Chapter 1 :- CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

Field : An open vast area of land where plants of human importance are grown following
certain steps.
Crop : Same kind of plant useful to human beings grown on a large scale in the field.
Classification of Crops : Crops can be classified on two basis
1) Products obtained :
a) Food Crops – Cereals , pulses , oil giving fruits , vegetables , spices , beverages.
b) Plantation / Cash Crops – Rubber
c) Fibre -providing crops – Jute , Cotton , Flax
d) Fodder Crops – Crops which provide food for animals. They are fast growing crops
with many leaves on them and no seeds. Eg. Berseem
2) : Growing Season :
a) Rabi Crops –
• These are the crops grown in the winter season from the month of October to
March.
• These crops have less water requirement for their growth.
Eg. Wheat , gram , pea , mustard and linseed.
b) Kharif Crops –
• These crops are grown in the monsoon season from the month of June to
September.
• These plants require large amount of water throughout their growth except just
before 2 – 3 weeks of harvest when the crop is completely ripe
Eg. Paddy , maize , soybean , groundnut and cotton.
Note : During summer months, some pulses , vegetables and fruits are grown which are
usually creepers or herbs.
Agriculture : It is the science of growing crops useful for human use. It is done using specific
steps called Agricultural Practices . They are sequential steps. These are :
1. Preparation of Field a) Ploughing
b) Levelling
2. Sowing
3. Adding manures and fertilizers.
4. Irrigation
5. Weeding
6. Harvesting
7. Storage
 1) Preparation of Field : It is the process of making the field ready for growing new
crops. It is done by two ways –
a) Ploughing : It is the process of loosening and turning the soil upside down such that
lower layers of soil come to the surface of the land. It is also called Tiling.

Importance of Ploughing :
• It helps to clear the field by removing leftover parts of previous crops. These
parts of previous crop are dug and buried in soil for natural decomposition into
humus
• As ploughing loosens the soil,
➢ it creates air spaces in the soil. This helps in growth of microbes and
earthworms which naturally enrich the soil by formation of humus.
This helps in recycling of the nutrients, so that those can be used by
plants.
➢ It makes easier for roots of new plants to go deep in soil.
➢ It also allows roots to breath easily because air circulation is better in
loosened soil.
• Ploughing helps to bring the lower fertile soil as the top soil. This is helpful for
providing nutrition to the germinating seed. Also, the infertile top soil is
enriched in the meantime.
Implements used :
i. Plough :
Parts of Plough –
Plough is a traditional implement used for ploughing large field areas. It has three parts :
①. Ploughshare : It is a triangular iron strip used for turning the soil upside down.
②. Ploughshaft : It is a long wooden rod attached to the ploughshare on one end and beam
on the other end.
ii. Khurpi / Trowel : It is a traditional implement used for ploughing very small areas

or potted plants.
iii. Hoe :It is a ploughing implement used for small areas like parks and gardens. It has a
triangular blade called bent plate for ploughing.

Cultivator : It is a modern implement for ploughing. It is better than the traditional plough
in the following ways –
• A cultivator consists of 7 – 10 blades attached to a rod which is then attached to a
tractor. This makes the process of ploughing faster and also covers larger area in
lesser time. This saves time.
• The cultivator is driven by a tractor and hence moves faster. Also , no animal is
required. Hence , it saves human and animal effort and prevents cruelty to animals.

b) Levelling : It is defined as breaking down large pieces of soil called lumps / crumbs
into fine particles and spreading it evenly throughout the field.
Implement used for levelling is called Wooden Plank / Leveller.
 Importance of Levelling :
• Uneven distribution of soil lumps in the field will affect even distribution of seeds while
sowing and water during irrigation.
• Root tips are very delicate. Presence of soil crumbs may destroy the root tips during
growth of roots. This will cause destruction of crop and loss to the farmer.
• Levelling ensures proper movement of air and water in all the layers of soil.

2) Sowing : It is the process of putting seeds in the prepared field.

Methods of Sowing :
1. Transplantation – It is a process where seedling or sapling is planted in the field
from a nursery. Eg. Tomato , capsicum , cabbage , cauliflower , sugarcane etc.
2. Broadcasting – It is a method of manual distribution of seeds by throwing them
throughout the field.
3. By using implements – Implements like seed drill and seed funnel are used for
proper sowing of seeds in the field.
Precautions while Sowing :
• Farmer should select healthy , good quality seeds for sowing. This can be done by
putting the seeds in a big tub of water. The unhealthy seeds , being light in weight will
float on the surface of water while healthy seeds , will sink on the bottom of the tub.
Unhealthy seeds are discarded by throwing away the water. Healthy seeds are dried and
used for sowing.
• Seeds should be sown at proper distance from each other. Seeds should be neither too
close nor too far away from each other.
If they are too close to each other , they will compete for nutrition , water and space
affecting their germination quality.
If the seeds are too far away from each other , less number of seeds will be sown
affecting the quantity of crops obtained.
• Seeds should be sown at correct depth in the soil. If the seeds are sown too deep , they
will not be able to germinate or even grow well. Seeds which are sown too close to the
surface may have the chances of getting damaged or pickup by birds.
Implements used for Sowing :
i. Seed Funnel : ( Diagram of Seed Funnel )
 • Seed funnel is a traditional implement used for sowing.
• It is attached along with the plough to a beam kept on the neck of the animal.
• It is a manually operated by moving of the animal and it sows the seed slowly.
Also , depth and spacing of the seeds has to be adjusted continuously and
manually.

ii. Seed Drill :

• It is a modern implement of sowing attached to a tractor.
• It moves very fast and there are 7-8 openings on the rod attached to the tractor
from which the seeds fall.
• It is a better implement than seed funnel as it sows the seed at proper depth and
correct spacing. This ensures healthy germination of all seeds , giving better
crop production.

3) Adding Manure and Fertilizers :

Plants need 16 nutrients out of which 7 nutrients are needed in larger quantity and are
called macronutrients and include carbon , hydrogen , oxygen , nitrogen , potassium ,
phosphorus and calcium. The nutrients are provided by adding fertilizers and manure.
I. Manure : These are organic substances formed by the decomposition of dead and
decaying matter by microbes mainly bacteria and fungi.

Advantages of Manure :
• Manure has big particle size and when mixed with soil , it increases the bulk of
the soil. This also helps in improving water holding capacity of soil.
• Being organic in nature , manures improve soil texture making it soft.
• Manures enrich the soil with humus making it more fertile. Also , humus
improves soil fertility especially of the top soil layer where plants grow.
 • It is cheap and easy to form as it can be formed from the left over plant parts ,
dead parts of animals and cow dung.
Disadvantages of Manure :
• Manures do not provide all nutrients needed by the plant. They just add to the
organic content of the soil by enriching it with carbon , hydrogen and oxygen.
• They are bulky and hence difficult to transport or store.
• Manures take few days to form and are not readily available.
• Manure is insoluble in water and hence plants do not get much nutrients from
manure , it just improves soil quality.

II. Fertilizers : They are inorganic substances made by chemicals in factories.

Types of Fertilizers :
1. Nitrogenous Fertilizers – Fertilizers rich in nitrogen. Eg. Urea.
2. Potassic Fertilizers – They are rich in potassium. Eg. Potash.
3. Phosphatic Fertilizers – They are rich in phosphate. Eg. Super Phosphate.
4. Mixed Fertilizers – It has more than one type of macronutrient.
[Link] Nitrate,
NPK ( Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium )
Advantages of Fertilizers:
• Fertilizers are highly nutrient specific and hence enrich the soil with specific
depleted nutrients.
• Fertilizers are completely water soluble and hence can be easily absorbed by
the plant through roots. Thus, this ensures plants get their required nutrient
completely.
• Fertilizer is easily available in market and hence can be bought whenever
needed.
• Fertilizers are compact and easy to store and handle.
Disadvantages of Fertilizers :
• Being chemical in nature, it spoils the texture of the soil making it hard. This
prevents easy growth of roots in the soil.
• Fertilizers make the soil dry. This reduces the water – holding capacity of soil.
Due to this, too much irrigation is needed in such a field which is difficult in a
country like India.
• Fertilizers, being chemicals, kill microbes and earthworms present in the soil
( which naturally enrich the soil by humus formation ). Thus , soil becomes
more fertilizer – dependent.
• The nitrogen of the fertilizer mixed with water may seep into the water table
and find its way to the nearby water bodies. Here it may cause excessive
growth of algae called Algae Bloom. This may stop / reduce oxygen
availability to aquatic organisms.
 Soil Replenishment : It is defined as enriching the soil with deficient nutrients
using various methods :
1. By adding fertilizers.
2. Field fallow – It is the process of leaving the field uncultivated for one or
two seasons so as to allow activity of microbes to naturally enrich the soil.
It is not a suitable method because it is a loss to the farmer for not growing
crops for one or two seasons.
3. Crop Rotation – In this method , two or more different crops are grown in
fixed rows in the field such that both require different nutrients and one can
replenish the depleted nutrient for the other crop.

4) Irrigation : It is the process of applying water to the field as per the crop requirement.
Importance of irrigation :
i. Water is an essential raw material for photosynthesis and hence, it is needed by
one plant for its growth.
ii. Water helps the nutrients present in the soil to dissolve and hence, be easily
absorbed by the plant through its roots.
iii. Irrigation after sowing is needed for germination of seeds.
iv. Water helps to maintain the soil temperature at a specific level. This protects
the roots from damage due to sudden changes of temperature during hot and
cold season.
Factors affecting irrigation :
i. Soil type : Depending on the water holding capacity of the soil the amount of
irrigation varies. Sandy soil cannot hold much water and drains very fast causing
frequent irrigation. While clayey soil can hold large amount of water and hence,
needs less irrigation.
ii. Season/climate : Frequent irrigation is needed in summers because rate of
evaporation is more in summers than winters. The soil gets dried easily in
summers and needs frequent irrigation to replenish water.
iii. Crop type : Water requirements of different crops is different. Eg-Wheat needs
well-drained soil and hence, less frequent irrigation ; while, paddy needs
standing water and hence continuous irrigation.

Sources of irrigation : The main source of irrigation is rainfall. Rivers, lakes and ponds
are also used for irrigation.
The rainwater gets converted to groundwater from where it is used in the form of wells

Traditional methods of irrigation : Different types of wells from which water is

drawn either by manual effort or by use of animals are the traditional method of
irrigation. The common types of wells are-
i. Moat : It is the traditional pulley and rope well. A rope having a bucket on one
end is put inside the well and the rope is pulled with the help of a pulley and the
water is distributed in the field through the bucket.
 ii. Dhekli : It is a well based on lever system. In this well, a long log of wood with
a bucket tied at one end is used to pull the water from the well and is distributed
in the field from the bucket. It is a temporary well as it is not very deep.
iii. Chain pump : It is also a well based on the lever system, but here, instead of
using a log of wood to draw water, a rope or chain over a pulley is used. A small
bucket is tied to the pulley which collects water and pulley is rotated by pulling
the chain or rope.
iv. Rahat : It is a well using animal action to rotate the pulley to which number of
buckets are attached at regular intervals. The animal moves the lever which
causes the pulley to rotate and buckets get filled with water distributing it in the
field.

Modern methods of irrigation :

i. Sprinkler system : In this method, there are vertical pipes at specific distance
from each other attached to a network of pipes or well or tubewell. The vertical
pipe has rotating nozzle at its end. Water is distributed like rainfall throughout
the field.
In this method, water is wasted as water also fall in regions with no plants. It is
used for watering in gardens, parks, flowering plants and fruiting trees.
ii. Drip irrigation : It is one best method of irrigation with minimum water
wastage. This is because in drip irrigation, a network of horizontal pipes is laid
down with opening at regular distance. These openings are close to the surface
of the soil providing water directly to the roots of the plant, drop-by-drop.
It is used for watering in areas with water scarcity, sandy soil and fruiting trees.

5) Removing weeds :
Weed : Weed is defined as an unwanted plant growing along with crops in a field. The
common weeds are grass and wild oats.

Weeding : It is the process of removing weeds from the field. There are three methods
of weeding-
i. Mechanical method : I t refers to manual removal of weeds. It can be done by-
a. Uprooting the weeds by pulling them out of the soil.
[Link] using khurpi
c. By using hoe
[Link] using a plough
ii. Chemical method : it is a method in which specific chemicals called
weedicides are used. They remove the weed by killing or drying the weed in the
soil itself which then gets decomposed. The most commonly used weedicide is
‘2,4-D’.
iii. Biological method : It is a method in which other living organisms are used to
remove the weed. It usually has an insect or some small animal which feeds on
 the weed and does not eat the plant. Eg-Cochineal insect for cactus ; small fish
for weeds in paddy fields.
Importance of Weeding :
• Weeds compete with crop for nutrients , water and space. This causes
decreased nutrition available for plants which may affect the growth and
yield of the plant.
• Weeds may harbour pests which may feed also on the crop plant , destroying the
crop.
• A weed if suffering from a disease , may transmit the microbes to the crop
plant , destroying the crop causing loss to the farmer.
• The produce of the weeds may be poisonous or harmful and this may get
mixed with crop produce. This makes the grains adulterated which is
harmful for human use.
Precautions while using Weedicides : The chemical method of weeding is the
most commonly used weeding method. Hence , precautions need to be taken
while use of weedicides. Weedicides is sprayed on the weeds using a sprayer.
The precautions are :
1. Weedicide should be diluted with water in the ratio of 1:3. This is
because weedicides are strong chemicals which can cause skin burns.
2. Farmer should cover their mouth and nose with a cloth while spraying
weedicides to prevent inhaling the weedicide chemical.
3. The farmer should wear gloves made up of rubber to prevent direct
contact of hands with weedicide chemicals. This helps to prevent burns.
Implements used : The implement used in weedicides is a Sprayer.
Q1. What is the ideal time of weeding and why ?
Ans. Weeding should be ideally done on regular basis but the best time for weeding is before
flowering of weeds .
If the weeds flower , the flower will change into fruit with seeds in it. The seeds will be
dispersed in the field by various agents of dispersal spreading the weeds throughout the field.
This would make weeding a difficult process. Hence , weeds should be removed in their
vegetative phase before flowering.
6) Harvesting : It is the process of cutting ripened plant to obtain the produce. It takes 3-
4 months for the crop to mature.

Implements used :
1. Sickle – ( Diagram of Sickle )
 It is a traditional implement used for harvesting the crops manually. It takes long
time to harvest crops using sickle and hence it is a time – consuming process.

2. Harvester – It is a modern implement for harvesting crops. It works faster and

saves time.
To separate the grains from the crop , Threshing is done in which the grains
are separated from the chaff. Implement used is a Thresher.
To remove the chaff from the grains and to obtain only grains , a process called
Winnowing is done. Winnowing is based on the principle of difference in
density of grain and chaff.
In this process , grain is allowed to fall from the height and grain , being
heavier , falls straight down forming a heap while the chaff is blown away by
wind. Implement used for winnowing is a jute seep.

Combine : It is a complete agricultural implement which can do ploughing , harvesting and

threshing , but it is commonly used for harvesting and threshing ( i.e It is a combined harvester
and thresher ).
7) Storage : It is defined as keeping the grains carefully for future use.

Implement used : Grains are stored in jute bags or metallic bins. Buildings used for
grain storage are –
• Godowns : Small scale storage like small scale jute bags , metallic bins.
• Granaries and silos : Large scale storage like silos and granaries.
Factors affecting stored grains : Stored grains can be spoiled easily. :-
• Biotic Factors – Microbes
Pests / Insects
Rodents

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 The most common microbes which spoil the stored grains are fungus. They spoil the
quality of grains by discolouring grains. This causes loss of quality of grains while
insects and rodents eat away the grains
spoiling the quantity / Temperature quality of grain
• Abiotic Factors – Moisture
Humidity

These harvested grains have 10 % moisture which needs to reduced by 3 % before

storage. This is because if grains have more moisture than 3 % then microbial growth
will be fast which will spoil the stored grains due to fungal growth. Also growth of
fungus will increase the temperature of stored grains due to respiration by fungus. This
increased temperature will further cause microbial growth as well as hatching of insect
egg. Both these factors will spoil quality and quantity of the stored grains.
Note : At home grains are stored in metallic bins or jute bags to which dried neem
leaves or turmeric stems are added. Both these are strong smelling substances and have
antiseptic which prevents grain spoilage by biotic factors.
Animal Husbandry : It is the process of rearing animals for food. It has four elements –
1. Heeding : It refers to providing proper shelter to the animals.
2. Feeding : It refers to providing proper food to animals.
3. Health – care : It refers to providing proper health to animals by vaccination and
giving antibiotics for specific diseases.
4. Breeding : It refers to specific breeding processes to obtain good quality food products.