Question

IV.
38.
Answer the following questions.
3 x 5 = 15
You were given a fertile land but was uncultivated for the past 2 years. List out the agricultural
practices you would like to incorporate in your farm. How do you protect your plants from
weeds? Which type of modern methods of irrigation would you like to go with and why? What
type of manures would you like to use and why? Explain how do you store the grains and
explain why storage is required? Represent your entire plan of farming in the form of a flow

Answer 1

Agriculture and Agricultural Practices -

• Land Preparation- Before raising a crop, the soil in which it is to be grown is prepared by ploughing, harrowing, leveling and measuring. It releases nutrients to the soil and destroying weeds and ant nest.
• Sowing- It is the process of planting good quality of crop strain is the primary stage of sowing. sowing can be done by hand or by using seed drilling machine.
• Manuring- Manures are plant and animal wastes that are used as sources of crops nutrients. The different type of manure include green manure, farmyard manure and compost manure. Manuring is the step where nutritional supplements are provided as manure or fertilizers to the plants for good growth.
• Irrigation- It is the artificial method of watering the plants. There is many types of modern methods of irrigation are as following:-

1. Sprinkler irrigation-In this type, water is pumped using a pipe system and then sprayed through sprinkler heads.
2. Dip irrigation- In this type, it involves dripping water onto the soil at very low rates.
3. Basin irrigation - It involves the layout if the small fields.

• Wedding - The unwanted plants which grow among crops are called weeds. They are removed by using weedesides, Pesticide-based approaches such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.
• Harvesting- Once the crop is matured, it is cut and gathered.
• Storage - Grains are stored in garnieres or bins at godowns for later use of marketing and it is the best method of crop protection.The need for storage arises mainly because of the time gap between production and consumption of goods.

Answer 2

Agriculture practices include soil preparation, sowing, Manuring, Irrigation, weeding, Harvesting and Storage

Explanation:

Different agriculture practices are :

1. Soil Preparation

• Soil preparation is the first step to follow before planting seeds for germination. Before planting seeds, the soil must be ready for farming. Soil preparation is the first step of the agricultural process.

• Generally, it involves loosening up the top layer of soil, i.e. topsoil. Plants receive water and nutrients from the soil through their roots, hence it is essential to prepare the soil. The soil is prepared in the following ways Ploughing, leveling and manuring                                

2. Sowing

• Sowing is an important part of farming. After the soil has been loosened and ploughed, good, disease-free, and pure quality seeds are chosen and sown into the soil.
• After selecting high-quality seeds, they are sown on prepared land. The seeds with the highest yields are usually chosen and sown using the methods listed below.

3.Manuring

• Crops require nutrients to grow and produce yield. As a result, nutrient replenishment at regular intervals is required.
• Manuring is the step in which nutritional supplements are provided, which may be natural (manure) or chemical compounds (fertilizers). Manure is the byproduct of the decomposition of plant and animal wastes.  

Types of manure

Green Manure

Green manure boosts the amount of organic matter in the soil. Such manures have deep roots in the soil. These aid in weed control and the prevention of soil erosion.

Farmyard manure

Farmyard manure improves soil structure and is used in farming as a natural fertilizer. It improves the soil's ability to retain more water and nutrients.

Compost Manure

It improves the soil's structure as well as its water and nutrient retention capacity. As a result, it increases nutrient value and thus improves plant development.

4.Irrigation

Crops and plants require proper irrigation because excessive irrigation can block their root systems, preventing nutrients and minerals from being absorbed from the soil. Plants should therefore be properly irrigated. Irrigation sources include wells, tube wells, ponds, rivers, canals, dams, and so on.

5.Weeding

• Weeds are unwanted plants that can ruin useful crops. Weeding is therefore the process of removing weeds.

Weeds can be removed using the following methods:

• Uprooting weeds with tools such as khurpi.

• Weedicides such as 2, 4 Dichlorophenoxyacetic acids (2, 4-D), Naphthalene acetic acid, and Atrazine are used. Because they kill the weeds directly.

6.Harvesting

• Harvesting is the process of cutting down crops. This process on a large scale necessitates the use of good harvesters that can automatically harvest crops on a large scale, whereas small-scale harvesting can be done manually with a sickle.
• Crops are typically harvested 3-4 months after sowing.

7. Storage

• Farmers use the harvested crop for themselves in the case of small-scale cultivation, whereas large-scale production is primarily for marketing. As a result, cultivators must store the grains.
• Microbes such as bacteria and fungi, as well as environmental conditions such as moisture and temperature, may attack stored grains in addition to pests and rodents. As a result, proper treatment is required before storing the grains.
• Pesticides can be used to prevent rodent infestations. Fungal growth on grains is caused by a moist environment. This can be avoided by properly drying grains in the sun.

• Fumigation is another method that uses chemicals to keep bacteria and other microorganisms at bay. Grain must be stored in gunny bags or granaries after proper treatment and deposited in the warehouse.