- Agriculture.
NCERT questions:
- Multiple choice questions:
(i) Which one of the following describes the system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area?
a) Shifting agriculture
b) Plantation agriculture
c) Horticulture
d) Intensive agriculture
Ans. b) Plantation agriculture
(ii) Which one of the following is a Rabi crop?
a) Rice
b) Gram
c) Millets
d) Cotton
Ans. b) Gram
(iii) Which one of the following is a leguminous crop?
a) Pulses
b) Jawar
c) Millets
d) Sesame
Ans. a) Pulses
- Answer the following questions in 30 words:
(i) Name one important beverage crop and specify the geographical conditions required for its growth.
Ans.
a) Tea is also an important beverage crop introduced in India along with coffee.
b) The tea plant grows well in tropical and subtropical climate.
c) It requires deep and fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter.
d) Tea bushes require warm and moist frost free climate all through the year.
e) Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves.
(ii) Name one staple crop of India and the regions where it is produced.
Ans.
a) Cotton is one of the staple crops of India.
b) Major Cotton producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
(iii) Enlist the various institutional reform programs introduced by the government in the interest of farmers.
Ans.
a) Abolition of zamindari
b) Consolidation of small holdings
c) Provision for crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and diseases
d) Establishment of Grameen Banks, Cooperative societies, Kissan Credit Card and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest.
e) Announcement regarding minimum support price to ensure farmers did not suffer if the price crashed due to bumper crops.
f) Subsidy on agricultural inputs and resources such as power and fertilizers.
(iv) The land under cultivation has got reduced day by day. Can you imagine its consequences?
Ans.
a) India shall no longer be self-sufficient in its requirements of food grains because of increasing population and decreasing agricultural land.
b) Landless labourers will outweigh the ranks of unskilled – unemployed workers in India. More farmers will switch over to cultivation of high value crops.
c) More and more agricultural land is seized for development because of increasing population.
- Answer the following questions in about 120 words.
(i) Suggest the initiative taken by the government to ensure the increase in agricultural production.
Ans.
a) Organic farming is much in Vogue today because it is practiced without factory made chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides.
b) Hence it does not affect environment in a negative manner.
c) Indian farmers should diversify their cropping pattern from serials to high value crops.
d) This will increase incomes and reduce environmental degradation simultaneously.
e) Because fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, vegetables, biodiesel, crops like jatropha and jojoba need much less irrigation than rice or sugarcane.
f) India’s diverse climate can be harnessed to grow a wide range of high value crops.
(ii) Describe the impact of globalization on Indian agriculture.
Ans.
a) Globalization was there at the time of colonization also.
b) Today, Indian agriculture finds itself at the crossroads. To make agriculture successful and profitable, proper thrust should be given to the improvement of the condition of marginal and small farmers.
c) The Green Revolution promised much, but today it is under controversies it is being alleged that it has caused land degradation due to overuse of chemicals, drying aquifers and vanishing biodiversity.
d) The keyword today is ‘gene revolution’ which includes genetic engineering. Indian farmers should diversify their cropping pattern from serials to high value crops.
e) Though the situation changed for the Indian farmers post liberalisation. They have faced new challenges in the form of competitions from highly subsidised agriculture of developed nation.
(iii) Describe the geographical conditions required for the growth of rice.
Ans.
a) Rice is a Kharif crop that requires high temperature above 25˚ C and high humidity with annual rainfall over 100 cm.
b) In the areas of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation.
c) Rice is grown in the plains of north and north eastern India, coastal areas and delta regions.
d) In the states of Assam, West Bengal and Odisha three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro
e) Development of dense network of canal irrigation and tube wells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.
Agriculture
CBSE Questions:
(From the previous year board papers)
- Distinguish between intensive subsistence farming and commercial farming.
| Intensive subsistence farming | Commercial farming |
| a) It is performed in regions of high population to meet the demands of population. b) It is labour intensive farming and can be done on small holdings of land.
c) It follows multiple cropping patterns. | a) It is not performed in the regions of high population; rather they do commercial farming for profit or gain. b) Commercial farming is done on huge stretch of land and machinery is used for cultivation. c) Only single crop is grown. |
- What do you understand by primitive subsistence farming? By what other names it is known in India?
a) Primitive subsistence farming is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dough and digging sticks. The whole family is involved in farming.
b) It is generally carried out in hilly and mountainous regions.
c) It is slash and burn agriculture, in which farmers clear a patch of forest land and cultivate crops.
d) It is named as jhumming in north eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. Dipa in Baster district of Chhattisgarh and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
e) When the soil fertility declines, they shift to some other place.
f) Productivity of land is low as no chemical fertilizers are used.
- Explain any two features of plantation agriculture.
a) Plantation agriculture is a type of commercial farming.
b) In this type of farming, a single crop is grown on a large area.
c) Plantation agriculture is mainly done for markets. All the produce is used for as raw materials in industries.
d) A well-developed system of transport and communication connecting plantation areas, processing industries and markets play an important role in development of plantations.
e) Eg – tea, coffee, sugar cane, rubber etc. are some important plantation crops in India which are used as raw materials in industries to prepare variety of products.
- Write a note on cropping pattern of India.
The physical diversity and combination of cultures in India have influenced the agricultural practices and cropping pattern in our country:
There are three cropping seasons in our country – Rabi, Kharif and Zaid.
a) Rabi crops are grown in winter. Rabi crops cultivation is successful in India due to availability of precipitation from western cyclonic disturbances in north and north-west regions. Some of the crucial Rabi crops are wheat, gram, pulse, mustard etc.
b) Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and harvested during September, October.
c) Some of important kharif crops are rice, cotton, jute, sugarcane, bajra, etc.
d) Zaid is short season between Rabi and Kharif season. Some of the crops produced during Zaid are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.
- State the favourable climatic conditions for growing wheat and maize in India.
Suitable climatic conditions for cultivation of wheat are:
a) Wheat is the staple food crop in north and north western part of the country.
b) It requires cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
c) It requires 50 to 75 centimetre of annual rainfall evenly distributed over growing.
d) Zones in country: Ganga Satluj planes in the North West and Black Soil region of the Deccan.
e) Some of the major wheat producing states are Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh etc.
Favourable conditions for cultivation of maize are:
a) Maize is a kharif crop which requires temperature between 21˚ C to 27˚ C. It grows well on old alluvial soil.
b) Use of modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilizers and irrigation have contributed to the increasing production of maize.
c) In Bihar, maize is grown in Rabi season also.
- Describe the geographical conditions required for tea cultivation.
Geographical conditions required for tea cultivation are:
a) It is an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the Britishers.
b) Tea plant grows well in tropical and subtropical climates. It needs deep and fertile well drained soil rich in humus and organic matter.
c) Tea bushes require warm and moist, frost free climate all through the year.
d) Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves.
e) Tea is a labour intensive industry.
f) Tea is processed within tea gardens to restore its freshness.
Hence it is a plantation crop.
- Mention any four tea producing states in the country.
Some of the important tea producing states is northern part of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Kerala etc.
- What do you know about the peanuts?
a) Peanut is an oil seed crop.
b) It is grown in Kharif season.
c) It constitutes about half of the total oil seed production in our country.
d) In 2019-2020, Gujarat was the largest producer of groundnut, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
e) Irrigation is required for the cultivation of groundnut.
f) In 2018, India was the second largest producer of groundnut after China.
- Why is tea labour intensive industry?
a) Tea cultivation is a type of plantation agriculture.
b) It is grown over huge stretch of land.
c) It is a labour intensive industry and requires cheap, abundant and migrant labours for plucking off tea leaves.
d) Being a plantation, cultivation labour is an essential component for the success of tea cultivation.
- Find the major producer states of sugarcane, tea, coffee, cotton and jute.
a) Sugarcane: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra.
b) Tea: Meghalaya, Assam, Jalpaiguri and hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Kerala, Uttarakhand.
c) Cotton: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana.
d) Jute: West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya.
- How did the partition of the country in 1947 affect the jute industry?
At the time of partition in 1947, major jute industries were in the Indian Territory, whereas the jute producing land went to Bangladesh. Hence the jute industries were not able to get raw material and had to shut down. Many of the people working in the industries lost their job.
- What is Golden Fibre? Describe the conditions required for its growth and its uses.
a) Jute is known as the Golden Fibre.
b) Jute grows well on well drained fertile soils in the flood plains where soils are renewed every year.
c) High temperature is required during the time of growth.
d) It is used in making gunny bags, mats, roads, yarn, carpets and other artefacts.
e) Due to its high cost, it is losing market to synthetic fibres and packing materials, particularly the nylon.
—x—x—x—