GRADE 9

Chapter 15: “Improvement in food resources”

1. Food Resources: Cereals (Wheat, rice, maize, millets and sorghum) provide us
carbohydrates; Pulses (Grams, pea and lentil) provide us proteins; Oil seeds (Soya bean, ground
nut, sesame, and castor) provide us fats; Vegetables, spices and fruits provide us a range of
minerals, nucleic acids and vitamins. In addition to these food crops, fodder crops like berseem,
oats or sudan grass are raised as food for the livestock are called as fodder crops.

2. The Kharif crops: The crops grown in rainy season are called as Kharif crops (Paddy, Soya
bean, pigeon pea and maize). They are grown from June to October.

3. The Rabi crops: The crops grown in winter season are called Rabi crops (Wheat, gram, peas,
and mustard). They are grown November to April.

Compare Kharif crops and Rabi crops:

SN Crop Season Example

1 Kharif crops June to October ( Rainy Season) Paddy, Soya bean, and maize

2 Rabi crops November to April ( winter Wheat, gram, peas, and

season) mustard

4. The Green Revolution: Food supplies are generally as proteins, carbohydrates, fats,
minerals, nucleic acids and vitamins in all living organisms. Indian population is growing
enormously. Green Revolution is the need of the hour to increase food-grain production.
5. Sustainable Practices: For sustained livelihood, one should undertake mixed farming,
intercropping, and integrated farming practices, for example, combining agriculture with
livestock/ poultry/ fisheries/bee-keeping. The major group of activities for improving crop
yield can be classified as: Crop varietal improvement, Crop production improvement,
Crop protection improvement
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 6. The Crop varietal improvement:

a) Hybridization: It refers to crossing between genetically dissimilar plants;It is all to get

higher yield, improved quality, biotic and abiotic resistance, change in maturity duration, wider
adaptability and desirable agronomic characteristics.

SN Type Context

1 Intervarietal Hybridization between different varieties

2 Interspecific Hybridization between different species

3 Intergeneric Hybridization between different genera

4 Genetically Modified Crops (GMC). Another way of improving the crop is by

introducing a gene that would provide the desired
characteristic using genetic engineering.

7. The Crop production improvement: They include” no cost production”,” low cost
production” or “high cost production” practices.

Organic farming:

1. It is an approach in farming, which uses no or less concentration of herbicides,

fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
2. In this farming, organic matters like farm-wastes and organic manures are used.
3. It is a kind of farming, which includes the application of eco-friendly techniques for
sustainable development.
4. Organic farming is a farming system with minimal or no use of chemicals as fertilizers,
herbicides, pesticides etc. and with a maximum input of organic manures, recycled farm-
wastes (straw and livestock excreta), use of bio-agents such as culture of blue green algae in
preparation of biofertilizers, neem leaves or turmeric specifically in grain storage as bio-
pesticides, with healthy cropping systems [mixed cropping, inter-cropping and crop rotation

a) Nutrients( Sixteen elements are required for growth are called as essential elements
Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen+ Macronutrients & Micronutrients. They increase the yield):

SN Macronutrient Micronutrient

1 Six elements are required in larger Other seven elements are required in
quantity small quantity

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 2 Ex.Nitrogen, phosphorus, Ex. Iron, manganese, boron, zink,
calsium,Postasium, magnisium, sulphur copper, molybdinum, chlorine

Manure & Fertilizers:

SN Manure Fertilizers

1 Manure is prepared by the Fertilizers are commercially produced

decomposition of animal excreta and
plant waste is called as Humus. It
decides the texture of the soil.
Compost: Farm waste, cow dung etc.
Vermi compost: Compost prepared
by using earthworms.
plant nutrients.
Excess fertilizers destroy the soil fertility.
Organic farming: No use of chemicals
fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides etc.(
Culturing blue green algae, neem leaves,
healthy cropping systems.

2 It is cheap and prepared in rural It is costly and is prepared in factories

homes and fields

3 It is voluminous and bulky It is compact and concentrated

4 It is inconvenient to store, transport, It is easy to store, transport, handle.

handle.

5. It is not nutrient specific. It is nuteient specific and can provide

specifically nitrogen, phosphorus etc.

Add great humus to the soil Does not add humus to the soil.

3. Based on the kind of biological material used, manure can be classified as: (i) Compost
and vermi-compost: The process in which farm waste material like livestock excreta
(cow dung etc.), vegetable waste, animal refuse, domestic waste, sewage waste, straw,
eradicated weeds etc. is decomposed in pits is known as composting. The compost is
rich in organic matter and nutrients. Compost is also prepared by using earthworms to
hasten the process of decomposition of plant and animal refuse. This is called
vermicompost. (ii) Green manure: Prior to the sowing of the crop seeds, some plants
like sun hemp or guar are grown and then mulched by ploughing them into the soil.
These green plants thus turn into green manure which helps in enriching the soil in
nitrogen and phosphorus.

4. Irrigation: India has variety of water resources: Wells, canals, river lift system, tanks,
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 rainwater harvesting, water shedding management to increase in ground water levels
and to check the water flowing away to the sea. Planning to reduce soil erosion.
5. Cropping patterns:

SN Mixed cropping Inter-cropping Crop rotation

1 Two or more crops Two or more crops grown Growing different

grown simultaneously simultaneously on the same piece crops on a piece of
on the same piece of of land in a definite pattern land in a pre-
land planned succession

2 Ex. Wheat+ Soyabean + maize/bajra+Cowpea Two or three crops

Gram; Wheat+ ((Please refer Fig. 15.2, NCERT can be grown in a
Mustard; Wheat+ Text Book Page- 208). year depending
gram; upon the duration.
Groundnut+
sunflower.

3 A type of insurance A few rows of one crop alternate The availability of

against failure of one
of the crops.
with a few rows of a second crop. moisture and
Crops are selected such that their irrigation facilities
nutrient requirements are different. decides the choice
This ensures the maximum of the crop to be
utilization of the nutrients supplied cultivated.
and prevents pests and diseases
spreading in the crop field.

8. Crop protection improvement/ management: Field crops are infested by large number
of weeds, insects pests, diseases & storage of grains

SN Weeds Insect pests Diseases Storage of grains

1 Weeds are unwanted Insect pest is Disease is caused Different factors are
plants in the crop nuisance in the crop by pathogens in responsible.
field field the field

2 Weeds take up Insect pest affect Diseases alter the Different factors
nutrients and reduce the health of crop physiology of reduce the quality of
the growth and reduce the crops and reduce stored grains
yield. the yield

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3 Ex. Ex. Ex. Bacteria, Virus Biotic factors:
Xanthium, Caterpillars, insects, rodents,
Parthenium dragonfly fungi
Abiotic
factors:
moisture &
temperature
4 Removal of weeds Spread of chemicals Spread of Systematic
at an early stage is such as pesticides chemicals to kill management of
recommended. pathogens ware house.
Spray weedicides

9. Insect pests attack the plants in three ways: (i) they cut the root, stem and leaf, (ii) they suck
the cell sap from various parts of the plant, and (iii) they bore into stem and fruits. They thus
affect the health of the crop and reduce yields

10. Integrated pest management is a method in which the biological, cultural, and chemical
practises are applied so as to control pests for better agricultural production. In this process, the
natural predators are used which help in controlling the pests.

11. Storage losses in agricultural produce can be very high. Factors responsible for such losses
are biotic— insects, rodents, fungi, mites and bacteria, and abiotic— inappropriate moisture
and temperatures in the place of storage. Preventive and control measures are used before
grains are stored for future use. They include strict cleaning of the produce before storage,
proper drying of the produce first in sunlight and then in shade, and fumigation using chemicals
that can kill pests.

12. Animal Husbandry: It is a scientific management of animal livestock, includes feeding,

breeding and diseases control. Animal-based farming includes cattle farming, Poultry farming,
fish farming, and bee Keeping.

SN Content Cattle Poultry Fish farming Bee Keeping.

farming farming

1 Purpose Milk (milch Meat, Cheep source of Honey,

animals) and chicken, egg animal protein. wax,
medicinal

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 draught labor production Fish production is preparations.
(draught aquaculture. Additional
animals) in Growing of income to the
agriculture. marine fishes is farmer.
called
mariculture.

2 Cross Exotic- Exotic & Both Exotic & Exotic- high

breeding: To quality of Indigenous Indigenous fishes honey collection
get desired lactation breeds are used capacity
qualities Indigenous &stingless.
breeds- Indigenous bees-
quality of are used
disease
resistance

3 Desirable Good Good Fish farming/ Value or quality

maintenance ventilation in ventilation in locating large depends upon
sheds sheds schools of fish/ the pasturage or
Roughage/ Roughage/ use of satellites the flowers
concentrates concentrates and echo-sounds available for the
Protection Protection In Composite fish taste of honey.
from from culture seed is
parasites & parasites & wild, mixed with
skin diseases skin diseases other species.
Vaccination Vaccination Hormonal
stimulation to
bring desired
quality in fish
production.

4 Example Exotic or Exotic- Fresh water ( Apisceranaindica

foreign Leghorn Macrobrachium) dorsata
breeds ( Indigenous & Marine( A.florae
Jercy, brown breeds- Aseel Peneaus) prawns
Swiss) Fresh water
Local breeds fishes
(Red sindhi, Marine fishes(
Sahiwal) Bombay duck,
sardines)
Common

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Composite Fish Culture-In such a system, a combination of five or six fish species
is used in a single fishpond. These species are selected so that they do not compete
for food among them having different types of food habits. As a result, the food
available in all the parts of the pond is used. As Catlas are surface feeders, Rohus
feed in the middle-zone of the pond, Mrigals and Common Carps are bottom
feeders, and Grass Carps feed on the weeds, together these species (Fig. 15.6) can
use all the food in the pond without competing with each other. This increases the
fish yield from the pond.

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