9. Agriculture

(1) In which of the following type of farming are the crops rotated?

• ✔ (a) Intensive
• (b) Plantation
• (c) Commercial
• (d) All of these

(2) Agriculture requires the following:

• (a) Only ploughing
• ✔ (b) Use of animals, implements, machines and manpower
• (c) Use of only manpower
• (d) Just cultivate the crop

(3) In India, agriculture has developed because....

• (a) There are two seasons of agriculture in India.
• (b) Majority of the people depend on agriculture.
• (c) Traditional agriculture is practised in India.
• ✔ (d) In India factors like climate, soils, water, etc. are conducive.

(4) It is necessary that modern methods and technology be used in agriculture in India because....

• (a) There are factories producing improved seeds.
• (b) There are industries producing fertilizers.
• ✔ (c) Population is growing and there are agro-based industries.
• (d) Modern means and machines are available.

(1) Describe the importance of irrigation for agriculture.
Crop production and prosperity in agriculture depend primarily on the fertility of the soil and the optimum availability of water. Irrigation provides this essential water supply, especially during dry seasons or when rainfall is unpredictable. The use of irrigation facilitates getting maximum production and more profit from the land. Modern farming types like market gardening and greenhouse farming heavily rely on controlled irrigation to cater to high market demands.

(2) Give a comparative account of any two methods of irrigation.
Drip Irrigation vs. Sprinkler Irrigation:
Both are modern methods of irrigation. Drip irrigation involves laying a network of pipes with small holes or emitters near the roots of the plants, releasing water drop by drop exactly where it is needed. This method highly conserves water and reduces evaporation. Sprinkler irrigation, on the other hand, involves spraying water into the air like natural rainfall over the crops. While it covers a larger area quickly, it may result in slightly more water loss due to evaporation compared to drip irrigation.

(3) Mention the major types of farming and give information about intensive farming and extensive grain farming.
The major types of farming are broadly classified into two categories: Subsistence farming (Intensive farming, Shifting cultivation) and Commercial farming (Extensive grain farming, Plantation farming, Market gardening, Horticulture).

Intensive farming: This type of farming aims at getting maximum production from a minimum area. Because of large populations or limited land availability, the per-head landholding is small. The cultivator and their family are completely dependent on the farm, using mostly animate energy, and the production is generally just enough for family requirement.

Extensive grain farming: In this type, the farm size is much larger (greater than 200 hectares). Due to the large size and sparse population, it heavily relies on machines like tractors and crushers, and even helicopters for spraying pesticides. It requires heavy capital investment and is characterized by monocrop (single crop) cultivation, such as wheat or corn.

(4) Describe the characteristics of plantation farming.
Plantation farming is a type of commercial farming with the following characteristics:

• The farm size is generally 40 hectares or above.
• Since it is often practiced in hilly tracts where the use of machines is not possible, local manpower is heavily relied upon.
• It is a single crop-cultivation practice (monocrop).
• It does not produce food grains; instead, commercial crops like tea, rubber, coffee, coconut, cocoa, and spices are planted.
• It requires large-scale capital investment due to the long duration of crops, processing, and export requirements.

(5) Which are the crops cultivated in your area? What are the geographical reasons for that?

(6) Why is the agriculture in India seasonal in nature? What are the difficulties for perennial agriculture?
Agriculture in India is seasonal in nature because it heavily depends on the monsoon rains. Most of the precipitation in the Indian subcontinent occurs due to the south-west monsoon winds during a specific period (June to September).

The difficulties for perennial (year-round) agriculture include the uneven distribution and unreliability of rainfall, a severe lack of widespread irrigation facilities in many regions, and high summer temperatures that cause rapid evaporation of available water.