Crop Production and Management

What you'll learn

• Agricultural practices: preparation of soil, sowing, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, storage.
• Types of crops by season (Kharif, Rabi) and use.
• Manures vs fertilisers — differences and environmental impact.
• Irrigation methods — traditional vs modern.
• How crops are protected and stored safely.

Key concepts

Types of crops by season

Basic agricultural practices (steps in order)

Step 1: Preparation of soil

• Tilling/Ploughing: turning and loosening the soil with a plough.
  • Purpose: aerates soil, allows roots to grow deeper, brings nutrients up, kills weeds.
• Levelling: breaking up clods and smoothing soil with a leveller/plank.
  • Purpose: uniform water distribution, prevents run-off.
• Manuring: adding manure before ploughing mixes it into soil.
• Tools: plough (hali), cultivator (tractor-pulled), leveller.

Step 2: Sowing

• Placing seeds at the correct depth and spacing in the soil.
• Seed drill: tool that sows seeds at uniform depth and spacing; saves seeds; reduces bird attacks.
• Before sowing: select healthy seeds (float test — bad seeds float in water).
• Germination: seed sprouts when given adequate moisture, warmth, and air.

Step 3: Adding manure and fertilisers

Manure vs Fertiliser:

• NPK fertilisers: contain Nitrogen (leaf growth), Phosphorus (root/flower), Potassium (overall health).
• Nitrogen fixation: Rhizobium bacteria in legume roots convert atmospheric N₂ → NH₃ (nitrates usable by plants) → natural alternative to N-fertiliser.
• Green manure: growing legumes (dhaincha, sunhemp) and ploughing them back — enriches soil with N.
• Vermicompost: compost produced using earthworms — high-quality organic fertiliser.

Step 4: Irrigation

• Irrigation: supplying water to crops at regular intervals when rainfall is insufficient.
• India: 75–90% annual rainfall from SW Monsoon (June–Sept) → Rabi crops depend entirely on irrigation.

Traditional irrigation methods:

Modern irrigation methods:

• Drip irrigation: most efficient; reduces water waste by 40–60%; prevents weeds between rows.

Step 5: Protection from weeds

• Weeds: unwanted plants growing among crops; compete for water, nutrients, light, space.
• Examples: Amaranthus (chaulai), Chenopodium (bathua), Cyperus (motha).
• Removal methods:
  • Manual weeding: uprooting by hand or khurpi.
  • Tilling: ploughing between rows — exposes and kills weeds.
  • Weedicides (herbicides): 2,4-D, butachlor — spray kills weeds, not crops; must be handled carefully.

Step 6: Harvesting

• Cutting the mature crop and collecting the grain.
• Done manually (sickle/dati) or mechanically (harvester/combine).
• Combine harvester: machine that harvests AND threshes in one step.
• Threshing: separating grain from stalks by beating or machine.
• Winnowing: using wind to separate lighter husk from heavier grain.

Step 7: Storage

• Harvested grain must be protected from pests, moisture, and fungi.
• Grain weevils, rats, fungi are major storage pests.

• Food Corporation of India (FCI): government agency that procures, stores, and distributes grain.
• Minimum Support Price (MSP): government-guaranteed price given to farmers at harvest.

Animal husbandry — brief note

• Mixed farming: crops + livestock together; manure from animals → soil fertility.
• Apiculture (bee-keeping): produces honey + beeswax; bees pollinate crops.
• Pisciculture (fish farming): freshwater fish farming in tanks/ponds.
• Sericulture: silk production from silkworms (Bombyx mori).

Green Revolution

• India's 1960s–70s agricultural transformation under M.S. Swaminathan (father of Green Revolution in India).
• Used High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds for wheat and rice + increased irrigation + fertilisers.
• India became food self-sufficient — no longer dependent on food imports.
• Problems: over-use of fertilisers polluted soil and water; depleted groundwater; loss of traditional varieties.

Quick check

• What is the difference between Kharif and Rabi crops? Give two examples each.
• Compare manures and fertilisers — give two differences.
• What is drip irrigation? Why is it preferred in dry areas?
• Name two traditional and two modern irrigation methods.
• What is the role of FCI in grain storage?

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Crop Production and Management.