08_IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES class 9

August 21, 2022 admin Off Uncategorized

Introduction

Among all the living organisms, only green plants are autotrophs, e., they make their own food. In fact, green plants perform a basic metabolic activity, called asphotosynthesis. In photosynthesis by using the energy of sunlight, green plants combine carbon dioxide (C02) and water (H20) to produce carbohydrates (Food).
In contrast to green plants, animals and human beings are heterotrophs, e., they depend on plants and other animals for food. Since time immemorial, human beings have been doing farming and rearing animals to meet their food requirements.
For their existence, all living organisms essentially require food. Early human beings started hunting animals and collecting fruits, flowers and roots of forest plants to meet their food requirements. Food is required for growth, development and body repair. It also protects the body from diseases and provides energy for doing all life functions. The food supplies proteins, carbohydrates and fats (lipids), vitamins, minerals and water to our body.
Plants as food are gift of nature to humans and most animals. In fact, different parts of plants, such as root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit, are consumed by humans in the form of cereals, vegetables, spices and fruits. Animals produce milk, egg, meat, etc., which also supplement our food requirements.

Improvement in Crop Yields

Agriculture is the science and practice of farming, which mainly involves rearing of livestock, cultivating land, raising crops, harvesting and marketing the produce. It is further subdivided into many categories.

Agronomy.The branch of agricultural science dealing with production of field crops and management of the soil.
Horticulture. Branch of agriculture that deal in growth and management of fruit and flowering plants in orchards and gardens.
Olericulture.Itrefers to growing and managing of vegetables.
Aquaculture.The farming and harvesting of plants and animals in bodies of water for economicalpurpose.
Agronomist. An agronomist studies crop disease, selective breeding, crop rotation and climatic factors, tests of soil, investigation the causes of soil erosion and designs land reclamation and irrigation schemes.

Types of Crops

Crops are plants thatare cultivated by humans for food, fodder, fiber, flowers, timber, etc. About 2000 plant species are cultivated for eating purposes.

Following parts of the plants are eaten as food.

Seeds.The edible seeds include cereals,pulses, oil seeds and nuts (dry fruits).

(a) Cereals. They include crops such as wheat, rice, maize, barley, sorghum, etc. They are a rich source of carbohydrates.

(b) Pulses. They include legumes such as chicken pea gram (chana), pea (matar), black gram (urad), green gram (moong), pigeon pea (arhar), cow pea (lobia) and lentil (masoor). They are excellent source of proteins.

Different Types of Crops

(c) Oil seed crops.They include cottonseed, niger (Ramtil), safflower, soybean, flax (linseed oil), groundnut, sesame, mustard, sunflower, olive, etc. They are source of oil, fats and fatty acids. These seeds are typically high in unsaturated fats and when consumed in moderation are regarded as healthy foods.The Coconut oil and palm oil are cheap sources of cooking medium.

(d) Nuts or Dry fruits.Nuts are rich in proteinsand fatty acids, so are considered energetic food items.E.g. almond, walnut, cashew nut, pistachio,dried apricot, coconut, peanut,date, etc.

Fruits.They include apple, orange, mango, banana, pineapple, guava, papaya, watermelon, muskmelon, pomegranate, pear, peach, apricot, grapes, dates, custard apple, etc. Essentially fruits are ripened ovaries of plants and are a good source of vitamins, minerals, roughage, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Vegetables.They are the edible parts of the herbaceous plants. They are eaten in raw or cooked form. Vegetables are of following types:

(a) Roots.Roots of some plants such as carrot, radish, turnip, sweet potato and beet root are eaten as vegetables.

(b) Stems.Stems of some plants such as mustard, bamboo, banana, asparagus, etc., are used as vegetables. Certain plants have modified underground stems that are eaten, e.g., potato, onion, garlic, ginger, etc. Stems of sugarcane are used for making of cane juice and jaggery.

(c) Leafy vegetables.They include leaves of spinach, lettuce, cabbage, turnip, radish, mustard, methi, bathua (pigweed) and curry-leaf tree.

{d) Inflorescence vegetables.They include broccoli, cauliflower, etc., of vegetables.Flowers of banana, fennel, gourd and saffron are also good examples of vegetables.

(e) Fruit vegetables.They include tomato, pumpkin, brinjal (egg plant), jack fruit, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, ridged gourd, cluster bean, cucumber, lady’s finger, pumpkin (sitaphal), capsicum, lablab bean, vegetable sponge (ghiatorai), bean, tamarind, carmbola (kamrakh), etc.

Spices.Certain parts of some plants (e.g., leaves, stems, flowers, fruits and seeds) are used to enhance the palatability of food. They include chilly, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek, cardamom, fennel, nutmeg, sesame, cinnamon, dried ginger etc.
Fodder crops.They provide green fodder to the cattle, e.g., berseem, oat, sudan grass, sorghum, etc.

Other crops. Crop plants also yield fibres(e.g.cotton), tobacco, tea, coffee, chocolate, peppermint, etc.

Crop Seasons

Different crop requires different climatic conditions, temperature and photoperiod for their growth and maturity. The sunlight is required for photosynthesis – the process of manufacturing food by green plants. The Photoperiods are duration of sunlight that influences plants in their growth, flowering, formation of storage organs, leaf fall, etc. India, there are two main seasons of crop growth;Kharif and Rabi.

KharifCrops :These crops grow during rainy seasons (June to October). They are also calledsummer season crops.
Rabi Crops :These crops grow from November to April. Rabi crops are also calledwinter crops.

Differences between Kharif and Rabi crops.

Kharif crops

Rabi crops

1. They are monsoon or rainy season crops

2. The crops grow in hot and wet conditions.

3. These crops are sown in the beginning of rainy season in June – July.

4. These crops are harvested during September – October at the end of Monsoon.

5. Examples.Rice, Maize, Groundnut, Soybean, Green gram, Cotton, Black gram.

1. They are non-monsoon season crops.

2. The crops grow in cold and nearly dry conditions.

3. These crops are sown in October-November when monsoon is retreated.

4. These crops are harvested in March-April before the advent of hot season.

5. Examples. Wheat, Barley, Gram, Mustard, Linseed, Pea.

CROP VARIETY IMPROVEMENT

Following threescientific approaches are adopted in India to obtain high yields from our agriculture farms :

Crop production management
Crop variety improvement
Crop protection management

CROP PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

India is an agriculture based country. In this country, agriculture sector engages about 70% of its population and accounts for 40% of the Gross National Product (GNP).

The Farming practices being followed depend upon size of land holding, education and financial conditions of the farmers. The production practices include “no cost” production, “low cost” production and “high cost” production.

The High cost production is based on improved high yield varieties, improved farming practices, modern technology, latest agricultural machines and implements. Crop production management refers to controlling the various aspects of crop production, to obtain the maximum and best yield.

It has the following three components:

Nutrient management;
Irrigation and
Cropping pattern.

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Nutrient management means controlling the selection, timing and amount of nutrient supply to the crops. Like other living organisms, plants also require inorganic elements for building their structure and maintaining their metabolic processes. These inorganic elements are called nutrients.

TheNutrients are supplied to the plants by air, water and soil. There are about 40 elements found in the plant, but only 16 of those elements are essential for plant growth and development. Hence, these 16 elements are called essential elements or essential plant nutrients.

Out of 16 essential elements, two elements, carbon and oxygen are obtained from air and hydrogen from water. Remaining 13 elements are supplied by the soil. These 13 elements are minerals. A mineral is a substance which is obtained by mining.

Essential nutrients of plants their sources, types and examples.

Source	Nutrients	Type
Air	Carbon (C), Oxygen (O)	Non-mineral micronutrients ( = 2)
Water	Hydrogen (H)	Non-mineral micronutrients ( = 1)
Soil	Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium(Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sulphur (S)	Macronutrients ( = 6)
	Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Boron (B), Zinc (Zn),Copper (Cu), Molybdenum (Mo), Chlorine (CI)	Macronutrients ( = 7)

Types of Essential Nutrients

Maze (1915) divided essential plant nutrients into two categories, macronutrients and micronutrients.

Macronutrients (Macroelements).They are those essential elements which are present in plants in easily detectable quantities, more than lppm of plant body (1 mg per gm of dry weight).

Macronutrients take part in synthesis of organic molecules and development of osmotic potential. Carbon (from air), oxygen (from air) and hydrogen (from water), are non-mineral micronutrients. Out of 13 essential mineral elements, six are macronutrients, i.e.nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

(ii) Micronutrients (Microelements). They are those essential elements which are present in plants in small quantities, less than lppm or
1 mg/gram of dry matter. All of them are mineral elements.

Micronutrients are mostly involved in the functioning of enzymes. Out of 13 essential mineral elements, seven are micronutrients, i.e., iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum and chlorine.

Differences between Macronutrients and Micronutrients.

Macronutrients	Micronutrients
1. They are required in large quantities.	1. They are required in very small amounts.
2. Concentration of each macronutrient in plants is more than 1 mg/gm of dry matter.	2. concentration of micronutrients is quite below 1 mg/gm of dry matter.
3. They take part in building plant body and different protoplasmic structures.	3. They have no such functions.
4. They have no significant role in enzyme activity and electron transport.	4. They are involved in enzyme activity and electron transport.
5. Examples. Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur.	5. Examples.Iron, Manganese, Boron, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum, Chlorine.

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS

The deficiency of plant nutrients and organic matter in the soil is made up by adding manures and fertilizers to the soil of crop-fields. Both manures and fertilizers are major sources of nutrients of plants, so they are used in crop production.

Manures

Manures are natural fertilizers. They are bulky sources of organic matter which supply nutrients in small quantities, and organic matter in large quantities. Manures are prepared by the decomposed animal excreta and plant waste. Manures include farmyard manure (FYM), compost, green manures, vermicompost, etc.

Advantages of manures.Manures affect the soil in following three ways:

(i) Manures enrich the soil with nutrients. They replenish the general deficiency of nutrients in the soil. Since manures contain less nutrients they need to be used in large quantities.

(ii) Manures add organic matter (called humus) to the soil that restores the soil texture, for better retention of water and aeration of soil. For example, organic matter present in the manures increases the water holding capacity in sandy soils and drainage in clayey soil. They also prevent water logging in clay soils.

(iii) The organic matter in manures provides food for the soil organisms, (decomposers such as bacteria, fungi, etc.) which help in providing nutrients to plants.

Thus, organic manures help to improve the physical properties of soil, reduce soil erosion, increase the moisture holding capacity of soil and are low cost nutrient carriers. Using biological waste material is a way of re-cycling the farm waste. Manures protect our environment from synthetic chemicals (i.e., fertilizers).

Disadvantages of manures.

Manures are bulky with low nutrient content.
The nutrients get released slowly, unable to fulfill the high and rapid demand of nutrients required by improved high-yielding hybrid varieties of crops.
Being bulky and voluminous, they are inconvenient to handle, store and transport.
The manures are not nutrient specific and, hence, are not much useful when a particular nutrient is required in the soil for a particular crop.

Types of manures.

Farmyard manure (FYM).

FYM is the decomposed mixture of cattle excreta, (dung), urine, litter and left over organic matter such as roughage or fodder.
These waste materials are collected daily from the cattle shed and stored in a pit for decomposition by the microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.).
FYM contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
A well decomposed farmyard manure contains about 0.5 per cent nitrogen (N), 0.2 per cent phosphorus pentaoxide (P₂O₅) and 0.5 per cent potassium monoxide (K20).

TheCompost is prepared from farm and town refuge such as vegetable and animal refuse (e.g., excreta of domestic animals such as cattle, goat, horse, camel, dogs, etc.), faecal matter of human beings, sewage waste, weeds, crop stubble, straw, rice hulls, forest litter, etc.
The Composting is a biological process in which both aerobic (organisms requiring the presence of oxygen for the respiration) and anaerobic (organisms, in which respiration takes place in the absence of oxygen) microorganisms decompose the organic matter. It takes about 3 to 6 months for decomposition of organic refuse.
The nutrient contents of town compost are about 1.4 per cent nitrogen (N), 1.0 per cent phosphorus pentaoxide (P₂O₅) and 1.4 per cent potassium monoxide (K20).

Green manure.

The practice of green manuring includes growing, mulching by ploughing and mixing green crops with soil, to improve physical structure and soil fertility.

A green manure crop supplies:

Nitrogen and phosphorus.
Organic matter for improving hydration, aeration and crumb structure of the soil. It tends to provide protection against erosion and leaching.
Green manures are generally quick growing leguminous and non-leguminous plants. Some examples: green manure plants are Dhaincha,SunnHemp ,Cluster bean, guar etc.

FERTILIZERS

Fertilizers provide plant nutrients, commercially manufactured using chemicals. Fertilizers supplyNitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK).
They are used for good vegetative growth (i.e., growth ofbranches and flowers), giving rise to healthy plants. Fertilizers are one of the major components forretaining higher yields especially in expensive farming practices.
Fertilizers contain much higher amountof nutrients in comparison to the manures and therefore, used in very small quantities.
Fertilizers should be applied scientifically, in terms of proper dose, time, pre-and post-application cautions for their complete utilization.
For example, sometimes due to excessive water, fertilizer is shed away and do not get fully absorbed by the plants.
Fertilizers generally are washed off through irrigation, rainfall as drainage, and pollute rivers, lakes, streams causing toxicity, algal bloom and eutrophication and disturbing the ecosystem.
The water of these water bodies becomes unfit for human consumption and even kills the aquatic animals such as fishes. So chemical fertilizers must be used carefully and judiciously.

Based on the availability of nutrientsin them, fertilizers are divided into following four groups:

Nitrogenous fertilizers.For e.g.(i) Urea, CO(NH₂)₂; (ii) Ammonium sulphate, (NH4)2S04; (iii) Calcium ammonium nitrate; (iv) Sodium nitrate, NaN03; (v) Ammonium nitrate, NH₄NO₃.
Phosphatic fertilizers.For e.g.(i) Single superphosphate;(ii) Triple super phosphate; (iii) Dicalcium phosphate.
Potassic fertilizers.For e.g.(i) Muriate of potash or potassium chloride, KCl ; (ii) Potassium sulphate, K2S04; (iii) Potassium nitrate, KN03.
Complex fertilizers.When a fertilizer contains at least two or more nutrients
(N, P2O5and K2O),it is called complex fertilizer. Examples of complex fertilizers are:(i) Nitro phosphate; (ii) Ammonium phosphate;(iii) Urea ammonium phosphate.

Manure	Fertilizer
1. A manure is a natural substance. It is obtained by thedecomposition of animal wastes such as dung (gobar)of cattle and buffaloes and plant residues.	1. A fertilizer is a human-made substance. It is aninorganic salt or an organic compound.
2. A manure contains small amounts of essential plantnutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.	2. Fertilizers are very rich in plant nutrients such asnitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
3. A manure adds a great amount of organic matter inthe form of humus in the soil.	3. A fertilizer does not add any humus to the soil.
4. Nutrients present in the manure are absorbedslowly by the crop plants, since manure is notsoluble in water. Nutrients exist locked insidethe organic compounds of humus.	4. Being soluble in water, a fertilizer is readilyabsorbed by the crop plants.
5. A manure is not nutrient specific and it tends toremove the general deficiency from the soil.	5. A fertilizer is nutrient specific. It can specificallyprovide nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorusand potassium to the soil according to the need.
6. A manure is voluminous and bulky so it isinconvenient to store, transport, handle andapply to the crop.	6. A fertilizer is compact and concentrated so it is easyto store, transport and apply to the crop.
7. A manure is cheap and is prepared in rural homesor fields.	7. A fertilizer is costly and is prepared in factories.

Bio fertilizers

Organisms which enrich the soil with nutrients are called Biofertilizers are used for the specific crop plants such as pulses, legumes, oil seeds and rice.
Biofertilizers are renewable and non-pollutant sources of plant nutrients such as nitrogen.
They are not alternatives to chemical fertilizers but can play a supplementary role is supplying nitrogen to specific crops under specific soil conditions.
Nitrogen fixing microorganisms, e., non-symbiotic and symbiotic cyanobacteria and phosphate-solubilising microorganism, are the main type of biofertilizers that are being used in India. Recently, two biofertilizers, namely Rhizobium cultures and blue green algae (such as Anabaena and Nostoc) have gained popularity amongst farmers cultivating pulses, legumes, oil seeds and wetland rice.

Mycorrhiza

TheMycorrhiza is a symbiotic association of certain fungi with roots of higher plants.
Mycorrhiza increases water and nutrient uptake by plants and increase growth, vigour and yield of the plants.

IRRIGATION

The process of supplying water to crop plants by means of canals, wells, reservoirs,tube-wells, etc., is known as irrigation.
Crop plants get water from soil.
Soil obtains water from rain. However, sufficient rain is not always available. The soil is not able to supply sufficient water to crops.
The extra water required by crops is met through irrigation
In our country, there are 12 major river basins and 8 composite river basins. Ground water also contributes significantly to our total water resources. This is replenished by rainfall.
The only 55% of our cropped area is either partly irrigated (about 25%) or is under assured irrigation (about 30%).
Remaining about 45% of cropped area is unirrigated and is dependent on rain for the cultivation of crops.It is calledrainfed agriculture.
Water managementis arranging and supplying required water to crops without harming soilaeration, change of water table or causing water-label and soil salinity.

Advantagesof Irrigation

In agriculture irrigation, fulfil the following goals:

Crop plants are irrigated with freshwater to supply two essential elements to them, hydrogen and oxygen. Both of these elements are present in water molecules and are necessary for growth and development of crop plants.
Irrigation of crop fields is necessary to provide sufficient moisture for the germination of seeds, as seeds do not germinate in dry soils.
Irrigation of crop plants is essential for the growth and elongation of the roots of the crop plants. This is because roots of crop plants fail to develop and elongate in dry soil.
Irrigation is necessary to increase the number of aerial branches (called tillers)in crop plants to get a good crop yield.
Irrigation is essential for the absorption of nutrient elements by the crop plants from the soil. The irrigation water tends to dissolve the nutrients present in the soil of a crop field to form a solution. This solution of nutrients is then absorbed by the roots of crops for the development of the plants.

Irrigation Systems

The various types of irrigation systems have been adopted to supply water to the agricultural lands. Some most commonly used irrigation systems are the following:

Canal system

In canal system, the human-made canals receive water from one or two reservoirs or from rivers.
This is usually an elaborate and extensive irrigation system. Thus, main canalis distributed into branch canals and branch canals further have distributaries or field channels. These unlined field channels may serve individual fields or a group of fields.
Under the canal irrigated areas, the rotation system is followed.
Rotation system is known as water bandhi or intermittent water delivery method.
This provides adequate irrigation to all the fields, when the water supply is short. Each field or group of fields are given water by rotation.

Tanks

Tanks are small storage reservoirs, which catch and store the runoff of smaller catchment areas.
Small dams are built below the higher elevations of the catchment areas.
In the tanks, outflows are controlled according to the availability of water.
It causes an uneven distribution of water. The main drawback of uneven distribution of irrigation water is that it causes shortage of water at tail end and excessive use at the top.

Wells

TheWells are constructed where ground water is present.

Wells are of two types:

Dug wells. In the dug wells, the water is collected from water bearing strata. These dug wells havetheir base below the ground water table. The water from the shallow strata slowly accumulates in the pit. From these wells, water is lifted by mechanical means, g., bullock operated devices.
Tube wells. A tube well can tap water from the deeper strata. From these wells, water is lifted by diesel or electricity run pumps. Deep bore tube well can supply water continuously for many years.

River lift system

River lift system is more useful in those areas where canal flow is insufficient or irregular due to inadequate water release. In this system, water is directly drawn from the rivers for supplement irrigation.

Dug well

River valley system

Certain parts of the country such as Karnataka and Kerala, which lie along the Western Ghats, use water that is discharged into the steep and narrow riverine valleys, during the raining season.
In these parts of India, the rainfall is heavy but concentrated in four or five month’s period of the year.
This is followed by drying up during the Rabi
On the slopes of these valleys and in the valleys perennial plants (= crops) such as coconuts, areca nuts (supari), coffee, rubber and tapioca are cultivated.
The bottom flat lands of the valleys are used for growing a single rice crop.

Drip and sprinkler system

Overheads for spraying water and sprinkler system save a lot of water and are more natural. They however, require a pumping system.
These methods are very common in U.S.A., Britain, Europe and parts of India.

Sprinkler System

CROPPING PATTERNS

These are pattern of raising crops, which help in obtaining maximum benefit from the same piece of land; reduce risk of crop failure, disease and infestation. Three common types of cropping patterns are mixed cropping, intercropping and crop rotation.

Mixed Cropping

Farming is an agricultural process of harnessing solar energy in the form of economic produce of plants and animals.
The Indian farmers depend a great deal on the monsoon rain for water. Monsoons sometimes bring very heavy rain and cause floods.
Sometimes there are dry spells that lead to drought conditions. In addition, the amount of rainfall in a particular season is not dependable.
The small and marginal farmers, particularly in the rain-fed regions cannot take the risk of growing specialized crops.
They prefer a farming system, called mixed cropping which is the practice of growing of two or more crops simultaneously in the same piece of land. It is an age-old practice in our country.
Indian farmers used to mix the seeds of two crops and sow in the field.

Objective of mixed cropping

The basic objective in mixed cropping is to minimise the risk and insure against the crop failure due to abnormal weather conditions.

Crop-combination used in mixed cropping

In India, farmers in mixed cropping use the following combinations of the crops:

(i) Maize + Urad bean (ii) Cotton + Moong bean

(iii) Sorghum + Pigeon pea (iv) Wheat + Chick pea

(v) Wheat + Mustard.

Criteria for the selection of the crops for mixed cropping

While selection of the crop is made forthe mixed cropping, the following criteria are maintained:

The different crops to be grown together are so selected that the products and waste materials from one crop stimulates the growth of the other crop. For example, if a cereal crop such as wheat is grown along with a leguminous crop such as pulse (e.g., gram), then the uptake of nitrogen from the soil by the cereal is compensated by the nitrogen-fixing legume.

Care is taken to select crops that do not compete with each other for light, nutrients and water. For example:
One crop is of long duration and other crop is of short duration. Thus, if one crop fails due to shortage of moisture or nutrients, the other crop can cover the risk of complete failure.
One crop is tall growing and other is short growing. Thus, component crops used in mixed cropping have different The crop canopy means the structure of leaves, stems and flowers found above ground.
If one crop is deep rooted, the other has shallow roots.

(d) One crop needs comparatively lesser water and nutrients than the other.

Intercropping
- Intercropping is a practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in a same field in definite row patterns with the objective of increasing productivity per unit area.
The practice of intercropping is adopted by small farmers and where farmers have least access to irrigation.
Intercropping is an improved version of mixed cropping. All the crop combinations in mixed cropping can also be practiced in intercropping.
The row patterns are definite, e., 1:1,1:2 or 1:3.
It means after one row of main crop, one, two, or three rows of intercrops can be grown.

Three Rows of Intercrops

Advantages of Intercropping

It makes better use of the natural resources of sunlight, land and water.
Soil erosion is effectively arrested.
Since the seeds of the two crops are not mixed before sowing, fertilizers can be added as per the need of the crops.
Since the seed maturity period of these crops vary, the different crops can be harvested and threshed separately.
The produce of each crop can be marketed and consumed separately.

Table:Comparison between mixed cropping and intercropping.

Mixed Cropping	Inter-cropping
1. It aims to minimise risk of crop failure.	1. It aims to increase productivity per unit area.
2 Seeds of two crops are mixed before sowing.	2. Seeds of two crops are not mixed.
3. It involves no set pattern of rows of crops.	3. It involves set patterns of rows of crops.
4. In this method there is a difficulty of fertilizer application to individual crops.	4. In intercropping fertilizer can be placed as per need of the crops
5. Spraying for pest control to individual crop is difficult.	5. Pesticides can be easily applied to individual crop.
6. Harvesting and threshing of crops separately not possible.	6. Both crops can be easily harvested and threshed separately.
7. Marketing and consumption of only mixed produce is possible.	7. Product of each crop can be marketed and consumed separately.

iii)Crop Rotation

Croprotation can be defined as the practice of growing of different crops on a piece of land in a preplanned succession.
If we grow a crop continuously in the same field for many years, it results into various problems such as (i) depletion (deficiency ) of same types of nutrients and (ii) build up of diseases and insect-pests.
This demands for the requirement of the practice of crop rotation.

Depending upon the duration crop rotation may be of following three types as shown in table.

Types of Crop Rotation

Types of crop rotation	Component crops involved in rotation
1. One year rotation	1. Maize – Mustard 2. Rice – Wheat
2 Two years rotation	1. Maize – Mustard – Sugarcane – Fenugreek 2. Maize – Potato – Sugarcane – Peas
3. Three years rotation	1. Rice – Wheat – Moong – Mustard – Sugarcane- Berseem 2. Cotton – Oat – sugarcane – Peas – Maize – Wheat

Advantages of Crop Rotation

It controls pests and weeds. Most pathogens survive on crop residue, but only for a limited time, and most pathogens do not infect multiple crops. By naturally breaking the cycles of weeds, insects and diseases, the application and cost of insecticides may be reduced.
Crop rotation reduces the need of fertilizers. For example, nitrogen supply is maintained in the crop field when leguminous crops are alternated with others.
Several crops may be grown in succession with only one soil preparation (ploughing). For example, land is ploughed for maize and the maize stubbles (which retain nutrients) is left on the land for wheat.
By alternation between deep and shallow rooted crops, the soil may be utilized more completely.

Crop Variety Improvement

The art of recognising valuable traits and incorporating them into future generation is very important in plant breeding.
Breeders search for individual plants that exhibit desirable traits.
The two most desirable qualities of food plants are high yield and natural resistance to disease.
Such traits occasionally arise spontaneously through a process called mutation, but the natural rate of mutation is too slow and unreliable to produce all the plants that breeders would like to see.
Plant breeders select plant varieties with desired characters and cross them.
The developed offspringscombine the attributes of both parents.
These varieties are multiplied and supplied to farmers.

Need for Higher Crop Yield

Higher yield.The main aim of crop improvement is to improve the productivity of economic produce, e.g., grain, vegetables and fodder. Quality seeds of improved varieties are used for their commercial production.
Improved quality.Quality considerations of crop products varies from crop to crop, e.g., baking quality in wheat, protein quality in pulses, oil quality in oil seeds and preserving quality of fruits and vegetables.
Biotic and abiotic resistance.Under different situations crop suffers due to biotic stresses (such as diseases, insects and nematodes) and abiotic stresses (such as drought, salinity, water logging, heat, cold and frost). If we develop crop varieties which are resistant to these stresses, then we can improve significantly the crop production.
Changes in maturity duration.In some of the short duration crops, early maturing varieties can make the crop fit into double and multiple cropping system. This will also reduce the crop’s cost of production. Uniform maturity will make the harvesting process easy and reduce the loss of produce during harvesting.
Photo-insensitivity and thermo-insensitivity.Most of the plants are sensitive to certain abiotic factors as light and temperature. Development of photo-insensitive and thermo-insensitive crop varieties will help in crossing the cultivation boundaries, e.g., a HYV of wheat ,MACS 2469 can tolerate high temperature.
Desirable agronomic traits.If we develop those varieties of crops which contain desired agronomic traits then it will help in setting higher production. Thus, tallness, high tillering and profuse branching are desirable characters for the fodder crops. Whereas, dwarfnessis desired in cereals as dwarf varieties provide protection from lodging.
Wider adaptability.If we develop those varieties of crops which have wider adaptability, then it will help in stabilizing the crop production under different environmental conditions.

Mechanism by which Crops are Improved

Crop variety improvement is manipulation of crop plants for increasing their yield, improving quality, suitability to varied conditions and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Genetic manipulation is incorporation of new genes for various traits from other genotypes into the crop variety so as to bring about desired changes.
It is carried out through hybridization, mutation, breeding, polyploidy and DNA recombination technology.
Various approaches which are used for genetic improvement of crop plants are referred to as plant breeding methods or

Genetic improvement of various crop plants has been done by adopting the following three steps : Introduction, Selection and Hybridization.

Introduction

This refers to transportation of crop plants from the place of their cultivation to the place where they were never grown earlier.
Thus, the process of introducing new plants from their growing place to a new region with a different climate is termed as plant introduction.
The adjustment of such plants to their new region is called For example, crops such as potato, coffee, tea, tobacco, groundnut, papaya, etc., have been introduced in India from the other parts of the world.

Selection

This process involves selection of the most desirable offspring of a variety of plant for controlled propagation.
Selection favours the survival and further propagation of some plants having more desirable characters (related to yield and quality) than others.

There are following two patterns of selection:

Mass selection

Selection favours the survival and further propagation of some plants having more desirable characters (related to yield and quality) than others.
Seeds from a number of similar plants having the desired traits are mixed andsown to raise the new offspring.
TheOffspring’s with the undesirable traits are eliminated and the process iscontinued with the remaining progeny in the same manner until the desired improvement is achieved.
Grapes, apples, pear, watermelon, radish, onion and maize have been improved by this method.

Pure-line selection
Seeds from a single plant having the desirable trait is sown in separate rowsto produce the offspring.
Desired plants are again selected from the progeny and the process is continuedfor several generations.
The inferior varieties are eliminated in each generation.
Wheat varieties such asKalyan Sona-227 and PV-18 have been developed by this method.

Hybridisation

The crossing between genetically dissimilar plants to produce a new kind (hybrid) is called
Crossing may be between two different varieties (intervarietalcross-breeding), between two different species of the same genus (interspecific cross-breeding) and between different genera (intergeneric cross-breeding).
This method incroporates the desired (good) characteristics of both parents in one variety.
The most common type of breeding is inter varietal.

CROP PROTECTION MANAGEMENT

The Field crops are infested with a variety of pests.
A pest is any destructive organism which causes great economic loss by destroying crop plants or products obtained from them.
Pests of crop plants include weeds, insects, mites, nematodes, rodents, fungi, bacteria and viruses.
Field crops are infested by a large number of insect pests and diseases. If these pests are not controlled at appropriate time they can damage the crops to the extent of 50 to 70 per cent.
There are various methods by which insects and diseases can be controlled.
One of the most common and effective methods is the use of pesticides or biocides which include insecticides (for killing the insects), weedicides (for killing the weeds) and fungicides (for killing the fungi).
Thus, chemicals (poisons) used to kill pests, g., weeds, insects, mites, rodents and fungi are called pesticides.
These chemicals (i.e., pesticides) are sprayed on crop plants or used for treating seeds and soil.
However, one should try to avoid the use of these toxic chemicals (pesticides) as they cause environmental pollution.
Weeds are unwanted plants in the cultivated fields. In other words, plants other than crops are the weeds. Weeds tend to compete with the crops for food (water and nutrients), space and light.

Types of weeds

Infestation of weeds is more during ‘kharif season than in ‘rabi’ season. Based on the morphology of plants.

Methods of weed control

Weeds can be controlled by following methods:

Mechanical methods.

These include the following methods: uprooting,weeding with trowel orkhurpi’ or harrow (a comb-like implement), hand hoeing(scraping), interculture, ploughing, burningand flooding.

The process of removing the weeds from crop field is calledweeding.

Weeding can be done by the owing methods:

(i) Weeds may be pulled out with hand. Ploughing helps in removing large numberof the weeds because it uproots majority of them.

(ii) Before sowing or transplantation, weeds are removed using a big comb like harrow. Harrow cannot be used in standing crops because it will also uproot the plants. The weeds which appear during the growth of crop plants are removed manually by using atrowel (khurpa).

Cultural methods.They include the following methods: proper bed preparation, timely sowing of crops, intercropping and crop rotation.

Chemical methods.Chemical weed killers, called herbicides or weedicides, are sprayed on weeds to destroy (kill) them. This is calledchemical control ofweeds.Some common examples of weedicides are the following: (i) 2, 4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid); (ii) Atrazine; (iii) Isoproturon.

Biological control.Biological control of weeds involves the deliberate use of insects or some other organisms which consume and specifically destroy the weed plants. The best Indian example of biological control is eradication of prickly-pear cactus (Opuntia) by using the cochineal insects in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Insect Pest Control

Many insects are serious pests of plants. They attack all stages, parts and products of plants.

Insects attack the crop plants in the following three ways :

Chewing insects.The chewing insects destroy all sort of crop plants. They cut root, stem and leaf of crop plants by the help of their chewing mouth parts. Thus, chewing insects tear off bits of leaves, delicate branches, chew them and then swallow them, e.g., locusts, grasshoppers (Hieroglyphus), caterpillars, grubs, etc.
Sucking insects.The sucking insects suck the cell sap from various parts of the plant. They include various common pests of crop plants such as aphids (e.g., Aphis), leaf hoppers(Pyrilla), plant bugs. They possess piercing-sucking mouth parts. Sucking insects make fine punctures in the skin of the plants with their needle-like, hollow beaks and suck the sap.

Internal feeders.The internal feeders live inside the plant parts. They are calledborers when they live in twigs or roots as sugarcane borers.

Infestation of different types of insect pests can be controlled by the following methods:

(i) Root cutting types of insects are controlled by mixing insecticide in soil, e.g., chloropyriphos.

(ii) Stem and leaf cutting and boring type of insects are controlled by dusting or spraying the contact insecticides, e.g., malathion, lindaneand thiodan.

(iii) All sap sucking insects can be controlled by spraying systemic insecticides e.g., dimethoateand metasystox.

STORAGE OF GRAINS

Most crops are harvested only once a year.
Thus, they are available in plenty during a selective time. For getting seasonal foods regularly throughout the year, they are stored in safe storage.
During storage, grains and seeds are subjected to spoilage and wastage by various means.
This loss has been estimated to be 9.3 per cent annually.

During storage damage of grains can take place by following main types of factors:

Effect of temperature
- The growth of insects and microorganisms in the stored food materials depends upon the fluctuation of temperature.
- As the maximum growth rate of the insects is at a higher temperature at 30°C to 32°C, the microorganisms and enzymes are most active at 30°C to 40°C.
- Therefore, the food-grains / materials should be stored at lower temperature.
Effect of moisture
For safe-storage, the moisture content of the food-grains should be 14 per cent by weight or less.
The greater amount of moisture present in food grains increases the rate of decay of food materials caused by microorganisms and enzymes and the population of insects increases rapidly.

Effectof humidity
The moisture contents present in air is known as humidity.It increase the fungusasmoulds(e.g., Mucor, Penicillium) on the stored food materials.
High humidity content also initiatesthegermination process of stored seeds that also releases the heat.
Therefore, as the moisture content ofThe grains increases from 14 to 18 per cent, the temperature may shoot up to 66°C.
The rise in temperature ofstored food-grains due to the growth of moulds and fungi and germination of stored food-grains under high humidityconditions of air is calledwet heating or damp grain heating.

Preventive and Control Measures

Biotic and abiotic factors which cause destruction of grains during storage can be prevented and controlled by using the following methods.

Drying

The proper time of harvestinga crop is very important, because the time of harvesting a cropdetermine the yield of the crop production as well as the storing qualities of the crop products.
At the time of harvesting of the crop, moisture content in grains varies from 15-35 per cent.
Thesafestorage the seeds and grains should have moisture content below 14%. The step of drying of grains is avital preventive measure.
The harvested food grains should be dried by spreading them over plastic sheets or on cemented floor.
All the sun dried food grains are allowed to cool to the room temperature before storing them.

Cleaning

The grains and other agriculture produce should be properly cleaned before their storage.
They should be filled in new gunny bags before keeping in godowns, warehouses or stores.

Safe and proper storage

Godown, warehouses and stores should be properly cleaned, dried and repaired.
The Pathways (alleys) should be provided between the stacks of grain-filled bags, for the periodicsection, for spraying or for fumigation.
For the large scale storage of grains, the grain silos are used.
The silos are big and tall cylindrical structures.
They have built in arrangementaeration, temperature control, protection from insects, rats, birds and mammals, for fumigation and inspection of their grain stocks.

Storage of Grains inSilos

Chemical control

The pesticide solution is sprayed over the gunny bags containing food grains by using manual sprayer or a mechanical sprayer.
The spraying of pesticides is more suitable for disinfecting the whole godown before the arrival of the fresh stock of grains.
The pesticides can be sprayed are BHC (benzene hexa chloride), malathion and pyrethrum.
Pesticides can be mixed with the grains only when they are to be used as seeds for sowing.

Fumigation

Those pesticides that can destroy insects by forming toxic fumesare calledfumigants and process of their use is called Fumigants may be solid, liquid or gaseous.
Ultimately they volatalise or react with moisture of the air, forming poisonous fumes.e.g. Aluminium phosphate, methyl bromide.

Animal Husbandry

The branch of agriculture that deals with the feeding, caring and breeding of domestic animals is calledanimal husbandry.
Animal farming or animal husbandry requires planning for domestic animal’s shelter, breeding, health, disease control and proper economic utilisation.
Our domestic animals or livestock includes those animals which are raised for farm purposes, g., cattle (cow, bull or ox), buffalo, yak, horse, ass, goat, sheep, camel, etc.

CATTLE FARMING

In India, cattle (cows and buffaloes) are next to land in use for farmers.
Human beings domesticate them for milk, also for meat, leather and transportation.
Thus, cattle raising is done to fulfill the specific needs for dairy, draught or dual purpose of breeds.
Draught breeds
Their meat is tough and they give little milk.
They are used as beasts of burden in various agricultural practices such as tilling (to plough the land), irrigation. Small and marginal farmers still make use of draught breeds of cow.

Dairy breeds. They have large digestive systems and a spacious udder because as much as possible of the food they consume must be turned into milk.

Dual purpose breeds

These breeds provide milk as well as help in agricultural tasks.
In India, dual-purpose breeds are favored by farmers because in these breeds the cows are fairly good milk yielders and thebullocks( sterilized males) good for draught work.
Milk producing female population of animals is called milch animals or dairy animals.
These include, buffalo, goat, camel and yak. Buffalo and cow, both are excellent dairy animals, as well as, their males or he-buffaloes and oxen (bullocks) are used for various draft purposes (i.e., bullock labour) in agriculture.

Indigenous breeds of dairy cows are mainly of three types (varieties):

Red Sindhi. This cow is medium in size and red in colour with dark and light red shade.

(ii) Sahiwal. This breed of cow is superior to other dairy cows. The animal is large and of heavier built.

This is the native breed of Gir forest in Gujarat. This cow is medium in size and fairly good milk yielder.

Breeds of Buffaloes

In India, buffaloes are domesticated in greatnumber.
There are ten breeds of buffaloes in our country.
The important breeds of buffaloes with high yield of milk are :murrah, Mehsana, Surti etc.

Milch breed of Cattle

Quality of Buffalo Milk

Buffalo is potentially the most productive economic animal.
It has an exceptionally long productive life of about 20 years.
Also, buffalo’s milk is richer in fat, tocopherol (vitamin E), proteins, calcium, phosphorus and contains low sodium, potassium, cholesterol.
Buffalo’s milk is ideal for making milk products such as khoa, rabri, dahi, ghee, etc., and is always in great demand.
Milk in comparison to other food products from animals such as egg and meat contain all the major food constituents such as carbohydrates (sugars), protein, fat, minerals (mainly phosphorus, calcium) and water.
Certain vitamins such as vitamin A and D are also present in milk.

Breed Improvement for Higher Production of Milk

Milk production of milching animals depends on their lactation period, i.e., period of milk production between birth of a young one and the next pregnancy. For example, lactation period of some indigenous breeds of cows are as follows:

Red Sindhi – 231 to 345 days
Sahiwal – 184 to 354 days
Gir – 230 to 394 days

The milk production can be increased by increasing lactation period.
For achieving this target, the technique of selective breeding has been used.

The different desired traits or characteristics of the parent generally chosen for breeding are the following:

Tolerance to climatic conditions ;
Lactationperiod ;
High yield of the produce (milk/meat);
Resistance to diseases;
Proper age of reproduction;
Goodhealth;
General appearance

Methods of breeding animals

There are two methods of breeding animals:

Natural method;
Artificial method.
Natural method of breeding
- It is a traditional method of breeding.
- It takes place by cross-breeding between the desi (indigenous cow) and the bull of high milk yielding exotic breed by the natural physical mating process during the heat period (fertility period) of cow.
- The yield of milk and prolongation of lactation period have significantly improved in successful crossbreeds.
Improved crossbreeding programed has been widely extended to entire country by the process of artificial insemination.

Artificial method ofbreeding
- Theprocess of injecting the semen obtained from desired male bull of high milk yielding breed into the genital orreproductive tract of female animal during heat period is called artificialinsemination.
- It generally gives improved breeds.
- This method is widely used to improve the qualities of cow, buffaloes, poultry, horse, sheep, goats and pigs.

Precautions for Artificial Insemination

The various precautions to be observed to ensure high fertility by artificial insemination method are follows:

The semen should be obtained from high quality (healthy and high yielding) male animal.
The female animal selected should-be healthy and of sound breeding age (i.e., proper age for reproduction).
Artificial insemination should be carried out only at the proper heat-period of female animal.
The instruments used in artificial insemination should be properly sterilised. Proper technique should be used for artificial insemination.

Farm Management Practices

In a farmhouse, the requirement of proper cleaning and shelter for cows and buffaloes is must due to two reasons: (i) for the production of clean milk; (ii) for the health of the animal.
Both cow and buffaloes require regular grooming (brushing) to remove dirt and loose hairs.
They are sheltered under roofed sheds that protect them from rain, heat, direct sunlight and cold.
The floor of the cattle shed is made brick-lined and sloping for facilitating cleaning and keeping their sitting place dry.
The sheds or shelters should be provided with cross ventilation with sufficient number of inlets and outlets.
The food eaten by animals is called The Feeding of animalmeans providing food to animal.

The food requirement of dairy animals is of two types:

Maintenance requirements. The food is required by the animal to support it to perform the basic functions of life.

Milk producing requirement.It includes the type of food required during lactation period. Maintenance part of the ration depends upon the body weight, while milk production part is dependent upon the level and composition of the milk.
Components of Cattle Feed

The animal feed includes two types of substances:

Roughage

It largely contains fibres such as green fodder, silage, hay (straw of cereals) and legumes (e.g., berseem, lucerne, cow pea and agathi).

Concentrates
The concentrates used in feed of cattle and buffaloes are a mixture of substances which are rich in one or more of the nutrients (e.g. Carbohydrates, fats, protein, minerals and vitamins).
Concentrates are low in fibers and contain relatively high proteins and other nutrients.
Concentrates include cottonseeds, oil seeds, grains of maize, oats, barley, jowar, bajra, gram and their byproducts such as wheat barn, rice barn (polish), gram husk, oil seed cakes and molasses.

Diseases of Cattle and Buffaloes

Cows and buffaloes suffer from various diseases.
The diseases adversely affect the production of milk and cause mortality of sick animals.

Diseases of dairy animals are broadly classified into following three categories:

parasitic diseases: 2. infectious diseases; and 3. non-infectious diseases.

Parasitic diseases

The parasites of cattle may be both external and internal.
The external parasites include fleas, lice (blood-sucking lice), ticks and mites.
They live on skin of cows and buffaloes and mainly cause skin diseases. Buffaloe leech {Hirudinaria granulosa) sucks blood of bufalloe and causes anaemia
The internal parasites such as worms (e.g., Ascarisritulorum) affect stomach and intestine of cows and buffaloes and flukes (e.g., Fasciolagiganticaand F. heyatica) of the host (cow/buffaloe) damage the liver.

Infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are mainly caused by viruses and bacteria.
They are contagious diseases and spread by contact from animal to animal.
Examples of viral diseases
Foot and mouth disease, cowpoxor vacciniaand
Symptoms of foot and mouth disease include blisters on feet and mouth, excessive formation of saliva (trail of saliva hangs from the mouth), soreness of mouth, diminished appetite and high fever.
Examples of bacterial diseases.
Anthrax, Hemorrhagic septicemia, Black quarter,
Hemorrhagic septicimiais caused due to infection of Pasteurellamultocidaand black quarter is caused by Clostridium chanroei.

POULTRY FARMING

The poultry industry with its production in the form of eggs and meat is of particular importance in providing a balanced diet for the human population. Poultry birds serve human beings in various ways.
They are not only efficient converters of agricultural byproducts, particularly of wastes into high quality meatalso provide egg, feathers and rich manure.
However, poultry also includes ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea-fowls and pigeons. Poultry is thechoice of millions as staple food world over.
The constant efforts in the field of poultry farming has made possible to increase the production of eggs in our country.
India has become 5th largest country in the world in poultry production after China, former USSR, USA and Japan.
An egg laying poultry is calledegger or layer and the poultry reared for obtaining meat is called

Poultry Breeds

In India, available poultry breeds are included in following categories:

Desi or indigenous breeds.
- We have only four pure breeds of indigenous or desi fowls. They are A seel, Chittagong, Ghagusand

Aseelor Indian game is most popular breed of India and selected for poultry farming.
This breed provides high yield of meat and also is good egg layer.
The average weight of cocks varies from 4 to 5 kg and of hens from 3 to 4 kg. There occur only four popular varieties of Aseel, namely (a) Peela(golden red),
Yakub (black and red), (c) Nurie(white), and {d) Kajal(black).

Exotic breeds
Exotic breeds mean varieties of other countries or foreign breeds.
There are present numerous exotic breeds of poultry which have been successfully acclimatized in India.

The following two exotic breeds of poultry are most popularly used in our country :

White Leghorn
This very popular exotic breed of fowl produces long white eggs.
Since white leghorn has small body size (body weight 2.7 kg of cock and 2.0 kg of hen), so need less feed for its maintenance. Thus, its farming proves quite economical.
Rhode Island Red
This breed of fowl was developed on the farm of Rhode Island in U.S.A.
This is a dual type of breed, it is fairly good egg layer and also meat yielding (broiler).
Some other exotic breeds of fowls in our country are Black Minorcha, Plymouth and Light Sussex.

EGG AND BROILER PRODUCTION

There are two basic targets of poultry farming :

(i) obtaining more and more eggs;

(ii) getting flesh.

Production of Eggs

In chickens, egg production is the most important economic trait.
A layer starts laying eggs at the age of 20 weeks.
The egg production period in commercial layer is 500 days.
To develop new varieties or to improve quality of chicken with respect to quantity and quality of eggs.

The following points are considered :

Egg number 2. Sexual maturity
Egg weight 4. Body weight
Feed efficiency 6. Egg size
Egg shape 8. Shell color
Shell quality; and
Internal quality ofProduction of vegetarian eggs.

The fertile eggs not rapidly than the infertile eggs, thus, the production of infertile eggs are desired.
Hens can lay eggs without a cock and the eggs thus obtained are infertile. Such eggs are called vegetarian eggs.

Leghorn

Production of Broilers

Chickens are raised up to 6-7 weeks in the poultry farm.
They grow to a weight of 700 gm to 1.5 kg inthis period.
They are fed with vitamin rich supplementary feed for good growth rate and better feedefficiency.
Care is taken to prevent mortality and enable feathering and maintain quality. They are produced as broilers and sent to market to be sold as meat.

Poultry Care

Good management practices are essential for producing good poultry.
These practices are often different egg broilers and egg layers.

Housing, Shelter and Feed

Both layer and broiler breeds require different type of care:

Care for the layers

There are following two distinct phases in the life of a layer:

Growing period
The first phase of the life of poultry (i.e., the layer) is growing period (up to sexual maturity).
During this period the chickens are called growers.
The growers require enough space. Over-crowding tends to suppress their growth.
The feed is given in a restricted and calculated manner.
Laying period
The period from sexual maturity until the end of egg laying is called laying period and the chickens are known as eggers or layers.
The layers require enough space and adequate lighting.
Light intensity and its duration hasfavorable effect on the laying output of the hens.
Feed with vitamins, minerals and micronutrients also influence hatchability of eggs.

Care for the broilers

The housing, nutritional and environmental requirements of broilers are different egg layers.
Conditions provided have to be favorable for the fast growth and low mortality of broilers.
Theration for broilers is protein rich with sufficient fat. In the poultry feed, the contents of vitamin A and K kept high.

FISH PRODUCTION

Fish is an important aquatic food which is rich in proteins.
A large section of Indian population uses fish as food, particularly that living in coastal areas.
It is highly nutritious and easily digestible.
Fish can be useful in eradicating problem of malnutrition.
Fish liver oil is rich in vitamin A and D.
Out of the total fish obtained from the Indian oceans, 45% is procured by India.

Fisheries

Fisheries are establishments connected with capture, preservation, exploitation and utilization of various types of fishes, prawns, lobsters, crabs, oysters, other molluscs, etc.

On the basis of product, fisheries are of two types:

Fin fishery

It is capture, management and exploitation of cartilaginous and bony fishes.

Shell fishery
It is the capture management and exploitation of crustaceans (crabs, prawns, lobsters) and molluscs (oysters, mussels, octopods, etc.).
Depending up on the mode of obtaining fish, fisheries are of two types, capture and culture.
Capture fishery
The fish is caught from natural waters, both marine Inland.
Modern technology is used for capture and storage before marketing. Electronic equipment is used to locate fish in the sea.
The mechanized fishing boats and deep sea trawlers are often employed in capture fishery.

Culture fishery
It is cultivating, rearing and harvesting of fish.
Culture fishery is also calledfish farming or
The growing of various types of aquatic organisms in water bodies is called

Seventy per cent of the Earth is covered with water. Based on the water sources of fish production, following three types of fisheries can be recognized.

Marine fisheries

They include capture fisheries of oceans and seas.

Fresh water fisheries

They include capture and culture fisheries in freshwater systems such as rivers. canals, lakes, reservoirs, tanks, ponds and paddy fields.

Brackish water fisheries
They include fishing activities in brackish water (slightly salty) such as Estuaries (last part of river that gets tidal water from sea), lagoons (shallow salt water lakes separated from sea bank, coral reef, etc.) and mangrove swamps (tropical trees growing in mud of sea-shore).
Fresh water fisheries and brackish water fisheries are collectively calledinland fisheries.

(a) Cattla (b) Silver carp (c) Rohu (d) Grass carp (e) Mrigal (f) Common carp

MARINE FISHERIES

India has a vast scope of marine fishery.
our marine fishery resources include 7500 kms coast line and extensive deep sea.
Marine waters providing profitable fishing are Arabian sea, Bay Bengal, many small bays, gulfs, lagoons, coralreefs, etc.
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) at Ernaculum, Cochin, Kerala has been set up to explore and utilise the marinereasons of the country.
Following 12 marine fishes of India are most preferred sea fishes or table fishes, e., popularly consumed fishes :

Pomphrets, 2.Mackerels, 3.Tuna, 4.Sardines, 5.Bombay duck, 6.Eel, 7.Hilsa, 8. Salmon, 9. Ribbon fish, 10.Flat fish or sole, 11.Seer, 12.Flying fish.

These marine table fishes are caught by fishing nets and gears operated by fishing vessels.
A vessel that drags a net behind it is calledfishing trawler.
Such fishing trawlers fitted with electronic fish locating device have been put into service for boosting deep-sea fishing.
The modern technologies for catching more fish includesechosounders and use of satellites.

INLAND FISHERIES

It includes (i) riverine fishery; (ii) reservoir fishery; (iii) lake or lacustrine fishery; (iv) pond fishery and (v) estuarine fishery.
Inland capture fisheries are rapidly expanding in our country.Introduction of exotic species from abroad and inter-regional transplantation of fish from northern to southern waters have proved to be great boon. Increasing pollution of water is adversely affecting the inland fisheries.
Major share of fish production from inland resources is, however, through aquaculture practices. For table fish production, common and most advantageous culture system is composite fish culture.
Fish culture in integrated fish culture system is also taken up with agriculture farming include paddy-cum-fish culture.

BEE-KEEPING

Bee keeping or apiculture is the rearing, care and management of honeybees for obtaining honey, wax and other substances.
Honey is known to have medicinal value. It is found to be quite useful in the treatment of various disorders of humans related to digestion, dysentery, vomiting and stomach or liver ailments.
Honey is considered as a blood purifier, a cure against cough, and cold sore throat, ulcers of the tongue, ulcer of stomach and intestine, etc.
Since honey is rich in iron and calcium, it helps in growth of human body. Honey is also used as a source of sugar in confectionary items such as pasteries, cakes, etc.
Thevisualizingthese important uses of honey, bee keeping has been undertaken on commercial basis as a business.

Arrangement of Beehive in an apiary

Products Obtained From Apiculture

Apiculture or bee keeping provides us the following useful products : honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom.

Honey

Itis a sweet, viscous edible fluid containing sugars, water or moisture, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and pollen.
Sugars present in honey include levulose, dextrose, sucrose and dextrin. Minerals of honey are calcium, iron, phosphate and manganese.
Vitamins present in honey are Pantothenic acid, Biotin, Pyridoxin, Choline, Ascorbic acid, Thiamine, Riboflavin and Niacin.
The colour, flavour and odour of honey usually depend on the flowers from which nectar is gathered.
One kilogram of honey contains 3200 calories and is an energy rich food.

Bee wax

It is a wax of high melting point (about 140°F).
It is secreted by wax glands of worker bees. Bee wax is utilized in the construction of hive.
This wax isused by human beings for several purposes such as manufacturing of cosmetics, coldcreams, shaving creams, polishes, candles, ointments, lipstics, lubricants, in modellingwork, etc.

Propolisand balms

They are other collections of bee from the plants.
These substances are used in repairing and fastening of comb.

Poison of bee is used in manufacturing of certain Ayurvedic and Homeopathic medicines.
Honey Bee Varieties Used for Bee Keeping

Both indigenous and exotic varieties of honey bees are used for commercial production of honey in India.

Indigenous Varieties of Honey Bees

Apisceranaindica F. (Indian bee); 2. Apisdorsata (Rock bee); 3. Apis florae F. (Little bee).

Exotic Varieties of Honey Bees

(i) Apismellifera(European or Italian bee)

(ii) Apisadamsoni(South African bee)

Italian bee (Apismellifera) is commonly domesticated in India to increase yield of honey. Italian bee is preferred because;

It is gentle in nature
It has good honey collection capacity.
It has the ability to protect itself from enemies, and
It has prolific queen with less swarming.

Honey Extractors

COLONY CASTES OF HONEY BEE

Honeybee is a social insect.
The nest of the honeybeeis known as the bee-live.
A honeybee provides a good example of team work and division of labour.
Honeybees’ lives in a colony and different tasks are done by different groups of bees in the same colony.
A colony of Italian bee normally has one queen, 40,000 to 1,00,000 workers and few hundred (up to 300) of drones. Due to existence of several morphological forms, called castes.

According to roles, there are following three types of castes in the colony of bee:

Queen

The body size of queen is much larger than other, castes of bees of the colony.
Her legs are strong for she is always walking about on the comb.
The queen, as the mother of the colony, is responsible for laying eggs. She lays up to 2,000 eggs everyday of each season.
Queen lays both fertilized (diploid 2n) and unfertilized (haploid, n) eggs.

Drone

It is haploid, fertile male.
Drones are larger in size than workers and are quite noisy.
They are unable to gather food, but eat voraciously.
Drones are stingless and their main role is to mate with queen and remain in colony to sleep and eat honey.

Workers

Workers are diploid, sterile female.
The size of workers is the smallest among the castes of bee, workers are the most active members of the colony.

EXERCISE

Very short answer type questions:-

By which process crops make their food?
What do you mean by blue revolution?
Define farming.
Why the humans cultivated the crops?
Give some examples of pulses.
Name some types of vegetables.
Give some example of Kharif crops.
What is aquaculture?
Which one is nutrient specific fertilizer or manure?
When do the layers start laying eggs?

Short answer type questions:-
Categories the following under: (a) Poultry, (b) Livestock and fishery.

Turkey, Crabs, Prawns, Cow, Fowls, Buffaloes

Which one of the following crops require a minimum quantity of NPK or Urea for its proper growth: Paddy, Peas, Wheat, Sugarcane
What should be do to get maximum benefit from a crop field?
What are bio fertilizers? In what sense are they better than chemical fertilizers?
The production of food from animal sources has increased greatly in the last decades. Justify it.

III. Very long answer type questions:-

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using fertilizer?
Why is irrigation of crops essential? Mention the harmful effects of excessive irrigation.
What are the advantages of both mixed cropping and intercropping?
How bee colony works? What values can be seen in the organization of bee colony?
For increasing production, what is common in poultry, fisheries and bee

keeping?

Objective Type questions:-

Which one of the following is micronutrient?

(a) Nitrogen (b) Phosphorus

Which one of the following is not an exotic breed of cow?

(a) Jersey (b) Holstein-Friesian

Which of the following is natural insecticide?

(a) Nicotene (b) Neem

Which of the following is not a draught animal?

(a) Camel (b) Elephant

When both crops and livestock are raised on the same farm, it is known as

(a) Mixed farming (b) Mixed cropping

Which of the following statement is correct about fertilizer?

(a) Its is nutrient specific

(b) It is water insoluble

(d) It is compact and easy to transfer.

Which of the following is incorrect for green manure?

(a) It supplies organic matter (b) It supplies nitrogen

Nodules with nitrogen fixing bacteria and present in

(a) Mustard (b) Wheat

Several embryos can be produced at a time in a single cow by the process of

(a) Hybridization (b) Artificial insemination

Matching type questions:-

Match the articles given in column I and column II

	Column I		Column II
1	Flowers	(a)	Sulfur
2	Kharif crop	(b)	Groundnut and sunflower
3	Fertilizer	(c)	March – April
4	Irrigation	(d)	Hilsa
5	Compost	(e)	River lift system
6	Rabi Crops	(f)	Cotton
7	Macronutrient	(g)	Dicalcium phosphate
8	Manure	(h)	Excreta of goat
9	Mixed cropping	(i)	Crop
10	Marine fisheries	(j)	Farmyard manure (FYM)

qqqqq

WORKSHEET – 1

What are manures? Give example.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the types of manure?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the advantages of manures?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What do you mean by fertilizers? Give example.

_______________________________________________________________________________

How many types of fertilizers are based on availability of nutrients?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Differentiate between the manure and fertilizer.

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 2

What do you mean by crop? Give some examples.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are theKharif and Rabi crops.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are three scientific approaches are adopted in India to obtain high yields?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the essential nutrients of plants and their sources.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Define the macronutrients and micronutrients of plants.

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 3

What do you mean by an irrigation process?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the various types of irrigation system.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the advantages of irrigation?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the three common types of cropping patterns.

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 4

What are the advantages of crop rotation?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are conditions by which, we have to improve the quality of crops?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the method by which we can improve that quality of crops?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What do you mean by weed?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the methods by which weeds can be controlled?

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 5

How the weeds effects on crop plants?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Mention the insects attack on the crop plants.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the diseases which occurred in crop plants.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Mention the effects like moisture content and temperature on the storage of Grain.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the preventive and control measures for the crop?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is irrigation? Discuss the various methods of irrigation.

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 6

What do you mean by animal husbandry?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Write a note on cattle feed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is artificial insemination? What is advantage of it.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name two exotic and two indigenous breeds of cow.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Write down symptoms of sick animals?

_______________________________________________________________________________

WORKSHEET – 7

Write a note on egg production and broiler production.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Name the various types of fisheries.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Differentiate between capture fishery and culture fishery.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Write a note on bee keeping.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What are the desirable characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is pasturage and how is it related to honey production?

_______________________________________________________________________________

notes

______________________________________________________________________________

notes

______________________________________________________________________________

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