Lesson .no: 14 Food Production And Management

Topic :1 Usefulness Of Crop Plant 2 Agricultural Implement 3 Agricultural Practices 4 Common Pest That Attack Crops Plant

Prepared by : Bhargav ukani

Roll. no:30

Agriculture is the process of growing crops. Horticulture is the art of growing fruits, vegetables & ornamental plants

Wherever we live, we are dependent on agricultural for food ,cloth, shelter &many other thing that daily life. All these products are obtained from plant.

The tools which are use in cultivation of plant are knows as Agricultural Implement. Some of these tool are use manually whereas other are se with the help of some animals like: bullocks & camels. Nowadays tractors & combine harvesters are helping the farmers in their work

The tip of plough should be should be sharpened at regular intervals for easy penetration.

Tools if iron can be rubbed with piece of brick to clean from rust.

Occasional servicing of tractors & combines is advisable

All the activities which are involved in cultivation of plant from sowing to harvesting is known as Agricultural Practices. The Agricultural Practices which are common to all crops are given in next slide:

1. Preparation of soil2. Selection of seed3. Sowing4. Weeding5. Irrigation6. Manuring7. Crops protection

8. Harvesting 9. Winnowing 10. Storage

This is essential stage for cultivating any crop plant. Soil is loosened & overturned to make it aerated & suitable for the growth of the organisms living in it is know as ploughing or tillage. The implement for tillage is a wooden & iron plough.

Wooden & Iron Plough :

1. Seed of high yielding varieties should be selected.

2. Seed should be free from insects, pest & diseases

3. Seed should have good percentage of germination.

4. Seed should be treated with suitable fungicides to prevent seed burn diseases

When the soil is ready, seed are sown. The are basically two methods of sowing seed.

Broadcasting Seed drill

Broadcasting or scattering the seed is sown by hand.

Seed are introduced into funnel opening & then released into the soil furrows made by a plough.

After sowing, we find that a number of unwanted plants called weed also germinate along with the crops. They compete with crop plants for space, light, water & nutrients. They are removed either manually or with a tool called harrow

There are some chemicals which are sprayed over the field to check the growth of weed. Such chemicals are knows as Weedicides

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants against frost, suppressing weed growing in grain fields and helping in preventing soil consolidation.

There are three types of irrigation that practiced in India :

1. Furrow Irrigation2. Basin Irrigation3. Sprinkler Irrigation

Furrow irrigation is conducted by creating small parallel channels along the field length in the direction of predominant slope. Water is applied to the top end of each furrow and flows down the field under the influence of gravity. Water may be supplied using gated pipe, siphon and head ditch or bankless systems. The speed of water movement is determined by many factors such as slope, surface roughness and furrow shape but most importantly by the inflow rate and soil infiltration rate. The spacing between adjacent furrows is governed by the crop species,

Level basin irrigation has historically been used in small areas having level surfaces that are surrounded by earth banks. The water is applied rapidly to the entire basin and is allowed to infiltrate. Basins may be linked sequentially so that drainage from one basin is diverted into the next once the desired soil water deficit is satisfied. A “closed” type basin is one where no water is drained from the basin. Basin irrigation is favoured in soils with relatively low infiltration rates Fields are typically set up to follow the natural contours of the land but the introduction of laser levelling and land grading has permitted the construction of large rectangular basins that are more appropriate for mechanised broadacre cropping. Basin irrigation is commonly used in the production of crops such as rice and wheat

› In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as a solid-set irrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are called rotors and are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism. Rotors can be designed to rotate in a full or partial circle. Guns are similar to rotors, except that they generally operate at very high pressures of 40 to 130 lbf/in² and flows of 50 to 1200 US gal/min usually with nozzle diameters in the range of 0.5 to 1.9 inches .Guns are used not only for irrigation, but also for industrial applications such as dust suppression and logging.

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Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil. Higher organisms then feed on the fungi and bacteria in a chain of life that comprises the soil food web.

Animal dung has been used for centuries as a fertilizer for farming, as it improves the soil structure (aggregation), so that it holds more nutrients and water, and becomes more fertile. Animal manure also encourages soil microbial activity which promotes the soil's trace mineral supply, improving plant nutrition. It also contains some nitrogen and other nutrients itself which assist the growth of plants.

Animal manures Most animal manure is feces. Common forms of

animal manure include farmyard manure (FYM) or farm slurry (liquid manure). FYM also contains plant material (often straw), which has been used as bedding for animals and has absorbed the feces and urine. Agricultural manure in liquid form, known as slurry, is produced by more intensive livestock rearing systems where concrete or slats are used, instead of straw bedding. Manure from different animals may have different qualities and require different application rates, such as manure from farm animals such as horses, cattle, pigs or sheep, chicken and turkey manures, rabbit manure, human sewage and guano from seabirds and bats

Compost Compost is the decomposed remnants

of organic materials – usually of plant origin, but often including some animal dung or bedding

Crop plants in the field are attacked by number of diseases which lead to considerable crop losses. These diseases are cause by fungi, bacteria & virus

In agriculture, the harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. The harvest marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular crop, and this is the focus of seasonal celebrations of many religions. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing season.

Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of cereal grain (or other crop) from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. It is the step in grain preparation after harvesting and before winnowing, which separates the loosened chaff from the grain. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.

Threshing may be done by beating the grain using a flail on a threshing floor. Another traditional method of threshing is to make donkeys or oxen walk in circles on the grain on a hard surface. A modern version of this in some areas is to spread the grain on the surface of a country road so the grain may be threshed by the wheels of passing vehicles.

Threshing

Wind winnowing is an agricultural method developed by ancient cultures for separating grain from chaff. It is also used to remove weevils or other pests from stored grain. Threshing, the separation of grain or seeds from the husks and straw, is the step in the chaff-removal process that comes before winnowing. "Winnowing the chaff" is a common expression.

In its simplest form it involves throwing the mixture into the air so that the wind blows away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grains fall back down for recovery. Techniques included using a winnowing fan (a shaped basket shaken to raise the chaff) or using a tool (a or shovel) on a pile of harvested grain.

Grains are dried in open for sometime & then stored in gunny bags. They are then transferred to properly ventilated, cemented halls called godowns. Farmers store grains in metal bin

Of all the pest that attack crop plants, insects are the most common & they cause maximum damage. Example: