1) Need for increasing food production :-

Our population is more than one billion and it is still growing. We will need more than a
billion tonnes of grain every year to feed this growing population.

Since increasing the area of land for cultivation is limited, it is necessary to increase the
production efficiency of crops and livestock.

The production efficiency of crops and livestock can be increased by adopting scientific
management practices to improve crop yield, undertaking mixed farming, intercropping,
and integrated farming practices like combining agriculture with livestock, poultry,
fisheries, bee-keeping etc.

2) Different types of crops :-

Cereals like rice, wheat, maize, millets, sorghum etc. provide us carbohydrates.

Pulses like peas, beans, grams, lentils etc. provide us proteins.

Oil seeds like ground nut, sesame, castor, mustard, linseed, sunflower etc. provide us
fats.

Vegetables, spices and fruits provide us vitamins and minerals along with small
amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Fodder crops like berseem, oats or sudan grass are grown as food for livestock.
Different crops require different climatic conditions, temperature and duration of
sunlight (photoperiods).

Kharif crops :- are crops grown during the rainy season from June to October like
paddy, soyabean, maize, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram, cotton etc.

Rabi crops :- are crops grown during winter season from November to April like wheat,
gram, peas, mustard, linseed etc.

3) Improvement in crop yield :-

Crop yield can be improved by three main activities. They are :-

i) Crop variety improvement

ii) Crop production improvement

iii) Crop protection management

4) Crop variety improvement :-

Crop variety improvement is done by selecting good varieties of crops. This is done by
hybridisation. Hybridisation is the crossing between genetically dissimalar plants to
obtain crops having useful characteristics like disease resistance, good quality and high
yields.

Hybridisation may be intervarietal (between different varieties, interspecific (between

Crop variety improvrment is done for the following :-

i) Higher yield :-To increase productivity of crop per acre.

ii) Biotic and abiotic resistance :-To increase resistance of

crops to biotic factors like insects, diseases etc. and abiotic factors like draught,
salinity, heat, cold etc.

iii) Change in maturity duration :-*To reduce the duration

between sowing and harvesting so that farmers can grow

multiple crops during the year.

iv) Wider adaptibility:- To grow crops in different climatic conditions.

v) Desirable agronomic characters : Characters like tallness and more branching are
useful for fodder crops and dwarfness (shortness) is desirable for cereal crops.

5) Crop production management :-

Crop production management includes

i) Nutrient management
ii) Irrigation and

iii) Cropping management

a) Nutrient management :-

Plants get nutrients from air, water and soil. There are sixteen nutrients required by
plants for their proper growth. Air supplies oxygen and carbon dioxide, water supplies
hydrogen and the remaining thirteen nutrients are obtained from the soil.

Among the sixteen nutrients required by plants, six are required in large quantities and
are called macro nutrients.

The macro nutrients are:- nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and
sulphur.

The other seven are required in small quantities and are called micro nutrients. Soil can
be enriched by supplying nutrients in the form of manures and fertilizers.

The micro nutrients are :- iron, magnesium, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum and
chlorine.

Manure :-

Manure is prepared by the decomposition of plant and animal waste. It contains organic
matter and nutrients. It helps to increase soil fertility. It also helps to reduce use of
fertilizers and recycle farm waste and protects the environment.

There are two main types of manures. They are compost and green manure.

Compost :- compost is prepared by the decomposition of plant and animal waste in

Green manure :- Before sowing seeds in fields, some green plants

like sun hemp, gaur etc. are mixed in the soil by ploughing. These plants turn into green
manure which makes the soil rich in nitrogen and phosphorus.

Fertilzers :-

Fertilizers are chemical substances made commercially. They supply nitrogen,

Fertilizers should be used only in required amounts. Excessive use of fertilizers can
reduce soil fertility and also cause water pollution.

b) Irrigation :-

The supply of water to the crops is called irrigation. Water is necessary for the proper
growth of plants and helps to increase crop yield.

Different kinds if irrigation systems are used to supply water to agricultural land. They
are wells, canals, rivers, tanks, check dams etc.

i) Wells:- There are two types of wells called dug wells and tube wells.

In dug wells water is collected from water bearing strata. In tube wells water is collected
from deeper strata.
ii) Canals: In this system, canals receive water from reservoirs or rivers and distributes
it to fields.

iii) River lift systems:- In this system water is lifted from rivers to irrigate fields close to
rivers.

iv) Tanks:These are small storage reservoirs which supply water to fields.

v) Check dams: These are used to stop rain water from flowing away and helps to
increase groundwater levels and reduce soil erosion.

c) Cropping patterns :-

Different ways of growing crops are used for maximum benefit. These include mixed
cropping, inter-cropping and crop rotation.

i) Mixed cropping :- mixed cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in

the same field. Eg:- wheat + gram, wheat + mustard, groundnut + sunflower etc. This
reduces the risk even if one crop fails.

ii) Inter-cropping :- inter cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in the
same field in alternate rows. Eg:- maize + soya bean, millet + cow pea etc. Crops with
different nutrient requirements are selected. This helps in better use of nutrients and
prevents spreading of diseases to all plants of the same crop.

iii) Crop rotation :- crop rotation is growing different crops in the same field in
succession. Growing leguminous crops after growing cereal crops helps to increase soil
fertility. If crop rotation is done properly, two or three crops can be grown in a year
profitably.

6) Crop protection management : Crops in the field are damaged by weeds, insect
pests and deases.

Weeds are unwanted plants which grow in the field. Eg:- Xanthium, Parthenium,
Cyperinus rotundus etc. They compete with the crop for food, space and sunlight and
use nutrients and reduce crop yield.

Insect pests cause damage to the root, stem and leaves, suck cell sap and bore into
stems and fruits. They can reduce crop yield.

Diseases in plants are caused by pathogens like virus, bacteria and fungi and reduces
crop yield.

Weeds, insect pests and diseases can be controlled by using chemicals like weedicides,
pesticides, fungicides etc. They are sprayed on crop plants or used for treating seeds
and soil. Since these chemicals are poisionous, excessive use of these chemicals can
cause environmental pollution.

Storage of grains :-

The factors responsible for the damage and loss of grains are biotic factors like
bacteria, fungi, insects, rodents etc. and abiotic factors like moisture and temperature in
the place of storage. Before storage, the grains are cleaned and dried in sunlight to
remove moisture and the storage places are fumigated to kill pests.

7) Animal husbandry :-

Animal husbandry is the scientific management of animal livetock including their

a) Cattle farming :-

Cattle farming is done for two main purposes. They are for milk production and farm
labour. Milk producing females are called milch animals and those used for farm labour
are called draught animals.

Milk production depends on the duration of the lactation period - the period of milk
production after the birth of the calf. Milk production can be increased by increasing the
lactation period. Foreign breeds like Jersy and Brown Swiss have long lactation periods
and local breeds like Red Sindhi and Sahiwal are resistant to diseases. They can be
cross-bred to get animals with both the qualities.

Cattle shelter should be clean and well ventilated with sloping floors for easy cleaning.

Cattle feed should include roughage containing mainly fibre and concentrates
containing protein and other nutrients.

Cattle disease are caused by parasites, bacteria and virus. External parasites cause skin
diseases. Internal parasites like worms affect stomach and intestine and flukes damage
the liver. Vaccinations are given to protect from viral and bacterial diseases.

8) Poultry farming :-

Poultry farming is done for egg production and chicken meat.

Improved poultry breeds are developed to produce layers for eggs and broilers for meat.
Cross-breeding between Indian varieties like Aseel and foreign varieties like Leghorn is
done to develop new varieties.

For good production of poultry birds they are given proper nutrition and kept in hygienic
conditions and proper temperature conditions.

Broiler chickens are fed with vitamin, protein and fat rich feed for better growth.

Poultry fowls are affected by diseases caused by virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
They are protected from diseases by proper sanitation, spraying disinfectants and
vaccination. Leghorn

9) Fish production :- (Pisciculture)

Fish is a source of animal protein in our food. There are two ways of obtaining fish. They
are from natural sources called capture fishing and from fish farming called culture
fishery. The water source of fishes can be sea water (marine) or fresh water like rivers,
ponds, lakes etc.

i) Marine fisheries :-

The popular marine fish varieties are pomphret, mackerel, tuna, sardines etc. They are
caught by fishing nets from boats.

Some marine fishes are farmed in sea water. These include prawns, mullets, perl spots,
mussels, oysters etc. We get pearls from oysters.

ii) Inland fisheries :-

Culture fishery is done in freshwater and brackish water where sea water and fresh
water mix together. Sometimes fish culture is done in combination with paddy crop in
the field. This is called composite fish culture.

The common fishes in inland fish farms are rohu, catla, mrigal, grass carp, silver carp,
common carp etc.