Farming and Harvesting Notes & Questions | Class 5 Biology | Drishti OS

Farming and Harvesting

What you'll learn

The main steps of farming: sowing, growing (irrigation/weeding), and harvesting.
Farming seasons in India: kharif (monsoon crops) and rabi (winter crops).
Simple tools and methods farmers use.
NCERT Looking Around 5 — how food crops are grown.

Key concepts

Level 1 — Steps of farming

Verbal: Growing a crop involves several ordered steps before it becomes food on our plate.

Step	What happens
Sowing	Planting seeds in prepared soil
Irrigation	Giving water to the growing crop
Weeding	Removing unwanted plants competing with the crop
Harvesting	Cutting/collecting the ripe crop

NCERT link: Following a crop from seed to harvest.

Level 2 — Farming seasons

Verbal: In India, crops are grown according to season, since different crops need different weather.

Season	Sown	Common crops	Harvested
Kharif	With monsoon rains (June-July)	Rice, maize, cotton	Autumn (Sept-Oct)
Rabi	After monsoon, cool season (Oct-Dec)	Wheat, mustard, gram	Spring (March-April)

Real-life: Rice needs a lot of water, so it is sown when monsoon rains arrive; wheat grows well in cooler, drier weather.

Worked example

Why is rice grown in the kharif (monsoon) season and not the rabi (winter) season?

Step 1 — Rice needs a large amount of water to grow well.
Step 2 — The monsoon season (kharif) brings heavy rainfall.
Answer: Rice is sown in kharif to make use of the monsoon rains it needs.

Put these farming steps in the correct order: harvesting, sowing, weeding, irrigation.

Step 1 — Sowing: plant the seeds first.
Step 2 — Irrigation: water the growing crop.
Step 3 — Weeding: remove unwanted plants as the crop grows.
Step 4 — Harvesting: collect the ripe crop last.
Answer: Sowing → Irrigation → Weeding → Harvesting.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it happens	Fix
All crops are grown in the same season	Not knowing seasonal needs	Different crops suit kharif or rabi seasons
Harvesting happens before sowing	Confusing the order	Sowing is first; harvesting is the last step
Weeding is unnecessary	Underestimating its role	Weeds compete for water/nutrients, so weeding helps the crop grow better
Wheat and rice need identical water	Ignoring crop differences	Rice needs much more water than wheat

Quick check

Name the four main steps of farming in order.
What is the difference between kharif and rabi crops?
Name one kharif crop and one rabi crop.
Stretch: Why might a farmer choose to grow wheat instead of rice in a region with less rainfall?

Revision tip: Draw a simple farming calendar showing when kharif and rabi crops are sown and harvested.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Farming and Harvesting.

Farming and Harvesting