How do you think you get the crops that you eat? Who gives you the vegetables? Yes, of course, the vendor the market does. But, from where does he get them? We will look at this entire concept of agriculture and agricultural techniques in this chapter. It will help you in understanding how the food network in our country performs. However, we will start from the basic question of what agriculture is. Let’s find out more about Agricultural Techniques.
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Introduction to Agriculture
Once India was a self-sustainable country. Agriculture formed the backbone of our country. Agriculture is the art of growing food crops and cash crops needed by man. This has passed through a series of phases.
Agricultural techniques and technologies have grown rapidly and selection of farming method totally depends on the financial condition of the farmer. The ultimate aim of all these farming practices is better and high yield.
Agricultural techniques
You must know that the various farmers produce various types of crops. Each of the crops needs different growth conditions, different harvesting seasons and different attention. There are some common techniques of agriculture that farmers in India follow.
They include ploughing, use of modern machinery, fertilizers, various types of seeds etc. But, why do farmers need to use different types of seeds?
What would happen if all the farmers were to use only one kind of seed and grow only one kind of crop? If all the farmers will grow only one kind of seeds and crops, the price for these seeds and crops would fall and there would be no profit to the farmers.
Moreover, growing same kind of seeds and crop on the same land will extract the same minerals from the soil each time and as a result, the soil will be deprived of these minerals. Therefore, farmers follow various techniques like the seasonal rotation of crops to maintain the nutrient content of the soil.
Changes in Food Over the Years
Earlier people used to eat a variety of foods like bajra, jowar, wheat etc. But now, we are eating mainly wheat. Earlier the old seeds were stored and grown in the next year. Nowadays, new variants of seeds are grown and their products are quite different in taste.
Previously, people ate the foods in very simple forms, not very much spicy and overheated. Earlier, the traditional methods of irrigation, ploughing etc. were used whereas nowadays, new methods of irrigation, ploughing are being used.
Advancement in Agricultural Techniques
Too often we might think that with technological advancements, our lives have become better. Yes, it has. But, there are many problems that we face as well. Due to better transportation, better quality seeds, we do face a couple of problems. The common ones include
- Use of expensive fertilizers and medicines for the crops give off a bad smell and also affect the soil texture.
- Due to increased farming, the water level got reduced.
- More variety of seeds attracted more insects and that causes greater problems for the farmers.
- Due to increased transportation facilities, the pollution in the cities is rising like never before.
Solved Example For You
Q1: Explain one natural fertilizer.
Answer: Many farmers use earthworms as natural fertilizers. These earthworms dig the soil and make it soft and crumbly which is good for the plants. The dead plants, leaves, stems, fruits are buried in a pit and earthworms are allowed to enter and these automatically convert the waste into manure. This natural manure is very rich in minerals and good for the soil.
