Various factors that decide the cultivation of any 2 crops at a place
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Answers
The Various factors that decide the cultivation of any crops at a place:
Climate
1. Temperature: Most plants cannot grow if the temperature falls below 6°C or the soil is frozen for five consecutive months. As a consequence many areas are unsuitable for crop cultivation.
2. The growing season: Different crops require different lengths of growing season. Cotton needs 200 days so could not survive in a British climate. Cereal crops are grown in the South-east of Britain as this is the area most likely to meet the necessary growing season. The shorter the required growing season the further north that crop can be grown. Oats can be found in Northern parts of the UK because they have a very short growing season.
3. Altitude: This affects temperature so it also affects farming. In the Alps for example you will find dairy farming in valley bottoms and coniferous forestry further up.
4. Rainfall: Water is obviously a key factor in plant growth. The greater the average temperature the greater the amount of water required for plant growth. Coffee for example must have a period of drought before and during harvest whilst maize would benefit from heavy rain in the same period.
Rice is the principal crop in the tropics because it requires substantial quantities of water, is a very high yield crop and has good nutritional value. With the addition of consistently high temperatures it can also produce two or three crops a year.
5. Wind: Wind can have a destructive effect on crops. At its most severe a hurricane can physically destroy thousands of acres of farmland. Less severe but also harmful are the winds that dry soils so reducing moisture and increasing the potential for soil erosion.
Soil
Soil type will influence crop cultivation because different crops prefer different soils.
Clay soils with their high water retention are well suited to rice whilst sandy soils with good drainage are good for root vegetables.
Soil type can be influenced through the input of lime, clay or fertilizer but this can only make limited differences.
Slope
The angle of slope will affect the type, depth and moisture content of soil.
It will also affect the rate of soil erosion. Here terraces are cut in to steep slopes to retain the soil that otherwise would be easily removed due by the heavy rains. The need to cultivate such steep slopes is a consequence of population pressure and very small farms due generations of sub-dividing among sons.
Market
For any commercial farm to succeed there must be demand. If the demand for a crop drops then profits will fall. That crop will then be replaced by a more profitable one.
Conditions in the market place can be a consequence of numerous factors:
Changes in society - the move towards vegetarianism or panic about beef.
Health reasons - increased demand for olive oil or panic about beef.
Health scares - the BSE crisis or panic about beef.
Religion - Jews do not eat pork.
Marketing - campaigns promoting products such as new breakfast cereals.
Transport
Transport is an important factor in determining location of farm types. If a product is bulky such as potatoes then it should be grown close to the market place to cut down on transport costs. If the good is perishable then again it should be grown close to the market place.
The transportation available and the transport network will have a large influence on the distribution of agricultural systems. Many subsistence farms could not sell surpluses even if they had them because of the costs involved in transporting the surplus to the market place.
Capital
If a farmer has little capital reserve then certain types of farming are not an option.
Whilst his crop is maturing the farmer will have no income, if the crop takes several years to mature then he needs substantial financial backing to cover costs of production (e.g. labour) and basic living costs like mortgage and food.
Tree crops take several years to mature so the farmer will have to wait a long time for return on his investment. If he does not have a capital reserve then this is not an option.
The green revolution.(Technology)
The green revolution was the result of an intensive plant-breeding program in Mexico. It resulted in very high yield crops.
The green revolution spread throughout much of the developing world and these new high yield crops - particularly rice became a common feature of agriculture. They did increase the need for irrigation and agro-chemicals that were too costly for small farmers and larger farmers with more financial backing gained the most benefit from these crops. Although there were improvements in quality of life for the poorer farmer.
Government
Government policies will have a direct or indirect effect on the prevalent agricultural system. The communist governments encourage collectives as already seen whilst farming in Europe is indirectly manipulated by the agricultural policies of the European Union.