve productivity while protecting the environment. .
Nutrients can be divided into 2 categories: macronutrients,
and micronutrients. Macronutrients are those nutrients that the
body needs in large amounts. These provide the body with energy
(calories). Micronutrients are those nutrients that the body needs in
smaller amounts.
 METHODS OF IRRIGATION
The process of watering plants to ensure that crops get enough quantity of water at proper
phase during their growing season to increase the expected yields of any crop is
called irrigation.
The main sources for irrigation water are groundwater from wells,
surface water, drainage ponds, rain and municipal water
Different types and methods of irrigation are used depending upon the topography, soil
,rainfall, availability of ground water etc. Some of them are-:
1 Canal irrigation- it amounts to about 40% of the total irrigated area in our country.
2 Tank irrigation- it is use full in the areas which are dependent on the rainfall for their water
supply.
3 Wells
Modern methods- : 1 Sprinkler irrigation 2 Drip irrigation 3 Bamboo irrigation system
 Cropping pattern:
In order to get maximum benefits from the piece of land, different
pattern of growing crops are followed. These are:
Mixed cropping
Intercropping
Crop rotation

Mixed cropping:
The practice of cultivating two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land is
called mixed cropping. During mixed cropping, if one crop faces adverse conditions or
pathogen attack then the other crop can be saved.
Objective of mixed cropping: The basic objective in mixed cropping is to minimize the risk and
insure against the crop failure due to abnormal weather conditions.
Crop-combination used in mixed cropping: some important combinations used by farmers
during mixed cropping:
Wheat + Mustard
Groundnut + Sunflower
Wheat + Gram
Cotton + Moong bean
Barley + Chick pea
Intercropping:
The practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in a same
field in definite row pattern is called intercropping. The row pattern
may be in the ratio of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3. It means after one row of main
crop, one, two, or three rows of intercrops can be grown.
Objective of intercropping: The basic objective in intercropping is to
increase the productivity per unit area.
Advantages of intercropping:
It helps to maintain the soil fertility.
It makes better use of resources.
It economizes space and time of cultivation of two or more crops.
Each group can be harvested, threshed and marketed separately.
Crop rotation:
The practice of growing different crops on the same piece of land in a preplanned succession is
called crop rotation.
Depending upon the duration, crop rotation is classified as:
One-year rotation: Rice-Wheat, Maize-Mustard
Two-year rotation: Maize-Mustard-Sugarcane-Fenugreek, Maize-Potato-Sugarcane-Pea
Three-year rotation: Cotton-Sugarcane-Pea-Maize-Wheat, Rice-Wheat-Mung-Mustard-
Sugarcane-Berseem
Advantages of crop rotation:
Fertility of soil maintained for longer period.
The chemical nature of soil is not altered.
It helps in weed and pest control
It saves a lot of nitrogen fertilizers.
 Crop protection management:
Crops plants are infested by large number of weeds, insect pests and diseases. If these weeds, insect pests
and diseases are not controlled at appropriate time, they can damage more than 50% of the crop produced.
Weed and weed control: Weeds are unwanted plants in the cultivated field. For example, Xanthium
(Gokhroo), Amaranthus (Chaulai), Parthenium (Gajar ghas), Chenopodium (Bathua), Avena sativa (Wild oat).
How are weeds harmful to crops:
They compete for food, space and light. Weeds take up nutrients and reduce the growth of the crop.
Weeds may produce toxic substances which may interfere with crop growth.
During harvesting, weeds get mixed up with crop to lower down its quality.
The weeds spread crop pests and diseases by acting as alternate host to insects and microorganisms.
Methods of weed control: Weeds can be controlled by following methods:
Mechanical methods: These include the following methods: uprooting, weeding with towel or khurpi, hand
hoeing (scrapping), interculture, ploughing, burning and flooding.
Culture methods: They include proper bed preparation, timely sowing of crops, intercropping and crop
rotation.
Chemical methods: Destroying the weeds by spraying special chemicals called weedicides like 2,4- D (2,4-
dichlorophenoxy acetic acid), MCPA (2-methyl, 4-chlorophenoxy acetic acid), Atrazine and Butachlor.
Biological methods: It involves the deliberate use of insects or some other organisms which consume and
specifically destroy the weed plants. For example, cochineal insects are used to eradicate the weeds called
Opuntia (prickly pear).
Insect pests and their control: Insects which destroy or damage crop plants are called insect pests. All crops
are attacked by insect pests.
Insect pests attack the plants in three ways:
They cut the root, stem and leaves (Chewing insects).
They suck the cell sap from various parts of the plants (Sucking insects).
They bore into the stem and fruits (Internal feeders).
 Preventive measures of insect pests:
Clean cultivation
Optimum time of sowing the crops
Use of pest resistant varieties
Crop rotation and multiple cropping
Cultural practices
Control of insect pests:
By using pesticides: The chemical used to eliminate pests are called pesticides. Pesticides
include insecticides (for killing the insects), weedicides (for killing the weeds), rodenticides (for
killing rats), and fungicides (for killing the fungi).
By using natural insecticides: Like neem, nicotine, pyrethrum, etc
 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
• Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture
concerned with animals that are raised for
meat, fibre, milk, eggs, or other products. It
includes day-to-day care, selective breeding
and the raising of livestock.
 CATTLE FARMING
• The act of raising cattle like cow, buffaloes and
bullocks, goat, etc. to meet the requirement of
adequate milk production is
called cattle husbandry. Dairy: to get milk.
Draught: The animals used to perform
agricultural tasks like tilling, irrigation and
carting. What are the benefits of cattle
farming?
• The benefits of cattle farming are: 1)
Milch Cattle are used for the production of
 POULTRY FARMING
• Poultry farming is the form of animal
husbandry which raises domesticated birds
such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to
produce meat or eggs for food. It has
originated from the agricultural era. Poultry –
mostly chickens – are farmed in great
numbers.
• Eggs come from hens raised specifically to
lay eggs, but chickens that are raised for meat
are called “broilers.” ... It takes a broiler
 FISH PRODUCTION

•Fish Farming or
pisciculture
involves
raising fish comm
What is meant by Inland
Fisheries?
• Inland fisheries are the
commercial fishing operations taking place in
freshwater. Some of this fishing is
capture fishing, where the fish living naturally
in a body of water are harvested. The other
type of inland fishery is the fish farm,
where fish are raised in tanks or ponds,
generally for human consumption.
• Examples of different type of fishes
• Fresh water fishes: rohu catla common carp ,
bass, trout and catfish
 COMPOSITE FISH CULTURE
• Composite fish culture is a system in which
five or six different species of fishes are grown
together in a single fishpond. Fishes with
different food habitats are chosen so that they
do not compete for food among
themselves. ... This ensures complete
utilization of food resources in the pond
• Advantages of composite fish culture include:
1) Various species of fishes are cultured
altogether.
Example of composite fish culture
• Fishes with different food habitats are chosen
so that they do not compete for food among
themselves. For example, catla feed on the
surface of water, rohu are middle zone
feeders, mrigal and common carp are bottom
feeders, and grass carp feed on weeds. ... Such
a system increases the fish yield.
 BEE KEEPING
Beekeeping is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made hives, by humans.
Most such bees are honey bees in the genus Apis, but other honey-producing bees such as
Melipona stingless bees are also kept
The Top Benefits of Beekeeping:
Save money on local honey. The average jar of local honey can cost you anywhere from $12 to
$18 a pop. ...
Boost your vegetable garden's production. ...
Save money on beeswax. ...
Bee Pollen and Propolis are natural remedies. ...
Sheer enjoyment and entertainment.
Honey and other bee products
HONEY – a sweetener rich in bioactive substances.
POLLEN – a good source of proteins and vitamins.
ROYAL JELLY – an excellent dietary supplement for the elderly.
PROPOLIS – natural antibiotic.
WAX – for softer and younger looking skin.
BEE VENOM – an indispensable ingredient used to desensitise against bee stings.
 SELECTION OF GOOD QUALITY
BEES
Selection of good quality bees
Buy disease free bee colonies from existing beekeepers after getting training on the
subject.
Select and multiply honey bee colonies only from disease resistant, high honey yielding,
young, healthy and high egg laying capacity queen, etc.
Keep colonies with good prolific queens.
EXAMPLES OF LOCAL HONEY BEES
Apis cerana and Apis indica
EXAMPLE PF EXOTIC HONEY BEES:
The rock bee - Apis dorsata (Exotic) (c) Italian bee variety - Apis mellzfera.
Three qualities for which foreign breed are adopted are : (i) Higher honey collecting capacity (ii)
Sting less (iii) Stays in a given beehive for long period (iv) Breeds well.Read more on Brainly.in -
https://brainly.in/question/5560922#readmore
 Exercise
Question 1. What do we get from cereals, pulses, fruits and
vegetables?
Answer: Cereals give carbohydrates which provide energy.
Pulses give proteins which build our body.
Vegetables and fruits provide vitamins and minerals.
Question 1. How do biotic and abiotic factors affect crop production?
Answer: Factors responsible for loss of grains, during storage and production are:
(a) Biotic factors like rodents, pests, insects, etc.
(b) Abiotic factors like temperature, humidity, moisture, etc.
Combination of both biotic and abiotic factors causes :
infestation of insects
weight loss
poor germination ability
degradation in quality
discolouration
poor market price
Question 2. What are the desirable agronomic characteristics for crop improvements?
Answer: Desirable agronomic characteristics for crop improvements are:
(a) Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for fodder crops.
(b) Dwarfness is desired in cereals, so that less nutrients are consumed by these crops.
Question 1. What are macro-nutrients and why are they called macro-nutrients?
Answer: Macro-nutrients are the essential elements which are utilised by plants in large
quantities. Many macro-nutrients are required by the plants for the following functions:
As the constituent of protoplasm
N, P, S are present in proteins
Ca is present in cell wall
Mg is important constituent of chlorophyll
Question 2. How do plants get nutrients?
Answer: Plants get nutrients from air, water and soil. There are, sixteen nutrients essential for
the growth of plants. Carbon and Oxygen are supplied by water. The remaining thirteen
nutrients are supplied by s
Question 1. Compare the use of manure and fertilizers in maintaining soil fertility.
Answer: Effects of using manures on soil quality:
The manures enrich the soil with nutrients.
They provide a lot of organic matter (humus) to the soil and thus restores water retention
capacity of sandy soils and drainage in clayey soil.
The addition of manures reduces soil erosion.
They provide food for soil organisms, like soil friendly bacteria.
Effects of using fertilizers on soil quality:
By the continuous use of fertilizers, the soil becomes powdery, dry and rate of soil erosion
increases.
By the use of fertilizers, the organic matter decreases which further decreases the porosity of
soil and the plant roots do not get oxygen properly,
The nature of soil changes to acidic or basic.
Question 1. Which of the following conditions will give the most benefits? Why?
(a) Farmers use high-quality seeds, do not adopt irrigation or use fertilizers.
(b) Farmers use ordinary seeds, adopt irrigation and use fertilizer.
(c) Farmers use quality seeds, adopt irrigation, use fertilizer and use crop protection measures.
Answer: In this, (c) Farmers use quality seeds, adopt irrigation, use fertilizer and use crop
protection measures.
Use of any quality seeds is not sufficient until they are properly irrigated, enriched with fertilizers
and protected from biotic factors. Hence, option (c) will give the most benefits.

Question.1. Why should preventive measures and biological control methods be preferred for
protecting crops?
Answer. Diseases in plants are caused by pathogens. To get rid of pathogens, some preventive
measures and biological control methods are used as they are simple, economic and minimise
pollution without affecting the soil quality.
Question 2. What factors may be responsible for losses of grains during storage?
Answer: The factors responsible for losses of grains during storage are:
Abiotic factors like moisture (present in food grains), humidity (of air) and temperature.
Biotic factors like insects, rodents, birds, mites, bacteria and fungi.
Question 1. Which method is commonly used for improving cattle breeds and why ?
Answer: Cross breeding is a process in which indigenous varities of cattle are crossed by exotic
breeds to get a breed which is high yielding. During cross breeding, the desired characters are
taken into consideration. The offspring should be high yielding, should have early maturity and
should be resistant to climatic conditions.

Question 1. Discuss the implications of the following statement:

“It is interesting to note that poultry is India’s most efficient converter of low fibre food stuff
(which is unfit for human consumption) into highly nutritious animal protein food”.
Answer: The basic aim of poultry farming is to raise domestic fowl for egg production and
chicken meat. These poultry birds are not only the efficient converters of agricultural by-
products, particularly cheaper fibrous wastes (which is unfit for human consumption but can be
formulated into cheaper diets for poultry birds) into high quality meat and also help in providing
egg, feathers and nutrient rich manure. For this reasons, it is said that, “poultry is India’s most
efficient converter of low fibre food stuff into highly nutritious animal protein food”.
Question 1. What management practices are common in dairy and poultry farming?
Answer:
Shelter: Dairy animals and poultry birds require proper shelter, i.e., well designed dairy and
hygienic shelter.
Feeding: To get good yield of food product, proper feed is provided to dairy animals and
poultry birds.
Caring for animal health: Animal and birds must be protected from diseases caused by virus,
bacteria or fungi.
Question 2. What are the differences between broilers and layers and in their management?
Answer: The poultry bird groomed for obtaining meat is called broiler. The egg laying poultry
bird is called layer.
The housing, nutritional and environmental requirements of broilers are somewhat different
from those of egg layers.
The ration (daily food requirement) for broilers is protein rich with adequate fat. The level of
vitamins A and K is kept high in the poultry feeds while layers require enough space and proper
lightning.
Question 1. How are fish obtained?
Answer: There are two ways of obtaining fish. One is from natural resources, which is called
capture fishing. The other way is by fish farming, which is called culture fishery.
Question 2. What are the advantages of composite fish culture?
Answer: In composite fish culture, a combination of five or six fish species is used in a single fish
pond. These species are selected so that they do not compete for food among them and are
having different types of food habits. As a result, the food available in all the parts of the pond is
used. For example, Catlas are surface feeders, Rohus feed in the middle-zone of the pond,
Mrigals and Common Carps are bottom feeders and Grass Carps feed on the weeds, together
these species can use all the food in the pond without competing with each other. This increases
the fish yield from pond.
Question 1. What are the desirable characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production?
Answer:
The variety of bee should be able to collect a large amount of honey.
The bees should stay in a given beehive for a longer period.
The bees should have capacity of breeding well.
The variety of bee should be disease resistant.
Question 2. What is pasturage and how is it related to honey production?
Answer: The pasturage means the flowers available to the bees for nectar and pollen collection.
In addition to adequate quantities of pasturage, the kind of flowers available will determine the
taste of the honey.

Question 1. Explain any one method of crop production which ensures high yield.
Answer: One method used for crop production which ensures high yield is plant breeding. It is
the science involved in improving the varieties of crops by breeding plants. The plants from
different areas/places is picked up with desired traits and then hybridisation or cross-breeding
of these varieties is done to obtain a plant/crop of desired characteristic.
The high yielding crop variety shows the following characteristics:
High yield, early maturation, less water for irrigation, better quality seeds are produced, less
fertilizers required, adapts itself to the environmental conditions.
Question 2. Why are manure and fertilizers used in fields?
Answer: They are used to ensure good vegetative growth (leaves, branches and flowers), giving
rise to healthy plants, that results in high crop production.
Question 3. What are the advantages of inter-cropping and crop rotation?
Answer: Advantages of using inter-cropping:
It helps to maintain soil fertility.
It increases productivity per unit area.
Save labour and time.
Both crops can be easily harvested and processed separately.
Advantages of using crop rotation:
It improves the soil fertility.
It avoids depletion of a particular nutrient from soil.
It minimise pest infestation and diseases.
It helps in weed control.
It prevents change in the chemical nature of the soil.
Question 4. What is genetic manipulation? How is it useful in agricultural practices?
Answer: Genetic manipulation is a process of incorporating desirable (genes) characters into crop
varieties by hybridisation. Hybridisation involves crossing between genetically dissimilar plants. Th
is done for production of varieties with desirable characteristics like profuse branching in fodder
crops, high yielding varieties in maize, wheat, etc.
Genetic manipulation is useful in developing varieties which shows:
Increased yield
Better quality
Shorter and early maturity period
Better adaptability to adverse environmental conditions
Desirable characteristics
Question 5. How do storage grain losses occur?
Answer: The factors responsible for loss of grains during storage are:
Abiotic factors like moisture (present in foodgrains), humidity (of air) and temperature.
Biotic factors like insects, rodents, birds, mites and bacteria.
Question 6. How do good animal husbandry practices benefit farmers?
Answer: Good animal husbandry practices are beneficial to the farmers in the following ways:
Improvement of breeds of the domesticated animals.
Increasing the yield of foodstuffs such as milk, eggs and meat.
Proper management of domestic animals in terms of shelter, feeding, care and protection
against diseases.
Which ultimately helps the farmers to improve their economic condition.
Question 7. What are the benefits of cattle farming?
Answer: Cattle farming is beneficial in the following ways:
Milk production is increased by high yielding animals.
Good quality of meat, fibre and skin can be obtained.
Good breed of draught animals can be obtained.
Question 8. For increasing production, what is common in poultry, fisheries and bee-keeping?
Answer: Through cross breeding, the production of poultry, fisheries and bee-keeping can be
increased.
Question 9. How do you differentiate between capture fishing, mariculture, and aquaculture?
Answer:
Capture fishing: It is the fishing in which fishes are captured from natural resources like pond, sea
water and estuaries.
Mariculture: It is the culture of fish in marine water. Varieties like prawns, oysters, bhetki and
mullets are cultured for fishing.
Aquaculture: It is done both in fresh water and in marine water.