CROP PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

  • All organisms require food for their growth and survival.
  • Food is the combination of various organic and inorganic substances which are capable of providing energy for the various metabolic activities.
  • In all cases the food for animals comes directly or indirectly from plants.

SOURCES OF FOOD
(i)Cereals : These are rich in carbohydrate and thus provide energy.
    eg. – Rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, barley, millets. 
(ii)Pulses : These are rich in protein and thus helpful for body building.                 
    eg. – Gram, moong, pea, lentil, urd, pigeon pea.                    
(iii) Oil seed crops :– These are rich in oil and fatty acids.
    eg. –  Groundnut, sunflower, soyabean, mustard, sesame.
(iv) Vegetable crops : These provide vitamins, minerals along with small quantities of carbohydrate protein and oils.
    Leaves      :    Cabbage, spinach, trigonella, lettuce                    
    Roots        :    Carrot, radish, turnip, sweet potato
    Stems        :    Potato, corms, rhizomes (ginger)
    Bulbs        :    Onion, garlic
    Fruits        :    Tomato, brinjal, gourd, cucumber
    Flowers     :    Cauliflower, bauhinia, banana
(v) Fodder crops : These provide green fodder to the cattle.
    eg. – Berseem, sorghum, maize, oat, sudan grass, alfalfa.

 1.Crops :    Plants of same kind which are grown and cultivated at one place on a large scale are known as crops.

  • Different types of crops require different climatic conditions like temperature, humidity and photoperiods.
  • Crops are divided into two groups on the basis of growing season.
  • Kharif crops : These crops are sown in the months of June/July and harvested in September/October every year.   eg- Paddy, maize, sugarcane, sorghum, pearl millet.  
  • Rabi crops : These crops are sown in the months of October/November and harvested in March/April every year.  eg- Wheat, oat, barley and pea.      


2. Agriculture :–    Word agriculture has come from two Latin words, ager meaning field or soil : culture meaning cultivation. Agriculture or farming is the
     cultivation of the soil. It includes growing of plant crops and rearing of animals. 
*    It is an applied biological science which deals with the production of plants and raising of livestock for human use.


         
    

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