Crop Production and Management: Overview and Explanation

Crop production and management are very necessary to feed such a huge population of this world. Every human being needs energy to work, to perform day-to-day tasks and that energy is obtained from food. Therefore, proper production and management of crops and animal husbandry is crucial. These have been practiced since ages and being a crucial topic, national and international agencies have intervened. They have developed a scientific approach for growing crops and rearing animals. So, here we will learn how crop production and management is done nowadays and how it is different as compared to the old days.

Key terms: Crop, Cultivation, Harvesting, weeds, sowing, plowing.

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What is Crop Production?

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It can be defined as growing the same type of plants at the same place on a large scale is called crop production and these plants, which are grown in this place are known as crops, tubers, vegetables, etc are examples of crops.

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Types of Crops

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In some countries, crops are classified based on the seasons in which they are grown. Mainly there are three types of crops as listed below:

Kharif Crops: These crops are also known as monsoon crops as they are grown in the monsoon. Kharif crops require a high amount of water for their cultivation hence mostly they are grown in the month of June and they are harvested in the month of November. 

Example: paddy, jowar, etc.

Rabi Crops: These crops are also known as winter crops as they require less water for their cultivation. These crops are mainly grown and harvested from October to March. 

Example: mustard, wheat, etc.

Zaid Crops: These crops are also known as summer crops, and require less water for their cultivation. These crops are grown and harvested from March to June. 

Example: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, etc.

Also read: Agriculture Implementation.

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Crop Production Practices

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There are several practices and steps involved in the production of a good crop, as listed below.

Preparation of Soil 

The very first step of crop production and management is the preparation of soil, it is done in order to turn and loosen the soil, which leads to the growth of necessary microbes and earthworms as well, which helps to add humus to the soil. Because of this process, it becomes easy for plant roots to breathe.

The process by which soil is prepared before sowing is known as plowing or tilling. There are mainly three tools used for plowing:

1. Plough: It is the oldest tool used for loosening the soil, removing weeds from it and it is also used for adding manure to the soil. A Plough is a tool made up of iron and wood and it is pulled with the help of a pair of animals like oxen, cows, camels, etc. In modern methods sometimes it is also pulled with the help of tractors.
2. Hoe: It is a traditional tool with a long wooden rod attached to a wide/broad iron plate at one end and it is used to loosen the soil and to remove the weeds from the soil.
3. Cultivator: It is a tool used in modern methods, which is driven by tractors. This tool of plowing is expensive as compared to the other tools but it has an upper hand over both of them because it saves both time and human effort.

Sowing

Sowing the seed is the very important second step. Before starting this process, some things have to be taken care of, especially choosing good quality seeds, sowing them at an even distance, and proper depth.

There is a fairly old and precise method of seed picking in which the seeds are put in water, then the lighter seeds float and the heavier one sinks. Seeds that sink are good because when insects pierce the seed, the seed becomes hollow and hence lighter, therefore it floats when put in water. We need tools while sowing the seeds and there are two types of tools, funnel (Traditional method), scattering seeds by hand (traditional method), and seed drill (modern method).

1. Funnel: Here, seeds are filled into the funnel, and through two or three pipes with a sharp end, the seeds are sent down and these ends sow the seeds in the ground.
2. Seed Drill: With the help of seed drill, the seeds are sown at equal distance and equal depth, and in this process, the seeds are covered with soil after being sowed. This method saves time as well as human efforts.
3. Adding manure and fertilizers: The growth of crops also depends on the fertility of the soil. So, to increase the fertility of soil manures and fertilizers are added. When crops are grown repeatedly on the land, the land loses its nutrients. Therefore, the loss is compensated by adding manure and fertilizers.

Also read: Agriculture soil

Difference between Manure and Fertilizers

Note: Fertilizers are rich in nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and manure have their advantage over fertilizers, it increases water holding capacity, makes the soil porous, increases the growth of microbes, and also improves the texture of the soil.

Also read: Difference between compost and vermicompost.

Irrigation

The process of giving water to the crops at the stipulated time gap is known as irrigation. Various water resources are used for irrigation like wells, ponds, tube wells, lakes, etc.

1. Traditional irrigation methods: There are four traditional irrigation methods, as listed below,
2. Moat: In this method irrigation of land is done using buckets of water. Here one person fills the bucket from the water source with the help of a pulley and carries it to the crop.
3. Chain pump: In this method, several buckets or containers are attached to a circular disc and one part of the chain dips into the water and fills the container with the water, and pulls it out of the water source.
4. Dhekli: This method is mostly seen in rural areas, where a bucket is filled with water and then farmers pour in its pipeline which leads it to the crops.
5. Rahat: By this method of irrigation very less amount of water is wasted and it saves human labor work. It is a system like a chain pump where the wheel is rotated by an ox/cow.
6. Modern irrigation methods: There are two types of modern irrigation methods, as listed below,
7. Drip system: It is also considered as the best way of irrigation because here in this process water falls drop by drop near the roots of the plant, which leads to less wastage of water.
8. Sprinkler system: In this system rotation nozzles are attached to the main pipeline through a vertical pipe and water is allowed to pass with high pressure at regular intervals. It has its advantage in areas with less water supply.

Also read: Importance of water

Weeding

Undesirable plants that grow along the crops are known as weeds, the process of removing weeds is known as weeding. Amaranthus and grass are commonly seen as weeds in farms. Traditional methods like removing weeds by hand, by sickle, by plowing, are used for removing weeds else pesticides/insecticides are also used. Removal of weeds is necessary because it consumes the nutrients of the soil, due to which plant lacks the important nutrients.

Also read: Natural pesticides

Harvesting

After the crops are mature, they are cut and collected and this process is called harvesting. Mainly sickle is used for harvesting, in small farms whereas in large farms harvesters are used. After cutting the crops, grains are separated from the crops and this process is known as threshing, it can be done either by machines or by cattle. Then, grains are separated from the chaff and this process is known as winnowing.

Also read: Methods of separation

Storage

The storage of grains is also a very important process; they are prone to spoilage if they are not stored properly. Protection from pests and moisture is necessary. After harvesting seeds are dried to prevent being attacked by microbes. Once grains are dried, they are stored in airtight containers to prevent moisture. And then insecticides and pesticides are used to prevent the attack of insects.

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Animal Husbandry

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Rearing animals, providing shelter to them, providing food and when all this is done on a large scale, it is called animal husbandry. Different animals are reared for different purposes.

Example: Cows are reared for milk, goats are reared for milk and meat, etc.

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Things to Remember

• Based on the season there are three types of crops.
• Loosening the soil is a very important and basic step of crop production and management.
• Selection of good quality seeds is done before sowing.
• Manures and fertilizers are added in order to increase the fertility of the soil.
• Modern methods of irrigation save water.
• Grains are dried before they are stored.

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