Advancing Agriculture: Enhancing Crops and Productivity 

The production, improvement, and management of crops are integral aspects of agriculture, vital for ensuring food security and sustainable farming practices. This multifaceted domain encompasses methods to enhance crop yields, develop resilient varieties, and employ effective management strategies, collectively contributing to the advancement of agricultural productivity and global food systems.

Sustainable Production of Crops for Growing Populations

• Consistent Production: In order to provide food for a large population— regular production, proper management and distribution is necessary.
• Multifold Increasement: In India, there has been a four-fold increase in the production of food grains from 1952 to 2010 with only a 25% increase in the cultivable land area. 

Integrated Farming Practices for Optimal Management of Crops

• It can be divided into three stages:
  • Basic agricultural practices and crop production management,
  • Crop variety improvement,
  • Crop protection management.

Basic Agricultural Practices and Crops Production Management: 

• Crops and their Type:
  • Plants of the same kind that are grown and cultivated as a source of food in a large cultivable land is called a crop.
  • Rabi Crops: Crops, which are grown in the winter season (from October to March) are called Rabi crops.
  • Kharif Crops: The crops, which are sown in the rainy season (from July to October) are called Kharif crops.
• Basic Practices of Production of Crops: Following are the basic practices involved in crop production: 
  • Preparation of soil
  • Sowing
  • Adding manure and fertilisers
  • Irrigation
  • Protecting from weeds
  • Harvesting
  • Storage
• Crop production management refers to the growing of crops and providing all the nutrients to the crop plant that are needed and also properly storing them. 
  • It includes the following:
    • Nutrition Management,
    • Irrigation,
    • Cropping Patterns

Optimizing Growth of Crops: Soil Preparation Essentials

• Initial Step: The preparation of soil is the first step before growing a crop. 
• Loosen Soil: One of the most important tasks in agriculture is to turn the soil and loosen it. 
• Help in Respiration: The loose soil allows the roots to breathe easily even when they go deep into the soil.
• Microbe Increment: The loosened soil helps in the growth of earthworms and microbes present in the soil. 
  • These organisms are friends of the farmer since they further turn and loosen the soil and add humus to it.
• Nutrient Enrichment of Top Soil: Since only a few centimeters of the top layer of soil supports plant growth, turning and loosening of soil brings the nutrient-rich soil to the top so that plants can use these nutrients.

Efficient Soil Loosening Techniques for Growth of Crops

• Tilling or Ploughing: The process of loosening and turning of the soil is called tilling or ploughing and is done by using a plough.
• Plough: A plough is a device that is used by farmers for different purposes, such as adding fertilisers, tilling and loosening the soil.
  • It is also used for adding fertilisers to the soil, removing weeds, scraping of soil, etc.
  • The ploughshare is the triangular iron strip. 
  • A wooden, traditional plough can be operated by a pair of oxen and a man.
  • Nowadays, these wooden ploughs are mostly replaced by iron ploughs.

• Hoe: A hoe is a tool that is used to dig up soil to remove weeds and also loosen up the soil before planting a sapling.

• Cultivator: A cultivator is attached to the tractor and helps in loosening soil.  Cultivators are used instead of ploughs since they are faster.

Optimizing Sowing Techniques for Cultivation of Crops

• Plantation: Sowing is the process of planting seeds in the soil.
  • The seeds are sowed in the soil that is loosened by a cultivator or plough.
• Traditional Tools of Sowing: Before the advent of modern agricultural machinery, traditional tools were used by farmers. These include ploughs, shovels, scythes and pickaxes.
  • The traditional tool used to sow the seeds was like a funnel.
  • Once seeds were put into this funnel, they would go into 2-3 tubes having sharp ends. The ends will pierce into the soil and place the seeds there
  • Seed Drill: Seed drills are used for sowing with the help of tractors.  
    • It ensures that seeds are sown uniformly, at a particular depth and are covered by soil after sowing.

Ensuring Success of Crops: Quality Seed Selection

• The quality of the seed is an important factor that determines the crop yield.
• The selection of good seeds is done by putting the seeds in water.
• The dead and damaged seeds become hollow and float on water, whereas the good seeds sink.

Nurturing Saplings: The Role of a Crops Nursery

• A nursery is a place where young plants and trees are grown for planting elsewhere.
• Nursery acts as a repository of saplings.

Cultivating Growth: Germination and Nutrient Enhancement in Crops

• Germination of the seed happens when the seed is sown in the land and watered.
•  A plant starts to emerge from the seed and starts to grow.
• Adding Manure and Fertilisers

Nutrient Nourishment: Enhancing Health and Yield of Crops

• Deficiency of Nutrients:  It affects physiological processes in plants including reproduction, growth, and susceptibility to diseases. 
• Improving Yield:To increase the yield, the soil can be enriched by supplying these nutrients in the form of manure and fertilizers. 
• Manure/Fertilizers: Manures and fertilizers are substances that are added to the soil to increase its fertility.
  • Organic Decomposition: Manures are made by decomposition of organic substances, and fertilizers are made of inorganic chemicals.
    • Manure is prepared by the decomposition of animal excreta and plant waste. 
  • Nutrient Enrichment: Manure helps in enriching the soil with nutrients and organic matter and increases soil fertility. 
  • Classification: Based on the kind of biological material used, manure can be classified as Compost and vermicompost, Green Manure.

Manure vs. Fertilizers in Nutrition of Crops

• Disadvantages of Using Fertilisers: Excessive use of fertilisers can cause pollution. 
  • It can also change the pH of the soil in certain rare cases.
• Leaving the Land Fallow: When land is left fallow for a certain period of time, the land replenishes its nutrients by itself. 
  • This land can be used for agriculture again.

• Advantages of Manure: Organic manure is considered better than fertiliser. 
  • This is because it enhances the water holding capacity of the soil.
• Porous Soil: It makes the soil porous due to which exchange of gases becomes easy.
• Increased Microbes: It increases the number of friendly microbes. 
• Texture: It improves the texture of the soil.