Important Definitions
- Hybridization: Hybridization in food production is the process of cross-breeding different plant varieties to create new varieties with desired characteristics. The goal is to produce new plants that are better than the original plants.
- Kharif and Rabi Crops: Some crops which are grown in rainy season are called kharif crops. Kharif crops are grown from the month of June to October, and some of the crops are grown in the winter season, called the rabi crops. Rabi are grown from November to April. Paddy, soyabean, pigeon pea, maize, cotton, green gram and black gram are kharif crops, whereas wheat, gram, peas, mustard, linseed are rabi crops.
- Some of the factors for which variety improvement is done are:
- Higher yield: To increase the productivity of the crop per acre.
- Improved quality: Quality considerations of crop products vary from crop to crop. Baking quality is important in wheat, protein quality in pulses, oil quality in oilseeds andpreserving quality in fruits and vegetables.
- Biotic and abiotic resistance: Crops production can go down due to biotic (diseases, insects and nematodes) and abiotic (drought, salinity, water logging, heat, cold and frost) stresses under different situations. Varieties resistant to these stresses can improve crop production.
- Change in maturity duration: The shorter the duration of the crop from sowing to harvesting, the more economical is the variety. Such short durations allow farmers to grow multiple rounds of crops in a year. Short duration also reduces the costof crop production. Uniform maturity makes the harvesting process easy and reduces losses during harvesting.
- Wider adaptability: Developing varieties for wider adaptability will help in stabilising the crop production under different environmental conditions. One variety can then begrown under different climatic conditions in different areas.
- Desirable agronomic characteristics: Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for fodder crops.
Dwarfness is desired in cereals, so that less nutrients are consumed by these crops. Thus developing varieties of desired agronomic characters help give higher productivity.
Important Questions
Q.) What are indigenous and exotic breed of (i)poultry (ii) bee
Ans. (i)Asheel is indigenous and leghorn are exotic breed of poultry. (ii) Indigenous breed of bee are Apis cerena indica(Indian bee), A. dorsata (rock bee) and A. florae (little bee). Exotic- Italian breed A. melifera.
Q. Differentiate manure and fertilizer.
| Manure | Fertilizer |
| 1. Prepared in farm | prepared in factories |
| 2. Lack in nutrients but rich in humus and organic matter | rich in nutrients but lacks humous and organic matter |
| 3. Biodegradable so do not polute soil and aquatic system | Non biodegradable so polute soil and aquatic system |
| 4. Heavier than fertilizer so difficult to transport | lighter and easy to transport. |
Compare composting, vermi composting and green manure
| Composting | Vermi composting | Green Manure |
| Making manure or compost in a pit of a farm by biological process of decomposition. | composting with the help of verm. They increase the rate of composting. | Sun hemp or guar are green crops which cut and mulched in the soil to increase fertility of soil. |
Q. Define roughage and concentrate.
Ans. Roughage: Types of cattle food which are rich in fibre. Roughage helps in the digestion of other food.
Concentrates: Types of food which are rich in nutrients, protein and energy.
Q. Write indigenous and exotic breed of cow.
Ans. Indigenous breed: Sahiwal Exotic breed: Jersey and Brown Swiss.
Q.) What are types of poultry? Write their food requirements.
Ans. Types of poultry are: a. Broiler for the purpose of meat b. Layers- for the purpose of eggs.
The daily food requirement for broilers is protein rich with adequate fat. The level of vitamins A and K is kept high in the the poultry feeds.
Q.) Write some examples of (i) Marine fish (ii) Inland fish.
Ans. (i)Marine fish- general Marine fish varieties include pomphret, mackerel, tuna, sardines and Bombay duck. Some fish Marine varieties of high economic value are finned fish- mullets, bhetki, pearl spots. And shelfish- prawn 🦐, mussels and oysters(cultivated for pear 🍐).
(ii) Inland fish: catla, silver carp, rohu, grass carp, mrigal and common carp.
Q.) Define (i) mariculture (ii) composite fish culture
Ans. (i) Mariculture : the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products is called mariculture.
(ii) Composite fish culture: a technique that involves raising different species of fish in the same pond:
Species: Indigenous and exotic species can be grown together.
How it works: Fish with different feeding habits are selected so they don’t compete for food. For example, catlas are surface feeders, rohu feed in the middle zone and common carp feed on bottom feeders and grass carp feed on weeds. together these species can use food without competing with eachother. This increase the fish yield.
Benefits: This method increases the yield and biomass of fish, and can also increase the survival rate of the fish.
Limitation: many of these fish breed only during monsoon. So a major problem in fish farming is lack of availability of good quality seed.
Solution: breed these fish in ponds using hormonal simulation. This has ensured the supply of pure fish seed in desired quantities.
Q.) Explain apiculture.
Ans. Production of honey for commercial purpose is called apiculture. It become agriculture enterprise. It needs low investment. In addition to honey the beehives are source of wax which is used in various medicinal preparations.
Both indigenous and exotic breed of bee are used for bee keeping. Italian breed (A. melifera ) have high honey collection capacity. They sting less. They stay in a given beehive for long periods and breed very well.
Apiary: for commercial honey production, bee farms are established called apiary.
*** the value of quality of honey depends upon the pasturage (flowers 🌺 available for bees for nectar and pollen collection.
*** the kind of flowers available will determine the taste of honey 🍯.
………………………………………………………………. Important note:
*Scientific name of a. cow-Bos indicus b. Buffaloes – Bos bubalis
* milch animal – milk producing animal
*draught animal-animals used for farm labour.
* indigenous breed: local breed
*exotic breed: foreign breed