GRADE 8

NOTES: CH-1 CROP PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

Agriculture: The applied branch of biology which deals with cultivation of plants and rearing
of animals is called agriculture. Generally, the art or practice of cultivating land is referred to as
agriculture.

Crop: When plants of the same kind are grown and cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is
called a crop.
Crops are also classified on the basis of the seasons as given below:
▸ Kharif Crops: The crops which are grown during the monsoon (rainy) season (June-
September) are called kharif crops. For example maize, millet (bajra) and cotton crops. Seeds of
these crops are sown in the beginning of the monsoon season. After maturation, these crops are
harvested at the end of the monsoon season (Oct.-Nov.).
▸ Rabi Crops: Crops which are grown during the winter season (October-March) are called
rabi crops. For example, wheat, gram and mustard. Seeds of these crops are sown in the
beginning of the winter season. After maturation of crops, they are harvested at the end of the
winter season (April-May).

Agricultural Practices: All activities which farmers do for the cultivation of plants are called
agricultural practices.
For doing various activities, a farmer needs different types of tools. These tools which are
involved in cultivation of plants are called agricultural implements. Farmers perform agricultural
practices in a sequence.
Various Agricultural Practices:
(i) Preparation of soil
(ii) Sowing
(iii) Adding manure and fertilizers
(iv) Irrigation
(v) Protection from weeds
(vi) Harvesting
(vii) Storage.

Basic Practices of Crop Production

1. Preparation of Soil:
Before sowing the crop seeds, the soil of fields is loosened and overturned. This process is
called ploughing or tilling.
Benefits of ploughing:
a. Ventilation of soil and helps the plant root to penetrate freely and deeper into the soil and
breathe easily.
b. It turns the soil to enrich it with nutrients.
c. Helps in removing the weeds.
d. Makes the soil suitable for the growth of small organisms living in it.
▸ Plough: A large farming implement with one or more blades fixed in a frame, used to turn
over and cut furrows in soil, is called plough. Plough may be made of only wood, wood and iron,
and of iron only.
 ▸ Ploughshare: The main cutting blade of a plough.
▸ Hoe: A tool which is used for removing weeds and for loosening the soil.
▸ Cultivator: Nowadays ploughing is done by a tractor driven cultivator. The use of
cultivator saves labour and time.

The ploughed soil may have big pieces of soil called crumbs and the soil becomes loose. To
prevent soil erosion and loss of moisture from the loose soil, levelling is done. It also helps in the
uniform distribution of water during irrigation.
Tool used: leveller.

2. Sowing of Seeds:
a. For selection of seeds of most of the crops, seeds are put into a bucket of water. The
seeds which float on water are rejected. These seeds are defective. The seeds which
remain submerged in water are selected for sowing.
b. Seeds are sown
i. By hand-broadcasting (spreading). It leads to uneven distribution of seeds and the
seeds can be picked up by birds from the soil surface.
ii. By seed drills. A type of seed drill, commonly used, is a long iron pipe having a
funnel at the top. It is tied at the back of the plough.
A farmer does ploughing and simultaneously releases seeds from the funnel.
Seeds thus released pass through iron pipe to the soil furrows which are formed
by the plough.
It saves time and labour. Protects the seeds from the damage caused by birds,
prevents overcrowding and each plant gets sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water
from the soil.
c. Few plants (like paddy, forest plants, and flowering plants) are first grown in a nursery
into seedlings and then, transplanted to plants manually. Keeping the seedlings in bags
makes it easier to transfer them to another place.

3. Adding Manure and Fertilisers:

a. Crop plants obtain their mineral nutrients from the soil. Continuous growing of
crop in the field causes deficiency of mineral nutrients in the soil. So, the manure
is added to the soil to make up the deficiency of mineral nutrients. This process is
called manuring.
b. Manure is an organic substance obtained from the decomposition of plant or
animal wastes.
c. Sometimes, soil becomes deficient in a particular mineral nutrient. This happens
when same crop is grown in the same field year after year. For example, a
particular crop takes more phosphate. If this crop is grown in a field every year,
the soil will become deficient in phosphorus nutrient. This type of deficiency of a
particular nutrient is made up by adding chemical substances called fertilisers.
For example: urea, super phosphate, ammonium phosphate and NPK (Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, and Potassium).
d. Excessive use of fertilisers is harmful as it makes the soil acidic or basic and also
causes water pollution.
e. Differences between manure and fertiliser:
i. Meaning: Manure is a natural material, obtained by decaying plant and
animal waste that can be applied to the soil to enhance its fertility but
fertilizer is a human-made substance that can be added to the soil to
improve its fertility and increase the productivity.
ii. Preparation: Manure is prepared in fields where as fertiliser is prepared in
factories.
iii. Humus: Manure provides humus to the soil where as fertiliser does not
provide humus to the soil.
iv. Nutrients: manures are comparatively less rich in plant nutrients whereas
fertiliser is rich in plant nutrients.
v. Absorption: manures are slowly absorbed by plants but fertilisers are
quickly absorbed by plants.
vi. Cost: Manures are economical but fertilisers are costly
vii. Side effect: There is no side effect with manures, in fact it improves the
physical condition of soil but fertilisers causes harm to the living organism
present in the soil.

f. Advantages of manure over fertilisers-

 i. Increases the water holding capacity.
ii. Makes the soil porous due to which the exchange of gases becomes easy.
iii. Increases the number of friendly microbes.
iv. Improves the texture of the soil.
g. Nitrogen fixation:
Root nodules of leguminous plants have Rhizobium bacteria that fix atmospheric
nitrogen and make it usable by plants.
h. Crop rotation:
Farmers grow legumes in one season as fodder and wheat in the next season. This
helps the soil to get replenished with nitrogen. Root nodules of leguminous plants
have Rhizobium bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it usable by
plants.
4. Irrigation: The supply of water to crops at different intervals is called irrigation. The
time and frequency of irrigation varies from crop to crop, soil to soil and season to
season.
Methods of Irrigation
Implements used for traditional ways of Irrigation:
(a) Moat

(b) Dhekli

(c) Rahat
(d) Chain pump

(e) Motor pumps

Modern methods:
a) Sprinkler system-
Best for places where:
i. land is uneven
ii. Sufficient water is not available.
It has perpendicular pipes, with rotating nozzles on top, joined to the main
pipeline at regular intervals. Water flows through the main pipeline under
pressure (created with the help of a pump). It escapes from rotating nozzles
and sprinkles on the crop like rain. Often used in watering lawns, and Coffee
plantations.

b) Drip system
 Best for places where availability of water is poor. Water falls drop-by-drop
directly near the roots of the crop. There is no wastage of water at all. Often used
in watering Fruit Plants, Gardens, and Trees

5. Protection from Weed

a. The unwanted plants in the fields are called weeds. Weeds spread through the
agencies like air, water, birds and other animals. Weeds share water, sunlight,
space, nutrients with the crop plants. Thus they compete with the crop plants.
Therefore, their removal is necessary. Otherwise, crop plants do not get sufficient
space, water, sunlight and nutrient to grow healthier. They may interfere in
harvesting and can be poisonous for animals and human beings.
b. The best time to remove weeds is before they produce flowers and seeds.
c. Weeds are weeded out either by hand or with the help of an implement called
harrow.
d. Nowadays, for checking the growth of weeds, certain chemicals are used. These
chemicals are called weedicides, such as 2, 4-D, Dichlor.

6. Harvesting and Threshing:

a. When crops get matured, they usually turn yellow or golden or brown. This is the
time when crops should be cut. Cutting of crops is known as harvesting.
b. Harvesting is either done manually by a sickle or by a machine called harvester.
c. Harvested crop is further dried. The grains are separated from chaff with the help
of wind (winnowing). The whole process of separation of the grains from the
harvested crop is known as threshing.
 d. Nowadays farmers use huge machines known as combines which do both
harvesting and threshing.

• Special festivals associated with the harvest seasons are:

Pongal, Baisakhi, Holi, Diwali, Nabanya and Bihu.

7. Storage:
a. Grains obtained by threshing are dried in the open. The dried grains are stored in
gunny bags, and placed in properly ventilated cemented halls, known as
godowns.
b. Farmers keep dried grains in jute bags or metallic bins. Large scale storage of
grains is done in silos and granaries.
c. For storing large quantities of grains in big godowns, specific chemical
treatments are used to protect them from pests and microorganisms.

Animal Husbandry:
a. The branch of agriculture which deals with food, health and management of animals is
known as animal husbandry.
b. Food is also obtained from animals for which animals are reared and provided with
proper food, shelter and care. When done on a large scale, it is called animal husbandry.