Agriculture

AGRICULTURE

•      In order to feed the entire population, plants are grown on a large scale.

•      The practice of growing plants on a large scale for food or other purposes is called agriculture.

•      The plants that are grown in large quantities in a particular area or region at a particular season are called crops.

Various Steps of Agriculture:

(I)  Ploughing of field:

1. Plough is a tool used in farming for the preparation of soil for sowing seeds or plantation.
2. Ploughing can be done with our hands or with the help of a machine like tractor.

3. Ploughing is done to turn over the soil, thus bringing fresh nutrients to the surface.

(II) Adding manure to the soil

1. Manure is a dead organic matter.
2. It is used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture.

3. It provides essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium etc. to the soil which makes the soil fertile.
4. Nitrogen is trapped by the bacteria in the soil.

(III) Sowing of seeds

1. Sowing is the process of planting seeds.
2. Sowing is done by scattering the seeds in the ploughed field.

3. These seeds germinate into new plants.

(IV) Irrigating the field

1. The field is irrigated.
2. Water is important for the growth of a plant as it is essential for the process of photosynthesis.

(V)  Spraying pesticides

1. Pests are living organisms that cause damage to crops or other animals.

2. For eg: Insects, mice, fungi, etc.
3. Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances used for destroying or repelling any pest.

(VI)  Harvesting of Crops

1. This is the last step of agriculture where the ripened crops are cut and gathered.

2. Crops need protection from birds, insects, rats, etc., before and after harvesting.

3. Farmers use scarecrows in their fields to protect crops from birds.