Agriculture

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AGRICULTURE

M A D E BY- S A C H I N M O T WA N I

INTRODUCTIONThe 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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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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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 large population at one place.

History


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.

CROP PLANTS

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TYPE OF CROPS CROPS

Cereals Wheat, rice, barley, corn, ragi

Pulses Gram, peas, beans

Root crops Sweet potato

Tuber crops Potato, tapioca

Oil seeds Mustard, groundnut, sunflower

Sugar crops Sugarcane, beetroot

Fibre crops Jute, cotton

Plantation crops Coffee, tea, rubber, coconut

SOME COMMON CROP PLANTS

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. Made by- Sachin Motwani 7


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Modern

Agriculture


1)Preparation of soilSoil 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 irrigation.


2)SOWING OF SEEDS 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.


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 fixes nitrogen of the air to the soil with unable nitrogen. The soil is then ready for the next wheat or rice crop.


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.


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.

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 irrigation.

Drip irrigation

Persian wheel


5) Weeding

Weeding is the removal of unwanted plants(weeds) that grow along with crops. Some common weeds are wild oat, chaulai, grass.

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.

Manual weeding

Weedicides


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.

Weevils

Ground beetle

Aphid Locust

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 both- harvesting as well as threshing.

Combine harvester

Manual harvestingMade by- Sachin Motwani17


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.

A Grain silo


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Agriculture

Technology

Transcript of Agriculture