Class–VIII (CHAPTER-1) Crop Production and Management
Questions
1. Select the correct word from the following list and fill in the blanks.
float, water, crop, nutrients, preparation
(a) The same kind of plants grown and cultivated on a large scale at a place is called .
(b) The first step before growing crops is of the soil. (c) Damaged seeds would on top of water.
(d) For growing a crop, sufficient sunlight and and
from the soil are essential.
2. Match items in column A with those in column B.
A B
(i) Kharif crops (a) Food for cattle
(ii) Rabi crops (b) Urea and super phosphate
(iii) Chemical fertilisers (c) Animal excreta, cow dung, urine and plant waste
(iv) Organic manure (d) Wheat, gram, pea
(e) Paddy and maize
es of each. (a) Kharif crop
(b) Rabi crop
4. Write a paragraph in your own words on each of the following. (a) Preparation of soil (b) Sowing
(b) Weeding (d) Threshing
5. Explain how fertilisers are different from manure.
6. What is irrigation? Describe two methods of irrigation which conserve water.
7. If wheat is sown in the kharif season, what would happen?
Discuss.
8. Explain how soil gets affected by the continuous plantation of crops in a field.
9. What are weeds? How can we control them?
10. Arrange the following boxes in proper order to make a flow chart of sugarcane crop production.
11. Complte the following word puzzle with the help of clues given below.
Down
1. Providing water to the crops.
2. Keeping crop grains for a long time under proper conditions.
5. Certain plants of the same kind grown on a large scale.
Across
3. A machine used for cutting the matured crop
4. A rabi crop that is also one of the pulses.
6. A process of separating the grain from chaff
Class–VIII (CHAPTER-1) Crop Production and Management
Answers
1.
(a) The same kind of plants grown and cultivated on a large scale at a place is called crop.
(b) The first step before growing crops is preparation of the soil. (c) Damaged seeds would float on top of water.
(d) For growing a crop, sufficient sunlight and water and
nutrients from the soil are essential
2.
A B
(i) Kharif rops (e) Paddy and maize
(ii) Rabi crops (d) Wheat, gram, pea
(iii) Chemical fertilisers (b) Urea and super phosphate
(iv) Organic manure (c) Animal excreta, cow dung, urine and plant waste
3.
(a) Kharif crop → Paddy, maize
(b) Rabi crop → Wheat, gram
4.
(a) Preparation of soil:
It is the first method in crop management. Preparation of soil is done by loosening the soil by ploughing or tilling it. This will
allow the seeds in growth and also for the growth of various bacteria and microorganism., which helps in the growth. This ploughing or tilling will help in being in the nutrient rich soil to the top, so that the seeds can derive nutrition for their growth.
(b) Sowing is another important step after soil preparation. Best quality of seeds are used to sow for better crop yield. Seeds are sown with the help of a traditional tool or a seed drill. It is like a funnel which is used in the modern-day tractors to sow the seeds at particular depth in the soil.
(c) Weeds are unwanted plants which grows along with the plant.
The process of removal of weeds is termed as weeding. Weeds compete with the plants in light and space and take up the nutrients given to the plant from the soil. Xanthium, Parthenium, etc. are some common weeds that affect the productivity of plant. Weeds can be controlled by using weedicide (a chemical which only kills the weeds not the crops).
(d) Threshing is the last step in which the grains are separated from the chaff. It is done after the crop harvesting. There is a machine called “Combine” which carry out this work. Combine is combined harvester and thresher. It harvests crops and also separates the grains.
5. Differences between fertilisers and manure:
Fertiliser Manure
Fertilisers are commercially available plant nutrients. Manure is a natural substance prepared by the decomposition of animal excreta and plant wastes.
They can be organic or inorganic in nature. Manure is known to have a large quantity of organic materials and very little amount of plant nutrients.
They ensure healthy growth and development of plants by providing them with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc. They help in enriching the soil with organic matter and nutrients.
The addition of fertilisers to the soil requires special guidelines such as dose time, post addition precautions, etc., to be followed. The addition of manure does not require any special guidelines.
A fertiliser does not provide any humus to the soil. Manure provides humus to the soil and increases soil fertility.
Its excessive use causes water pollution. It cannot replenish organic matter of soil. It protects the environment and helps in recycling farm waste.
6. Irrigation is the process in which water is supplied to the crops in the field at various intervals. The intervals vary from crop to crop, season to season and it also depends on the soil type and amount of rainfall. The irrigation sources are lakes, ponds, rivers, canals and dams.
7. If wheat is sown in the kharif season (from June to October), then the whole crop might get destroyed because of many factors such as lack of optimum temperature, adaptability, availability of pests, etc. Kharif season includes the rainy season, which is not favourable for the growth of wheat crop. Therefore, wheat crop should not be sown during this season.
8. Continuous plantation of soil leads to the depletion of the soil minerals like potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and various other nutrients. These ions are necessary for all the plants to grow. If continuous plantation is done these minerals won’t get time to replenish and the crop yield decreases immediately.
9. Undesirable plants that grow along with crop plants are known as weeds. Xanthium, Parthenium, etc. are some common weeds. Weeds compete with the crop for nutrients, light, and space. As a result, crop plants get lesser nutrients, light, and space for their development. This in turn, reduces their productivity. Thus, various weeding methods are employed.
Some important weeding methods are:
i. Weeds can be controlled using weedicides. It is a chemical, which is sprayed in the fields to kill all available weeds. Weedicides are not harmful to crops.
ii. Tilling before sowing of crops also helps in removing weeds.
Tilling uproots the weeds. The best time for the removal of weeds is before they produce flowers and seeds.
iii. The manual method of removing weeds is with the help of a khurpi. It involves regular uprooting or cutting of weeds close to the ground.
10. Flow chart of sugarcane crop production:
11.
Down
1. IRRIGATION
2. STORAGE
5. CROP Across
3. HARVESTOR
4. GRAM
5. WINNOWING
