Agriculture Flashcards
What do the words ‘ager’ and ‘culture’ mean
OR
What is the word ‘agriculture’
They are Latin words, ‘ager’ meaning land
And ‘culture’ meaning cultivation
Define agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of the soil in order to grow crops and rear livestock.
It is the backbone of India’s economy
List any 3 points on the importance of agriculture
- Provides food for the expanding population
- Generates working capital for non-agricultural development
- Substantial portion of India’s exports
- Provides employment to millions
- Provides a large part of market for farm inputs, ie pesticides fertilizer, machinery etc
Name a few problems faced by agriculture in India Pick between A) environmental B) economic C) institutional D) technological
ENVIRONMENTAL
- Unreliable rainfall
- Lack of irrigation facilities
- Soil erosion
- Old ineffective methods of cultivation
- Rice and wheat, important food crops, deplete soil fertility
ECONOMIC
- Subsistence agriculture
- Farmers are poor, debt ridden and uneducated
INSTITUTIONAL
- Exploitation of farmers
- Small fragmented land holdings
TECHNOLOGICAL
1. Old inefficient technology
Name the reforms in Indian agriculture
- The GREEN REVOLUTION
2. The NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL POLICY (NAP)
Name the reforms in Indian agriculture
- The GREEN REVOLUTION
the greatest revolution in the country which helped transform the country from food scarcity to self sufficiency
Explain the green revolution
The GREEN REVOLUTION
Is the greatest revolution in the country which helped transform the country from food scarcity to self sufficiency
Key elements:
- Use of modern scientific methods
- Use of high yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds
- Proper use of chemical fertilizers
- Improvement in marketing and storage
- Rural electrification
Explain and state the full form of NAP
It is the NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL POLICY.
It seems to promote:
‘technically sound, economically viable, environmentally friendly, socially acceptable’
use of the country’s natural resources
Salient Features:
- Annual growth rate of over 4%
- Promote Private sector participation through contract farming
- Plant varieties to be protected
- Animal husbandry, poultry, dairy and aquaculture to recieve high priority to diversify agriculture
- Rural electrification
What are kharif crops?
They are sown in June and July and harvested in September and October
Ie. Sugarcane, cotton, jute, rice, ragi, maize
What are rabi crops?
Rabi season begins with the onset of winter
They are sown in September and October and harvested in March and April
Ie. Wheat, Peas, mustard, potatoes,
Rapeseed (not to be confused with grape seed?)
What are Zayad/Zaid crops?
They are crops that are raised throughout the year, they include
Zayad kharif and zayad rabi crops
What are Zayad kharif crops?
Sown in August and September
Harvester in December and January
Ie. Oilseeds and mustard*
(*ig mustard is a rabi and zayad kharif crop?)
What are Zayad rabi crops
Sown in February and March
Harvested in April and may
Ie. Maize (
Why does this categorisation of cropping season not exist in South India?
This is since the temperatures are sufficiently high to grow tropical crops during any period of the year, provided soil moisture is available
Explain briefly about rice
- Most important staple food crop in India
- India is 2nd largest producer after China
Temperature:
- Conditioned by temp. changes at different phases of growth
- grows best in warm and humid areas
Soil:
Deep fertile loamy soils
Rainfall:
Requires good rainfall, 150-300 cm
Upland rice:
- grown in mountainous regions
- crop is used locally
Lowland rice:
- grown in low lying regions
- requires plenty of water
- used for local consumption and supplied to other regions
Name and explain methods of cultivating rice
Dry method:
- does not have supplementary irrigation
- depends on rains
- practised in areas with moderate or heavy rainfall
Puddled or Wet method:
- practised in areas with adequate water supply
- land is ploughed thoroughly and filled with 3-5 cm of standing water
Name methods of sowing rice seeds
Broadcasting - seeds are scattered all over land after ploughing
Drilling - seeds are sown in furrows drilled with bamboo
Dibbling - seeds are sown at regular intervals in furrows by hand
Other: Transplanting: - nurseries - only healthy plants are picked - weeds are removed while resowing - less seed wastage - higher yield
Japonica:
- Japanese
- seedlings prepared in nurseries
- rows of plants at fixed distance
- manure is extensively used
- higher yield
Explain process of harvesting rice
- Threshing - beating sheaves against wooden bars to separate grains from stalk
- Winnowing - pouring grains from a height on a windy day to separate husk from grains (to reduce transport costs)
- Milling - done by machines to remove yellowish husk (modern day)
Traditionally, villagers hit grain in wooden mortar with a heavy pestle, which resulted in more broken rice
Where is rice produced and distributed from in India?
- West Bengal (typed of rice - ‘aus’, ‘aaman’ ‘boro’)
- Uttar Pradesh
- Andhra Pradesh
- Punjab
- Tamil Nadu
Briefly describe Wheat
India is 2nd biggest wheat producer after China (ofc again🙄)
climate: regions with cool winters
Rain: 80cm annually
Soil: well drained and clay loam
How is wheat cultivated
- Sowing: seed is sown in well pulverised compact seed bed
2. Harvest: in April using sickle
Name a few important distributors of wheat
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Uttar Pradesh
