Crop Production and Management

Q68. Why is it necessary to dry the harvested food grains before storage?

Ans. The fresh crop has more moisture. If freshly harvested grains (seeds) are stored without drying, they may get spoilt or attacked by organisms, losing their germination capacity. Hence, before storing them, the grains are properly dried in the sun to reduce the moisture in them. This prevents the attack by insect pests, bacteria and fungi.

Q69. Why drilling is the best method for sowing of seeds?
Or
Explain the method used these days to sow seeds.

Ans. Nowadays the seed drill is used for sowing with the help of tractors. Seed drill sows the seeds uniformly at proper distances and depths. It ensures that seeds get covered by the soil after sowing. This prevents damage caused by birds. Sowing by using a seed drill saves time and labour. Hence, it is considered as the best method for sowing of seeds.

Q70. What are the advantages of sprinkler system of irrigation?

Ans. Advantages of sprinkler system of irrigation

                         i.        This system is more useful on the uneven land where sufficient water is not available.

                        ii.        Water gets sprinkled on the crop as if it is raining.

                       iii.        Sprinkler is very useful for sandy soil.

                       iv.        Water is also distributed more evenly across crops helping to avoid wastage.

Q71. What are the steps involved in agricultural practices?

Ans. Steps involved in agricultural practices are:

                         i.        Preparation of soil

                        ii.        Sowing

                       iii.        Adding manure and fertilisers

                       iv.        Irrigation

                        v.        Protecting from weeds

                       vi.        Harvesting

         vii.        Storage

Q72. Why organic manure is considered better than fertilisers?
Or
What are the advantages of organic manure?

Ans. The organic manure is considered better than fertilisers. This is because

                          i.        It enhances the water holding capacity of the soil.

                         ii.        It makes the soil porous due to which exchange of gases becomes easy.

                        iii.        It increases the number of friendly microbes.

                        iv.        It improves the texture of the soil.

Q73. If wheat is sown in the kharif season, what would happen? Discuss.

Ans. Wheat is a rabi crop and grown in winter season. Their time period is generally from October to March. It needs cool, dry and clear climate for better growth and yield. Kharif season is generally from June to September. Kharif crops requires huge amount of water and hot weather to grow. If wheat is grown in Kharif season it will be affected adversely as hot and humid climate is not ideal for cultivation of wheat.

Q74. Name the three tools used for ploughing. Write function of each.

Ans. Tools used for ploughing are:

Plough: This is being used since ancient times for tilling the soil, adding fertilisers to the crop, removing the weeds, scraping of soil, etc.

Hoe: It is a simple tool which is used for removing weeds and for loosening the soil.

Cultivator: Nowadays ploughing is done by tractor driven cultivator. The use of cultivator saves labour and time.

Q75. Explain how fertilisers are different from manure.

Ans. Difference between fertilisers and manure