IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES - Q&A

1. What do we get from cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables?

Answer:
(i) Cereals: They provide us with carbohydrates, which satisfy our energy requirement. Examples: wheat, rice, maize, millets, and sorghum.
(ii) Pulses: They provide us with proteins. Examples: gram (chana), pea (matar), black gram (urad), green gram (moong), and lentil (masoor).
(iii) Fruits and Vegetables: They provide us with vitamins and minerals. They also provide small amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Questions on Page 142

1. How do biotic and abiotic factors affect crop production?

Answer:
Biotic factors: These include living organisms like insects, rodents, pests, fungi, bacteria, and diseases. They reduce crop production by eating the crops, causing diseases, and destroying stored grains.
Abiotic factors: These include non-living factors like moisture, temperature, soil salinity, waterlogging, drought, frost, and heat.
Both factors can affect crop production in the following ways:
(i) They reduce the weight of grains.
(ii) They cause poor germination.
(iii) They degrade the quality of the produce.
(iv) They cause discoloration of the produce.
(v) They lower the marketability of the crops.

2. What are the desirable agronomic characteristics for crop improvements?

Answer: The desirable agronomic characteristics are:
(i) Tallness and profuse branching: Desirable for fodder crops so that animals get more fodder.
(ii) Dwarfness: Desirable for cereals so that less nutrients are consumed by the plant parts (straw) and more nutrients go into the grain formation. Also, dwarf plants can withstand strong winds better.

Questions on Page 143

1. What are macro-nutrients and why are they called macro-nutrients?

Answer:
Definition: The essential nutrients that are required by plants in larger quantities are called macro-nutrients.
Why they are called so: Since they are needed in large amounts for the growth and development of plants, they are termed 'macro' (meaning large) nutrients. There are six macro-nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulphur.

2. How do plants get nutrients?

Answer: Plants get nutrients from three sources:
1. Air: Supplies Carbon and Oxygen.
2. Water: Supplies Hydrogen (and Oxygen).
3. Soil: Supplies 13 essential nutrients (6 macro-nutrients and 7 micro-nutrients). Plants absorb these nutrients dissolved in water through their roots.

Questions on Page 144

1. Compare the use of manure and fertilizers in maintaining soil fertility.

Answer:
Manure:
(i) It is rich in organic matter (humus) which improves the soil structure.
(ii) It increases the water-holding capacity of sandy soils and drainage in clayey soils.
(iii) It provides small quantities of all nutrients but replenishes the soil slowly.
(iv) It protects the environment and recycles farm waste.
Fertilizers:
(i) They are commercially produced plant nutrients (N, P, K).
(ii) They provide specific nutrients in large quantities and show rapid results.
(iii) Continuous use of fertilizers can destroy soil fertility by harming beneficial soil microorganisms and changing the soil chemistry (making it too acidic or alkaline).
(iv) They do not add organic matter (humus) to the soil.

Questions on Page 145

1. Which of the following conditions will give the most benefits? Why?
(a) Farmers use high-quality seeds, do not adopt irrigation or use fertilizers.
(b) Farmers use ordinary seeds, adopt irrigation and use fertilizer.
(c) Farmers use quality seeds, adopt irrigation, use fertilizer and use crop protection measures.

Answer:
Condition (c) will give the most benefits.
Reason:
- Quality seeds: Ensure high yield and disease resistance.
- Irrigation: Water is essential for the germination of seeds and proper growth of crops. High-quality seeds often require assured irrigation.
- Fertilizers: Provide essential nutrients for healthy growth and high yields.
- Crop protection measures: Protect the healthy crop from pests, diseases, and weeds, ensuring the yield is not lost.
Using all these inputs together ensures the best possible production.

Questions on Page 146

1. Why should preventive measures and biological control methods be preferred for protecting crops?

Answer: Preventive measures and biological control methods should be preferred because:
(i) They are eco-friendly and do not cause environmental pollution, unlike chemical pesticides.
(ii) They do not leave toxic residues in the food chain (grains, fruits, vegetables).
(iii) They are cost-effective in the long run.
(iv) They protect the natural enemies of pests (like birds and beneficial insects) which chemical sprays might kill.

2. What factors may be responsible for losses of grains during storage?

Answer: The factors responsible for storage losses are:
(i) Biotic factors: Insects, rodents (rats), fungi, mites, and bacteria.
(ii) Abiotic factors: Inappropriate moisture content in grains and inappropriate temperature in the storage place.
These factors cause degradation in quality, loss in weight, poor germinability, and discoloration of produce.

Questions on Page 147

1. Which method is commonly used for improving cattle breeds and why?

Answer: The method commonly used is Cross-breeding (hybridization).
Why: It is used to combine the desirable qualities of two different breeds into one.
- For example, exotic breeds (like Jersey, Brown Swiss) have long lactation periods (give milk for a long time).
- Local breeds (like Red Sindhi, Sahiwal) have excellent resistance to diseases.
- Cross-breeding these two produces an offspring that has both qualities: high milk production and high disease resistance.

Questions on Page 148

1. What management practices are common in dairy and poultry farming?

Answer: Common management practices include:
(i) Shelter: Providing clean, well-ventilated, and spacious shelter with proper temperature control.
(ii) Feeding: Providing a balanced diet containing necessary nutrients (roughage and concentrates for cattle; protein and vitamin-rich feed for poultry).
(iii) Hygiene: Regular cleaning of animals/birds and their sheds to prevent diseases.
(iv) Disease Control: Vaccination and protection against parasites, bacteria, and viruses.

2. What are the differences between broilers and layers and in their management?

Answer:
Broilers:
- They are raised for meat purposes.
- They are fed with protein-rich and fat-rich diet for fast growth and good flesh.
- They are marketed at a young age (6-8 weeks).
Layers:
- They are raised for egg production.
- They require a diet rich in vitamins and minerals (especially calcium) for eggshell formation.
- They are reared for a longer period until they start laying eggs (around 20 weeks).

Questions on Page 150

1. How are fish obtained?

Answer: Fish are obtained in two ways:
(i) Capture fishing: Obtaining fish from natural resources like seas, rivers, lakes, and ponds.
(ii) Culture fishery (Fish farming): Rearing and breeding fish in artificial water bodies (pisciculture) or cultivating them in marine or freshwater ecosystems (aquaculture).

2. What are the advantages of composite fish culture?

Answer:
(i) Different species of fish with different food habits are cultured together in a single pond.
(ii) The food available in all parts of the pond (surface, middle, and bottom) is utilized without competition. (e.g., Catla feeds on surface, Rohu in middle, Mrigal at bottom).
(iii) This results in a significant increase in the total yield of fish from the pond.

3. What are the desirable characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production?

Answer: The desirable characters are:
(i) They should have a high honey collection capacity.
(ii) They should sting less.
(iii) They should stay in a given beehive for long periods.
(iv) They should breed well.

4. What is pasturage and how is it related to honey production?

Answer:
Pasturage: It refers to the flowers available to the bees for nectar and pollen collection.
Relation to honey production:
(i) The quantity of honey depends on the abundance of pasturage.
(ii) The quality and taste of honey depend on the type of flowers available in the pasturage.

Exercises

1. Explain any one method of crop production which ensures high yield.

Answer: Inter-cropping is a method that ensures high yield.
- In this method, two or more crops are grown simultaneously on the same field in a definite pattern.
- For example, a few rows of soyabean alternate with a few rows of maize.
- The crops are selected such that their nutrient requirements are different.
- Benefits: This ensures maximum utilization of nutrients, prevents pests and diseases from spreading to all plants, and gives a better return on investment.

2. Why are manure and fertilizers used in fields?

Answer: Manure and fertilizers are used to replenish the soil with essential nutrients (like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) that are depleted due to continuous farming. They help in:
(i) Increasing the fertility of the soil.
(ii) Ensuring good vegetative growth (leaves, branches, flowers).
(iii) Obtaining high crop yields.

3. What are the advantages of inter-cropping and crop rotation?

Answer:
Advantages of Inter-cropping:
(i) Prevents soil erosion.
(ii) Maximizes utilization of space and light.
(iii) Prevents the spread of diseases and pests.
(iv) Maintains soil fertility.
Advantages of Crop Rotation:
(i) Replenishes soil nutrients naturally (e.g., growing legumes restores nitrogen).
(ii) Controls pests and weeds associated with a specific crop.
(iii) Allows growing two or three crops in a year, increasing total production.

4. What is genetic manipulation? How is it useful in agricultural practices?

Answer:
Genetic manipulation: It is the process of incorporating desirable genes (DNA characteristics) from one plant into another to obtain a crop with desired characteristics. This results in Genetically Modified Crops (GMOs).
Usefulness: It helps in developing crop varieties with:
(i) Higher yield.
(ii) Improved nutritional quality.
(iii) Biotic and abiotic resistance (pest resistance, drought resistance).
(iv) Desirable agronomic traits (e.g., dwarfness in cereals).
(v) Wider adaptability to different climates.

5. How do storage grain losses occur?

Answer: Storage grain losses occur due to two main factors:
(i) Biotic factors: Insects, rodents, birds, mites, bacteria, and fungi which eat or spoil the grains.
(ii) Abiotic factors: Improper moisture in the grains (if >14%) and improper temperature in the storage godowns promote the growth of fungi and insects.
These lead to weight loss, discoloration, poor germination, and making the grain unfit for consumption.

6. How do good animal husbandry practices benefit farmers?

Answer: Good animal husbandry practices benefit farmers by:
(i) Increasing the production of milk, eggs, meat, and wool (higher income).
(ii) Improving the breeds of animals (better resistance to diseases, longer lactation).
(iii) Reducing mortality rates of animals through proper shelter and disease management.
(iv) Providing additional income through by-products like manure and fuel (biogas).

7. What are the benefits of cattle farming?

Answer:
(i) Milk Production: Cattle provide milk (milch animals).
(ii) Draught Labour: Cattle are used for agricultural operations like ploughing, tilling, and carting (draught animals).
(iii) Manure: Cattle waste (dung) is used as organic manure and for biogas production.

8. For increasing production, what is common in poultry, fisheries and bee-keeping?

Answer: The common factors for increasing production are:
(i) Variety Improvement: Using improved indigenous or exotic breeds/varieties for better yield.
(ii) Habitat/Shelter Management: Providing proper hygienic conditions, temperature, and space.
(iii) Disease Control: Preventing diseases through vaccination or medication.
(iv) Feeding: Providing scientific and balanced nutrient-rich food.

9. How do you differentiate between capture fishing, mariculture and aquaculture?

Answer:
(i) Capture fishing: It involves catching fish from natural resources like oceans, rivers, and lakes. No rearing is involved.
(ii) Mariculture: It is the culture (farming) of marine fish and other marine organisms (like prawns, oysters, mullets) in sea water.
(iii) Aquaculture: It is a broader term that involves the production of fish and other aquatic organisms in both freshwater (rivers, ponds) and marine water resources.