Page 6 - Science Class 08
P. 6
Important crops and their products are given in the following table:
Crops Products
Cereal crops rice, wheat, maize, barley, ragi
Pulses beans, gram, peas
Oil seeds mustard, sunflower, groundnut
Root crops sweet potato, turnip
Tuber crops potato, tapioca
Sugar crops sugarcane, beetroot
Planta on crops coffee, tea, rubber, coconut
Fibre crops jute, co on, flax
METHODS OF CROP PRODUCTION deep into the soil. The loose soil allows the
You already know that plants are grown by roots to breathe easily even when they go deep
sowing seeds or by vegeta ve propaga on. into the soil. Why does the loosening of soil
There are many crops which are grown just by allow the roots to breathe easily?
sowing seeds such as wheat, maize, pulses, etc. The loosened soil helps in the growth of
But, to grow rice crops, seeds are sown in a earthworms and microbes present in the soil.
small area. When baby plants are grown, they These organisms are friends of the farmer since
are rooted out from their original place and they further turn and loosen the soil and add
therea er they are planted in a prepared field humus to it. But, why does the soil need to be
in proper rows and columns. In our modern turned and loosened?
age, agriculture is prac sed in scien fic and Soil contains minerals, water, air and some
systema c way. In this way, we can get more living organisms. In addi on, dead plants and
produc on in a par cular field. Modern way of animals get decomposed by soil organisms. In
agriculture consists of many processes. These this way, various nutrients held in the dead
processes are carried on step-by-step. organisms are released back into the soil. These
v Prepara on of Soil v Selec on of Seeds nutrients are again absorbed by plants.
v Sowing of Seeds v Manuring Since only a few cen metres of the top layer of
v Irriga on v Weeding soil supports plant growth, turning and
v Protec ng a Crop loosening of soil brings the nutrient-rich soil to
v Harves ng, Threshing and Winnowing the top so that plants can use these nutrients.
v Storage Thus, turning and loosening of soil is very
important for cul va on of crops.
Prepara on of Soil
The prepara on of soil is the first step before The process of loosening and turning of the soil
growing a crop. One of the most important is called lling or ploughing. This is done by
tasks in agriculture is to turn the soil and using a plough. Ploughs are made of wood or
loosen it. This allows the roots to penetrate iron. If the soil is very dry, it may need watering
6 Science-8
