CAREER POINT .

AIM COURSE

IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES

Improvement in food resources can be classified

CONTENTS into three steps -

 Crop Seasons

 Crop Variety Improvement This step is depends on a crop variety that can give
a good yield.
 Crop Production Management A common way for getting a new variety having
all desirable change is "Hybridization."
 Crop Protection Management
Crops for high yield, should have following
 Disease Control characters -

 Storage of Grains
(i) Resisstance for biotic & abiotic factors.
(ii) Resistance to disease & pests.
 Animal Husbandry (iii)Desirable agronomic characters like tallness is
desirable for fodder crops & dwarfness is desirable
for cereals.

All living organism require food for their

existence. Food provide energy for their
growth, development & body repair.
Crop production management included practices
which help in lomering of soil erosion., provide
better facility for maximum utilization of nutrient,
improve the fertility of soil enhance crop production.
 Kharif Season Crops :
Nutrient management :
 These crops are grown during the rainy season
from the month of June to October, e.g., Paddy
 Like other living organisms, plants also require
nutrients for building their structure and
(rice), soyabean.
maintaining their body functions. The plants
 Rabi Season Crops : require inorganic elements, which they chiefly
obtain from the soil, where these elements occur in
 These crops are grown during the winter reason
the form of minerals. Besides soil, the nutrients
from the month of November to April. e.g.
are also supplied to plants by air and water. The
wheat, gram, peas. major elements supplied by air are carbon and
 Crop rotation can be defined as the practice of oxygen. The hydrogen comes mainly from water.
growing of different crops on a piece of land in a Soil is the main source to supply rest of essential
preplanned succession. elements to plants. There are sixteen elements
which are essential for plants. These are
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 Types of Manures :
1. Carbon, 2. Hydrogen, 3. Oxygen
(i) Farmyard Manure (FYM) -
4. Nitrogen 5. Phosphorus, 6. Potassium,
 It is formed by the decomposition of a mixture of
7. Calcium, 8. Magnesium, 9. Sulphur cattle excreta (dung), urine of cattle, litter and
roughage.
10. Iron, 11. Manganese 12. Boron,
 By the action of micro-organisms all these
13. Zinc, 14. Copper, materials decompose and are used as farmyard
manure (FYM).
15. Molybdenum 16. Chlorine.
(ii) Compost :
 Out of sixteen nutrient elements required by
 Compost is a biological process in which the
plants, Carbon and oxygen are supplied by air,
above mentioned organic matter is decomposed
Hydrogen is supplied by water and remaining
by both aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms.
thirteen (13) elements are supplied by soil. Six of
these elements are required in large amounts. (iii) Green Manuring :
They are called macro-nutrients. The elements
categorized as macronutrients are : Nitrogen,
 The practice of green manuring includes growing
Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and turning or ploughing and mixing of green crops
sulphur. The remaining seven elements , required with soil to improve physical structure and soil
in trace or micro amounts, are called fertility.
micronutrients. They are Iron, Boron, Zinc,  Green manures may include both leguminous and
Copper, Molybdenum and Chlorine. non leguminous plants.
Fertilizers :
Nutrients Supplied by air, water and soil.
 Fertilizers are the sources of plant nutrients
Source Nutrients manufactured commercially from chemicals.
Air Carbon, Oxygen They are inorganic or organic compounds
containing necessary plant nutrients such as
Water Hydrogen nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Soil (i) Macronutrients. Nitrogen, Phosphorus,  The chemical substance which can be used as a
Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur. fertilizer must have the following characteristics :

(ii) Micronutrients. Iron, Manganese,  It must be soluble in water.

Boron, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum,
Chlorine.
 It should be easily assimilated by plants.

 It should be fairly stable.

 To overcome the problem of deficiency of mineral
nutrients and to increase the yield, the soil can be  It should not be injurious to plants.
enriched by supplying these nutrients from the  It should not disturb pH of the soil.
external sources. The major materials which are
added into the soil to improve and maintain its  It should be cheap.
fertility are grouped under two broad categories :
 Fertilizers are classified according to the element
 Manures and fertilizers : (N, P or K) which they supply to the soil.
(i) Nitrogeneous fertilizers
Manures : (ii) Phosphatic fertilizers
 Manure are organic substances obtained from the (iii) Potash fertilizers
decomposition of animal wastes, like cow dung (iv) NPK fertilizers
and vegetable wastes by the action of microbes.
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(i) Nitrogenous Fertilizers :  Canals : This is usually an elaborate and extensive

 The important nitrogenous compounds used as irrigation system. In this system canals receive water
fertilizers are : from one or more reservoirs or from rivers. The
Ammonium sulphate, (NH4)2SO4 main canal is divided into branch canals having
Calcium cyanamide, CaCN2 further distributaries to irrigate fields.
Calcium ammonium nitrate, Ca(NO3)2, NH4NO3  River Lift Systems : In areas where canal flow is
Basic calcium nitrate, Ca(NO3)2, CaO insufficient or irregular due to inadequate
Urea, (NH2–CO–NH2) reservoir release, the lift system is more rational.
Water is directly drawn from the rivers for
(ii) Phosphatic Fertilizers :
supplementing irrigation in areas close to river.
 The minerals of phosphorus such as phosphorite,
 Tanks : These are small storage reservoirs, which
[Ca3(PO4)2] and apatire, [3Ca3(PO4)2·CaF2] are
intercept and store the run-off of smaller
sparingly soluble in water and thus do not serve as
catchement areas.
source of phosphorus for plants. These are,
therefore, converted into soluble materials which
 Cropping pattern
can act as good fertilizers. The important
Mixed Croppoing :
phosphatic fertilizers are :
Calcium superphosphate  The process of mixing seeds of two or more
Nitrophosphate different crops and then sowing then in the same
Triple phosphate field is called mixed cropping.
Phosphatic slag
 Example of mixed cropping -
(iii) Potash Fertilizers : (a) Wheat + mustard
 Potassium nitrate, potassium chloride and (b) Maize + urad
potassium sulphate are used as fertilizers. (c) Arhar + mung
(d) Ground nut + sunflower
(iv) NPK Fertilizers :
 Fertilizers containing N, P and K in suitable adjusted  Advantages of Mixed Cropping :
proportions are known as NPK fertilizers. These are  There is lesser risk of total crop failure because if
obtained by mixing nitrogenous, phosphatic and
one crop fails, then the other crop helps the
potash fertilizers in suitable proportions.
farmers to overcome his loss.
 Irrigation :
 Farmers get a variety of products for their family
 Irrigation the process of providing water to the by growing crops under the mixed cropping
soil for the purpose of supplying moisture system, e.g. cereals, pulses, fodder and vegetables
essential for plant growth. may be grown simultaneously.
 Irrigation method :
 Intercropping :
 Wells : There are two types of wells, namely dug
wells and tube wells. In a dug well, water is
 Intercropping is a special type of mixed cropping in
collected from water bearing strate. Tube wells which two or more crops are grown simultaneously
can tap water from the deeper strate. From these in the same field following a definite row pattern.
wells, water is lifted by pumps for irrigation.

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Differences between mixed cropping and  Advantages of Crops Rotation :

intercropping :  Crop rotation helps in replenishment of soil
fertility.
 It prevents depletion of selective nutrients.
 It prevents building up of diseases and pests of
particular crop.
 It enhances the production by increasing the soil
fertility.

9.3  Organic Farming :

 Manures are natural fertilizers. They are bulky
sources of organic matter which supply nutrients in
small quantities but organic matter in large
quantities. Manures include farmyard manure
(FYM). Compost, green manures, vermicompost,
etc.
The growing of different crops on a piece of land
in a pre-planned succession is called crop rotation.  Advantages of Manures :
Manures affect the soil in following three
Depending upon the duration, crop rotation may ways :
be of following three types :  The manures enrich the soil with nutrients. They
replenish the general deficiency of nutrients in the
(a) One year rotation soil. Since manures contain nutrients in small
1. Maize - Mustard quantities, they are needed to be applied in large
2. Rice - Wheat quantities.

(b) Two years rotation

 The manures add organic matter (called humus) to
the soil which restores the soil texture for better
1. Maize - Mustard-Sugarcane - Fenugreek
retention of water and for aeration of soil. For
2. Maize - Potato- Sugarcane - Peas
example, organic matter present in the manures
increases the water holding capacity in sandy soils
(c) Three years rotation
and drainage in clayey soil
1. Rice - Wheat - Mung - Mustard
2. Sugarcane - Berseem  The organic matter of manures provide food for
3. Cotton - Oat - Sugarcane - Peas - Maize - the soil organisms (decomposers such as bacteria,
Wheat fungi, etc.) which help in making nutrients
 Selection of Crops of Rotation : available to plants.

 Source of moisture (through rain or irrigation).  Thus, organ is manures help to improve the
physical properties of soil, reduce soil erosion,
 Status of nutrients in the soil.
increase the moisture holding capacity of soil and
 Availability of inputs (such as fertilizers, above all these advantages, they are low cost
pesticides, man power and machine power). nutrient carriers.
 Duration of crop short or long
 Marketing and processing facilities.  Crop protection management :
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 Field crops are affected by a large number of  The root cutting type of insects can be controlled
weeds, pestes disease which cause damage the by mixing insecticide in the soil.
crops & reduce their productivity.
 The stem and leaf cutting and boring type of
Weeds : insects can be controlled by dusting or spraying
Weeds are unwanted plants which complete with the contact insecticides. eg., malathion, lindane.
main crop for nutrition & reduce the growth of
 The sap sucking insects can be controlled by
crop.
spraying systemic insecticides.
Examples of weeds : -
* Wild sorghum
* Chaulai
* Bathua
 A wide variety of plant pathogens such as bacteria,
viruses and fungi, exist in our environment.
* Parthenium
 Pest infect and cause serious diseases in our
Methods of weed control : crops.
 Mechanical methods  The diseases caused by these pathogens include
 Chemical or use of weedicides blast in paddy (rice), rust in wheat, red rot in
sugarcane.
 Biological
 Based on the mode of transmission, plant diseases
Pests : are of following four types -
 Harmful creatures for our crop plants are small Seed Borne Diseases :
insects which attack the plants in three ways :  The diseases which spread through seeds are
 Insect Pest Control : called seed borne diseases, e.g., loose smut of
wheat, leaf spot of rice.
 Based on the mode of attack, the insect pests are
of following three types : Soil Borne Diseases :
 The soil borne diseases mostly affect roots and
 Chewing Insects :
stems of crop plants, e.g., smut of bajra, tikka
 They cut and chew root, stem and leaves of the disease of groundnut.
plants with the help of their chewing type of
Air Borne Diseases :
mouth parts. e.g., grass hoppers, locusts,
caterpillars, grubs etc.  The air diseases attack all aerial parts of the plants
like leaves, flowers and fruits. e.g., rust of wheat,
 Sucking Insects : blast of rice.
 They suck the cell sap from different parts of the
Water Borne Diseases :
plants with the help of piercing and sucking mouth
parts. eg. Aphids, leaf hoppers, plant bugs, etc.
 The diseases which are transmitted through water
are termed as water borne diseases. e.g., bacterial
 Borer Insects : blight of rice.
 They bore and enter different plant parts, and feed
on the plant tissues eg. Sugarcane borer, pod
borers, cotton ball weevil, grain weevils, etc.
 Methods of Insect Pest Control :
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 Proper and safe storage of food grains is  Poultry provides the best source of animal protein
necessary to ensure their availability throughout and fats.
the year.
 An egg laying poultry is called egger or layer and
 The various factors that contributes to this loss the poultry reared for obtaining meat is called
can be placed into two categories - chicken or broiler.
Biotic Factor :
(i) Poultry Breeds :
 Such as insects, rodents (e.g., squirrel, rat), birds
(e.g., sparrow, crow, pigeon), fungi, mites and Indigenous Breeds :
bacteria.  Aseel or Indian game bird is one of the
Abiotic Factor : indigenous breed of fowl. It is most popular breed
of India and selected for poultry farming.
 Such as moisture content and temperature.
 There occur only four popular varieties of Aseel,
 Higher temperature (i.e., 30 – 32ºC) of stored
namely :
grains make them liable to decay.
(a) Peela (golden red),
 The various types of damages caused by the
(b) Yakub (black and red)
above factors include
(c) Nurie (white)
(a) Infestation in insects,
(d) Kajal (black)
(b) Degradation in quality,
(c) Loss in weight, (ii) Exotic Breeds :
(d) Poor germinability,
(e) Discolouration of produce
 Though there are present numerous exotic breeds

(f) Poor marketability of fowl, but the following two are most popularly
used in India.
(a) White leghorn
(b) Rhode island red
Animal husbandary is the management of animal
(c) Cross breed
livestock which includes various aspects such as
animal's feeding, breeding & disease control. Good  Poultry Diseases :
animal husbandary practices are needed to meet out  The poultry birds suffer from various diseases
the growing demand of milk, eggs, meat etc. caused by virus (Fowl pox, Ranikhet), bacteria
 Cattle Farming : (Tuberculosis, Cholera, Diarrhoea), fungi
(Aspergillosis), parasite (worms, mites, lice), etc.
 Cattle faring is also called 'Cattle Husbandry'.
 Fish Production :
 In our country cattle husbandry is done for two
purposes for milk and drought labour for  Capture fishing i.e., obtaining fishes from natural
agricultural work. resources.
 The milk producing females are called milch  Culture fishery i.e., fish farming.
animals.
 The fishes which are obtained from island water
 Those used for farm labour are called drought bodies such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams are
animals. called fresh water fishes Ex- labeo, while those
 Poultry : obtained from sea are called marine fish Ex -

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Harpodon (Bombay duck), Mackerel, bhetki,
pomfret, Tuna, sardine.  Exotic Variety :
Composite Fish Farming :  A. mellifera (Italian bee)
 The intensive fish farming can be done in
composite fish culture systems. Lac Culture :
 In such a system, a combination of five or six fish  Human beings obtain commercial products from
species are grown in a single fish pond. lac insects. Lac is secreted as a protective
covering mostly by the females. The encrustation
 For example catla are surface feeders, Rohu feed
is scraped and processed to obtain lac. Lac is a
in the middle zone of the pond, and common
resinous secretion of Laccifer lacca or lac insect
carps are bottom feeders and Grass carps feed on
which feeds on the sap of a number of forest trees
the weeds. Such farming increases the fish yield.
Seri Culture :
Bee Keeping :
 If commercial product like silk are obtained from
Apiculture-Care and Management of silkworms. Silk is fibrous secretion which is
Honeybees : secreted by caterpillar over it during coccon
 Human beings obtain many commercial products formation. Common silk is Mulberry silk.
from insects like honeybees. This is known as Mullberry silk is obtained from Bombyx mori
Apiculture. which feeds on leaves of Mulberry (Morus alba).
 Honey has great importance for human beings Mulberry specially grown for silkworm is called
because of its medicinal value, specially in Moriculture.
disorders related to digestion, dysentery, vomiting Pearl Culture :
and liver ailments.  Pearl is produced by members of phyllum
 Bee farms or apiaries are established for mollusca. Pearl producing Indian variety is
commercial production of honey. Pinctada vulgaris. Father of Pearl Industry is
 Different varieties of bee are used for commercial Kokichi Mikimoto.
production of honey.

 The Local Varieties of Bees :

 Apis cerana indica (commonly known as Indian
bee). A. dorsata (the rock bee) and A.florae (little
bee).

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 CAREER POINT . AIM COURSE

EXERCISE # 1

Q.7 Find out the wrong statement from the

following -
Q.1 Poultry farming is undertaken for -
(A) White revolution is meant for increase in
(A) Egg and feather production milk production
(B) Feather and chicken meat (B) Blue revolution is meant for increase in
(C) Egg and chicken meat fish production
(D) Milk and egg (C) Increasing food production without
compromising with environmental
Q.2 Which of the following is not a weed ? quality is called as sustainable agriculture
(A) Cowpea (B) Parthenium (D) None of the above
(C) Motha (D) Xanthium
Q.8 Weeds affect the crop plants by -
Q.3 Which of the following is not a cropping (A) Killing of plants in field before they grow
pattern useful in increasing food production ? (B) Dominating the plants to grow
(A) Mixed cropping (C) Competing for various resources of crops
(B) Hybridization (plants)causing low availability of nutrients
(D) All of the above
(C) Inter-cropping
(D) Crop rotation Q.9 Cattle husbandry is done for the following
purposes -
Q.4 Which of the following is an Italian bee (i) Milk production (ii) Agricultrual work
variety ? (iii) Meat production (iv) Egg production
(A) Apis mellifera (A) i, ii & iii (B) ii, iii & iv
(B) Apis dorsata (C) iii & iv (D) i & ii
(C) Apis florae Q.10 Which of the following are Indian cattle ?
(D) Apis cerana indica (i) Bos indicus (ii) Bos domestica
(iii) Bos bubalis (iv) Bos vulgaris
Q.5 Which of the following combinations are
(A) i & iii (B) i & ii
most suitable for composite fish culture ?
(C) ii & iii (D) iii & iv
(A) Surface feeders and bottom feeders
(B) Middle zone feeders and bottom feeders Q.11 Which of the following are exotic breeds ?
(C) Surface feeders only (i) Brawn (ii) Jersey
(iii) Brown Swiss (iv) Jersey Swiss
(D) Surface feeders, middle zone feeders and
(A) i & ii (B) ii & iii
bottom feeders
(C) i & iv (D) ii & iv
Q.6 Which of the following contain macronutrients Q.12 Poultry farming is undertaken to raise following
only ? (i) Egg production
(A) Calcium, Sulphur, Zinc (ii) Feather production
(B) Calcium, Magnesium & Copper (iii) Chicken meat
(C) Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium (iv) Milk production
(D) Nitrogen, Iron & Chlorin (A) i & iii (B) i & ii

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(C) ii & iii (D) iii & iv (D) Potato mosaic disease

Q.13 Which one of the following nutrients is not Q.22 The most important weed against which
available in fertilizers ? eradication measures would be taken on war
(A) Nitrogen (B) Phosphorus footings is -
(C) Iron (D) Potassium (A) Eichhornia (B) Dactylis
(C) Parthenium (D) Ageratum
Q.14 Which one of the following fishes is a surface
feeders - Q.23 The major drawback of DDT as a pesticide is
(A) Rohus (B) Mrigals that -
(C) Common carps (D) Catlas (A) It is significantly less effective than other
pesticides
Q.15 Animals husbandry is the scientific management (B) Its cost of production is high
of - (C) It is not readily and rapidly degraded in
(A) Animal breeding nature
(B) Culture of animals (D) Organisms at once develop resistance to
(C) Animal livestock it
(D) Rearing of animals
Q.24 Which of the following is an example of a
Q.16 The science concerned with vegetable culture weed of kharif season that infect wheat crop–
is called - (A) Amaranthus (Chauli)
(A) Floriculture (B) Olericulture (B) Nut grass (Motha)
(C) Horticulture (D) Agriculture (C) Sorghum (Jangali jowar)
(D) All of the above
Q.17 A water-fern, which is used as a green
manure in rice fields, is - Q.25 First bioinsecticide developed on commercial
(A) Salvinia (B) Mucor scale was -
(C) Aspergillus (D) Azolla (A) Quinine (B) DDT
(C) Organophosphate (D) Sporeine
Q.18 Green manure plants used by farmers mainly
belongs to - Q.26 Composted manure is produced from -
(A) Compositae (B) Leguminosae (A) Farmyard manure and green manure
(C) Solanaceae (D) Poaceae (B) Farm refuse and household refuse
(C) Organic remains of biogas plants
Q.19 The largest area under cultivation in India is (D) Rotten vegetables and animal refuse
for which of the following crops -
(A) Rice (B) Wheat Q.27 Autotrophs and heterotrophs differ in -
(C) Sugarcane (D) Jowar (A) How they obtain their carbon
(B) Whether they are prokaryotic or eukaryotic
Q.20 Bioherbicides have been recommended - (C) How they reproduce, sexually or asexually
(A) To prevent ecodegradation (D) Whether they use chemicals or light as
(B) Because of their ready availability source of energy
(C) Because of their cheap rates
(D) Because of their abundance

Q.21 Which of the following is not an air-borne

disease -
(A) Black stem rust of wheat
(B) Coffee rust
(C) Blast of rice
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EXERCISE # 2

Q.1 What is meant by crop rotation ?

Q.18 Distinguish between :
Q.2 What do you mean by white revolution ? Mixed cropping and Inter cropping
Q.3 Define poultry. Q.19 What is animal husbandary ? describe it ?
Q.4 What is epiculture ? Q.20 What is crop rotation ? Given some advantages
of crop totation.
Q.5 (a) What are 'Rabi crops' ?
(b) What are Kharif crops ?
Q.21 What is the meaning of composite fish culture ?
Q.6 (a) Define manures Outline the significance of composite fish
(b) What are fertilizers ? culture.

Q.22 Distinguish between Manure & fertilizers.

Q.7 (a) What do you mean by animal husbandry.
(b) What are milch animals ? Q.23 Write a short not on irrigation method.

Q.8 Name two shell fish.

Q.9 Name any two examples of 'livestock'.

Q.10 What are cereals ?

Q.11 What is green revolution ?

Q.12 What is manure ?

Q.13 Explain the objectives of mixed cropping ?

Q.14 What are manures. What are the advantages

of the use of manures ?

Q.15 What are the benefits of cattle farming ?

Q.16 How do storage grain losses occur ?

Q.17 Write a note on sericulture ?

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