AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND BASIC PRACTICES OF CROP PRODUCTION NOTES
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES:
With the increase in population , the
demand for food has also gone up.
The available land for agriculture has
been decreasing. Therefore improved,
agricultural practices have to be
introduced.
All the activities which are involved in the cultivation of crops from sowing to harvesting are known as agricultural practices.
BASIC PRACTICES OF CROP PRODUCTION:
Production of crops involves several activities carried out by the farmers over a period of time. These activities are given below.
● Preparation of soil and sowing
● Adding manure and fertilizer
● Irrigation
● Protection from weeds
● Harvesting
● Storage and Marketing
PREPARATION OF SOIL AND SOWING:All the activities which are involved in the cultivation of crops from sowing to harvesting are known as agricultural practices.
BASIC PRACTICES OF CROP PRODUCTION:
Production of crops involves several activities carried out by the farmers over a period of time. These activities are given below.
● Preparation of soil and sowing
● Adding manure and fertilizer
● Irrigation
● Protection from weeds
● Harvesting
● Storage and Marketing
Before sowing the seeds, we have to prepare the soil. Preparation of soil isthefirstessentialstageforcultivation of crops.Turning and loosening the soil involves,
i) Ploughing or tilling
ii) Levelling and
iii) Manuring
i) Ploughing:
It is the process of loosening soil. Ploughing is important because it,
● Provides good aeration to roots in order to breathe
● Retains moisture for a long period
● Promotes growth of useful micro-organisms to bring nutrient rich soil to the top
● Helps in the removal of undesirable plants (weeds)
Ploughing is done in two ways
i) Manual ploughing:
It is one of the old and traditional methods of agriculture.Afarmerploughsthefield with a plough pulled by a pair of bulls.
ii) Machinery ploughing:
Now a days ploughing is done by tractor driven cultivator. The use of cultivator saves labour and time.
The other ploughing tools are spade, shovel, hoe and pick-axe.
ii) Levelling:
Theploughedfieldmay have big pieces of soil crumbs, so, it is necessary to break these crumbs with the leveller. It also ensures uniform irrigation.
iii) Manuring:
Sometimes manure is added before tilling. It helps in proper mixing of manure with soil.
Sowing:
It is the most important step of crop production. The process of putting seeds into the soil is called sowing.Before sowing, the land must be watered. Seeds used for sowing should be of good quality, healthyand free from infection.Sowing is done by two methods.
i) Manual sowing:
It is the traditional method of sowing where the seeds are sown manually by scattering them in the moist soil.
ii) Seed Drill:
It is a method of sowing the seeds through the funnel or using two or three pipes having sharp ends.
Seed drill helps in uniform distribution of seeds, covering the seed after sowing and preventing the seeds from being damaged by birds.
ADDING MANURE AND FERTILIZERS:
All the plants get their nutrients from the soil. Repeated cultivation of crops makethesoildeficientinminerals.So farmers add manure and fertilizers to the soil to ensure that the crops get proper nutrients.
The substances which are added to the soil in the form of nutrients for the healthy growth of plants are called manure or fertilizers.
IRRIGATION:
Plants need water for germination, drawing nutrients and preparing their food by photosynthesis. The process of supplying water to crops in the field at different intervals is calledirrigation.It varies from crop to crop, season to season and soil to soil. Some of the sources of irrigation are well, tube wells, ponds, lakes, rivers, dams and canals.
Methods of irrigation:
i) Traditional Method
ii) Modern Methods
