II. Differentiate between the following:
1. Compost and green manure.
2. Compost and fertilizers.
3. Pesticide and weedicide.
4. Mixed farming and mixed cropping.
5. Nitrification and denitrification.
6. Plantation and a cereal crop.
Answers
Answer
1.Manure is any organic matter in a partial or fully decomposed state and can be added to the soil to amend it. Compost is just a type of manure made by controlled decomposition of mostly plant matter. Sometimes animal manure/waste can also be added as an input to compost.
2.Compost feeds the soil and fertilizer feeds the plants. Fertilizer adds to the soil's nutrient supply, but instead of feeding the soil food web, the ingredients in fertilizers are intended to meet the needs of fast-growing plants.
3.Pesticides are used to kill the pest which causes damage to the crop. weedicides are used to remove the weeds like wild plants which take many more of the nutrition from the soil as compared to main crops.
4.Mixed Farming refers to a cropping system where two or more crops are cultivated in the same piece of land simultaneously. This technique is practiced to reduce the risk of total crop failure because of less rainfall or adverse climatic conditions.
Inter-cropping is a cropping technique in which two or more crops are cultivated simultaneously in the same piece of land adhering to a specific row pattern in order to increase the productivity of the crops. This technique is generally followed by small farmers who are completely dependent on the rainfall for better yield and do not have any other options like canals and tube wells, etc.
5.The biological process where ammonium (NH4+) is oxidized and converted into the nitrate (NO3-) is called as nitrification, while denitrification is biological process involves the conversion of nitrate (NO3-) into nitrogen gas (N2).
6.crop is a plant, especially a cereal, grown to be harvested as food, livestock fodder or fuel or for any other economic purpose while plantation is large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth often includes housing for the owner and workers.