Page 16 - Active Science 5 Ebook and Activity

C rop Production

A crop is a cultivated plant that is grown on a large scale for example cereals, pulses,
vegetables. This large scale production of crops for food is called agriculture, The
growing of crops in the fields by farmers is known as cultivation.

Different crops require different weather for their growth. So farmers grow a variety of
crops according to the weather, based on a specific time of the year.

Some crops like maize and rice require heavy rains. Such crops are grown from June to
October. They are known as kharif crops. Crops like wheat, beans and legumes require
light winter rains. These are planted in November and harvested in the month of April.
These crops are known as rabi crops.

Following are the different steps in agriculture:

1. Ploughing the field: Ploughing is
the preparation of soil for sowing the
seeds. The purpose of ploughing is
to turn over the upper layer of soil
and bring the fresh nutrients to the

surface. It helps in loosening of soil, Ploughing by
burying the weeds and allows the soil Oxen
to hold moisture. Ploughing is done
using traitor and oxen.

2. Sowing the seeds: Seeds are sown by
farmers manually or through machines
which have grooves called seed drills. Ploughing by
Tractor
3. Addition of fertilizers: Fertilizers
are substances that provide nutrition to
the soil. There are two types of fertilizers.

a) Manure: It is a natural fertilizer Sowing Seeds

made from the remains of dead and
decaying plants or from cow dung.

b) Chemical fertilizers: These are
man-made fertilizers, e.g, phosphates,
nitrates and urea.
Adding
4. Irrigation: The field is then watered Fertilizers
regularly. This is called irrigation. Now
a days, modern methods of irrigation
like sprinklers are much popular.
Irrigation

16 Active Science-5