NEET Foundation Biology Notes For Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources

Food Resources

More than one billion people are living in India and the population is still growing. It has been reported that soon we would be required to generate more than a billion tons of grain each year to mitigate the needs of this growing population. It can only be done if more and more land is used as agricultural land.

But since in India, most of the lands are intensively cultivated, the remaining area is not sufficient to be used for agriculture. Therefore, it is the demand of time to increase our production efficiency for both crops and livestock.

Various efforts have been made to meet the food requirements  by increasing food production and it has come to some extent of  successes so far. While increasing the food production, it is important  to keep in mind that our environment should not get degraded and the  ecological balance is not disturbed. Therefore, there is an emerging  need to adopt sustainable practices in the department of agriculture,  organic farming and animal husbandry.

With the increasing population of India, the problems such as  hunger and malnutrition have also raised, which would not be solved  by simply raising grain production and their storage in warehouses.  People need money for purchasing food.

Read and Learn More: NEET Foundation Notes

Food security depends upon  its availability and its access. Since majority of people in India are  dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, it is essential to raise the  income of people associated with agriculture to combat the problem  of hunger. Hence, scientific management practices like organic  farming, sustainable farming, crop improvement through genetic  manipulation and biological pest control should be undertaken to  obtain high yield from farms.

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming

Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices with a specific ­application. It is based on the understanding of ecosystem services, the study of relationship between organisms and their environment.

Sustainable farming is the production of plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health and animal welfare. The term ‘Sustainable agriculture’ was coined by the Australian agricultural Scientist, Gordon McClymont. The various advantages of sustainable agriculture are discussed below.

• It helps in the integration of natural biological cycles and controls.
• It reduces loss of soil fertility and protects the natural resource base.
• The use of non-renewable resources and production input also gets reduced in sustainable farming.
• It also provides source of employment to farm communities.
• It includes optimized use of farm resources and provides adequate income.

Organic farming is an alternative agricultural system that employs organic fertilizers , such as compost, manure, green manure. Organic farming emphasizes on the methods such as crop rotation, mixed cropping, inter cropping, biological pest control, plant breeding for increasing the yield of crops. The advantages of organic farming are mentioned below.

• There is no use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in the organic farming technique.
• Organic farm wastes can be recycled in the form of manure.
• It also maintains the soil fertility.
• Controls the attack of pests and growth of weeds through cropping system.
• There is no toxic released during organic farming which can harm our environment.

The revolutions that occurred in the past for increasing food production are as follows.

• Green revolution: It deals with high production of food grains. Dr. Swaminathan was known as the ‘Father of Green Revolution’.
• White revolution: It deals with increased production of milk. Dr. Verghese Kurien was known as the ‘Father of White Revolution’.
• Yellow revolution: It deals with increase in the production of oil. Sam Pitroda is known as the ‘Father of Yellow Revolution’.
• Blue revolution: It deals with increase in the production of fish. Dr. Arun Krishnan was known as the ‘Father of Blue Revolution’. Scientists are working on the revolution of pulses, which is regarded as the basic need of India today.

Crop Production Management

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Improvement in Crop Yields

Agriculture is described as the practice of cultivating soil, producing crops and raising livestock. It can also be defined as the science that deals with the practice of growing plants and other crops, feeding, breeding and raising of animals for food or other human needs.

Different crops have different abiotic requirements, such as air, water, temperature and soil for their growth and reproduction. The major crops that are cultivated in India are food grains (cereals and pulses), cash crops (cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds), plantation crops (tea, coffee, coconut and rubber), horticulture crops such as fruits and vegetables. Along with these food crops, fodder crops like berseem, oats or Sudan grass are also cultivated as food for the livestock.

As we know, photosynthesis occurs in all plants for manufacturing their food in the presence of sunlight. Growth of plants and flowering are dependent on different factors and they are as follows.

• Climatic conditions
• Photoperiod (duration of sunlight)
• Temperature variation
• Completion of their life cycle

Types of Crops

Crops can be divided into different types based on the seasons they are grown and based on their usage.

• Based on the season: There are three kinds of crops based on the season, such as Kharif, Rabi and aid crops. In India, crops are grown in rainy season from the month of June to October and they are called Kharif crops. Kharif crops means ‘autumn’ (from July–October). They are sown in the beginning of monsoon and harvested at the end of rainy seasons. They include rice, maize, sorghum, bajra, arhar (pulses), soybean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton, etc. Rabi means ‘spring’ (from October–March).
  These crops are sown in the beginning of dry winter and harvested before the inception of summer. They include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds), etc. Crops which are grown from April to June are called zaid crops and it includes crops like cucumber and melons.
• Based on the product they give (produce): The crops can be divided into four main categories depending on their usage.
• • Cereals include rice, wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, etc. They are rich sources of carbohydrate.
  • Pulses include chick pea gram (chana), pea (matar), blackgram (urad), green gram (moong), pigeon pea (arhar) and lentil (masoor).They are rich sources of protein.
  • Oil seeds include soybean, groundnut, sesame, castor, mustard, linseed and sunflower. They are rich sources of fat.
  • Fruits and vegetables include apple, mango, dates, radish, turnip, cabbage, spinach, etc. They are rich sources of vitamins and minerals. In India, the major crops are commonly cultivated between July to June.

Before cultivating a crop variety, a farmer goes through several steps. The first step is the choice of seeds for planting. The second is the nurturing of the crop plants and the third is the protection of the growing and harvested crops from loss.

It has been observed that harvested crops get deteriorated due to moisture in rainy seasons. Sometimes, the crops grown in field does not yield sufficient amount of product due to growth of weeds or attack of pests, etc., Thus, for improving crop yields from such deterioration three methods can be applied and they are as follows.

• Crop variety improvement through genetic manipulation
• Crop production management
• Crop protection management

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Crop Variety Improvement

Crop variety improvement involves the methods to be adopted and modify the plants genetically for a better yield. Selection of a good crop variety can result in a good yield. Varieties of crops can be selected on the basis of various useful characteristics, such as disease resistance, drought resistance, stress tolerant, product quality and high yields.

Methods of Crop Variety Improvement

Several methods can be applied for producing such modified crops and they are discussed below in detail.

1. Hybridization

2. Genetic engineering

• Hybridization: It is defined as a process of crossing between genetically dissimilar plants that results in the production of a new variety. This cross may occur in three different ways as listed below.
• • Intervarietal cross occurs between different varieties.
  • Interspecific cross occurs between two different species of the same genus.
  • Intergeneric cross occurs between different genera.
• Genetic engineering: The introduction of desired gene with specific characteristics in the genome of a plant also produces improved quality of crop. Such crops are known as genetically modified crops (GMO) and the technique employed is known as genetic engineering.

List of genetically modified crops with their modified characteristics

Genetically Modified Crops 

While producing GMO crops, it is necessary that the variety producing crops have high quality and superior yields under different conditions relative to different areas. For producing good yield, it is necessary to use good quality seeds of a particular variety and should germinate under the same conditions.

Cultivation practices and good crop yield also depends upon the weather, soil quality and availability of water. GMO crop varieties are useful as they can be grown in diverse climatic conditions, such as drought and flood. Some of the varieties could have special characters such as tolerance to high soil salinity.

Objectives of Crop Variety Improvement

Crop improvement is necessary for certain reasons and they are mentioned below.

• Higher yield
• Improved quality
• Biotic and abiotic resistance
• Desirable agronomic characteristics
• Wider adaptability
• Change in maturity duration

The quality of certain crops is needed to be improved in case of wheat, pulses, oilseeds and fruits. Wheat grains are needed to be baked properly after maturation. Certain crops that have long maturation duration takes long time to harvest. So, it is necessary to improve their quality so that they could mature early and farmers are able to grow more than a crop in a year.

For every year, the crop production decreases due to biotic factors, such as diseases, pests and sometimes due to natural calamities such as drought, salinity, cold and frost by hampering the yield of the crop. In such cases, it is necessary to improve the crop variety so that they could even give better yield in undesirable climatic conditions.

Taller plants utilize more nutrients than shorter plants and hence, they increase the input cost of agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to produce shorter cereal crops to increase the yield ensuring less nutrient consumption.

Crop Production Management

In India, agriculture is the major occupation carried out by a vast population About 70 per cent of the total population is involved in agriculture and it accounts for 40 per cent of gross national product (GNP). The selection of farming practices depends upon the financial condition of the farmer, size of land holding and awareness of advanced technologies.

Crop production management includes three major components, such as (a) nutrient management, (b) irrigation, (c) cropping pattern and (d) crop rotation.

Nutrient Management

Plants need certain nutrients for growth and development. Plants obtain ­nutrients from three sources, such as water, air and soil. Plants require essential inorganic elements for developing and maintaining their ­structure and ­metabolism.

There are several elements in the form of minerals found in soil that is used by plants, but there are some elements that are essential for the growth and development of the plant. These elements are known as essential elements or essential nutrient. The selection of time, nutrient and amount of nutrient is controlled under the system called nutrient management.

The essential nutrients for plants are classified into two forms and they are as follows.

• Macronutrients: Macronutrients are elements that are utilized by the plants in large amount. For example, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.
• Micronutrients: Micronutrients are elements that are utilized in small amount. For example, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, molybdenum, chlorine and nickel. Other elements like carbon, oxygen and hydrogen is provided by air and water.

Macro and micronutrients

In the absence of these essential nutrients, the physiological as well as metabolic ­process in plants gets ­disturbed. Therefore, to increase the yield of any particular plant, essential nutrients can be provided as a supplement to the soil in the form of manure and fertilizers.

Manure

Manure is a decomposed mixture of organic substances obtained from animal excreta and farm based plant waste. This is mainly composed of biological wastes and hence, it does not cause harm to the environment and also reduces the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Organic matter present in the manure increases the water holding capacity of sandy soil and it avoids water logging.

Advantages and disadvantages of manures

On the basis of its composition, the manure can be classified as follows.

• Compost: It is an organic matter rich in nutrient, consisting of decomposed matter of domestic waste, livestock excreta (cow dung, etc.), vegetable waste, animalrefuse, farming waste, etc. The method of decomposing animal and plant wastes into a complex organic matter with the help of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, worm, etc., is known as composting. The decomposed matter prepared by the help of worms is known as vermicompost.
• Green manure: It is an undecomposed material that consists of green plants and leaves along with twigs.In this method, green plants are grown and ploughed under the soil surface to enrich the soil content (mainly nitrogen and phosphorous). The plants that are used for green manure are known as green manure crops. For example: Crotalaria juncea  (sun hemp), Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (cluster bean).

• Farm yard manure (FYM): It is the oldest manure composed of the decomposed ­mixture of dung, urine of farm animals,remains of roughages or fodder fed to the ­cattle. It is chemically composed of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, sulphur, zinc, copper, manganese and iron. It is commonly used by the farmers to grow crops because of its easy availability and the presence of all nutrients required by plants. It is a cheap and easily available source of organic nutrients.

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Fertilizers

Fertilizers are man-made and commercially produced inorganic or organic material that provides nutrition to the plants. Fertilizers are used in crop fields to increase the ­vegetative growth of the plant and to produce healthy plants. The nutrient content in fertilizers is very high as compared to the manure. Hence, it is used in very less amount. It is mainly composed of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

They are classified into four groups based on their nutrient content.

• Nitrogenous fertilizers: They provide nitrogen (macronutrient).
• Phosphorous fertilizers: They provide phosphorous (macronutrient).
• Potassic fertilizers: They provide potassium (essential micronutrient).
• Complex fertilizers: They provide two or more than two nutrients (N₂ , P₂O₄ and K₂O).

Disadvantages of Chemical Fertilizers

• Continuous use of chemical fertilizers may lead to complete loss of soil fertility (soil becomes alkaline due to the presence of sodium nitrate in fertilizers).
• Excessive use of fertilizers in field may lead to water pollution because sometimes, it gets washed away at the time of irrigation along with running water.
• Deposition of fertilizers in the water bodies may lead to eutrophication.
• Crops may absorb minerals present in the nutrients and gets accumulated in the edible parts of the plant. Hence, they may reach up to human food resulting in the ill health of the humans.

Types of fertilizers and their examples

Biofertilizers

Some living microorganisms are also used as fertilizers as it provides nutrient to the plants and such fertilizers are known as biofertilizers. These fertilizers are non-pollutant and renewable. They are used for specific plant crops grown in the specific soil content, such as legume plants, pulses, oil seeds, etc. They provide supplementary nutrient in the form of nitrogen to the plants. The types of biofertilizers are as follows.

• Nitrogenous fertilizers
• Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms
• Mycorrhiza

Microorganisms used as biofertilizers may exist in two forms, such as symbiotic and ­non-symbiotic relation. Symbiotic relationship is that in which two organisms of two different species live together in a close relationship and are dependent upon each other. For example, mycorrhiza lives with vascular plants.

Class 11 Physics	Class 12 Maths	Class 11 Chemistry
NEET Foundation	Class 12 Physics	NEET Physics

Irrigation

In India, most of the agricultural land is dependent upon rainfall during ­monsoon. Therefore, the successful yield of crops in most of the areas of India is dependent upon timely monsoons and the amount of rainfall received during the growing season. Therefore, at times of less rainfall during monsoon, farmers get fewer yields and have to face heavy loss in their annual income.

Nowadays, suicidal case among farmers has become a major problem in many parts of India. This is due to dependency on rain which leads to the failure of agricultural yield. Therefore, several measures have been taken to irrigate the agricultural fields through canals, tube wells, reservoirs and wells, etc.

The process of supplying water artificially through water reservoirs and tube wells to the agricultural field where crop plants are grown is known as irrigation.

India has twelve major river basins and eight composite river basins. It has a wide variety of water resources, but still there are certain areas that are completely dependent upon rain for the cultivation of crops, such agriculture practice is known as rain fed agriculture. Under such conditions, different kinds of irrigation systems have been established to supply water to agricultural lands.

Advantages of Irrigation System

• The irrigation system provides fresh water to crop plants that are enriched in hydrogen and oxygen. Hence, it provides two important elements to crops that are essential for their growth and development.
• Irrigation provides sufficient water and minerals dissolved in the water to the crop plants and hence, the number of aerial branches increases in the crop plants leading to an increase in the crop yield.
• Irrigation water from river basins even carries slit with them which are nutrient rich thereby, improving soil fertility and crop yields.
• Irrigation allows cultivation of crops throughout the year rather than being restricted to a specific season.
• In desert areas, continuous supply of running water through irrigation decreases the salinity of soil.
• For irrigation purposes, many check dams has been constructed on the water reservoirs and large rivers to control the flow of rainwater and it also reduces the soil erosion.

Factors Controlling Irrigation

The irrigation of crop plants mainly depends upon the following two factors.

• Nature of crop plants also known as crop-based irrigation: Some crops demand more water supplies while others may grow even in small amount of water. For example: Rice needs more water to grow so, continuous water supply is needed whereas wheat and cotton needs less water at the time of flowering or before ­tilling (before ploughing).
• Nature of soil of agriculture field also known as soil-based irrigation: Sandy soil has less water retention capacity so it needs more water supplies whereas clayey soil holds a small amount of water within them and hence, it requires less amount of water.

Irrigation System

India has a large number of rivers and water resources. The ­arrangement and supply of required water to the crop plants without disturbing the water table and soil aeration and causing soil salinity and water logging problem is defined as water management. Depending upon the various water resources, irrigation system has been constructed based on the following types.

• Canals: These are man-made structures that receive water from one or more than one reservoirs or from rivers. The main canal is divided into branch canals and branch canals are again divided into several field channels that reach individual crop fields and provide water to the crop plants. It is an extensive and elaborated irrigation system. When the shortage of water occurs, this system follows the rotation system and it is also known as water bandhi, in which each individual field receives water by rotation.
• Tanks: These are small reservoirs that receive and store the run-off water from catchment areas (small resources that collect rainwater).
• Wells: Wells have been constructed in those areas where exploitable ground water is present. It is of two types, such as dug well and tube well (Fig. 6.5). Dug well have their base below the ground water table and it collects water from water bearing strata, whereas tube well collects water from the deeper strata. In case of dug well, water is drawn by mechanical means, i.e., bullock operated devices , whereas in tube well electrical pump is used to lift water.
• River lift system: This system is found where the canal flow provides inadequate water. In this system, water is drawn directly from rivers to supplement irrigation.
• Dip and sprinkler system: In this system, pump is used and water is sprayed through an overhead pipe. This system saves a lot of water and serves as a natural process.

Water Augmentation

Augmentation is a process of using existing water to carry out new work. To fulfil the demand of water used in the irrigation, augmentation of ground water is done. It is carried out by the following two methods.

• Rainwater harvesting: This process includes collection of rainwater, which is further used to recharge ground water by digging up wells.
• Water-shed management: This process includes the construction of check dams to reduce the flow of rainwater and prevent soil erosion. It also increases the percolation of water into ground.

Cropping Patterns

Cropping pattern is the selection of varieties of crops and determining the proportion of areas for growing them depending upon climate, availability of water and nutrients in the soil. There are several methods of cropping which have been planned to raise the farm yield in the same farm area with reduced diseased crop and crop failure and these methods are discussed below.

• Mixed cropping: This type of cropping minimizes the crop failure due to lack of ­favourable weather conditions. Seeds are mixed together before sowing and sowed in a random manner in the same field. For example: Wheat + Chickpea, Cotton + Moong bean.
• Intercropping: In this type of farming, two or more than two crops are grown simultaneously in the same crop field, but in a definite pattern to increase the productivity of farm per unit area. It is an improved version of mixed cropping. This type of farming is adopted by small farmers who do not have proper facility of irrigation. After one row of main crop, two or three rows of intercrops are grown. This type of farming utilizes the nutrient supplied and also prevents the pets and diseased or affected plants. The different crops that have ­different nutrient requirement are selected for this cropping pattern and hence, both the crops give better yield. For example: Soybean + Maize.

Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is the systematic cultivation of different crops in a proper sequence in different seasons on the same land. Crop rotation maintains the quantity of nutrients in the soil and thus, it increases the productivity and prevent diseases. In this type of farming, different varieties of crop plants are cultivated on the same land in a pre-planned manner, but by rotation.

Since continuous cultivation of same type of crops leads to the depletion of particular nutrient in the soil, it also gives rise to diseases and pests. This type of cultivation is practiced to regain the soil fertility. For example: Wheat requires nutrient rich soil which is maintained by cropping legume plants by rotation in the same field.

Types of crop rotation

Advantages of Crop Rotation

• Several crops can be cultivated in the same soil within a year. The farm yield increases by practicing crop rotation.
• It avoids growth of weeds and pests.
• It increases the soil fertility. When leguminous crops are grown, the nitrogen content of the soil increases due to the presence of symbiotic nitrogen fixing microbes.
• It reduces the use of chemical fertilizers.

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Crop Protection Management

Soil is enriched with several microbes and pests that enhance the soil content, but it may also harm the plants. Field crops yield are harmed by a large number of factors, such as weeds, pests, insects and diseases. Because of pests and weeds, there is an annual loss of a major part of the crop yield and at times most of the crops get lost.

There are several methods that can control the harmful effects of these pests and weeds. Some farmers use biocides or pesticides, the chemicals used to kill pests (pesticides), to kill weeds (weedicides), to kill insects (insecticides) and to kill fungi (fungicides). These chemicals are not good for human health and also cause environmental pollution and therefore, preventive measures should be taken to protect crops from pests and diseases.

Pest Control

Pests are insects that destruct the crop plants by the following three ways.

• Sucking insects: They enter the cell sap of the plant and suck them. They include insects that have piercing-sucking mouth parts such as leaf hoppers, plant bugs, etc.
• Internal feeders: They live inside the parts of the plant and make hole in the stem and fruits. They are called borers or weevils. When they live in twigs or roots known as borers (in roots of sugarcane); when they attack fruits and seeds they are called weevils (in guava, karela, etc).
• Chewing insects: These insects have chewing mouth part, they cut roots, and stem and leaf then, chew and swallow them. They can harm all types of plants. For example: Grasshoppers, caterpillars, etc.

Preventive Measures of Pests

• Crop rotation reduces the pests attack since pests of specific crop plant lives on the surface of plants and removal of crop residues from field repeatedly after short duration for cultivating next crop reduces pests.
• During rainy season due to humid and warm condition pests grow more in numbers and therefore, ploughing in summers reduces the pest population.
• Pest resistant crops are developed by means of genetic engineering and hybridization. The use of such resistant varieties of crop reduces damage caused by the pests.

Weed Control

The unwanted plants that grow with main crop plants utilize the nutrient of the soil in large amount and hence, it reduces the growth of the crop. Such plants are known as weeds. For example, the seeds of weed germinate easily and grow faster than the main crop plant thereby, taking up all the nutrients present in the soil at a faster rate as compared to the main crop reducing the growth of the crop plant.

Therefore, removal of weeds from crop field is very essential to protect the crop yield. Various preventive methods have been adopted for the removal of weeds and they are as follows.

• Mechanical method: This includes removal of weeds by pulling out with hands or ploughing.
• Chemical method: This includes use of weedicides. For example, Atrazine, 2, 4-D, etc.
• Biological method: This includes the use of some insects that destroy only weeds specifically and do not cause harm to the crop plant. For example, use of cochineal insects for removal of Opuntia phaecantha (prickly pear cactus).
• Cropping pattern: Intercropping and crop rotation also helps in the removal of weeds from the farm. Cropping on proper clean bed and timely sowing of crops also reduces the growth of weeds in the field.

Diseases of Crop Plants

Our environment is full of a variety of organisms; some are pathogenic while others are non-pathogenic. Pathogens are microorganisms that cause diseases to the crop plants whereas it may be a bacteria, fungus or virus. They are present in the soil, air and water, it becomes virulent in favourable conditions.

On the basis of types of pathogens, crop diseases are classified into the following four categories.

• Seedborne diseases: These diseases are transmitted through seeds. For example: Red rot of sugarcane.
• Soilborne diseases: These diseases are transmitted through soil and affects the root and stem of the plant. For example: ‘Smut of bajra’.
• Airborne diseases: These diseases are transmitted through air and mostly aerial part of the plant gets affected. For example: ‘Rust of wheat’, ‘blast of rice’.
• Waterborne disease: These diseases are transmitted through water. For example: ‘Bacterial blight of rice’.

Disease of major crops, their symptoms and preventive measures

Storage of Grains

Annual crops that are grown once in a year are stored in the warehouses for rest of the year. Mainly, cereal grains or food grains are stored in safe storage under ­suitable temperature and moisture content. These cereal grains are stored at three levels, such as producer level, trader level and at FCI (Food Corporation of India).

During these storage practices, about 9.3 per cent of the total food grains get spoiled every year. There are several factors that hamper the quality of food grains during storage. The two types of factors that affect the food quality are as follows.

• Biotic factors: It includes insects, rodents, fungi and bacteria.
  The common insect pests found in the grain stores are as follows.
• • Lesser grain borer: Rhyzopertha dominica (beetle) damage grains by perforating the shells.
  • Rice moth (Corcyra cephalonica) the larva causes damage to rice and maize.
  • Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryza) both adult and grub causes damage to the rice.
  • Wheat weevil (Trogoderma granarium) found in large amount in the stored wheat.
  • Rust red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) both larva and adult forms are present in the flour and flour products.
• Abiotic factors: It includes moisture, temperature and cleanliness.
  These factors alter the product’s quality, their germination capability and discoloration of products and also results in the loss of weight. Altogether, these factors leads to loss of market value of food grains. Several preventive and control measures have been taken to protect the loss of grains before storage and they are as follows.
  • The produced grains should be dried under sunlight, then in shade.
  • Proper cleaning of store house should be maintained before storage.
  • Fumigation should be done (a chemical treatment that kills pest and other microbes by forming toxic fumes).
  • Adequate temperature and moisture should be maintained during storage and throughout the procedure.

List of abiotic factors with their suitable environmental conditions

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Animal Husbandry

The branch of science that deals with the scientific management of animal livestock including animal feeding, breeding and disease control is termed as animal husbandry. With the increasing population in India and their increasing standard of living, the demand of animal products has also increased, such as milk, butter, egg and meat. The animal husbandry includes the cattle, poultry and fish farming. It also manages the egg and broiler production.

Cattle Farming

In India, cattle’s are used for various purposes such as in the field of agriculture for ploughing, transporting food grains to warehouses. It also provides food resources such as milk and meat. Cattles are classified int two categories, such as Bos indicus  (Cow) and Bos bubalis (buffaloes). On the basis of their functions, they have been named as milch animals, which represents those females who can produce milk and another who are used for labour in farms are named as draught animals.

Milk production of a cattle starts after giving birth to a calf and it depends upon the lactation period of a cattle. If we need to increase their productivity, we have to increase the lactation period. This can be done by crossing two breeds with best productivity.

Different types of breeds of Bos indicus (cow) found in India

Different types of breeds of Bos bubalis (buffaloes)

Jersey and Brown Swiss are foreign breeds (from Switzerland) and it has long lactation period; whereas Red Sindhi and Sahiwal, such local breeds are resistant to diseases.

Diseases of Cattle

Cattles are affected by a number of pathogens, like bacteria, fungus, virus and parasites.

Common disease of cattle with causative agents and symptoms

Poultry Farming

Poultry farming is the farming that deals with the feeding and breeding of domestic fowl that produces egg and fulfils the demand of chicken meat as well. As with the increasing population, the demand of poultry products has also increased.

So to fulfil the demands of people, an improved poultry breeds have been developed that can produce large number of eggs as well as broilers for meat. The hybrid varieties with desired traits have been developed by crossing the Indian breeds with foreign breeds (Leghorn). The hybrid developed from Indian breed (Aseel) and foreign breed leghorn possess the following qualities.

• It has enhanced the number and quality of chicks.
• It has the quality of summer adaptation or we can say that they are tolerant to high temperature.
• They utilize cheaper diet, i.e., fibrous diets.

The continuous effort in the field of poultry makes India the World’s 5th largest producer of poultry after China, Former USSR, USA and Japan.

Diseases of Poultry

The poultry birds may get affected by viruses, bacteria, fungi and animal parasites that cause diseases. Some birds may even suffer due to the deficiency of nutrition. These infectious diseases can be cured by proper cleaning, sanitation and spraying of disinfectants after regular interval.

Common disease of poultry

Fish Production

In India, fish is an important food for coastal population. It is rich in vitamin A and D. It is easily digestible and it is a cheap and rich source of protein. There are two sources from where fish can be obtained and they are as follows.

• From natural resources such as rivers and ponds.
• Culture in the freshwater.

Fish farming can be categorized as follows.

• Marine fisheries: In this type, the fishes are obtained from either fresh water resources or saline water from marine. It includes pomfret, mackerel, tuna, sardines and Bombay duck. Their yield in the open sea can be increased using satellites and echo-sounders.
• Inland fisheries: In this type, the fishes are obtained from rivers, lakes, ponds and fish reservoirs. Brackish water resources are also used for such fisheries in which sea water and fresh water are mixed together to form estuaries and lagoons.In this type of fisheries, fish are obtained from two resources: capturing.

Aquaculture

It includes the production of high yield aquatic plants and animals which have high economic value, such as fishes, prawns, crayfish, shrimps, oysters and sea weeds. It includes two culture systems and they are as follows.

• Mariculture: In this type of culture, the marine fishes such as bhetki, eel, and pearl spots are cultured in the coastal water for commercial purpose.
• Fresh water culture fishery: In this type, exotic crabs such as English carp, tench and trouts are cultivated in the lakes.

Beekeeping

Beekeeping is carried out to produce honey. They need less investment, so farmers use beekeeping as their second source of income. The varieties of bees are used for commercial production of honey and wax as a by-product. An Italian bee variety named as A. mellifera has brought an increase in the honey production.

Apis cerana indica is a local variety used for the commercial production of honey. Other varieties of bee commonly involved in the honey production are A. dorsata (rock bee) and A. florae (little bee).

Management for High Yield of Honey

For obtaining maximum production of honey, the following considerations are taken into account.

• Selection of flora: Pasturage flora of honey bees includes flowering plants of almond, tamarind, mango which has orchards for the nectar and pollen collection. The quality and taste of honey depends upon the flora. So, pasturage flora is found to be the best.
• Beehive: Generally, three types of beehives are found in the apiaries. Beehive is a wooden box where honey is collected and reserved.
• Apiary location: It is the arrangement of number of hives in an apiary system where maximum nectar and pollen grains are collected. The apiary should be kept nearby the region where dense flora is found.
• Water availability and open space for the entrance of bee is also required.
• Selection of honey bee variety: Honey bee which has more production capability should be selected. Apis mellifera (Italian bee) has the maximum capacity for honey production.

Diseases and Enemy of Honey Bee

Honey bees are affected by bacteria, fungi, virus and protozoan.

Enemies: Birds like crows, blue tits, sparrows and fly catchers use bee as their meal.

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Classroom Corner Fill In The Blanks

Question 1. ______ is the modern technique in the field of crop variety improvement.
Answer. Genetic engineering

Question 2. Process of producing new variety of crops by crossing two genetically different parent crops is ______
Answer. Hybridization

Question 3. Cattle are both affected by internal and external ______
Answer. Parsites

Question 4. ______ is the process of obtaining fish from natural resources.
Answer. Fish capturing

Question 5. ______ crop is an example of rabi crops.
Answer. Wheat

Question 6. Prevention of water logging in the clayey soil is due to the presence of ______
Answer. Organic matter

Question 7. Salt water fishery is known as ______
Answer. Marine fishery

Question 8. Nutrients that are required in large quantities by the plants ______
Answer. Major nutrients

Question 9. Crops which are grown from June to October is ______
Answer. Kharif crops

Question 10. Rearing of animals is ______
Answer. Farming

Question 11. Pigeon pea is a good source of ______.
Answer. Protein

Question 12. Berseem is an important ______ crop.
Answer. Fodder

Question 13. The crops which are grown in rainy season are called ______ crops.
Answer. Kharif

Question 14. ______ are rich in vitamins.
Answer. Vegetables

Question 15. ______ crop grows in winter season.
Answer. Rabi

Chapter 6 Improvement In Food Resources Match The Columns

Question 1.

Select the correct option.

1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
2. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer. 1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2

Question 2.

Select the correct option.

1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
2. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer. 4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Question 3.

Select the correct option.

1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
2. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer. 3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

Question 4.

Select the correct option.

1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
2. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer. 1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2

Question 5.

Select the correct option.

1. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
2. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
4. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer. 3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4