We already know that:
All living organisms require food.
The energy from food is utilised by an organism for
carrying out its various life processes such as
digestion, respiration and excretion.
Plants can make their food themselves but animals
including humans cannot.
We get our food from plants or animals, or both.
In our country three categories of crops are grown:
Kharif Crops: The crops which are grown in the
rainy season (i.e., from June to September) are
called Kharif crops. Paddy, maize, soybean,
groundnut, and cotton are Kharif crops.
Rabi Crops: The crops are grown in the winter
season (i.e., from October to March) are called rabi
crops. Examples of rabi crops are wheat, gram,
pea, mustard, and linseed.
Cultivation of crops involves the following
activities:
Soil Preparation: It involves loosening and tilling of
the soil (i.e., ploughing and watering).
Sowing: Sowing is the process of putting seeds in
the soil.
Adding Manure and Fertilisers: The substances,
which are added to the soil in the form of nutrients
to improve the production of the crops and fertility
of the soil are called manure and fertilisers.
Irrigation: Supply of water to crops at appropriate
intervals is called irrigation.
Protection from Weeds: Weeds are the unwanted
plants that grow along with the crops. Its removal
is a must for the better growth of the crops. These
can be controlled by spraying certain chemicals,
called weedicides, like 2, 4-D.
Harvesting: The cutting of the crop after it is
mature is called harvesting.
Storage: If the crop grains are to be kept for a
longer time, they should be safe from moisture,
insects and rats.
Plough: This is used for tilling the soil, adding
fertilisers to the crop, removing the weeds,
scraping of soil, etc. This implement is made of
wood and drawn by a pair of bulls.
Hoe: It is used for removing weeds and for
loosening the soil.
Cultivator: Used for ploughing. It is driven by a
tractor. Use of cultivator saves labour and time.
Traditional Tool: The tool used traditionally for
sowing seeds is shaped like a funnel.
Seed Drill: Used for sowing with the help of
tractors. This tool shows the seeds uniformly at a
proper distance and depth.
Sickle: Used for manual harvesting.
Food from Animals: Like plants, the animals also
provide us with different kinds of food like fish,
meat and eggs.
Agricultural practices: There are various activities
that have to be performed, before sowing and up
to harvesting. These are called agricultural
practices.
Animal husbandry: Animals reared at home or on a
farm, have to be provided with proper food, shelter
and care, when this is done on a large scale it is
called animal husbandry.
Crop: When plants of the same kind are grown at a
place in a regular manner on a large scale, it is
called a crop.
Fertiliser: Fertilisers are chemicals which are rich in
a particular nutrient like nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium.
Granaries: The harvested grains, usually are stored
in huge stores, after they are’ properly dried in
sunlight. Such stores are called granaries.
Harvesting: The cutting of the crop after it is
mature is called harvesting.
Irrigation: Supply of water to crops at appropriate
intervals is called irrigation.
Kharif Crops: The crops which are grown in the
rainy season, that is from June to September are
called kharif crops.
Manure: Manures are decomposed organic matter
obtained from plant or animal waste.
Plough: The device used for tilling or ploughing is
called plough.
Rabi Crops: The crops are grown in the winter
season, that is from October to March are called
rabi crops.
Seeds: A plant’s fertilised ovules, from which a new
plant may grow, are called seeds.
Silo: Harvested grains are usually dried before
being stored because moisture encourages the
growth of microorganism. They are then stored in
metal or earthen container, gunny bags. Such
stores are also called silo.
Sowing: It is a process to put seeds in the soil.
Storage: It is to keep crop grains safe from
moisture, insects and rats for a long time.
Threshing: The process of separation of grains from
the chaff in the harvested plant is called threshing.
Weeds: Some undesirable or unwanted plants may
grow naturally along with the crop, such plants are
called weeds.
Weedicides: Those certain chemicals which are
used to control weeds are called weedicides. For
example 2, 4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid),
metolachlor.
Winnowing: A process to bring out the separation
of grain and chaff is called
