Crop Production And Management

Exercises 

1. Select the correct word from the following list and fill in the blanks.
                   

float, water, crop, nutrients, preparation

(a) The same kind of plants grown and cultivated on a large scale at a place is called  crop   .


(b) The first step before growing crops is    preparation    of the soil.

(c) Damaged seeds would     float     on top of water.

(d) For growing a crop, sufficient sunlight and    water    and   nutrients   from the soil are essential.



2. Match items in column A with those in column B.

     
Ans:-                                                                       
(i) Kharif crops - (e) Paddy and maize                              

(ii) Rabi crops - (d) Wheat, gram, pea                           

(iii) Chemical fertilisers - (b) Urea and super phosphate                   

(iv) Organic manure - (c) Animal excreta, cow dung,urine and plant waste               

                                                                   

3. Give two examples of each.

(a) Kharif crop                                             (b) Rabi crop

Ans:-
(a) Kharif Crops :-  Paddy, Maize

(a) Rabi Crops :-  Wheat, Gram



4. Write a paragraph in your own words on each of the following.

(a) Preparation of soil                                             (b) Sowing
.
(c) Weeding                                                                (d) Threshing

Ans:-
(a) Preparation of Soil :- The preparation of soil is the first step before growing a crop. One of the    most important tasks in agriculture is to turn the soil and loosen it. This is because of the following reasons :

1. this allows the root to penetrate deep into the soil. 
2. the loose the soil is, easy for the roots to breathe even when they go deep into the soil.
3. the loosened soil thus helps in the growth of earthworms and microbes present in the soil and add humus to it.

(b) Sowing :- Sowing is an important part of crop production. Before sowing, good quality, clean and healthy seeds of good varieties are selected. Farmers prefer to use seeds which give high yield. For sowing we follow various methods/tools either traditional or modern.

Traditional tools : The tool used here for sowing seeds is shaped like a funnel, and the seeds are filled into the funnel, passed down through two or three pipes having sharp ends. These ends pierce into the soil and places seeds there.

Modern tools :  Nowadays the seed drill is used for sowing with the help of tractors.This sows the seeds uniformly at equal distance and depth. It ensures that seeds get covered by the soil after sowing. This protects seeds from being eaten by birds. Sowing by using a seed drill saves time and labour.

(c) Weeding :-  In a field many other undesirable plants may grow naturally along with the crop called weeds.The removal of weeds is called weeding. Weeding is necessary since weeds affect the growth of the crop as they compete with the crop plants for water, nutrients, space and light. Also, some weeds interfere even in harvesting and may be poisonous for animals and human beings. Farmers adopt many ways to remove weeds and control their growth. The best time for the removal of weeds is before they produce flowers and seeds. The manual removal includes up-rootingor cutting them close to the ground, from time to time. This is done with the help of a khurpi.A seed drill is also used to uproot weeds.Weeds are also controlled by using certain chemicals, called weedicides, like 2,4-D.These are sprayed in the fields to kill the weeds and do not damage the crops. 

(d) Threshing :- Harvesting of a crop is an important task. The cutting of crop after it is mature is called harvesting. In this process, crops are pulled out or cut close to the ground. In the harvested crop, the grain seeds need to be separated from the chaff and the process is called threshing. This is carried out with the help of a machine called ‘combine’ which  is in fact a harvester as well as a  thresher.

5. Explain how fertilizers are different from manure.

Ans:-

Both fertilizers and manure are added to the soil in the form of nutrients for the healthy growth of plants. However they are different as compare to one another. Refer to the below table : 

     

6. What is irrigation? Describe two methods of irrigation which conserve water.

Ans:-
To maintain the moisture of the soil for healthy crop growth,fields have to be watered regularly. The supply of water to crops at regular intervals is called irrigation. The time and frequency of irrigation varies from crop to crop, soil to soil and season to season.
Two methods of irrigation are :
1) Sprinkler System :- This system is more useful on uneven lands where sufficient water is not available. The perpendicular pipes, having rotating nozzles on top, are joined to the main pipeline at regular intervals.When water is allowed to flow through the main pipe under pressure with the help of a pump, it escapes from the rotating nozzles. It gets sprinkled on the crop as if it is raining.
Useful for lawns, coffee plantation etc.

2) Drip System :-  In this system, the water falls drop by drop directly near the roots. So it is called drip system.Water is not wasted at all. It is a boon in regions where availability of water is poor.
It is the best technique for watering fruit plants, gardens and trees.

7. If wheat is sown in the Kharif season, what would happen? Discuss.

Ans:-
The crops which are sown in the rainy season are called Kharif crops. Wheat is not a Kharif crop rather its a Rabi crop that grows in winter season. The whole crop might get destroyed due to lack of appropriate temperature, adaptability, availability of pests etc.

8. Explain how soil gets affected by the continuous plantation of crops in a field.

Ans:-
Since the field is never left uncultivated or fallow, continuous cultivation of crops makes the soil poor in nutrients such as- Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorous etc.This makes the soil inhabitable for the growth of any further plants or crops.

9. What are weeds? How can we control them?

Ans:-
In a field many other undesirable plants may grow naturally along with the crop called weeds.
There are various ways to control them such as :

1. tilling before sowing of crops helps in uprooting and killing of weeds
2. manual removal of weeds by uprooting or cutting them close to the ground, from time to time
3. using seed-drill
4. using certain chemicals called weedicides.

10. Arrange the following boxes in proper order to make a flow chart of sugarcane crop production.

 

Ans :-
 

11. Complete the following word puzzle with the help of clues given below.

     
     Down
     1. Providing water to the crops.
     2. Keeping crop grains for a long time under proper conditions.
     5. Certain plants of the same kind grown on large scale.

    Across
    3. A machine used for cutting the matured crop.
    4. A rabi crop that is also one of the pulses.
    6. A process of separating the grain from chaff.

                                           
Ans:-
Down
1. Irrigation
2. Storage
5. Crop

Across
3. Harvester
4. Gram
6. Winnowing