1.

DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE ON INDUSTRIAL

DEVELOPMENT?
I INTRODUCTION
Agricultural production in India is an important determinant of overall economic growth and a
huge employer of the rural populace. Total food grain production, for instance, in 2004/2005
(April-March) amounted to 206.4 million tones, including 87.8 million tones of rice and 73.0
million tones of wheat (Country Report, 2005). However, yields per hectare remain low by
international standards. Other major crops grown include oilseeds, cotton, pulses, sugar, tea,
coffee, rubber, jute and potatoes. The recent slowdown in the sector is a cause for concern and
calls for a change in the governments agricultural policy. Some academic research suggests that
in order for India to sustain GDP growth of around 7 percent or more, agriculture has to grow at,
or in excess of, 4 percent (India Economic Survey, 2004; Sinha, 2005; Nilekani, 2006).
The following management report attempts to analyse the agriculture sector in India, assessing
the affect of external and internal factors on the industry. SWOT analysis framework is employed
to give a more in-depth strategic insight into the sectors current development, emphasising its
internal strengths, weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. The application of PEST
analysis involves the assessment of industrys external environment of political, economic, social
and technological conditions that have a direct impact on the performance of the industry and its
future development. The significant part of the report is also devoted to the critical evaluation of
ecological factors impacting the agricultural sector, examining industrys responses and
improvements for its sustainable growth.
I INTRODUCTION
2.0 Indian Agriculture Industry Overview
2.1 SWOT Analysis
2.1.1 Strengths
The Indian agriculture is large, competitive and well developed, offering products at low
prices. The sector experiences a constant demand, as Indians have a strong preference for fresh
rather than processed foods and for local spices and ingredients (The World Bank, 1997).
Provides employment for a large Indian population, living in rural territories.
Recent advances in technology and government initiatives support the development of
the sector. In pursuance of the government policy to strengthen and promote IT led governance,
the department of agriculture and cooperation has been taking various measures to promote the
use and application of technology with the aim of making agriculture online for the use of
farmers, exporters, and traders, etc.
2.1.2 Weakness
One of the major weaknesses present for the agricultural sector in India is in the lack of
government support. Unlike in East Asian countries, the shift of the labour force from agriculture
to non-agriculture in India is peculiarly slow, largely attributable to rigid labour laws in both the
agricultural and industrial sectors. Gliessman (1989) also highlights the need for pressing on with
reforms in agriculture, in particular, trade liberalisation and export promotion strategies. Becker
and et al. (1992) also claim that though India spends on agriculture nearly twice as much as some
East Asian economies, this level of spending on agriculture does not translate into a significantly
higher sectoral performance.
Inadequate road linkages also remain a major constrain for the development of well-
functioning agricultural markets. A continuing fragmentation of land-holdings, poor maintenance
of existing irrigation systems and declining soil fertility in some areas are other factors.
Another weakness is based on seasonality and the fact that agricultural sector output
heavily depends on the annual monsoon, as less than one-third of cropland is irrigated. The main
foodgrain crops, for example, and some cash crops (oilseeds, cotton, jute and sugar) depend on
the south-west monsoon (This brings 80% of Indias rain, usually within a three-month period
from June to mid-September. The 2002 south-west monsoon was disastrous, causing the autumn
grain harvest to fall by 18% year on year. In 2004 the sector stagnated in comparison to the
previous year when the best monsoon rains in a decade generated growth of around 10% in the
agricultural sector. Excessive rainfall in 2005 caused severe flooding in Maharashtra (The
Economist Intelligence Unit Report, 2005a)).
2.1.3 Opportunities
A growing population, rapid economic development, and political and social demands
exceed the mandate and capabilities of any corporation in an emerging economy (Bhagwati,
1998), and India is no exception to this. A growing population has made industrial development
one of the Indian governments highest policy priorities; it is an important element of economic
development as it assists in raising national income at a more rapid pace. It is also a precondition
for continued agricultural development.
Palmer-Jones and Sen (2003) state that the government continues to play a major role in
assisting farmers through agricultural credits, subsidies, price support schemes and extension
services. Although there are no food security concerns at present, better agricultural productivity
will hold the key to stable growth in food production, given the limits of the resource base. There
is an opportunity for the economic growth to benefit more people only if the country raises
agricultural productivity, improves its system of general education to help the millions who must
leave farming, and encourages labor intensive manufacturing industries.
2.1.4 Threats
About one-fifth of the country, 69m ha, is covered by forests and woodland, and one-half
of this area is reserved for the production of timber and other forestry products (Varshney, 1998).
However, there are increasing concerns from environmentalists and local government over the
rapid depletion of forest areas, ecological factors, and scarcity of natural resources.
As income rises, India is becoming an increasingly important market for processed foods,
especially in the cities and among young people. Aware of quality and international brands,
consumers are less likely to support national products, and are more vulnerable to pay premium
prices for foreign products of better quality. This represents a potential substitution to the local
products, impacting the production levels of agriculture sector.
Food support prices for wheat and rice have given farmers little incentive to diversify and
have filled government storage facilities to overflowing, while keeping the market price of
foodgrains artificially high. Current agricultural policy, which supports cereal production, is
exceedingly expensive and will be unable to deal with the likely scenario of a shift in
consumption from cereal food towards non-cereal food. A lack of market infrastructure also
hampers the movement of crops, leading to sudden shortages. India has considerable potential as
an exporter of rice, cotton, many types of fruit and even flowers, but this has so far not been
tapped (Yeoh and Siang, 2006).
The introduction of high-yield crop varieties and new fertilising and irrigation techniques
over recent decades the so-called Green Revolution dramatically increased productivity in
some regions. India has been self-sufficient in food since the mid-1970s, maintaining buffer
stocks adequate to meet demand despite failed harvests and seasonal fluctuations (Ramakrishnan,
1993; The World Bank, 1997).
2.2 PEST Analysis
2.2.1 Political
India is a parliamentary federal democracy with an indirectly elected president, Adbul Kalam.
The economic liberalisation of 1991, initiated by then Indian Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao
and his finance minister Manmohan Singh in response to a macroeconomic crisis did away with
the Licence Raj (investment, industrial and import licensing) and ended public sector monopoly
in many sectors, thereby allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many
sectors, including agricultural. Since then, the overall direction of liberalisation has remained the
same, irrespective of the ruling party at the centre, although no party has yet tried to take on
powerful lobbies like the trade unions and farmers, or contentious issues like labour reforms and
cutting down agricultural subsidies. The process of reducing or removing agricultural and food
subsidies, which is still ongoing, was commenced. Tariff and non-tariff barriers to external trade
were also reduced.
Realizing the importance of Indian agricultural production for economic development, the
central Government of India has played an active role in all aspects of agricultural development.
Planning is centralized, and planned priorities, policies, and resource allocations are decided at the
central level. Food and price policy also are decided by the central government. Thus, although
agriculture in India is constitutionally the responsibility of the states rather than the central
government, the latter plays a key role in formulating policy and providing financial resources for
agriculture. The main objectives of the Governments price policy for agricultural produce, aims
at ensuring remunerative prices to the growers for their produce with a view to encourage higher
investment and production. Minimum support prices for major agricultural products are
announced each year which are fixed after taking into account, the recommendations of the
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). For example, the Government of India
has also approved proposals for joint ventures, foreign collaborations, industrial licenses and
100% export in or with the agricultural sector, envisaging an investment of over $ 18.2 Billion
(Agbola, 2004).
One of the most critical obstacles of policies applications in agricultural sector is in ensuring
food security access of the population to sufficient food to meet nutritional requirements. Food
security issues tend to cover not only issues related to availability and stability of food supplies
but also issues of access to this supply. This last is related to the resources needed to procure the
required quantity of food. However, these issues in India are considered to be sensitive and hence,
where a large percentage of the population is dependent on agriculture need a certain degree of
autonomy and flexibility in determining their domestic agricultural policies. The Economist
Intelligence Unit Report (2005) also implies that the government does not fully understand its
importance. These would have to be geared towards improving productivity, enhancing income
levels, reducing vulnerability to market fluctuations ensuring stability of prices and so on.
2.2.2 Economic
India is a two-tier economy, with a cutting-edge and globally competitive knowledge-driven
service sector that employs the brightest of the middle classes on the one hand, and a sprawling
largely rain-fed agricultural sector that employs the majority of the vast and poorly educated
labour force, on the other. The agricultural sector, with fishing and forestry, accounts for around
20% of GDP, services 53% and manufacturing 27%. Agriculture represents an important
economic activity for a large population of the developing world Indias agricultural sector
provides employment for about 60% of the countrys workforce and accounts for one-fifth of
GDP (Meisinger, 2006). Both in terms of foreign investment and number of joint- ventures /
foreign collaborations, the consumer food segment has the top priority. The other attractive
features of the Indian agro industry that have the capacity to lure foreigners with promising
benefits are the deep sea fishing, aqua culture, milk and milk products, meat and poultry
segments.
The serious foreign-exchange crisis in 1990 led to a number of well-publicized economic
reforms in the early 1990s dealing with trade, industrial licensing, and privatization. The reforms
had an impact on the agricultural sector through the central governments effort to withdraw the
fertilizer subsidy and place greater emphasis on agricultural exports. The cut in the fertilizer
subsidy was a result of the governments commitment to reduce New Delhis fiscal deficit by
removing grants and subsidies from the budget. The government action led to a reduction in the
use of chemical fertilizers and protests by farmers and opposition from political parties. The
government was forced to continue the subsidies but at a somewhat lower level (Yeoh and Siang,
2006).
Agricultural exports from India were 44 percent of total exports in FY 1960, decreasing to 27
percent in 2003 (India Economic Survey, 2004). This drop in agricultures share was somewhat
misleading because agricultural products, such as cotton and jute, that were exported in raw form
in the 1950s, have been exported as cotton yarn, fabrics, ready-made garments, coir yarn, and jute
manufactures since the 1960s. The composition of agricultural and allied products for export from
India changed mainly because of the continuing growth of demand in the domestic market. This
demand cut into the surplus available for export despite a continuing desire, on the part of
government, to shore up the constant foreign-exchange shortage (Edward, 2006).
Over the period 1994-2005, the drive for market liberalization and globalization has severely
imposed on the rural household economies. The traditional mode of agricultural practice has been
destroyed. The government allocations on the agriculture sector constantly register a decline (The
Economist Intelligence Unit Report, 2005). The recent economic system giving a free hand to
multinational corporations in agriculture sector has further caused a rapid shrinkage of the
traditional practices and replacement of folk crop varieties with high yielding and hybrid
varieties, which escalated the cost of agricultural production while stagnating productivity. The
farm credit system in Indian agriculture, evolved over decades has been instrumental in enhancing
production and marketing of farm produce and stimulating capital formation in agriculture. Credit
for Indian agriculture has to expand at a faster rate than before because of the need to step-up
agricultural growth to generate surplus for exports, and also because of change in the product mix
towards animal husbandry, aquaculture, fish farming, horticulture and floriculture, medicinal
plants, which will necessitate larger investments.
2.2.3 Social
Since its independence in 1950s, foreign aid has made a significant contribution to the agricultural
progress in rural India. Increasingly since independence, India has been sharing its agricultural
technology with other developing countries. Numerous foreign scientists have received special
and advanced training in India; hundreds of foreign students have attended Indian state
agricultural universities. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, India provided short and long-term
training courses to hundreds of foreign specialists each year under a variety of programs,
including the Technical Cooperation Scheme of the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and
Social Development in Asia and the Pacific and the Technical Cooperation Scheme of the
Commonwealth of Nations Assistance Program.
India is one of the oldest civilizations with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage.
During the period of 55 years independence, it has achieved multifaceted socio-economic
progress and is now the tenth industrialized country in the world and the sixth nation to have gone
into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. However, those people employed
in agricultural sector, are those less educated, living in rural areas. More than 60% of the Indias
population is dependent on the agriculture (Palmer-Jones and Sen, 2003). The last ten years of
development in the agriculture sector in India, show that the lower government investment in
agriculture and market driven system has adversely affected the livelihood of rural India. Nilekani
(2006) suggest that in India a majority of the farmers come under the category of small and
medium farmers and are solely dependent on the local market rather than international market.
The prices of their product are determined by local variables rather than international markets, so
the trade liberalization may lead to an adverse impact on the Indian agriculture sector and women
may suffer.
Large numbers of women are engaged in agriculture, primarily in the production and processing
of food. With male-selective migration from rural areas on the increase, women are often left
behind to take care of both family and the farm on their own. According to the 2001 census, 27.5
percent of cultivators in the rural areas are female, while in the case of agricultural labour, as
much as 46.9 percent are women. Of the rural workforce, an overwhelmingly large proportion,
i.e., 80% are employed in the agriculture sector. About 36.5% (40.6 million) work as cultivators
on their own/family landholding, while about 43.4 percent (48.4 million) are engaged as hired
agricultural labour (Palmer-Jones and Sen, 2003). It is, therefore, obvious that women play no
small role in food production. In other words the mode of female participation in agricultural
production varies with the land owning status to farm household. Womens roles range from
managers to landless labour. Also, as globalization shifts agriculture to capital and chemical
intensive system, women bear disproportionate costs of both displacement and health hazards.
2.2.4 Technological
The last few decades have witnessed a visible transition in the industrial landscape of India.
Technology has helped society to cut across the traditional boundaries for getting converted into
an emerging information society. The Governments long-term vision on Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) in the Agriculture Sector aims to bring farmers, researchers,
scientists and administrators together by establishing a system known as Agriculture Online for
the exchange of ideas and information. A land information system has already started using
geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing to help the farmers to plan their
activities and facilitate decision-making and planning at the local level (India, 2004). Farmers can
find out the chemical composition of their land through lab testing to know how fertile their land
is and what should they grow to make maximum profits.
Achievements of Indian agriculture supported by technology like development of High Yielding
Varieties (HYV) of seeds, new hybrids of different crops, research in the area of vaccine
production, varietal development through somoclonal variations, developing better quality
products and transgenic in crops such as brinjal, tomato, cauliflower and cabbage have
strengthened the field. In 21st century agriculture, application of modern biotechnologies like
DNA finger printing, tissue culture, terminator gene technology and genetic cloning will hold the
key in raising the productivity (Ghosh, 2003). Also considering the irrigation needs in Indian
agriculture, emphasis has to be given to promote the proven cost-reducing micro-irrigation
technology of drips irrigation which helps conserve water reduces fertilizer inputs and ensures
higher productivity.
With all the benefits that technology can provide, there is an important issue of providing
sufficient and appropriate education for the labour to increase their skill sin technology
application that could be beneficially used for agro sector.
3.0 Ecological Factors Analysis
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are traditional activities in the rural environment of India.
Forest conversion has been accelerated by activities associated with rapid industrialization, such
as mining and energy generation through large hydroelectric projects. Nevertheless, much
conversion is still due to the extraction of timber for industrial uses and to meet the needs of the
rural poor in terms of food, fodder and firewood. In India, lakes and rivers are an integral part of
human settlement and the water is being used for drinking, aquaculture, fishing and agriculture
purposes. These freshwaters are under considerable threat owing to the fast pace of modern
technology, industrialized and increased population densities. Industrial, agricultural,
aquacultural, transportation and other human activities like burning of fossil fuels and disposal of
solid and domestic waste deteriorates the air and water quality of the lakes.
The concept of economic development has been changing over a period of time. In the early
1980s a new concept of development had emerged as a reaction to the negative experiences of
development, which is known as sustainable development. The concept sustainable
development may be interpreted to mean a certain pace of development which can be sustained
even in the long run. Since development is a process, sustainable development is also a process in
which the economic and social welfare of the people can be maximised with minimum damage to
ecology and the environment (Brookfield and Padoch, 1994). As in the case with India, the
concern for the environment and its protection was totally absent in the official policies from the
very beginning of the planning programmes (Ramakrishnan, 1992; Swift and et al., 1994). The
environmental policies of the Government were initiated with the setting up of the National
Committee on Environmental Planning and Co-ordination in 1972 and the creation of the
Environment Department in 1980. Gliessman (1989) states that since the 1980s, a number of
legislative measures were adopted for the preservation of the environment but they largely remain
ineffective. However, in recent years, much concern has been expressed about the alarming rate
of deforestation which has occurred. Although 22.86 percent of the total geographical area in
India has been declared as forest area, Brookfield and Padoch (1994) claim that the actual forest
covers to be as low as 19.46 percent, of which, the good forest cover is only around 10 percent of
the total land area (Agbola, 2004). In fact, much of the good forest area is located in the north-
eastern region of India, where 65.19 percent of the total geographical area is covered under
forests, representing around 25.97 percent of Indias forest area based on satellite imagery
(Agbola, 2004).
Soon after the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972, India developed its own
environmental control system, laws and policies. The first of Indias modern environmental laws
were the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, which established the Central
and State Water Pollution Control Boards, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of
1981 and the Environment Protection Act of 1986 (Agbola, 2004; Country Report, 2005). The
latter is an umbrella legislation designed to provide a framework for the central government.
However, in such an undeveloped country such as India, the contribution of pollution and
ecological regulations is weak, partly due to ineffective measures adopted or the lower relative
value placed on the ambient quality of life. The mandate of the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) is to set environmental standards for all plants India-wide, lay down ambient standards
and co-ordinate the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). Unfortunately, the
implementation of environmental laws and their enforcement is decentralised and is the
responsibility of the SPCBs (Agbola, 2004), and hence not subject to scrutiny by the CPCB. This
is an ad hoc method of addressing key environmental issues. In addition, the pollution control
laws have achieved little success. Slow responses by the courts to enforcement actions sought by
SPCBs, poor funding of the boards themselves, and charges of corruption have been regular and
widespread.
As it was mentioned earlier in the report, agriculture in India is an important economic activity
for a large population. Indian green revolution is largely confined to a small section of the rural
society and has had positive repercussions in terms of general self-sufficiency in food production
(Palmer-Jones and Sen, 2003). But this has had its negative impacts too. First, this energy
intensive activity is still confined to a small sector of the predominantly agricultural society. Vast
sections of the rural communities are left out, leading to wide disparities in access to resources
and income generation arising out of effective use of natural resources using affordable
appropriate technology. More and more farmers have been marginalized in spite of overall self-
sufficiency in food production. This is apart from the difficulties faced at India national level to
have access to non-renewable resources like petro-based chemical fertilizers and pesticides to
sustain the green revolution itself in the face of increasing population pressure and to cope with
the larger problems of environmental degradation caused by excessive and uncontrolled use of
water and chemical subsidies.
Nevertheless, on the local level there are few examples of effective responses from the individual
farmers with a regard to biodiversity and ecosystem functions. According to Brookfield and
Padoch (1994), through the mixed cropping involving a large number of species and traditional
weed management strategies, the shifting agricultural farmer of North-East India ensures effective
checks on nutrient loss during the cropping phase. The emphasis is on cereals, which are largely
placed towards the base of the slope as they are less nutrient-use efficient, while the more nutrient
use-efficient tuber crops are placed towards the top of the slope where soil fertility levels are low.
Under shorter ten or five year cycles, the cropping pattern shifts with emphasis on tuber crops
(Ramakrishnan, 1995). This indeed is an elegant example of adaptation towards optimization of
resource use and risk coverage, through manipulation of biodiversity, by the humans within the
ecosystem.
Within a given landscape, the tribal farmer of India also has a variety of land use systems
contributing towards biodiversity at all levels ranging from the sub-specific, through the species,
population and the ecosystem (Ramakrishnan, 1992; Palmer-Jones and Sen, 2003). Thus, as Swift
and et al. (1994) state, apart from the diversity in cropping patterns within the shifting agriculture
systems that he maintains, he may have fallow systems, sedentary systems on hill slopes, wet rice
cultivation on valley lands involving a variety of rice cultivars and a whole variety of tightly
packed home gardens resembling a forest, where the farmer grows perennial trees and shrubs of
economic value along with herbs and vines. These mosaics of ecosystem types of the landscape
perform a variety of functions towards the integrity of the system as a whole, while having a
variety of service functions for the humans (Venkateswaran 1992). Indeed, these indigenous
farming practices indicate the effort of individual farmers for conserving resources.
For improving the system of land use and resource management in Indias agricultural sector, the
following strategies can be suggested:
With wide variations in cropping and yield patterns practised by over 100 tribes under
diverse ecological situations, where transfer of technology from one tribe/area to another alone
could improve the valley land and home garden ecosystems (Palmer-Jones and Sen, 2003). Thus,
for example, emphasis on potatos at higher elevations compared to rice at lower elevations has led
to a manifold increase in economic yield despite low fertility of the more acid soils at higher
elevations.
Redesign and strengthen the agroforestry system incorporating ecological insights on tree
architecture (e.g. the canopy form of tree should be compatible with crop species at ground level
so as to permit sufficient light penetration and provide fast recycling of nutrients through fast leaf
turnover rates).
Condense the time-strong of forest succession and accelerate restoration of degraded
lands based on an understanding of tree growth strategies and architecture, by adjusting the
species mix in time and space (Brookfield and Padoch, 1994).
Improve animal husbandry through improved breeds of swine and poultry.
Redevelop village ecosystems through the introduction of appropriate technology to
relieve drudgery and improve energy efficiency (cooking stoves, agricultural implements, biogas
generation, small hydroelectric projects, etc.). Promote crafts such as smithying and products
based on leather, bamboo and other woods (The Economist Intelligence Unit Report, 2005b).
Strengthen conservation measures based on the traditional knowledge and value system
with which the tribal communities could identify, e.g. the revival of the sacred grove concept
based on cultural tradition which enabled each village to have a protected forest once on a time,
although few are now left.
Economic (monetary output/input analysis, capital savings or asset accumulation and
dependency ratio), social (quality of life with more easily measurable indicators such as health
and hygiene, nutrition, food security, morbidity symptoms; the difficult to quantify measures such
as societal empowerment and the less tangible ones in the area of social and cultural values).
4.0 Conclusion
From the above research it is evident that agricultural sector represents one of the most significant
sectors of the economy of India. Therefore, its prospective growth has to be one of the primary
objectives of the government development plans. The current state of the agricultural sector is a
cause for concern and calls for a change in the governments agricultural policy, indicating not
only a greater restructuring of the public spending and more government funds, but also an
integrated tolerant approach to farming, ecological concerns and future growth prospects.
However, it still represents a big challenge for the industry; (though the industry has seen some
policies and regulations) there is still a gap between the intent of these environmental policies and
the actual development.

2. DISCUSS METHODS OF SOWING SEEDS FOR RAISING VARIOUS CROPS.
HOW SEED SOWING METHODS VARY UNDER DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLIDS.

Methods of Sowing: The sowing method is determined by the crop to be sown. There are 6
sowing methods which differ in their merits, demerits and adoption. Those are:
1. Broad casting
2. Broad or Line sowing
3. Dibbling
4. Transplanting
5. Planting
6. Putting seeds behind the plough.
1. Broad casting: It is the scattering of seeds by hand all over the prepared field
followed by covering with wooden plank or harrow for contact of seed with soil.
Crops like wheat, paddy, Sesamum, methi, coriander, etc. are sown by this
method.

2. Advantages:
1) Quickest & cheapest method
2) Skilled labour is not uniform.
3) Implement is not required,
4) Followed in moist condition.
Disadvantages:
1) Seed requirement is more,
2) Crop stand is not uniform.
3) Result in gappy germination & defective wherever the adequate moisture is not
present in the soil.
4) Spacing is not maintained within rows & lines, hence interculturing is difficult.
2.Drilling or Line sowing: It is the dropping of seeds into the soil with the help of implement
such as mogha, seed drill, seed-cum-ferti driller or mechanical seed drill and then the seeds are
covered by wooden plank or harrow to have contact between seed & soil. Crops like Jowar, wheat
Bajara, etc. are sown by this method.
Advantages:
1) Seeds are placed at proper & uniform depths,
2) Along the rows, interculturing can be done,
3) Uniform row to row spacing is maintained,
4) Seed requirement is less than broad casting
5) Sowing is done at proper moisture level.
Disadvantages:
1) Require implement for sowing,
2) Wapsa condition is must.
3) Plant to plant (Intra row) spacing is not maintained,
4) Skilled person is required for sowing.
3. Dibbling: It is the placing or dibbling of seeds at cross marks (+) made in the field with the
help of maker as per the requirement of the crop in both the directions. It is done manually by
dibbler. This method is followed in crops like Groundnut, Castor, and Hy. Cotton, etc. which are
having bold size and high value.
Advantages:
1) Spacing between rows & plants is maintained,
2) Seeds can be dibbled at desired depth in the moisture zone,
3) Optimum plant population can be maintained,
4) Seed requirement is less than other method,
5) Implement is not required for sowing,
6) An intercrop can be taken in wider spaced crops,
7) Cross wise Intercultivation is possible.
Disadvantages:
1) Laborious & time consuming method,
2) Require more labour, hence increase the cost of cultivation,
3) Only high value & bold seeds are sown,
4) Require strict supervision.
4. Transplanting: It is the raising of seedlings on nursery beds and transplanting of seedlings in
the laid out field. For this, seedlings are allowed to grow on nursery beds for about 3-5 weeks.
Beds are watered one day before the transplanting of nursery to prevent jerk to the roots. The field
is irrigated before actual transplanting to get the seedlings established early & quickly which
reduce the mortality. Besides the advantages & disadvantages of dibbling method, initial cost of
cultivation of crop can be saved but requires due care in the nursery. This method is followed in
crops like paddy, fruit, vegetable, crops, tobacco, etc.
5. Planting: It is the placing of vegetative part of crops which are vegetatively propagated in the
laid out field. E.g.: Tubers of Potato, mother sets of ginger & turmeric, cuttings of sweet potato &
grapes, sets of sugarcane.
6. Putting seeds behind the plough: It is dropping of seeds behind the plough in the furrow
with the help of manual labour by hand. This method is followed for crops like wal or gram in
some areas for better utilization of soil moisture. The seeds are covered by successive furrow
opened by the plough. This method is not commonly followed for sowing of the crops.
FACTORS
Dry conditions and lack of soil moisture availability, especially during planting time this spring,
can create water stress resulting in delayed germination, a reduction in plant stands or may
prevent seed germination. When a corn seed absorbs 30 percent of its weight in water the
germination process commences. For comparison, soybeans absorb half of their weight in water
before they germinate. Therefore, the level of soil moisture in the soil seedbed at planting dictates
this critical process. For successful seed germination, ideally soil moisture should be at or close to
field capacity. At field capacity the soil retains the maximum amount of moisture. Field capacity
is influenced by soil texture; for example, fine-textured soils, such as clay or loam soils, have
larger moisture holding field capacity than coarse-textured soils such as sandy-textured soils.

Soil texture and tillage influence available soil moisture
Dry conditions influence soil moisture availability differently depending on soil texture. Fine-
textured soils have less available water than medium or coarse-textured soils. For example, loam
soils that contain 20 to 37 percent clay have greater water available to the plant than clay soils that
contain greater than 40 percent clay.
The other factor that affects water availability in dry conditions is the tillage intensity, especially
at seeding depth. To understand how moisture moves within the seedbed under different moisture
conditions, we need to understand the process by which water moves in the soil profile and the
factors affecting this process. Under dry conditions, water moves upward in the soil profile
toward the soil surface where soil water evaporation takes place. Suction or tension is the force
that moves water upward in the soil profile. This suction or tension is highly influenced by soil
texture and moisture condition, where greater tension is associated with fine soil texture and dry
soil. Water moves from wet areas (areas of low tension) to drier areas (areas of high tension). The
drier the soil surface, the greater the soil suction that moves water from the subsoil to the soil
surface.

Soil texture and tillage affect seeding depth
Many factors affect the water movement process and dictate how deep seeds must be placed in
the soil. First, we need to consider soil texture. As I indicated above, the finer the soil texture, the
greater the soil suction is to move water toward the soil surface than in coarse-textured soils.
Therefore, seeding depth can be shallower in fine-textured soils than in sandy soils depending on
how dry the soil actually is. Generally, when the soil moisture condition at the seeding depth is
much below field capacity, planting deeper than usual is advisable. Seed should be placed in soil
that is at field capacity for optimum germination.
To determine if soil moisture is at field capacity, take a handful of soil from the proposed
seeding depth. If the soil is at field capacity, it will leave a trace of moisture on the palm of your
hand when you squeeze it. Or you should be able to form the soil into a ball, which, when thrown
in the air, will not disintegrate.
The second factor that dictates seeding depth is the type of tillage system. Generally,
conventional tillage alters the soil surface condition, resulting in faster soil evaporation
throughout the tillage zone. This leads to significant soil moisture losses. In a dry year, these
conditions are detrimental to moisture availability in many ways. First, tillage increases water
evaporation from the tillage zone. Second, tillage destroys soil structure and reduces water
movement through capillary action. It does this by destroying the continuity of the capillary
system responsible for moisture supply to the seedbed, and reduces water recharge to where the
seeds are placed.
These conditions are completely opposite from what is found in a no-till system; in this system,
the soil structure remains intact and moisture moves evenly to the soil surface. One reason for this
is that in no-till the soil structure and the capillary system is intact and continuously supplies
moisture to the seedbed. The other reason is that the residue on no-till soil surfaces insulates the
soil surface and reduces soil evaporation and also reduces or moderates soil temperature.
In dry conditions, seeding depth can and should differ depending on the soil texture, tillage
system and residue cover. Knowing the texture of the soil in your field and its management
requirements especially in dry conditions will dictate how deep seeds should be placed to have
adequate available moisture for successful germination.

3. DISCUSS VARIOUS TILLAGE PRACTICES FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF
SOIL?
Various tillage practices for different types of soil
Windbreaks:
Some farmers plant trees along the borders of their fields to cut down on wind erosion. This
method is most often practiced in flat areas, but is useful in hilly regions as well.
Cover crops:
Another method to stop soil erosion is to plant crops that will grow during the most erosive fall
and spring months. Winter cover crops such as fall rye or winter wheat act as a ground cover and
protect the vulnerable soil from eroding.
Grassed waterways:
In some fields the land forms natural depressions where run-off water goes. To keep the soil in
these depressions from running away with the water, farmers plant grassy strips. Excess water is
absorbed by the grass rather than acting as an erosion agent.
Contour cultivation:
Cultivation is the process of loosening up the soil between the rows of a growing crop.
Some farmers plant and cultivate their crops to follow the contours of a field. Contour
cultivation produces furrows that are perpendicular or at an angle to the slope of the field.
The irregular surface of the field breaks up the flow of water and makes it more difficult
for water to erode the soil.
Strip cropping:
Farmers may decide to alternate a field with
strips of different crops or fallow. Strip cropping
may be used in flat areas but it also is a kind of
contour farming when strips are planted across
the slope of a field.

Contour cropping of corn, alfalfa
and wheat.
Photo by Larry Lefever
Forages in rotation:
Forage crops such as alfalfa and hay can be included in a rotation to cut down on erosion. In
areas where the land has steep terrain the practice of strip cropping forage crops and crops such as
corn or wheat is a common way to slow erosion.
Conservation tillage:
If farmers leave the soil bare after they harvest a crop, they are asking for trouble! Most farmers
today will practice conservation tillage where they leave stalks and leaves of the harvested crops
on their fields. This layer protects the underlying soil from wind and rain during the fall and
winter until a new crop is planted in the spring. One kind of conservation tillage is chisel-plowing
which mixes crop residue into the soil. This leaves the ground partially covered from the wind
and rain. Below you will find descriptions for two common types of conservation tillage
practices. There are other methods that farmers use too, though!
No till:
No-till farming means that farmers leave all of the last crop's residue in the soil while planting
the new crop.

A road sign promotes
no-till farming. Agriculture
and the Environment, 1991
Yearbook: 38


Soybeans growing in corn
residue with no-till farming.
Agriculture and the Environment,
1991 Yearbook: 17
Ridge-tillage:
Farmers may use special
machinery to form the soil into
ridges and then plant the seeds on
top of the ridges. The soil and
residue from the previous crop
between the ridges are not disturbed
during planting and cultivation.
Since this plant and soil material is
not broken loose by the machinery,
it is less likely to erode.

A farmer cultivates his field with a special plow
used for ridge tilling. Agriculture and the
Environment, 1991 Yearbook: 183
4. What are weeds? Discuss the harmful effects of the weeds and discuss various control
measures to save crops from weeds?
A weed is a plant considered undesirable. Weeds are commonly unwanted plants in human-
controlled settings, such as farm fields, gardens, lawns, and parks. Weeds have no botanical
classification value, since a plant that is a weed in one context is not a weed when growing where
it is wanted. A number of plants that many consider weeds are often intentionally grown in
gardens and other cultivated settings. It is applied to any plant that grows or reproduces
aggressively, or is outside its native habitat. The term is occasionally used to broadly describe
species outside the plant kingdom that can live in diverse environments and reproduce quickly,
and has even been applied to humans.
Harmful Effects of Weed
If no restriction is imposed they compete with crop plants and the yield reduction of
individual crops varies and that of cropping system 5 to 50%.
Presence of weeds increases the cost of agriculture and hinders the progress of work.
It increases the irrigation requirement.
They reduce the value of produce or otherwise adds the cost of cleaning.
Some weeds when eaten (Cleome viscosa) by milch animals will produce an undesirable
odour in the milk. At times death/disorder/disformity may occur.
eg: Datura stramarium
The fruits and seeds of Xanthium strumarium and Achyranthes aspera entangle with wool
which fetch lower prices.
They harbour insect pests, pathogen and parasites
They reduce the value of the land
Presence of weeds will impair the purity of varieties by chance of cross pollination
Weeds cause health hazards to man and animals
Weeds cause allelopathic effect
Coverings[edit]
In domestic gardens, methods of weed control include covering an area of ground with a material
that creates a hostile environment for weed growth, known as a weed mat.
Several layers of wet newspaper prevent light from reaching plants beneath, which kills them.
Daily saturating the newspaper with water plant decomposition. After several weeks, all
germinating weed seeds are dead.
[2]

In the case of black plastic, the greenhouse effect kills the plants. Although the black plastic
sheet is effective at preventing weeds that it covers, it is difficult to achieve complete coverage.
Eradicating persistent perennials may require the sheets to be left in place for at least two seasons.
Some plants are said to produce root exudates that suppress herbaceous weeds. Tagetes
minuata is claimed to be effective against couch and ground elder, whilst a border of comfrey is
also said to act as a barrier against the invasion of some weeds including couch. A 510
centimetres (2.03.9 in)} layer of wood chip mulch prevents most weeds from sprouting.
Gravel can serve as an inorganic mulch.
Irrigation is sometimes used as a weed control measure such as in the case of paddy fields to kill
any plant other than the water-tolerant rice crop.
Bradley[edit]
See also Bradley Method of Bush Regeneration, which uses ecological processes to do much of
the work. Perennial weeds also propagate by seeding; the airborne seed of thedandelion and
the rose-bay willow herb parachute far and wide. Dandelion and dock also put down deep tap
roots, which, although they do not spread underground, are able to regrow from any remaining
piece left in the ground.
Manual removal[edit]


Weeds are removed manually in large parts of India.
Many gardeners still remove weeds by manually pulling them out of the ground, making sure to
include the roots that would otherwise allow them to resprout.
Hoeing off weed leaves and stems as soon as they appear can eventually weaken and kill
perennials, although this will require persistence in the case of plants such as bindweed. Nettle
infestations can be tackled by cutting back at least three times a year, repeated over a three-year
period. Bramble can be dealt with in a similar way.
Goat grazing[edit]
Main article: Conservation grazing
Companies using goats to control and eradicate leafy spurge, knapweed, and other toxic weeds
have sprouted across the American West. Near Red Lodge, Montana, there is Healthy Meadows,
a company owned by Ivan Thrane and Chia Chen-Speidel, who as of late summer 2012 manage
250 goats for this express purpose.
[3]

"Stale seed bed"[edit]
Another manual technique is the stale seed bed, which involves cultivating the soil, then
leaving it fallow for a week or so. When the initial weeds sprout, the grower lightly hoesthem
away before planting the desired crop. However, even a freshly cleared bed is susceptible to
airborne seed from elsewhere, as well as seed carried by passing animals on their fur, or from
imported manure.
Herbicides[edit]
The above described methods of weed control use no chemicals. They are preferred by organic
gardeners or organic farmers.
However weed control can also be achieved by the use of herbicides. Selective herbicides kill
certain targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by
interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant hormones. Herbicides are
generally classified as follows:
Contact herbicides destroy only plant tissue that contacts the herbicide. Generally, these
are the fastest-acting herbicides. They are ineffective on perennial plants that can re-grow from
roots or tubers.
Systemic herbicides are foliar-applied and move through the plant where they destroy a
greater amount of tissue.
Soil-borne herbicides are applied to the soil and are taken up by the roots of the target
plant.
Pre-emergent herbicides are applied to the soil and prevent germination or early growth
of weed seeds.
In agriculture large scale and systematic procedures are usually required, often by machines,
such as liquid herbicide sprayers, or even by helicopter (such as in the USA).
Irrigation[edit]
Drip irrigation involves bringing water directly to the roots of the desired plants, thereby limits
weed's access to water.
Biological pesticide[edit]
Vinegar kills the visible part of the weed. They will wrinkle and die next day, although the root
will still be in place to continue growing.
Tilling[edit]
Ploughing includes tilling of soil, intercultural ploughing and summer ploughing. Ploughing
uproots weeds, causing them to die. In summer ploughing is done during deep summers. Summer
ploughing also helps in killing pests.
Mechanical tilling can remove weeds around crop plants at various points in the growing
process.
Crop rotation[edit]
Rotating crops with ones that kill weeds by choking them out, such as hemp,
[4]
Mucuna pruriens,
and other crops, can be a very effective method of weed control. It is a way to avoid the use of
herbicides, and to gain the benefits of crop rotation.
Thermal[edit]
Several thermal methods can control weeds.
Hot foam (foamstream) causes the cell walls to rupture, killing the plant. Weed burners heat up
soil quickly and destroy superficial parts of the plants. Weed seeds are often heat resistant and
even react with an increase of growth on dry heat.
Since the 19th century soil steam sterilization has been used to clean weeds completely from soil.
Several research results confirm the high effectivness of humid heat against weeds and its seeds.
[5]

Seed targeting[edit]
In 1998, the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI), debuted. gathered fifteen
scientists and technical staff members to conduct field surveys, collect seeds, test for resistance
and study the biochemical and genetic mechanisms of resistance. A collaboration with DuPont led
to a mandatory herbicide labeling program, in which each mode of action is clearly identified by a
letter of the alphabet.
[6]

The key innovation of the AHRI approach has been to focus on weed seeds. Ryegrass seeds last
only a few years in soil, so if farmers can prevent new seeds from arriving, the number of sprouts
will shrink each year. Until the new approach farmers were unintentionally helping the seeds.
Their combines loosen ryegrass seeds from their stalks and spread them over the fields. In the
mid-1980s, a few farmers hitched covered trailers, called "chaff carts", behind their combines to
catch the chaff and weed seeds. The collected material is then burned.
[6]

An alternative is to concentrate the seeds into a half-meter-wide strip called a windrow and burn
the windrows after the harvest, destroying the seeds. Since 2003, windrow burning has been
adopted by about 70% of farmers in Western Australia.
[6]

Yet another approach is the Harrington Seed Destructor, which is an adaptation of a coal
pulverizing cage mill that uses steel bars whirling at up to 1500 rpm. It keeps all the organic
material in the field and does not involve combustion, but kills 95% of seeds.
[6]

Hybrid[edit]
One method of maintaining the effectiveness of individual strategies is to combine them with
others that work in complete different ways. Thus seed targeting has been combined with
herbicides. In Australia seed management has been effectively combined with trifluralin and
clethodim.
[6]

"Organic" approaches[edit]


Weed control, circa 30-40's


A mechanical weed control device: the diagonal weeder
Organic weed control involves anything other than applying manufactured chemicals. Typically
a combination of methods are used to achieve satisfactory control.
Sulfur in some circumstances is accepted within British Soil Association standards.
Resistance[edit]
Resistance occurs when a target adapts to circumvent a particular control strategy. It affects not
only weed control,but antibiotics, insect control and other domains. In agriculture is mostly
considered in reference to pesticides, but can defeat other strategies, e.g., when a target species
becomes more drought tolerant via selection pressure.
Farming practices[edit]
Herbicide resistance recently became a critical problem as many Australian sheep farmers
switched to exclusively growing wheat in their pastures in the 1970s. In wheat fields, introduced
varieties of ryegrass, while good for grazing sheep, are intense competitors with wheat.
Ryegrasses produce so many seeds that, if left unchecked, they can completely choke a field.
Herbicides provided excellent control, while reducing soil disrupting because of less need to
plough. Within little more than a decade, ryegrass and other weeds began to develop resistance.
Australian farmers evolved again and began diversifying their techniques.
[6]

In 1983, patches of ryegrass had become immune to Hoegrass, a family of herbicides that inhibit
an enzyme called acetyl coenzyme Acarboxylase.
[6]

Ryegrass populations were large, and had substantial genetic diversity, because farmers had
planted many varieties. Ryegrass is cross-pollinated by wind, so genes shuffle frequently. Farmers
sprayed inexpensive Hoegrass year after year, creating selection pressure, but were diluting the
herbicide in order to save money, increasing plants survival. Hoegrass was mostly replaced by a
group of herbicides that block acetolactate synthase, again helped by poor application practices.
Ryegrass evolved a kind of "cross-resistance" that allowed it to rapidly break down a variety of
herbicides. Australian farmers lost four classes of herbicides in only a few years. As of 2013 only
two herbicide classes, called Photosystem II and long-chain fatty acid inhibitors, had become the
last hope.
[6]


5. Discuss the impact of agriculture on the economy of a state?
Impact of Agriculture in Indian Economy
In the last 57 years, Indian agriculture has significantly contributed in terms of income and
employment generation. In the present situation 24% of the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
comes from the agriculture sector and 62 % people find direct and indirect employment in the
agriculture sector in India.
Agriculture affects the Indian economy in the following ways:
1. Contribution to National Income: India was predominantly an agro based nation. It has
been seen that the contribution from agriculture has continuously declined from 55.2% in
1950-51 to 37.5% in 1981-82 & further to 18.5% in 2006-07. But agriculture still
continues to be the main sector because it provides livelihood to a majority of the people.
2. Provides Employment: agriculture engaged 69.5% of the working population in 1951.
After reforms this percentage fell to 66.8% in 1991 & to 56.7% in 2001. But due to the
fast increase in population the absolute number of people engaged in this sector has
significantly increased.
3. Provides food to the increasing population: India has huge population and agriculture
sustains the increasing Indian population. It is therefore important to increase the food
production in the country else there will be a crisis for food grains resulting in shortage of
food.
By the end of 11th five year plan (i.e., 2011-2012), India would need 2% growth per
annum to meet the demand for food-grains which is likely to increase to 280.5 million
tons. The challenge facing the country is clear as during the last 10 years the food-grains
have been growing at a meager 0.48%.
Helps increasing capital formation: Agriculture plays a big role in increasing capital
formation in India. Capital formation is a necessary condition for economic development.
Productivity in the industrial sector can be increased by transferring labor & capital from
rural to industrial sector
5. Providing Raw Material support to industries: Agriculture provides raw materials to
various industries and plants. Jute, Sugar industry, Cotton textile industry, Vanaspati
industry are examples of some such industries which depend on agriculture for their
development.
6. A Market for Industrial Products: Most of the population engaged in agriculture ,
around two-thirds of the population of India lives in rural areas, therefore increased rural
purchasing power is beneficial to industrial development as it forms a wide consumer
base.
7. Importance of agriculture in International Trade: Agriculture brings in foreign
exchange in the country .It constitutes about 75% of the total exports of the country.

6. Write Short note on the following:-
3. Principles of tillage
4. Relay cropping
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types,
such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods
using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking. Examples
of draft-animal-powered or mechanized work include ploughing (overturning with moldboards or
chiseling with chisel shanks), rototilling, rolling with cultipackers or other rollers, harrowing, and
cultivating with cultivator shanks (teeth). Small-scale gardening and farming, for household food
production or small business production, tends to use the smaller-scale methods above, whereas
medium- to large-scale farming tends to use the larger-scale methods. There is a fluid continuum,
however. Any type of gardening or farming, but especially larger-scale commercial types, may
also use low-till or no-till methods as well.
Tillage is often classified into two types, primary and secondary. There is no strict
boundary between them so much as a loose distinction between tillage that is deeper and more
thorough (primary) and tillage that is shallower and sometimes more selective of location
(secondary). Primary tillage such as ploughing tends to produce a rough surface finish, whereas
secondary tillage tends to produce a smoother surface finish, such as that required to make a
good seedbed for many crops. Harrowing and rototilling often combine primary and secondary
tillage into one operation.
"Tillage" can also mean the land that is tilled. The word "cultivation" has several senses
that overlap substantially with those of "tillage". In a general context, both can refer to
agriculture. Within agriculture, both can refer to any of the kinds of soil agitation described
above. Additionally, "cultivation" or "cultivating" may refer to an even narrower sense of
shallow, selective secondary tillage of row crop fields that kills weeds while sparing the crop
plants.
Tillage systems
Reduced tillage[edit]
Reduced tillage
[note 1]
leaves between 15 and 30% residue cover on the soil or 500 to 1000 pounds
per acre (560 to 1100 kg/ha) of small grain residue during the critical erosion period. This may
involve the use of a chisel plow, field cultivators, or other implements. See the general comments
below to see how they can affect the amount of residue.
Intensive tillage[edit]
Intensive tillage
[note 1]
leaves less than 15% crop residue cover or less than 500 pounds per acre
(560 kg/ha) of small grain residue. This type of tillage is often referred to asconventional
tillage but as conservational tillage is now more widely used than intensive tillage (in the United
States),
[1][2]
it is often not appropriate to refer to this type of tillage as conventional. Intensive
tillage often involves multiple operations with implements such as a mold board, disk, and/or
chisel plow. Then a finisher with a harrow, rolling basket, and cutter can be used to prepare the
seed bed. There are many variations.
Conservation tillage[edit]
Conservation tillage
[note 1]
leaves at least 30% of crop residue on the soil surface, or at least
1,000 lb/ac (1,100 kg/ha) of small grain residue on the surface during the critical soil erosion
period. This slows water movement, which reduces the amount of soil erosion. Conservation
tillage also benefits farmers by reducing fuel consumption and soil compaction. By reducing the
number of times the farmer travels over the field, farmers realize significant savings in fuel and
labor. In most years since 1997, conservation tillage was used in US cropland more than intensive
or reduced tillage.
[2]

However, conservation tillage delays warming of the soil due to the reduction of dark earth
exposure to the warmth of the spring sun, thus delaying the planting of the next year's spring crop
of corn.
[3]

2. Relay Cropping
The practice, known as relay cropping, is beginning to catch on among dairy producers, says Dr.
Shabtai Bittman, a forage and field crop management specialist at the Pacific Agri-Food Research
Centre (PARC). "The Italian rye grass, over its growth cycle will remove about 100 kilograms of
surplus nitrogen per hectare," says Bittman. "And it is one of the top forages to produce. It's a
leading forage in New Zealand and Europe."
Relay cropping further benefits the environment by significantly reducing the amount of nitrogen
lost through leaching and to the atmosphere. The research project, co-ordinated through the
Pacific Field Corn Association, is supported in part with funds from the federal Greenhouse Gas
Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP).
Forage seeded with corn
The concept is to seed a second crop with the corn that will continue to grow and use surplus
nitrogen once the corn has been harvested, says Bittman. After looking at several options over the
years, Italian rye grass emerged as one of the most suitable forages.

The Italian rye grass is inter-seeded when the silage corn is between the three to six leaf stage,
which explains the term relay cropping. "It won't compete with the corn at that stage, and yet
there is enough sunlight to allow the Italian rye grass to establish," he says. Growth of the rye
grass is suspended once the corn crop canopy closes. But after the corn is harvested, in late
September or early October, the rye grass begins growing again.
"It usually takes about 10 days after corn is harvested for the Italian rye grass to take off," says
Bittman. "But it continues to grow into December." Bittman estimates the rye grass uses between
50 and 65 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare in fall. After resuming growth, usually in February, it
will use another 40 to 50 kilograms of nitrogen before harvested as silage, greenfeed or used as
pasture.
"The rye grass is not able to use all the surplus nitrogen in the soil, but it makes a significant
difference," he says. "On average the crop removes about 100 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare
whereas without it, surplus nitrogen use would be zero."
Environmental concerns
Surplus nitrogen in the usually heavy winter rainfall area of south-coastal B.C. causes major
environmental concerns, points out Sandra Traichel, with the Abbotsford Soil Conservation
Association and a field co-ordinator for the federal GHGMP in B.C.
Surplus nitrogen can be leached from soil and enter the groundwater, she says. And in
waterlogged soil, it is also subject to a process of denitrification, which means the nitrogen is
converted and released to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide, one of the more serious greenhouse
gasses.
In two years of trials comparing application of manure on bare soil with manure application on
grass fields, research showed a dramatic reduction in the production of nitrous oxide. "Vigorously
growing grass really soaks up the nitrate," says Bittman. "We found a five to 10-fold reduction in
nitrous oxide production on grassland compared to bare fields. It makes a significant difference."

To maximize the benefit of relay cropping it's important to use a forage with high feed value,
says Bittman. Earlier research found fall rye also works as a relay crop, but it makes poor
livestock feed. "Producers are inclined to plow it under rather than harvest the feed," he says.
"And that practice just returns the nitrogen to the soil, so we don't really gain anything."
Excellent forage
But Italian rye grass has proven to be a valuable forage for dairy cattle. A very palatable forage
with good protein, the crop can yield three to five tonnes per hectare and be used as silage, green
feed and pasture.
Intercropping
Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. It also
means the growing of two or more crops on the same field with the planting of the second crop
after the first one has completed its development. The rationale behind intercropping is that the
different crops planted are unlikely to share the same insect pests and diseased-causing pathogens
and to conserve the soil.
Types of intercropping practices
same field without a row arrangement.

cropping is the growing of two or more crops on the same field with the planting of the
second crop after the first one has completed its development.
n
with a row arrangement.

the same field. It has two types; contour strip cropping and field strip cropping. Contour strip
cropping follows a layout of a definite rotational sequence and the tillage is held closely to the
exact contour of the field. Field strip cropping has strips with uniform width that follows across
the general slope of the land.
Advantages
1. Reduces the insect/mite pest populations because of the diversity of the crops grown.
When other crops are present in the field, the insect/mite pests are confused and they need more
time to look for their favorite plants.
2. Reduces the plant diseases. The distance between plants of the same species is increased
because other crops (belonging to a different family group) are planted in between.
3. Reduces hillside erosion and protects topsoil, especially the contour strip cropping.
4. Attracts more beneficial insects, especially when flowering crops are included the the
cropping system
5. Minimizes labor cost on the control of weeds. A mixture of various crops gives often a
better coverage of the soil leaving less space for the development of weeds.
6. Utilizes the farm area more efficiently.
7. Results in potential increase for total production and farm profitability than when the
same crops are grown separately.
8. Provides 2 or more different food crops for the farm family in one cropping season.