ARD Summary Sheets

Summary Sheet – Helpful for Retention
For
Introduction to Agriculture
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Important Points
1. This Summary Sheet shall only be used for Quick Revision after you have
read the Complete Notes
2. For Building Concepts along with examples/concept checks you should

rely only on Complete Notes
3. It would be useful to go through this Summary sheet just before the

exam or before any Mock Test
4. Questions in the exam are concept based and reading only summary
sheets shall not be sufficient to answer all the questions

Table of Contents
1 AGRICULTURE .................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Definition or Meaning .............................................................................................................. 4
1.2 History of Agriculture ............................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Where does Agriculture stand today? ...................................................................................... 4
1.4 What about Agriculture in India?.............................................................................................. 4
1.5 Branches of Agriculture ............................................................................................................ 5
1.5.1 Agronomy......................................................................................................................... 5
1.5.2 Horticulture ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.5.3 Forestry (Silviculture)........................................................................................................ 6
1.5.4 Animal Husbandry ............................................................................................................ 6
1.5.5 Fishery science (Pisciculture) ............................................................................................ 6
1.5.6 Agricultural Engineering ................................................................................................... 6
1.5.7 Home Science ................................................................................................................... 6
2 Important Chronological Events and Research Institutes .................................................................. 6
2.1 Important Chronological Events in Agriculture in India ............................................................. 7
2.2 Other Important Facts .............................................................................................................. 8
2.3 Important Agricultural Research Institutes ............................................................................... 8
2.3.1 Deemed Universities - 4.................................................................................................... 8
2.3.2 Institutions – 65................................................................................................................ 8
2.3.3 National Research Centres - 15 ....................................................................................... 10
2.3.4 National Bureaus - 6 ....................................................................................................... 10
2.3.5 Directorates/Project Directorates – 13 ........................................................................... 11
2.3.6 All India Coordinated Research Projects – 59 .................................................................. 11
2.3.7 Network Projects - 20 ..................................................................................................... 13
2.3.8 Some Important Horticulture Research Institutes in India ............................................... 13
2.4 Important International Institutions on Agricultural Research ................................................ 14
2.5 Fathers of Important Agriculture Disciplines ........................................................................... 15

1 AGRICULTURE
1.1 Definition or Meaning
The word 'Agriculture' is derived from the Latin word 'Ager' means “Land or Soil” and 'Culture' means
“cultivation”, which in simple terms means the science and Art of producing crops and livestock for
economic purpose and for the use of mankind.
Agriculture can be termed as a science, an art and business altogether. How?
✓ Science: Because it provides new and improved strain of crop and animal with the help of the
knowledge of breeding and genetics, modern technology of dairy science.
✓ Art: Because it is the management whether it is crop or animal husbandry.
✓ Commerce (Business): Because the entire agricultural produce is linked with marketing, which brings
in the question of profit or loss.
1.2 History of Agriculture

Agriculture is the milestone in the history of human civilization. Archaeologists and paleontologists have
traced the origins of farming to around 10,000 years ago, to somewhere in the Indus Valley, and possibly
as a separate development in China along the Yangtze River. It is known that humans first domesticated
crops and later livestock in great enough numbers.
Even today, in spite of growing industrialization and urbanization in the world, nearly fifty percent
working population still engaged in agriculture.
Modern farming began around the 18th century in what is generally referred to as “The British
Agricultural Revolution” when several advances and changes were made to farming in a short space of
time that saw massive increases in yield and a more efficient process.
1.3 Where does Agriculture stand today?

“Sustainability” is the buzzword today as we look to balance several conflicting needs - to protect the
environment and to instigate practices that protects it while providing for the growing needs of the
future population growth.
Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agricultural scientist, and humanitarian. He is considered
to be the "Father of Modern Agriculture" and the “Father of The Green Revolution”. He won the
1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his life's work.
1.4 What about Agriculture in India?

Agriculture is a backbone of Indian economy. In India about 72 percent of the total population is
dependent on agriculture for their live food (As per census 2011).
The agriculture activities in the world are closely controlled by Physical Factors. Indian agriculture is not
an exception for this, today India is facing two main problem concerned with agriculture.

✓ Meeting the increasing demand of food and supplying agro products for ever increasing population
✓ Uneven development of agriculture and changing pattern of agriculture land use.
The study of land and agriculture from the geographical point of view gained more importance after 1950.
At the beginning of 1960 and later on the Green Revolution, in mid 1960s, brought a remarkable change
in the field of agriculture, due to this India become not only self sufficient in food grains but it could also
export a small quality of it.
1.5 Branches of Agriculture

Agriculture is mainly divided into following seven branches
1. Agronomy
2. Horticulture Crop Production Group
3. Forestry
4. Animal husbandry
5. Fishery science
Animal Management
6. Agricultural Engineering
7. Home science Allied Agriculture Group
Upon integration of all the seven branches, first three is grouped as for crop production group and
next two animal management and last two allied agriculture branches.
1.5.1 Agronomy:
It deals with the production of various crops which includes Food crops, Fodder crops, Fibre crops,
Sugar, Oilseeds, etc. The aim is to have better food production and how to control the diseases.
1.5.2 Horticulture:
It deals with the production of fruits, vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, spices, condiments, and
beverages. It is again divided into 8 types based on type of horticulture plants grown or operations
conducted.
1. Arboriculture: Study of, and the selection, planting, care, and removal of, individual trees, shrubs,
vines, and other perennial woody plants.
2. Floriculture: Production and marketing of floral crops. Examples: Roses, Jasmines, Lilies etc.,
3. Landscape horticulture: Production, marketing, and maintenance of landscape plants. Examples:
Berberis thunbergii, Paeonia lactiflora etc.,
4. Olericulture: Includes the production and marketing of vegetables. Examples: Brinjal, Tomato etc.,
5. Pomology: Production and marketing of fruits. Examples: Apples, Mangoes etc.,
6. Viticulture: Production and marketing of grapes.
7. Oenology: All aspects of wine and winemaking.

8. Postharvest Management: Maintaining the quality of and preventing the spoilage of horticultural
crops.
1.5.3 Forestry (Silviculture):
It deals with production of large-scale cultivation of perennial trees for supplying wood, timber, rubber,
etc. and also raw materials for industries.
1.5.4 Animal Husbandry:
It deals with agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock to provide food for humans and to
provide power (draught) and manure for crops.
1.5.5 Fishery science (Pisciculture):
It deals with practice of breeding and rearing fishes including marine and inland fishes, shrimps, prawns
etc. to provide food, feed, and manure.
1.5.6 Agricultural Engineering:
It deals with farm machinery for filed preparation, inter-cultivation, harvesting and post harvest
processing including soil and water conservation engineering and bioenergy.
1.5.7 Home Science:
It deals with application and utilization of agricultural produces in a better manner to provide nutritional
security, including value addition and food preparation.
Let us investigate the important chronological events in the history of Agriculture and about few
important Agricultural institutes in the world as well as in India.
2 Important Chronological Events and Research Institutes

We have earlier discussed in brief about the history of agriculture, where it stands now etc., Now, here,
we shall discuss the same in detail.
During the course of development through centuries, man has evolved and started shifting from hunting
to raising crops along with rearing or domesticating animals for food and draught* purposes.
The below table depicts the course of development in agriculture in India where we have started and How
we took it along, competing with the rest of the world.
* A strong working animal used to draw a load (ed cart), ploughing fields etc.,

2.1 Important Chronological Events in Agriculture in India
Note: I have added only very important or relevant events. For the rest, you can revise content
sheet.
1000-600 Second, Aryan-migration wave, age of iron, iron plough share and axe invented, crop
B.C. cultivation in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
543-491 Reference to farming operations in Kullavagga and Mahavagga and Buddhist literature in Pali
B.C.
900-1000 Construction of Anicuts and tanks, Krishi Parashar and Vrikshayurveda, manuals on
A.D. agriculture and botany written, a textbook on Agriculture prepared by Kashyapa by the
name Krishi Sukti
16 Introduction of several crops to India by Portuguese.
Century They are potato, Sweet Potato, Arrow Root, Cassava, Tomato, Chillis, Pumpkin, Papaya,
A.D. Pineapple, Guava, Custardapple, Groundnut, Cashewnut, Tobacco, American cotton, rubber
1550 A.D. Portuguese introduced grafting technique in horticulture
1901 Appointed First Irrigation Commission (chaired by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff to draw up a
comprehensive irrigation plan for India.)
1905 Established the imperial (now known as Indian) Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa,
Bihar shifted to new Delhi in 1936.
1929 Establishment of Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi
1943 Great Bengal Famine - Cochliobolus miyabeanus (formerly known as Helminthosporium
oryzae) is a fungus that causes brown spot disease in rice.
Oct. 1958 NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation)
1960 First agricultural university in India, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology at
Pantnanagar, on the pattern of land grant system of USA
1966-67 Green Revolution
1970 National Commission on Agriculture
st
1 Nov Establishment of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) based on the
1973 recommendation of G. Gadkar report
1974 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). Mohan Singh Mehta committee recommended (First at
Pondicherry, under TNAU, Coimbatore)
th
12 July National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
1982
2006 ICAR launched National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) with financial support from
World Bank
2006 National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) on 3.11.2006
August, National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
2007
2014 NHM merged into a new Programme Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture
(MIDH)

2.2 Other Important Facts
Francis Bacon (1561-1624 A.D) Found the water as nutrient of plants
G.R.Glanber (1604-1668 A.D) Salt peter (KNO3) as nutrient and not water
Jethrotull (1674-1741 A.D) – Father Fine soil particle as plant nutrient
of Tillage
Priestly (1730-1799 A.D) Discovered the oxygen
Francis Home (1775 A.D) Water, air, salts, fire and oil form the plant nutrients
Thomas Jefferson (1793 AD) Developed mould board plough
Theodore de-Saussure Found that plants absorb CO2 from air & release O2; soil
Justus van Liebig (1804- 1873) supply N2
Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) ‘Upper Bari Doab Canal’ in Punjab was constructed. Improvement
of agriculture started only in his period.
Lord Curzon (1898-1905). His ‘Great Canal system of Western Punjab’ was constructed.
period is called as ‘Golden period
of agriculture’.
2.3 Important Agricultural Research Institutes

The Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) has taken upon itself the onus of coordinating and
driving the national agricultural and horticultural along with veterinary and fisheries institutions
forward, creating “National Agricultural Research System (NARS)”.
The National Agricultural Research System comprises the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), other central research institutes, and national research centres set up by ICAR.
Note: Kindly understand, it has been observed that atleast one question is asked from this list
every year in the exam. Hence please go through it thoroughly.
2.3.1 Deemed Universities - 4

Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
Central Institute on Fisheries Education, Mumbai
2.3.2 Institutions – 65
S Name of the Institute and its location
No.
1 ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
3 ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
4 ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, West Bengal
5 ICAR-Central Institute Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
6 ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Hissar, Haryana

7 ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
8 ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
9 ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Rajasthan
10 ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur, Maharashtra
11 ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin, Kerala
12 ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubneshwar, Odisha
13 ICAR-Central Institute of Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra
14 ICAR-Central Institute of Sub Tropical Horticulture, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
15 ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
16 ICAR-Central Institute on Post harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana, Punjab
17 ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala
18 ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargod, Kerala
19 ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
20 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, West Bengal
21 ICAR-Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana
22 ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha
23 ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan
24 ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
25 ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana
26 ICAR-Central Tobacco Research Institute, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh
27 ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Trivandrum, Kerala
28 ICAR-ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar
29 ICAR-ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Barapani, Meghalaya
30 ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Ela, Old Goa, Goa
31 ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi
32 ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
33 ICAR-Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand
34 ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka
35 ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Ranchi, Jharkhand
36 ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
37 ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
38 ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Calicut, Kerala
39 ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
40 ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
41 ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research & Management, Hyderabad, Telangana
42 ICAR-National Institute of Biotic Stresses Management, Raipur, Chattisgarh
43 ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Malegaon, Maharashtra
44 ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru, Karnataka
45 ICAR-National Institute of Research on Jute & Allied Fibre Technology, Kolkata, West Bengal
46 ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Hebbal, Bengaluru,
47 Karnataka
ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
48 ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, Uttarakhand
49 ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cattle, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
50 ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

51 ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research,New Delhi
52 ICAR- Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
53 ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi
54 ICAR- Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana
55 ICAR- Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Uttar Pradesh
56 ICAR- Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad, Telangana
57 ICAR- Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, Telangana
58 ICAR- Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, Pedavegi, West Godawari, Andhra Pradesh
59 ICAR- Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
60 ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Telangana
61 ICAR- Central Institute for Women in Agriculture, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
62 ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur, Maharashtra
63 ICAR-Indian Institute of Seed Research, Mau, Uttar Pradesh
64 ICAR- National Organic Farming Research Institute, Gangtok, Sikkim
65 Indian Grain Storage Institute, Hapor, U.P.
2.3.3 National Research Centres - 15

S No Name of the Reasearch Centre and its location
1 ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
2 ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune, Maharashtra
3 ICAR-National Research Centre for Litchi, Muzaffarpur, Bihar
4 ICAR-National Research Centre for Pomegranate, Solapur, Maharashtra
5 ICAR-National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner, Rajasthan
6 ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, Haryana
7 ICAR-National Research Centre on Meat, Hyderabad, Telangana
8 ICAR-National Research Centre on Mithun, Medziphema, Nagaland
9 ICAR-National Research Centre on Orchids, Pakyong, Sikkim
10 ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Guwahati, Assam
11 ICAR-National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi
12 ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices, Ajmer, Rajasthan
13 ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak, West Kemang, Arunachal Pradesh
14 ICAR-National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi
15 National Research Centre on Integrated Farming (ICAR-NRCIF), Motihari, Bihar
2.3.4 National Bureaus - 6

S No Name of the Bureau and its location
1 National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resources, New Delhi
2 National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Micro-organisms, Mau, Uttar Pradesh
3 National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, Bangalore, Karnataka
4 National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, Maharashtra
5 National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal, Haryana
6 National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
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2.3.5 Directorates/Project Directorates – 13
S No Name of the Directorate and its location
1 ICAR-Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagarh, Gujarat
2 ICAR-Directorate of Soybean Research, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
3 ICAR-Directorate of Rapeseed & Mustard Research, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
4 ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
5 ICAR-Directorate on Onion and Garlic Research, Pune, Maharashtra
6 ICAR-Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur, Karnataka
7 ICAR-Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research, Anand, Gujarat
8 ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, Pune, Maharashtra
9 ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
10 ICAR-Project Directorate on Foot & Mouth Disease, Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand
11 ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad, Telanagna
12 ICAR-Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture (DKMA), New Delhi
13 ICAR-Directorate of Cold Water Fisheries Research, Bhimtal, Nainital, Uttarakhand
*The ICAR institutes (all three categories (institute, National Research Centres and Directorates) have a
defined organizational structure.
2.3.6 All India Coordinated Research Projects – 59

In addition to its institute-based research, ICAR promotes research schemes / projects in agriculture and
allied areas to resolve location- specific problems. Examples: All India Coordinated Research Projects
(AICRPs), Network projects and other projects.
This promotes a coordinated and a cooperative endeavor with other research organizations in carrying
out multidisciplinary research programs.
S No Location of AICRPs in India

1 AICRP on Nematodes, New Delhi
2 AICRP on Maize, New Delhi
3 AICRP Rice, Hyderabad, Telangana
4 AICRP on Chickpea, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
5 AICRP on MULLARP, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
6 AICRP on Pigeon Pea, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
7 AICRP on Arid Legumes, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
8 AICRP on Wheat & Barley Improvement Project, Karnal, Haryana
9 AICRP Sorghum, Hyderabad, Telangana
10 AICRP on Pearl Millets, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
11 AICRP on Small Millets, Bangalore, Karnataka
12 AICRP on Sugarcane, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
13 AICRP on Cotton, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
14 AICRP on Groundnut, Junagarh, Gujarat
15 AICRP on Soybean, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
16 AICRP on Rapeseed & Mustard, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
17 AICRP on Sunflower, Safflower, Castor, Hyderabad, Telangana
18 AICRP on Linseed, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
19 AICRP on Sesame and Niger, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
20 AICRP on IPM and Biocontrol, Bangalore, Karnataka
AICRP on Honey Bee Research & Training, Hisar, Haryana and All India Coordinated Research
Project on Honey Bees and Pollinators in collaboration with the Integrated Bee Development
Center (IBDC), Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New
21 Delhi
22 AICRP –NSP (Crops), Mau, Uttar Pradesh
23 AICRP on Forage Crops, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
24 AICRP on Fruits, Bangaluru, Karnataka
25 AICRP Arid Zone Fruits, Bikaner, Rajasthan
26 AICRP Mushroom, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
27 AICRP Vegetables including NSP vegetable, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
28 AICRP Potato, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
29 AICRP Tuber Crops, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
30 AICRP Palms, Kasaragod, Kerala
31 AICRP Cashew, Puttur, Karnataka
32 AICRP Spices, Calicut, Kerala
33 AICRP on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants including Betelvine, Anand, Gujarat
34 AICRP on Floriculture, New Delhi
35 AICRP in Micro Secondary & Pollutant Elements in Soils and Plants, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
36 AICRP on Soil Test with Crop Response, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
37 AICRP on Long Term Fertilizer Experiments, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
38 AICRP on Salt Affected Soils & Use of Saline Water in Agriculture, Karnal, Haryana
39 AICRP on Water Management Research, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
40 AICRP on Ground Water Utilisation, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
41 AICRP Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, Telangana
42 AICRP on Agrometeorology, Hyderabad including Network on Impact adaptation &
43 Vulnerability
AICRP of Indian
Integrated Agri.
Farming to Climate
System Change,
Research, Telangana
Modipuram including Network Organic Farming,
44 Uttar Pradesh
AICRP Weed Control, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
45 AICRP on Agroforestry, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
46 AICRP on Farm Implements & Machinery, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
47 All India Coordinated Research Project on Ergonomics and Safety in Agriculture,
48 Bhubaneshwar,
AICRP OdishaSources of Energy for Ag. and Agro Based Indus., Bhopal, Madhya
on Renewable
49 Pradesh
AICRP on Utilization of Animal Energy (UAE), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
50 AICRP on Application of Plastic in Agriculture, Ludhiana, Punjab
51 AICRP on PHT, Ludhiana, Punjab
52 AICRP on Goat Improvement, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
53 AICRP- Improvement of Feed Sources & Nutrient Utilisation for raising animal production,
54 Bangalore,
AICRP Karnataka
on Cattle Research, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
55 AICRP on Poultry, Hyderabad, Telangana
56 AICRP-Pig, Izzatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
57 AICRP Foot and Mouth Disease, Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand
58 AICRP ADMAS, Bangalore, Karnataka
59 AICRP on Home Science, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
2.3.7 Network Projects - 20
S No. Name of the project and its location
1 All India Network Project on Pesticides Residues, New Delhi
2 All India Network Project on Soil Arthropod Pests, Durgapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan
3 Network on Economic Ornithology, Hyderabad, Telangana
4 Network on Agricultural Acarology, Bangalore, Karnataka
5 All India Network Project on Rodent Control, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
6 All India Network Project on Underutilised Crops, New Delhi
7 All India Network Project on Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, West Bengal
8 Network Bio-fertilizers, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
9 All India Network Project on Tobacco, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh
10 Network Project on Harvest & Post Harvest and Value Addition to Natural Resins & Gums,
11 Ranchi, Jharkhand
Network project on Improvement of Onion & Garlic, Pune, Maharahtra
12 Network project on Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal, Haryana
13 Network Project on R&D Support for Process Upgradation of Indigenous Milk products for
14 industrialProject
Network application, Karnal, Haryana
on Buffaloes Improvement, Hisar, Haryana
15 Network Programme on Sheep Improvement, Avikanagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
16 Network on Gastro Intestinal Parasitism, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
17 Network Project on Conservation of Lac Insect Genetic Resources, Ranchi, Jharkhand (Indian
18 Lac Research
Network Institute, Ranch)
on Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
19 National Academy of Agricultural Research Management Network Programme Blue Tongue
20 Disease,
Network Izatnagar,
Project onUttar PradeshBioinformatics and Computational Biology, New Delhi
Agricultural
2.3.8 Some Important Horticulture Research Institutes in India

Note: Kindly note, there might be a repetition of Horticulture Research Institutions in the list of
ICAR research institutes or other organizations under ICAR.
Name of the Institute Location

Central tuber crops research institute (CTCRI) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) Shimla, HP
Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) Varanasi, UP
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) Bengaluru, Karnataka
Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) Calicut, Kerala
Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) Kasargod, Kerala
Central Institute for Sub-Tropical Horticulture (CISTH) Lucknow, UP
Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (National Research Center for
Bikaner, Rajasthan
Arid Horticulture)
Central Arid Zone Research Institute Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) Lucknow, UP
Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) Chickmaglur, Karnataka
National Research Centre for Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Anand, Gujarat
National research Centre for Orchids Pakyong, Sikkim
National Research Centre For Citrus Nagpur, Maharashtra
National Research Centre for Oil Palm Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh
National Research Centre for Mushroom Solan, Himachal Pradesh
National Research Centre for Cashew Puttur, Karnataka
National Research Centre For Banana (NRCB) Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu
National Research Centre for Seed Spices Ajmer, Rajasthan
National Research Centre For Onion and Garlic Pune, Maharashtra
National Research Centre for Grapes Pune, Maharashtra
National Research Centre for Litchi Muzafarpur, Bihar
National Research Centre on Pomegranate Solapur, Maharashtra
National Research Centre for Makhana Patna, Bihar
Coffee Board Bangalore, Karnataka
Coconut board Kochi, Kerala
Coir board Kochi, Kerala
Tea Board Kolkata, West Bengal
Spices Board Cochin, Kerala
National Medicinal Plants Board New Delhi
National Horticulture Board (NHB) Gurgaon, Haryana
National Bureau of Plant & Genetic Resources (NBPGR) New Delhi
United Planters Association of South India (UPASI) Coimbattore, Tamil Nadu
Tocklai Tea Research Centre (TRA) Jorhat, Assam
Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre(DTRDC) Kurseong, Darjeeling, West
Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) Bengal
Palampur, HP
Central Sericultural Research & Training Institute (CSRTI) Mysore
Central Silk Board Bangalore, Karnataka
Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute Jorhat, Assam
2.4 Important International Institutions on Agricultural Research

CIP Centro International da la Papa (International potato research institute (Lima, Peru,
South America)
CIMMYT Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maizy Trigo (International Centre for
maize and Wheat development (Londress, Mexico)
IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, Ibadon in Nigeria, Africa)
ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (Aleppo, Syria)
ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Pattancheru in
Hyderabad, India)
IIMI International Irrigation Management Institute, Colombo, SRILANKA
ISNAR International Service in National Agricultural Research, The Hague, Netherlands
WARDA West African Rice Development Association Ivory coast, Africa
IBPGR International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Washington D.C
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome
WMO World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
IFPRI The International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC
IMPACT International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade
IFAD The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, Italy)
IRRI International Rice Research Institute at Los Banos (Philippines)
ICRISAT International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad (India)
ILRAD International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, Nairobi, Kenya, 1973
ICGEB International Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Triesta, Italy & New
Delhi, India
IBPGR International Board of Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy (1974)
CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Columbia, 1967
AVRDC Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre, Taiwan
2.5 Fathers of Important Agriculture Disciplines

Father of Name of the person
Agronomy Peter Decrescenzi
Agro meteorology D. N. Walia
Cooperative movement in India F. Nicholson
Extension education A. Seaman/Leagnes
Field plot experiment J. B. Boussingault
Fruit and vegetable preservation M. Nicholas Apart
Genetics Gregor Johann Mendel
Green revolution Dr. N. E. Borlaug
Green revolution in India M.S.Swaminathan
Golden revolution in India Nirpakh Tutej
Father of Modern Horticulture in India Dr. K.C. Chadha
Golden rice Dr. Ingo Potrykus
Mutation Theory Hugo de vries
Modern Genetics T.H. Morgan
Hybrid rice Yuan Long Ping
Microbiology Louis Pasture
Hybrid cotton C.T. Patel
3 Agriculture revolutions in India

• To give impetus to the ICAR’s work in the implementation of the research and
developmental works in the ground level, and thereby, meet the food security of India,
Government of India has come up with some important agricultural revolutions.
• Agricultural revolution refers to the significant changes in agriculture when there are
inventions, discoveries or new technologies implemented. These revolutions changed the
ways of production and increase the production rate in India.
• Various agricultural revolutions have occurred in India and have marked the beginning of a
completely new era in the agricultural field. The agricultural revolutions helped Indian
agriculture grow exponentially and created new opportunities.
• Following are the major agricultural revolutions that took place in India
Agricultural Revolutions in India
Objective of the revolution Revolution Father of the Revolution
Food Grains Green Revolution M.S. Swaminathan
Meat Production / Tomato Production Red Revolution Vishal Tewari
Potato Round Revolution –
Food Grains Green Revolution M.S. Swaminathan
Milk Production White Revolution Verghese Kurien
Integration of ecological principles in Evergreen Revolution M S Swaminathan
technology development
Higher Production (Technology-driven Protein Revolution Coined by Narendra Modi and
2nd Green revolution) Arun Jaitely
Oilseed Production (Especially Yellow Revolution Sam Pitroda
Mustard and Sunflower)
Petroleum products Black Revolution –
Fish Production Blue Revolution Dr Arun Krishnan
Leather / Cocoa / Non-Conventional Brown Revolution –
Products
Jute Production Golden Fiber Revolution –
Fruits / Honey Production / Golden Revolution Nirpakh Tutej
Horticulture Development
Fertilizers Grey Revolution –
Onion Production / Pharmaceuticals / Pink Revolution Durgesh Patel
Prawn Production
Egg Production / Poultry Production Silver Revolution Indira Gandhi (Mother of the
Revolution)
Cotton Silver Fiber Revolution –
For
Agronomy and Field crops

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Agronomy ........................................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Definition or meaning .............................................................................................................. 6
1.2 Branches of Agronomy ............................................................................................................. 6
1.3 Dimensions of Agronomy ......................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Scope of Agronomy .................................................................................................................. 7
2 Introduction to Crops....................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Definition or Meaning of Crops ................................................................................................ 7
2.2 Classification of Crop plants ..................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1 Garden Crops ................................................................................................................... 7
2.2.2 Plantation Crops ............................................................................................................... 8
2.2.3 Field Crops........................................................................................................................ 8
3 Field Crops ....................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Definition or Meaning of Field Crops ........................................................................................ 8
3.2 Classification of Field Crops ...................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Classification of Field crops based on the use of plants and their products ............................... 8
3.3.1 Cereal Crops ..................................................................................................................... 9
3.3.2 Pulse Crops....................................................................................................................... 9
3.3.3 Oil Seed Crops ................................................................................................................ 10
3.3.4 Fibre Crops ..................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.5 Sugar Crops .................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.6 Commercial Crops .......................................................................................................... 10
3.3.7 Forage Crops .................................................................................................................. 10
3.3.8 Green Manure Crops ...................................................................................................... 11
3.3.9 Spices and Condiment Crops........................................................................................... 11
3.4 Classification of Field crops based on Ontogeny (Life cycle) .................................................... 11
3.5 Classification of Field crops based on Scientific or botanical classification .............................. 11
3.6 Classification of Field crops based on Seasons ........................................................................ 12
3.7 Classification of Field crops based on Mode of pollination ...................................................... 12
3.8 Classification of Field crops based on Depth of the root system.............................................. 14
3.9 Classification of Field crops based on the root system ............................................................ 14

3.10 Classification of Field crops based on CO2 fixation ................................................................. 14
3.10.1 Chlorophyll ..................................................................................................................... 15
3.10.2 Sunlight .......................................................................................................................... 16
3.10.3 Mechanism of photosynthesis ........................................................................................ 16
3.11 Classification of Field crops based on Climate ......................................................................... 17
3.12 Classification of Field crops based on nutrient uptake ............................................................ 18
3.13 Classification of Field crops based on Special purpose ............................................................ 18
4 Crop Production............................................................................................................................. 20
4.1 Definition or Meaning ............................................................................................................ 20
5 Preparation of Soil ......................................................................................................................... 20
5.1 Ploughing ............................................................................................................................... 21
5.2 Tillage .................................................................................................................................... 21
5.3 Objectives of tillage................................................................................................................ 21
5.4 Classification of Tillage ........................................................................................................... 21
5.5 Classification of Tillage based on time (with respect to the crop) ............................................ 22
5.5.1 Preparatory Cultivation .................................................................................................. 22
5.5.2 After Cultivation ............................................................................................................. 24
5.5.3 Other important inter-cultivation practices .................................................................... 25
5.6 Classification of tillage based on Season/cultivation ............................................................... 25
5.6.1 On Season Tillage ........................................................................................................... 25
5.6.2 Off season Tillage ........................................................................................................... 25
5.7 Classification of tillage based on Modern farming .................................................................. 26
5.7.1 Conventional tillage........................................................................................................ 26
5.7.2 Conservation Tillage ....................................................................................................... 26
5.8 Special Purpose Tillage ........................................................................................................... 28
5.8.1 Sub-soiling ...................................................................................................................... 28
5.8.2 Clean Tillage ................................................................................................................... 28
5.8.3 Blind Tillage .................................................................................................................... 28
5.8.4 Dry Tillage ...................................................................................................................... 28
5.8.5 Wet Tillage or Puddling................................................................................................... 28
5.9 Few important points regarding Ploughing ............................................................................. 29

5.9.1 Depth of Ploughing ......................................................................................................... 29
5.9.2 Number of ploughing...................................................................................................... 29
5.9.3 Time of ploughing........................................................................................................... 29
6 Factors affecting Crop Production .................................................................................................. 29
6.1 Internal Factors (Genetic or heredity) ..................................................................................... 29
6.2 External Factors (Environmental) ........................................................................................... 30
6.2.1 Climatic Factors .............................................................................................................. 30
6.2.2 Edaphic Factors .............................................................................................................. 33
6.2.3 Biotic Factors .................................................................................................................. 40
6.2.4 Physiographic Factors ..................................................................................................... 40
6.2.5 Socio economic Factors .................................................................................................. 41

1 Agronomy
In the last chapter, we have learnt about the branches of Agriculture. In this chapter, we shall learn about
one of the most important branches of Agriculture i.e., “AGRONOMY”, in detail.
1.1 Definition or meaning

Agronomy is one of the branches of Agriculture, wherein the word “Agronomy” is derived from a Greek
word ‘agros’ meaning ‘field’ and ‘nomos’ meaning ‘management’.
✓ Agronomy is branch of agricultural science, which deals with principles, and practices of soil, water,
and crop management.
Norman Borlaug (1980) has defined “Agronomy as the science of manipulating the crop environment
complex with dual aims of improving agricultural productivity and gaining a degree of understanding of
the process involved.”
Pietro de'Crescenzi is the father of Agronomy.
1.2 Branches of Agronomy

There are three branches of Agronomy viz.,
✓ Crop Science (Only field crops)

✓ Soil science
✓ Environmental Science (deals with applied aspects)
The central theme of agronomy is “Soil-Crop-Environment relationship”.
* Kindly note, we will learn more about field crops (the 1 st branch of Agronomy) in this chapter in detail
and the rest two (Soil sciences and Applied aspects of environmental sciences in the coming chapters).
1.3 Dimensions of Agronomy

There are 4 major dimensions of Agronomy. In simpler words, Agronomy has 4 major features.
1. Physical dimension – includes Soil, Water, nutrients, and Solar radiation

2. Biological dimension – includes Crops, Forests, Vegetation etc.,
3. Economic dimension – includes farm structure, ownership of land, markets, sales etc.,
4. Social dimension – includes Food, nutrition, health etc.,
These 4 dimensions are interlinked with each other and the final outcome is its impact on the rural
economy, by creating a niche market to various stakeholders involved, in the form of Work to farm labor,
Income to the farmer, Wealth to the nation (contribution to the economy).
The above theory can be summed up with the following understanding of Agronomy and its relationship
with several other disciplines of agriculture.

Agronomy is a main branch of Agriculture. It is synthesis of several disciplines like soil science,
Agricultural chemistry, crop physiology, plant ecology, biochemistry, and economics.
1.4 Scope of Agronomy

Agronomy is a dynamic discipline with the advancement of knowledge and better understanding of
planet, environment, and agriculture. Agronomy science becomes imperative in agriculture in the few
areas.
✓ Identification of proper season for cultivation

✓ Proper methods of cultivation
✓ Availability and application of chemical fertilizers
✓ Availability of herbicides for control of weeds
✓ Water management practices
✓ Intensive cropping
Let us go through the branch of Agronomy, i.e., Crop science (Field crops).
2 Introduction to Crops
Before getting directly into the meaning or definition of field crops, we shall first see what exactly a crop
means and its relationship with the field crops.
2.1 Definition or Meaning of Crops

Crop may be defined as a cultivated plant that is grown commercially on a large scale.
Example: Field Rice - Rice grown primarily to meet the food requirement of humans.
2.2 Classification of Crop plants

Crop plants are grouped into three main classes according to the range of cultivation.
2.2.1 Garden Crops

Crop plants that are grown on a small scale in gardens, exclusively for personal or household use and
not for commercial purposes. Examples: Kitchen gardens, Flower gardens, and backyard gardens.

2.2.2 Plantation Crops
Crop plants that are grown on a larger scale on estates. They are perennial or permanent in nature.
Examples: Tea estates, Coffee estates etc.,
2.2.3 Field Crops

Crop plants that are grown on a vast scale. They are mostly seasonal. Examples: Cotton, Cereal, Pulses
etc., are field crops
Please note, among the above mentioned three classes, agronomy deals with field crops only.
3 Field Crops
3.1 Definition or Meaning of Field Crops

Field crop may be defined as a “CROP” (other than fruits or vegetables) that is grown for agricultural
purposes and on large scale.
Examples: Cotton, Cereal, Pulses etc., are field crops
3.2 Classification of Field Crops

Field crops are classified in many ways. The following table depicts the same.
3.3 Classification of Field crops based on the use of plants and their products

3.3.1 Cereal Crops
✓ A cereal is generally defined as a cultivated grass grown for their edible starchy grains.
✓ Cereals can again be divided into 2 types.
A. Major Cereal Crops:

The larger grains that are used as staple food is considered as major cereals.
Examples: Paddy/Rice (Oryza sativa), Wheat (Triticum aestivum) etc.,
B. Millets:
Millets can again be divided into 2 types.
a. Major Millets
b. Minor Millets
Major Millets Minor Millets

These are yet another nutritious group
These are found in abundance and
of seed type plants which are grown
grown in large quantities by farmers.
mostly for the use of fodder. These are
These are easy to grow, and proper
highly nutritional in content and can be
irrigation is essential in growing
Meaning/Main grown on residual moisture (of
these varieties.
Characteristics previously grown crop).
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica ), Little
Sorghum/Jowar/ Great millet
millet (Panicum milliare ), Kodo millet
(Sorghum bicolor ), Bajra/Pearl millet
(Paspalum scrobiculatum ), Proso millet
(Pennisetum typhoides ), Ragi/Finger
(Panicum millaceum ), Barnyard millet
millet (Eleusine corcana )
Examples (Echinochloa frumentaceae )
3.3.2 Pulse Crops

✓ Pulses are grain legumes used as food. The word legume is derived from the Latin word ‘legere’, with
means ‘to gather’.
✓ They help in maintaining the soil fertility as these crops have the unique built in ability of fixing
atmospheric nitrogen in their root system.
✓ Pulses can again be divided into 3 types.
Grams Beans Peas
These are generally
Generally, these are grain used as vegetable but These are a different class of
legumes where grain is used also the seeds can be legumes belonging to specific
for commercial purposes and stored and used for genus with specific nutrirional
Meaning/Main can be stored for long with other commercial value. Actually the seeds are
Characteristics proper care. purposes called Peas.
Red gram/Pigeon pea
Soybean (Glysine
(Cajanus cajan ), Bengal
max ), Field bean
gram/ Chick pea (Cicer
(Dolichos lablab ),
arietinum ), Black gram/Urad Pea (Pisum sativum ), Cow pea
French bean
(Phaseolus mungo/Vigna (Vigna unguiculata/V.
(Phaseolus vulgare ),
mungo ), Green gram/Mung sinensis )
Cluster bean
(Phaseolus aureus/Vigna
(Cyamopsis
radiata ), Horse gram
tetragonoloba ).
Examples (Macrotyloma uniflorum ).

3.3.3 Oil Seed Crops
✓ Oil seed crops are grown for the purpose of oil.
✓ These are again of 2 types
Edible Oil Seed Crops Non-Edible Oil Seed Crops

As the name suggests, these are
Meaning/ non-edible oil seed crops, which
Main As the name suggests, these are are used for some other purposes
Characteristics edible oil seed crops. like oil for lamps, medicines etc.,
Ground nut/Pea nut (Arachis
hypogaea ), Soybean (Glysine Karanja (Pongamia pinnata ),
max ), Sunflower (Helianthus Mahua (Madhuca indica ), Castor
annus ), Safflower (Carthamus seeds (Ricinus communis )
Examples tinctorius )
3.3.4 Fibre Crops

✓ These plants are grown for extraction of fibres which are mainly used for clothing, rope making,
carpet making and other purposes.
✓ These are again of 3 types based on the part of plant from which fibres are produced/extracted.
Fruit Fibres Stem/Stalk/Bast Fibres Leaf Fibres/ Hard Fibres

As the name suggests, As the name suggests, fibre is As the name suggests, fibre
Meaning/Main fibre is extracted from extracted from the stem or is extracted from the leaves
Characteristics the fruits of the plant stalks of the plant of the plant
Jute (Corchorus capsularis ),
Cotton (Gossypium Mesta (Hibiscus cannabinus ), Sisal (Agave sisalana ),
hirsutum ), Silk cotton Linseed /flax (Linum Manila hemp (Musa
Examples (Ceiba pentandra ) usitatisamum ) textiles )
3.3.5 Sugar Crops

✓ Crops are grown for the production of sugars and starch. Example: Sugarcane (Sacharum officinarum)
3.3.6 Commercial Crops

✓ In these crops, more than 75 per cent of the product is for trade but not for home consumption.
Examples: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) etc.,
3.3.7 Forage Crops

✓ Forage crops refer to vegetative matter, fresh or preserved, utilized as feed for animals.
✓ It includes fodder, hay, silage, and pastures. Examples: Guinea (Panicum maximum), Setaria (Setaria
anceps)
Silage crops: Such crops like corn, legumes, and grasses that have been harvested at early maturity,
finely chopped, packed tightly to exclude air, and stored in tower silos, pits, or trenches for properly
fermentation which is used as animal feed during lean period or off season. Examples: Maize,
cowpea, Jowar, sorghum etc.
3.3.8 Green Manure Crops
✓ Green manure crops are those crops which are used for incorporating their plant tissues into the soil
for improving the soil productivity. Examples: Sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea)
3.3.9 Spices and Condiment Crops

✓ Products of the plants used to provide flavor and sometime color the fresh preserved food.
Examples: Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Garlic (Allium sativum) etc.
3.4 Classification of Field crops based on Ontogeny (Life cycle)

Based on the lifecycle of the Field crops, there are 3 types of field crops. They are
Annual crops Biennial crops Perennial crops

Plants that have life span of two They live for three or more
Meaning/ Crop plants that complete life consecutive seasons or years. years.
Definition cycle within a season or year.
First years/ season, these plants have

purely vegetative growth usually confined
Important to rosette of leaves. The tap root is often
Characteristics fleshy and serves as a food storage organ.
During the second year / season, they

They produce seed and die produce flower stocks from the crown and They may be seed bearing or
within the season. after producing seeds the plants die. non-seed bearing.
Paddy/Rice (Oryza sativa ), Napier fodder grass
Wheat (Triticum aestivum ), (Pennisetum purpureum ),
Maize (Zea mays ), Mustard Coconut (Cocos nucifera )
Examples (Brassica Spp .) etc. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ) etc., etc.,
3.5 Classification of Field crops based on Scientific or botanical classification

✓ Botanical or scientific names of plants consist of Genus and species and are universally accepted.
✓ Field crops belong to the sub kingdom/division, “spermatophyte”, or seed plant, which includes
plants reproduced by seeds. Each of these two classes is still further divided into orders, families,
genera, species and varieties (taxa (singular taxon)).
Thumb rules to be followed for writing Scientific name or Binomial Nomenclature is – 1. Genus
should always start with a capital Letter (just like a noun) and Species to always start with Small
letter. 2. Scientific name should always be italicized.
Example: 1. Maize crop (corn) which is monocotyledons belongs to the Order: “herbaceous”; Family:
“Gramineae”; Genus: “Zea”; Species: “mays”; Varieties: S.C. 10 can be represented as follows:
Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, was responsible for the binomial system of classification.
Now let us look into the classes under Angiosperms, wherein, according to the botanical classification, the
families of the most important field crops are put into these two classes.
Examples of Monocotyledons: Family Gramineae: wheat, barley, rice, maize, oat, sugar cane, sorghum,
rye grass, sudan grass etc.,
Examples of Dicotyledons: Family Leguminosae: Field bean, Lupine, Chick pea, Lentil, Fenugreek,
Egyptian clover, Alfalfa, Soybean etc., ; Family Malvaceae: Cotton, Hibiscus etc.,
3.6 Classification of Field crops based on Seasons

✓ This classification is not a universal one. It only indicates the period when a particular crop is raised.
There are three major field crops based on seasons which is generally used by botanists.
Kharif Crops Rabi crops Summer/Zaid crops

Sowing season: June-July Sowing season: October-
Main Harvesting season: September- November Sowing season: February-March
characteristics October. Harvesting season: March-April. Harvesting season: May-June
They require a warm wet weather They require cold dry weather They require warm dry weather for
during their major period of for their major growth period growth and longer day length for
Other growth and shorter day length for and longer day length for flowering.
requirements flowering. flowering.
Wheat, mustard, barley, oats,
potato, bengal gram, berseem, Black gram, greengram, seasome,
Examples Rice, maize, castor, groundnut. cabbage and cauliflower. cowpea etc.
3.7 Classification of Field crops based on Mode of pollination

Before getting into the classification of field crops based on Mode of pollination, we shall first try to
understand what pollination is, what are the kinds of flowers and plants based on female and male
reproductive parts.
Pollination: Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the
female stigma.
The male reproductive organ of a flower is called as Stamen and the female reproductive organ of a
flower is called as Pistil. The below picture clearly shows the Pistil and Stamen.
Based on the availability of reproductive organs in a flower, flowers can be classified into 2 types. They are
Unisexual flowers are those which contain either Bisexual flowers are those which contain both the
male part (Stamen - Staminate flowers) or the male and female reproductive parts such as
female part (Pistil – Pistillate flowers). stamens and carpels/Pistil, both in the same
flower.
Examples: Pumpkin, papaya, cucumber etc.,
Examples: Sunflower, mustard, brinjal etc.,
Further, based on type of flowers (Unisexual or bisexual flowers) produced by the plants, plants can be
classified into two types. They are
Monoecious Dioecious
It describes a single plant that It describes a plant group that
bears both male and female includes distinct male and female
Meaning flowers. plants.
Examples Corn Papaya
Now let us go through the different types of field crops based on the mode of pollination. They are of 3
types Viz.,
Both self- and cross-
Naturally self-pollinated crops Naturally cross-pollinated crops pollinated crops
Pollen transfer in these plants is from These plants are largely self
the anther of one flower to the stigma pollinated but varying
The predominant mode of pollination of another flower in a separate plant, amounts of cross-pollination
in these plants is self-pollination in although self-pollination may reach 5 occur.
which both pollen and embryo sac are percent or more.
produced in the same floral structure or
in different flowers but within the
Meaning same plant.
This is the only type of pollination
which brings genetically different types
Other of pollen grains to the stigma during
characteristics pollination.
Corn and many Grasses, Avocado,
Rice, most Pulses, Okra, Tobacco, Grape, Mango, many plants with
Examples Tomato. unisexual or imperfect flowers. Cotton and sorghum
There are 2 types of agents that help in pollination, especially in cross pollination, where pollen has to
travel from one flower to other.
✓ Water pollination is called as Hydrophily.

✓ Wind pollination is called as Anemophily.
✓ Pollination by animals is called as Zoophily.
3.8 Classification of Field crops based on Depth of the root system
It is clear that the root system of field crops differs in structure, function and extent. Therefore, field
crops can be classified according to the depth of their roots into 3 types
Hallow root crops Intermediate crops Deep root crops

The root system of these
The root system of these The depth of the root system
plants extends in the soil to
crops extends in the soil of these crops ranges from 1-
a depth more than 1.5
to a depth of one meter. 1.5 meters.
Meaning meters.
Examples Wheat, barley and rye. Faba bean and sugar beat. Alfalafa.
3.9 Classification of Field crops based on the root system

There are 2 types of Field crops based on the Root system. They are
Tap root system Adventitious/Fiber rooted

The main root goes deep The crops whose roots are fibrous
Meaning into the soil. shallow & spreading.
Examples Red gram, Grape. Cereal crops, wheat, rice etc.
3.10 Classification of Field crops based on CO2 fixation

Carbon fixation or сarbon assimilation is the conversion process of inorganic carbon (carbon dioxide) to
organic compounds (Carbohydrates) by living organisms, one of such processes is commonly called as
Photosynthesis in plants.
In simpler terms, photosynthesis is food (Glucose) cooked by the plants with the help of the following
ingredients.
1. Chlorophyll
2. Sunlight
3. Water
4. CO2
Photosynthesis can be represented in the form of equation which is as follows
Sunlight
6CO2 + 6H2O ------------------> C6H12O6 + 6O2
Chlorophyll
As you all know if food should be tasty, one needs to follow proper recipe. Let us investigate the recipe
now and the quantities of various ingredients used by the plant.
3.10.1 Chlorophyll
✓ Chlorophyll is the green pigment present in cells of majority of the plants in Plant kingdom, which
aid in photosynthesis and is found in the chloroplast.
✓ The name Chlorophyll comes from a combination of two Greek words, chloros, meaning "green" and
phyllon, meaning "leaf."
✓ The chloroplast is a specialized part of the cell that functions as an organelle (considered analogous
to an organ).
✓ There are few types of chlorophyll present in various divisions of Plant kingdom, but the following
are important, which include Chlorophyll a, b, c, d and e.
✓ Along with Chlorophyll, there are 2 other kinds of photosynthetic pigments found in the plant
kingdom. They are Carotenoids and Phycobilins.
Chlorophylls Caretenoids Phycobilins

insoluble in water and
can be extracted only insoluble in water and can
with organic solvents be extracted only with
such as acetone, organic solvents such as
petroleum ether and acetone, petroleum ether
Solubility alcohol and alcohol soluble in water
Green pigments.
Includes Chlorophyll a, include carotenes
b, c, d and Major (Orange) and
pigments found in xanthophylls (Yellow).
higher plants and green The xanthophylls are also Red and blue
Pigmentation algae called as Carotenols pigments
Carotenes are
The molecular formula hydrocarbons with a
for Chlorophyll a: molecular formula
C55H72O5N4 Mg and C40H56. The molecular The molecular
Molecular Chlorophyll b: formula of Carotenols is formula is
formula C55H70O6N4 Mg C40H56O2. C33H38N4O6
Now, let us investigate the distribution of the above photosynthetic pigments in plant kingdom.
Chlorophylls: There are few types of chlorophyll present in various divisions of Plant kingdom, but the
following are important, which include Chlorophyll a, b, c, d and e. Other than these, there are Chlorophyll
c1 and c2 also which can be seen in few plants.
Carotenoids: They include carotenes (Orange) and xanthophylls (Yellow) which are the most important
and common among Carotenoids. The xanthophylls are also called as Carotenols.
Phycobilins: They include Phycocyanins, Phcoerythrins and Allophycocyanin.
3.10.2 Sunlight
After Chlorophyll, let us study in detail, sunlight required by the plants for photosynthesis.
Visible light, with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.7 micrometre or 400 to 700 nm – This wavelength is
utilized by chlorophyll for photosynthesis. Also called as PAR- Photosynthetically Active Radiation.
Photosynthetically active radiation, often abbreviated PAR, designates the spectral range (wave
band) of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use
in the process of photosynthesis
So, in the last few paragraphs, we have learnt about the ingredients, Sunlight, Chlorophyll, water, and CO2
(the last two does not require any specific content as such) of photosynthesis. Now, we will look into the
process or mechanism of Photosynthesis.
3.10.3 Mechanism of photosynthesis

Let the plant start cooking!!
✓ Photosynthesis is a complicated oxidation- reduction process where water is oxidized and CO2 is
reduced to carbohydrates. The mechanism of photosynthesis consists of two parts.
Let us see the basic reactions/processes that take place during these 2 phases.
Light reaction Dark reaction

CO2 is reduced with the help of ATP and
ATP and NADPH2 are produced NADPH2 to produce glucose
The concept of dark reaction in
It is also called as Hill’s reaction as Hill photosynthesis was initially explained by
proved that chloroplast produce O2 from Blackman. It is thus also known by the
water in the presence of light name Blackman's reaction.
It is also called as Arnon’s cycle because
Arnon showed that the H+ ions released 2 types of cyclic reactions occur. They are
by the break down of water are used to Calvin cycle or C3 cycle and Hatch slack
reduce the coenzyme NADP to NADPH cycle or C4 cycle
C3 Cycle C4 Cycle
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, commonly known by the abbreviations RuBisCO,
RuBPCase, or RuBPco, is an enzyme involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by
which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by plants and other photosynthetic organisms to
energy-rich molecules such as glucose.
We are more concerned about C3 Cycle or Calvin cycle and C4 Cycle or Hatch slack cycle because based
on this, the plants in plant kingdom are divided into 3 types (three different processes that plants use to
fix carbon during the process of photosynthesis).
Feature/ C3 Plants C4 Plants CAM Plants

Characteristics
Distribution in the 85% 3% 8% (mostly succulent plants but not all of them)
Plant Kingdom (% of Succulent Plants usually to retain water in arid
Plant species) climates or soil conditions and store water in
various structures, such as leaves and stems.
Type of C3 C4 photosynthesis CAM photosynthesis
Photosynthesis photosynthesis
CO2 Fixation Pathway via C3 cycle only via C3 and C4 cycles, via C3 and C4 cycles, both spatially (in different
spatially (C4 in the parts of same cell) and temporally (C4 at night,
mesophyll cell then C3 in C3 at day time)
the bundle sheath cell)
Stomatal movement Stomata open Stomata open at Inverted stomatal cycle (open at night, close in
at daytime, daytime, close at night the day)
close at night
In which type of Temperate Tropical or semi-tropical, Desert or arid (xeric) habitats
climate are they found (Cool, wet high light intensity, high (Very hot, dry environments)
the most? environments) temperature, drought
conditions
(Hot, sunny
environments)
Examples (Important) Rice, Wheat, Sugarcane, maize, Cacti, orchids, pineapple
Soyabeans, sorghum, millet
Barley, Rye,
Oats,
So, at the end of mechanism of Photosynthesis, Food is ready for the plants in the form of Glucose.
3.11 Classification of Field crops based on Climate

Based on the climate, field crops can be classified into 3 types. They are
Temperate zone crops Tropical zone crops Sub-tropical zone crop
Crops can tolerate some sub-
Crops plants are winter hardy and freezing temperature, i.e. below
tolerate very low temperature. Can Crops grow where frost does not 0°C (below freezing point of
Meaning tolerate Chilling temperature. occur during the growing season. water).
Grow in latitude between 30° North Grow in latitude between 20° North Grow in latitude between 25°
Location and 50° south. and 20° south. North and 40° south.
Chilling temperatures extend from

freezing point to, depending on the Normal growth is affected by
Temperature model, 7 °C(45 °F) or even 16 °C (60 temperature below 10°C. Plants are Fruits plants are killed by
range °F) killed at freezing temperature. temperature below -7°C.
Examples of Rice, Sugarcane, mango, pineapple citrus, date, fig and pomegranate
Crops Wheat, Oat and rye etc. etc.
3.12 Classification of Field crops based on nutrient uptake

There are 2 types of crops based on nutrient uptake. They are
Restorative crops Exhaustive crops

Crops which return nutrient Crops which feed heavily
and organic matter to the on the soil and deplete
Meaning soil. soil nutrients.
Berseem, alfalfa, soybean, all Sorghum, tobacco,
Examples legume crops etc sunflower etc
3.13 Classification of Field crops based on Special purpose
Arable crops: Crops which are cultivated on ploughed land. They are annual crops and include cereals,
root crops, tobacco etc.,
Aromatic crops: The crop/plant contain odoriferous and volatile substances, which occur as essential
oils, gum exudates, balsam, and oleoresin in one or more part of plant, wood, bark, foliage, flower etc.,
Alley Crops: Alley crops or hedge-row intercrops is grown under an agroforestry practice in which
perennial, preferably leguminous trees or shrubs are grown simultaneously with arable crop. Examples:
Sweet potato, black gram are grown in the passages formed by the rows of eucalyptus etc.,
Augment crops: Such crops are grown to supplement the yield of main crops. Examples: Japanese
mustard with berseem.
Avenue crops: Such crops are grown along farm roads and fences. Examples: Pigeon pea, Glyricidia sisal
etc.
Border/guard crops: Such crops protect another crop from trespassing of animals or restrict the speed
of wind and are mainly grown as border. Examples: safflower (thorny oilseed crop) is planted around the
field of gram.
Cash crops: A crop, such as tobacco, grown for direct sale or a crop grown by a farmer primarily for sale
to others rather than for his or her own use Examples: sugarcane, cotton, jute, tobacco etc.
Catch/Contingent crops: Such crops are cultivated to catch the forthcoming season when main crop is
failed. Examples: linseed, toria, urd, moong, cowpea, etc.
Contour crops: Crops are grown on or along the contour line to protect the land from soil erosion
Examples: marvel grass etc.
Cover crops: A close growing crop grown primarily to improve or protect the soil from erosion through
their ground covering foliage and/ or rootmats between periods of regular crop production. Examples:
Lobia, groundnut, urd, sweet potato, methi etc.
Complementary Crops: Both main and intercrop is benefited to each other. Examples: Jowar+ Lobia
Competitive crops: Such crops compete to each other and are unsuitable for intercropping Examples:
Two cereals.
Energy crop: An energy crop is a plant grown as low cost and low maintenance harvest used to make bio-
fuels, or directly exploited for its energy content. Examples: Sugarcane, Potato, maize, tapioca.
Fouling Crop: Such crops whose culture practices allow the infestation of weeds intensively. Examples:
direct seeded upland rice.
Ley crops: Any crop or combination of crop is grown for grazing or harvesting for immediate or future
feeding to livestock. Examples: Berseem+ Mustard.
Medicinal crops: The crop/plant contains alkaloids, glycosides, steroids or other groups of compounds of
medicinal value, which is used commercially.
Mulch crops: Such crops are grown to conserve the soil moisture through their ground covering foliage
Example: cowpea.
Nurse crops: A crop of trees (nurse trees), shrubs or other plants introduced to foster or nourishment of
other crops by i.e. shading it, protecting it from frost, insulation or wind. Examples: Sunhemp in
sugarcane, jowar in cowpea, Rai in pea.
Paira/ Utera crops: The seed of succeeding crops like Lentil, gram, pea, lathyrus, Berseem, linseed etc. is
sown broadcast at 10 to 15 days before harvesting rice crop.
Paired row crops: Generally, the third row of crop is removed or growing of crop in pair row and the third
row is escaped with an object to conserve the soil moisture in dryland areas.
Smother crops: Smother crops are specialized cover crops being ability to suppress weeds by providing
dense foliage and quick growing ability. Examples: buckwheat, urd etc.
Stimulate crops: Stimulate crops stimulate the human body. Examples: tobacco, opium etc.
Supplementary crops: Such cops are neither complementary nor competitive. Examples: Maize+
cucurbits.
Trap crops: Trap crops are grown to protect the main cash crop from a certain pest or several pests.
Examples: cotton red bug trapped by ladyfinger around cotton.
Truck crops: Growing one or more vegetable crops on a large-scale form fresh shipment to distant
markets. Examples: potato, tomatoes, lettuce etc.,
4 Crop Production
4.1 Definition or Meaning

Crop production is the branch of agriculture that deals with the production of crops for food and fiber.
✓ Crop production is a common agricultural practice followed by worldwide farmers to grow and
produce crops to use as food and fiber.
✓ Listed below are few important practices followed during crop production.
1. Preparation of Soil.
2. Sowing of Seeds.
3. Irrigation.
4. Application of manure, pesticides, and fertilizers to the crops.
5. Protecting and Harvesting Crops.
6. Storage and Preserving the produced Crops.
5 Preparation of Soil
This is the first and foremost agricultural practice followed in Crop Production for raising of crops.
There are three steps followed in the preparation of soil.

Ploughing Levelling Manuring
Ploughing includes loosening and
digging of soil. During ploughing, the soil
becomes loose and the nutrients in deep
soil come to the top. Also, aeration of Leveling helps in even distribution and
soil will increase thus air is available for soil is leveled after ploughing. Leveling
breathing and roots are easily also helps in water distribution without After ploughing and leveling, manure is
penetrated between soil. logging during irrigation. applied to further stages of farming.
Other purposes of ploughing are the
integration of manure, uprooting of Manuring is done to replenish the soil
weeds, removal of infectious pathogens, with nutrients and thus helps in proper
insects etc., A plank of wood or iron is used for this. growth of the crop.
Ploughs of wood or iron are used for this
purpose. Bullocks or tractors are used to
pull this plough.
Soil preparation gives agriculture field which is fertile containing ideal soil and makes it ready for farming. Manuring and
removal of weeds at a regular interval and frequency help farmers to yield a better product.
Please note, Manuring would be dealt in detail in the coming chapters (Manures and Fertilizers)
5.1 Ploughing
Before getting into ploughing, we shall see about the major difference between Tillage and Ploughing.
Both are synonymously used and are very much similar except for a minor difference between the two is
their intended purpose.
Tilling is used to prepare and cultivate your Tilling rakes over the soil to even out the area and improve
the quality of the soil and help plants germinate and grow efficiently, whereas Ploughing is used to break
up the soil, control weeds, and bury crop residues (Ploughing flips the top soil over and leaves an extra
layer of the soil upside down).
So, Both Ploughing and Tilling operations are done as part of preparation of the soil for sowing of the
seeds and can be used synonymously.
5.2 Tillage
Tillage may be defined as the mechanical manipulation of soil with tools and implements for obtaining
conditions ideal for seed germination, seedling establishment and growth of crops.
The word tillage is derived from ‘Anglo-Saxon’ words Tilian and Teolian, meaning ‘to plough and prepare
soil for seed to sow, to cultivate and to raise crops’. Jethrotull is considered as father of tillage.
Tilth is the physical condition of soil obtained out of tillage (or) it is the result of tillage. The tilth may be
a coarse tilth, fine tilth or moderate tilth (based on the type of soil in the field).
5.3 Objectives of tillage

The main objectives of tillage to name a few are
✓ To control the weeds effectively.

✓ To aerate the soil.
✓ To provide adequate seed-soil contact to permit water flow to seed and seedling roots.
✓ To remove the hard pan and to increase the soil depth.
5.4 Classification of Tillage

There are various types of tillage based on numerous aspects
5.5 Classification of Tillage based on time (with respect to the crop)
This can be further classified into 2 categories. They are
1. Preparatory cultivation
2. After cultivation
5.5.1 Preparatory Cultivation

✓ The preparatory cultivation or tillage is operations that are done before the cultivation.
This preparatory cultivation is generally called as main field preparation.
A. Primary Tillage
✓ The tillage operation that is done after the harvest of crop to bring the land under cultivation is
known as primary tillage or ploughing.
✓ Ploughing is the opening of compact soil with the help of different ploughs.
✓ Country plough, Mould Board plough (MB Plough), Disc plough, tractor and power tiller drawn
implements are used for primary tillage.
✓ The objectives of primary tillage are to reduce soil strength, to rearrange soil aggregates, to cover
plant materials and burry weeds, and to kill insects and pests.
Glimpse of how the different kinds of ploughs look like and their functions. Please go through the content
highlighted in bold. Rest is for concept understanding purpose only.
Country Plough - Indigenous plough is an implement which is made of wood with an iron share point.
It cuts a V shaped furrow and opens the soil but there is no inversion.
Ploughing operation is also not perfect because some unploughed strip is always left between furrows.
MB Plough - This type of plough leaves no unploughed land as the furrow slices are cut clean and inverted
to one side resulting in better pulverisation. Mouldboard ploughs are used where soil inversion is necessary.
Victory plough is an animal drawn mouldboard plough with a short shaft.
Disc Plough - A large, revolving, concave steel disc replaces the share and the mouldboard.
The disc turns the furrow slice to one side with a scooping action. The disc plough is more suitable for land
in which there is much fibrous growth of weeds as the disc cuts and incorporates the weeds. The disc plough
works well in soils free from stones.
Turn-wrest or Reversible or One-way Plough - The plough bottom in this plough is hinged to the beam
such that the mouldboard and the share can be reversed to the left or to the right side of the beam. This
adjustment saves the trouble of turning the plough in hilly tracts, but yet facilitates inversion of the furrow
slice to one side only.
Power tiller – It is a machine used in agriculture for cultivation, tillage, sowing and weeding which contains
a set of blades (tines) mounted with a wheeled housing and powered by gasoline engine or electric motor
Primary Tillage can again be done in 3 ways based on the time of the year or type of soil or availability of
water for irrigation.
a. Deep Tillage:
✓ Deep ploughing turns out large sized clods, which are baked by the hot sun when it is done in
summer. These clods crumble due to alternate heating and cooling and due to occasional summer
showers. This process of gradual disintegration of clods improves soil structure.
✓ Summer deep ploughing kills pests due to exposure of pupae to hot sun.
✓ It is advisable to go for deep ploughing only for long duration, deep rooted crops. Depth of ploughing
should be related to the amount of rainfall that it can wet.
b. Subsoiling:
✓ Subsoiling is breaking the hard pans without inversion and with less disturbance of topsoil. A narrow
cut is made in the topsoil while the subsoiler shatters hard pans.
✓ Sub-soiling is essential and once in four to five years where heavy machineries are used for field
operations, seeding, harvesting, and transporting.
c. Year-round Tillage
✓ Tillage operations carried out throughout the year are known as year-round tillage.
✓ In dry farming regions, field preparation is initiated with the help of summer showers and then
repeated till sowing is done. Even after harvest of the crop, the field is repeatedly ploughed or
harrowed to avoid weed growth in the off season.
B. Secondary Tillage
✓ Lighter or finer operations performed on the soil after primary tillage are known as secondary
tillage, which can be done in 2 steps (Harrowing and Planking). After ploughing, the fields are left
with large clods with some weeds and stubbles partially uprooted.
✓ Harrowing is done to a shallow depth to crush the clods and to uproot the remaining weeds and
stubbles. Disc harrows, cultivators, blade harrows etc., are used for this purpose.
✓ Planking is done to crush the hard clods to smoothen the soil surface and to compact the soil lightly.
Harrow - It is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. In this way it is
different from a plough, which cuts deeper into the soil. A plough also lifts up the soil and tips it over,
but a harrow works mostly by cutting into the soil and breaking it up.
Cultivator - Cultivator is an implement used for finer operations like breaking clods and working the
soil to a fine tilth in the preparation of seedbed. Cultivator is also known as tiller or tooth harrow.
Plank - Plank is a very simple implement and consists of a heavy wooden beam of 2 m in length. When it
is worked most of the clods are crushed due to its weight. It also helps in micro levelling and slight
compaction necessary after sowing.
Roller - Rollers are used mainly, to crush the hard clods and to compact the soil in seed rows.
C. Layout of Seed bed

✓ After the seedbed preparation, the field is laid out properly for irrigation and sowing or planting
seedlings.** These operations are crop specific.
✓ For most of the crops like wheat, soybean, pearl millet, groundnut, castor etc., fIat levelled seedbed
is prepared. After the secondary tillage, these crops are sown without any land treatments.
✓ Growing crops during rainy season in deep black soils is a problem due to ill-drained conditions and
as tillage is not possible during the rainy season. Broadbed and furrows (BBF)* are, therefore, formed
before the onset of monsoon and dry sowing is resorted to.
** Please note, there are various methods of seed sowing. We shall discuss this in the coming sections.
5.5.2 After Cultivation

✓ The tillage operations that are carried out in the standing crop are called After cultivation Tillage.
✓ Collectively, the cultivation practices taken up after sowing of crop is called inter-cultivation. It
otherwise called as after operation or inter-culturing.
✓ Broadly, there are three Inter-cultivation practices. They are, Thinning and gap filling, Weeding, and
hoeing, and Earthing up.
A. Thinning and Gap filling

✓ The objective of thinning and gap filling process is to maintain optimum plant population.
✓ Thinning is the removal of excess plants leaving healthy seedlings.
✓ Gap filling is done to fill the gaps by sowing of seeds or transplanting of seedlings in gap where early sown
seed had not germinated. It is a simultaneous process.
B. Weeding and Hoeing

✓ Weeding is the process of eliminating competition of unwanted plants to the regular crop in respect to
nutrition and moisture. So that crops can be grown profitably. Weeding and hoeing is simultaneous
operation. Hoeing is disturbing the topsoil by small hand tools which helps in aerating the soil.
C. Earthing up
✓ It is the process of putting the earth or soil just near the base for certain crops like Sugar cane, Cassava,
Papaya, Potato, etc. to give support to the plants.
* Lodging is the displacement of stems or roots from their vertical and proper placement. It can cause
lower yields and diminish nutrient density.
5.5.3 Other important inter-cultivation practices
Harrowing: Stirring or scraping the surface soil in inter and intra row spacing of the crop using tools or
implements. (This is also done as part of Secondary tillage operation, in general also.)
Roguing: Removal of plants of a variety admixed with other variety of same crop.
Topping: Removal of terminal buds. It is done to stimulate auxiliary growth (horizontal growth is
promoted by arresting vertical growth). Practiced in cotton and tobacco.
Propping:
✓ The operation of tying the leaves together using the bottom dry and green leaves is known as propping.
✓ It is generally practiced in sugarcane and banana.
De-trashing: Removing of older leaves from the sugarcane crop.
De-suckering: Removal of auxiliary buds and branches which are considered non-essential for crop
production and which removes plant nutrients considerably (they are called suckers.) Eg.Tobacco.
5.6 Classification of tillage based on Season/cultivation

This is further classified into
1. On season tillage
2. Off season Tillage
5.6.1 On Season Tillage

Tillage operations that are done for raising crops in the same season or at the onset of the crop season
are known as on-season tillage. They can be preparatory cultivation and after cultivation. (We have
discussed these in the above section).
5.6.2 Off season Tillage

Tillage operations done for conditioning the soil suitably for the forthcoming main season crop are called
off-season tillage. Off season tillage may be, post-harvest tillage, summer tillage, winter tillage and
fallow tillage.
Post Harvest Tillage: Done after harvesting the crop. The post-harvest tillage enables the farmers to
reduce the wind erosion and increase soil moisture.
Fallow Tillage: Its of 2 types – Summer tillage and Winter tillage
Summer Tillage: Similar to the above and done in summer in rainfed areas where land is left fallow for
summer due to lack of proper irrigation facilities and to avoid crusting (tightening of soil as a layer on top),
tillage operations done.
Winter tillage: It gives better contact of the crop stubble with the soil, accelerating the decomposition of
organic matter in the winter fallow season. It is carried out in rice growing areas.
5.7 Classification of tillage based on Modern farming
It can be again classified into 2 types
1. Conventional tillage
2. Conservation tillage
5.7.1 Conventional tillage

✓ Conventional tillage involves primary tillage to break open and turn the soil followed by secondary
tillage to obtain seed bed for sowing or planting.
✓ There are more of disadvantages of conventional tillage than advantages, viz., Continuous use of
heavy ploughs creates hard pan in the subsoil, results in poor infiltration. It is more susceptible to run-
off and erosion. It is capital intensive and increase soil degradation.
✓ To avoid these ill effects, modern concepts on tillage such as minimum tillage, zero tillage and stubble
mulch tillage/farming is in rule. These collectively can be referred to as Conservation tillage.
✓ There is another term that is used which is known as Reduced-Till (This generally is placed under the
category of Conventional tillage, but it can be considered as a mid-way between Conservation and
Conventional Tillage)
5.7.2 Conservation Tillage

✓ Conservation tillage is an agricultural management approach that aims to minimize the frequency
or intensity of tillage operations in an effort to promote certain economic and environmental
benefits.
✓ A well-accepted operational definition of CT is a tillage or tillage and planting combination that
retains a 30% or greater cover of crop residue on the soil surface.
✓ There are various concepts of convention tillage, viz., Minimum Tillage, Zero Tillage or No-Tillage,
Stubble Mulch Tillage, Rotary Tillage, Strip Tillage, Combined Tillage
A. Minimum Tillage
✓ It aims at reducing tillage operations to the minimum necessity for ensuring a good seed bed. The
concept of minimum tillage was started in USA.
✓
✓ Tillage can be reduced in 2 ways:
• By omitting operations which do not give much benefit when compared to the cost.
• By combining agricultural operations like seeding and fertilizer application.
The Minimum Tillage systems can be grouped again into the following categories
Row zone tillage Plough plant tillage Wheel Track tillage
Primary tillage is done with mould board After the primary tillage, a special planter is
Primary ploughing is done as usual.
plough in the entire area of the field used for sowing.
One run over the field, the row zone is
Secondary tillage operations like discing and Tractor is used for sowing; the wheels of the
pulverized (loosening the soil, similar to
harrowing are reduced and done only in row tractor pulverize the row zone in which
grinding to powder), and seeds are sown by
zone (leaving the rest of the area). planting is done.
the planter.
Please note, in all these systems, primary tillage is as usual. However, secondary tillage is replaced by
direct sowing in which sown seed is covered in the row zone with the equipment used for sowing.
B. Zero Tillage (No Tillage)

✓ In this process, new crop is planted in the residues of the previous crop without any prior soil tillage
or seed bed preparation. No-till is defined as a system in which the soil is left undisturbed from harvest
to planting except for nutrient injection.
✓ Zero tillage is applicable for soils with a coarse textured surface horizon, good internal drainage,
high biological activity of soil fauna, favorable initial soil structure and an adequate quantity of crop
residue as mulch.
✓ Some important points regarding zero-tillage:
• In zero-tillage, the herbicides functions are extended. Before sowing, the vegetation present has
to be destroyed for which broad spectrum, non-selective herbicides with relatively short residual
effect (Paraquat, Glyphosate) are used.
• During subsequent stages, selective and persistent herbicides are needed.
• The herbicides applied should not cause injury to the succeeding crop.
• Higher dose of nitrogen has to be applied as mineralization of organic matter is slow in zero tillage.
• Large population of perennial weeds appear in zero tilled plots.
Till Planting: Till planting is one method of practicing zero tillage.
The machinery accomplishes four tasks in one operation: clean a narrow strip over the crop row,
open the soil for seed insertion, place the seed and cover the seed properly. A wide sweep and trash
bars clear a strip over the previous crop row and planter-shoe opens a narrow strip into which seeds
are planted and covered.
C. Stubble Mulch Tillage or Stubble Mulch farming

✓ An approach always developed to keep the soil protected whether by growing a crop or by crop
residues left on the surface during fallow periods is known as stubble-mulch tillage or stubble mulch
farming.
✓ It is generally followed in Dryland agriculture* (for soil and water conservation)
✓ This can be again carried out via two methods
a. Similar to zero tillage, a wide sweep and trash bars are used to clear a strip and a narrow planter
shoe opens a narrow furrow into which seeds are placed.
b. A narrow chisel of 5-10 cm width is worked through the soil at a depth of 15-30 cm leaving all
plant residues on the surface. The chisel shatters the tillage pans and surface crusts. Planting is
done with special planters.
*Please note, Dryland agriculture is dealt separately in one of the coming chapters.
D. Rotary Tillage
✓ Tillage operations employing rotary action of the special tool to cut, break and mix the soil (primary
and secondary tillage operations done at one go) is called rotary tillage.
E. Strip Tillage
✓ In the case of strip tillage system, only isolated bands of soil are tilled, which can be clearly seen in
the picture below where strip tillage is being conducted.
F. Combined Tillage
✓ Tillage operations utilizing simultaneously two or more different types of tillage tools or implements
to simplify, control, or reduce the number of operations over a field is called combined tillage, which
can be clearly seen in the picture below where combined tillage is being conducted.
5.8 Special Purpose Tillage

Tillage operations intended to serve special purposes are said to be special purpose tillage.
In this topic, we shall discuss the following special purpose tillages
5.8.1 Sub-soiling
Please note, this is already discussed as part of Primary tillage operation.
5.8.2 Clean Tillage

It refers to working of the soil of the entire field in such a way no living plant is left undisturbed. It is
practiced to control weeds, soil borne pathogen and pests.
5.8.3 Blind Tillage

It refers to tillage done after seeding or planting the crop (in a sterile soil) either at the pre-emergence
stage of the crop plants or while they are in the early stages of growth so that crop plants (sugarcane,
potato etc.) do not get damaged, but, extra plants and broad-leaved weeds are uprooted.
5.8.4 Dry Tillage

✓ Dry tillage is practiced for crops that are sown or planted in dry land condition having sufficient
moisture for germination of seeds and is suitable for crops like broadcasted rice, jute, wheat etc.,
✓ Dry tillage is done in a soil having sufficient moisture (21-23%). The soil becomes more porous, and
soft due to dry tillage.
5.8.5 Wet Tillage or Puddling

✓ The tillage operation that is done in a land with standing water is called wet tillage or puddling.
✓ Puddling operation consists of ploughing repeatedly in standing water until the soil becomes soft and
muddy.
✓ Initially, 5 to 10 cm of water is applied depending on the water status of the soil to bring it to
saturation and above and the first ploughing is carried out and then repeated for 3 times in an interval
of 3-5 days between each ploughing.
✓ Puddling creates an impervious layer below the surface to reduce deep percolation losses of water
and to provide soft seed bed for planting rice.
✓ Wet tillage is the only means of land preparation for transplanting semi-aquatic crop plant such as
rice*.
✓ Planking after wet tillage makes the soil level and compact. Puddling hastens transplanting operation
as well as establishment of seedlings.
5.9 Few important points regarding Ploughing
5.9.1 Depth of Ploughing

✓ The desirable depth of ploughing is 12 to 20 cm for field crops.
✓ Here below is the classification of ploughing (according to Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad 1985)
5.9.2 Number of ploughing

✓ Number of ploughing depends on soil conditions, time available for cultivation between two crops
and type of cropping systems.
✓ Zero tillage is practiced in rice fallow pulses.
5.9.3 Time of ploughing

✓ The optimum soil moisture content for tillage is 60% of field capacity (we shall discuss this in the
coming parts)
6 Factors affecting Crop Production

Now that we have gone through all the Stages or important practices followed in the Crop production of
Field crops, we shall now see the various factors that affect Crop production.
These can be classified into 2 types. This can be pictorially depicted as follows
6.1 Internal Factors (Genetic or heredity)

The increase in crop yields and other desirable characters are related to Genetic make up of plants,
which make up for the Internal factors of Crop Production.
✓ High yielding ability
✓ Early maturity
✓ Resistance to lodging
✓ Drought flood and salinity tolerance
✓ Tolerance to insect pests and diseases
✓ Chemical composition of grains (oil content, protein content)
✓ Quality of grains (fineness, coarseness)
✓ Quality of straw (sweetness, juiciness)
Example for salinity tolerance includes Pokkali variety of Paddy which is a traditional salt tolerant variety
grown in saline waters of Kerala state.
6.2 External Factors (Environmental)

The following are the external factors that affect the crop production
6.2.1 Climatic Factors

✓ Nearly 50 % of yield is attributed to the influence of climatic factors.
✓ The following are the various atmospheric weather variables which influences the crop production.
1. Precipitation 4. Solar radiation
2. Temperature 5. Wind velocity
3. Atmospheric humidity 6. Atmospheric gases
We shall now study each atmospheric variable in detail. The images are self explanatory and important
points are covered just below the image for each factor, in detail.
6.2.1.1 Precipitation
6.2.1.2 Temperature
6.2.1.3 Atmospheric Humidity
6.2.1.4 Solar radiation
• Phototropism is the response of plants to light direction. Example: Sunflower

• Photosensitivity is the amount to which a plant reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light.
Season bound varieties depends on quantity of light received.
6.2.1.5 Wind velocity
6.2.1.6 Atmospheric gases on plant growth
In the below case of affect of atmospheric gases on plant growth, plants require CO2 for photosynthesis,
and as per a study by NASA on the effect of higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide on crops,
which happens in two important ways: they boost crop yields by increasing the rate of photosynthesis,
which spurs growth, and they reduce the amount of water crops lose through transpiration.
So, this might even mitigate yield losses due to climate change. But again, Imbalances between nitrogen
and carbon in the crop tissues could lead to fewer nutrients like iron, zinc, along with a reduction in the
protein content.
6.2.2 Edaphic Factors

✓ The word Edaphic means “influenced by the soil” and is derived from the Greek word “Edephos”.
Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, particularly plants, which is one
of the branches of Soil science. Plants grown in land completely depend on soil on which they grow.
The soil factors that affect crop growth are
1. Soil moisture
2. Soil air
3. Soil temperature
4. Soil mineral matter
5. Soil organic matter
6. Soil organisms
7. Soil reactions
We shall now study each Edaphic factor in detail. The images are self explanatory and important points
are covered just below the image for each factor, in detail.
6.2.2.1 Soil Moisture

✓ Soil moisture (also called rhizic water), is the water present in the space between the soil particles.
Soil moisture influences the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil.
Please note, we shall discuss more about Irrigation scheduling in the coming chapters.
Let us investigate some important terms/elements related to soil moisture
Saturation: It refers to a soil's water content when practically all pore spaces are filled with water. This
is a temporary state for well-drained soils, as the excess water quickly drains out of the larger pores under
the influence of gravity, to be replaced by air.
Field capacity (FC):
✓ It is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has drained away
and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place within 2-
3 days after rain or irrigation.
✓ Thus, it is the amount of water that a soil can hold against drainage by gravity. The matric potential
at this soil moisture condition is around - 1/10 to – 1/3 bar.
Maximum allowable depletion or deficit (MAD)
✓ Also called as Management allowable depletion, Maximum allowable Depletion specifies the
maximum amount of soil water the irrigation manager chooses to allow the crop to extract from
the active rooting zone between irrigations.
✓ Management allowable depletion is usually expressed as a percentage of the total available water
capacity in the rooting zone.
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) or Wilting Point (WP)
✓ It is the moisture content of a soil at which plants permanently wilt and will not recover. This occurs
between 10 and 20 atm of tension.
✓ If the moisture decreases to this or any lower point a plant wilts and can no longer recover its turgidity
when placed in a saturated atmosphere for 12 hours.
Pictorial representation of Available water capacity and range of Available water content in various
types of soils
We have seen till now, the components or elements of Soil moisture/water. Now let us have a look into
types of soil water and their availability to the plants.
Kinds of Soil Water

There are three main types of soil water - Gravitational water, Capillary water, and Hygroscopic water.
Gravitational water: Free water that moves through the soil below the root zone due to the force of
gravity. Gravitational water is found in the macropores. It moves rapidly out of well-drained soil and is
not considered to be available to plants.
Capillary water:
✓ The water that remains in the soil after gravitational water is drained out, that is subject to the laws
of capillary movement, and that is in the form of a film around the soil grains. This water is available
for plant growth.
✓ Capillary action (sometimes capillarity, capillary motion, capillary effect, or wicking) is the ability of a
liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, external forces
like gravity.
Hygroscopic water
✓ When water is held tightly as thin film around the soil particles by adsorption forces and no longer
moves in capillary pores, is called hygroscopic water. This hygroscopic water is unavailable to plants
in amounts sufficient for them to survive.
6.2.2.2 Soil air

Soil air is the gaseous phase of the soil. Soil air plays an important role in plant growth and the activity of
soil organisms.
Composition of soil air (Percentage by Volume): It shows that for every 100% of air present in
soil/atmosphere/any type of soil, the % N2,O2 and CO2 present.
Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon dioxide

Atmospheric air 79 20.95 0.03
Soil air (surface) 79.20 20.60 0.25
Sandy soil air 79.20 19.95 0.30
Loamy soil air 79.20 19.20 0.62
Clay soil air 79.20 19.69 0.66
Manured soil air 79.20 18.23 1.85
6.2.2.3 Soil Temperature
✓ Not only the temperature in atmosphere, but temperature in soil also effects the seed germination
and growth of a plant.
✓ Soil temperature is simply the measurement of the warmth in the soil. Ideal soil temperatures for
planting most plants are 65 to 75 F. (18 to 24 C.). Nighttime and daytime soil temperatures are both
important.
6.2.2.4 Soil Mineral Matter

✓ Its quite clear from the picture below that Soil, as such is composed of 4 main components, Viz., Soil
air, soil water, Inorganic matter (Mineral matter), and Organic matter (though some humus, roots,
organisms are also part of that, they are minimal, hence not considered).
The constituents of mineral matter are mostly divided into primary minerals and secondary minerals.
A. Primary Minerals B. Secondary Minerals

They are the broken-down remains of massive They result from the weathering of less resistant
rocks which retain much of the composition of minerals and do not bear any resemblance to the
the rocks from which they originated. original material, as they do not retain the
structure, properties or composition of the original
mineral.
They are products of accelerated physical They are the products of chemical weathering and
weathering and they are often bigger and of a are often smaller and of a finer texture.
coarser texture.
They make up gravel, sand, and some of silt. They make up the clays and some of silt.
6.2.2.5 Soil Organic Matter

As you have seen in the above picture, Soil Organic matter is only 5% of the total soil components. As
the picture below, the Soil Organic matter (SOM) can be further divided into living organisms which is
<5% of the total SOM, Fresh residue at 10%, Stabilized Organic matter (Humus formed by the
decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms) at 33-50% and Decomposing
organic matter, which is again at 33-50%.
6.2.2.6 Soil Organisms
6. Soil Organisms
• Soil organism is any organism inhabiting the soil during part or all of its life, which range in size
from microscopic cells that digest decaying organic material to small mammals that live primarily
on other soil organisms, play an important role in maintaining fertility, structure, drainage, and
aeration of soil.
• Some soil organisms are pests.
• Soil organisms are commonly divided into five arbitrary groups according to size.
1. Protists - Smallest of all and include bacteria, actinomycetes, and algae.
2. Microfauna - less than 100 microns in length and generally feed upon other microorganisms and
include single-celled protozoans, some smaller flatworms, nematodes.
3. Mesofauna - somewhat larger and are heterogeneous, including creatures that feed on
microorganisms, decaying matter, and living plants. The category includes nematodes, mites,
springtails.
4. Macrofauna - are also quite diverse. The group also includes slugs, snails, and millipedes, which
feed on plants, and centipedes, beetles and their larvae etc.,
5. Megafauna - constitute the largest soil organisms and include the largest earthworms, perhaps the
most important creatures that live in the topsoil.
we will learn more about Nitogen fixing bacteria (one of the most important soil organisms) in detail in
Fertilizers chapter.
6.2.2.7 Soil reaction (PH)
• Soil reaction is the pH (hydrogen ion concentration) of the soil.

• Soils generally range from an extremely acidic pH of 3 to a very
Optimum pH range for
alkaline pH of 10.
availability of different
• Soil pH affects crop growth and neutral soils with pH 7.0 are best
nutrients:
for growth of most of the crops. Soils may be acidic (<7.0), neutral Nutrient Optimum pH range
(=7.0), saline and alkaline (>7.0) Low/high PH pH also interferes with N 6 to 8
availability of other plant nutrients. P 6.0 to 7.5
• Availability of phosphorus is high within a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5 due K 6 to 7.5
to higher solubility of phosphorus compounds. At low pH, S 6 and above
phosphorus is precipitated. Ca and Mg 7 to 8.5
Fe 6 and below
• Metallic cations like Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn precipitate at high pH, hence
Mn 5 to 6.5
their availability is less in alkaline soils.
Bo, Cu, Zn 5 to 7
• At lower pH, H+ ions replace K and thus leaching of K occurs. At high Mo 7 and above
pH, potassium compounds availability is reduced. Boron is leached
out at low pH.
6.2.3 Biotic Factors
These include the beneficial and harmful effects caused by other biological organism (plants (Flora) and
animals (Fauna)) on the crop plants. They are both useful and harmful based on their presence. The table
below clearly explains how biotic factors effect crop production.
Plants (Flora) Animals (Fauna)
• Competitive and complimentary nature • Soil fauna like protozoa, nematode, snails,
among field crops when grown together and insects help in organic matter
Physiological
Characteristics
• Competition between plants occurs decomposition, while using organic matter
Factor
when there is demand for nutrients, for their living.
moisture, and sunlight particularly when • Insects and nematodes cause damage to
they are in short supply or when plants Theconsidered
crop yield and nature of surface
as harmful
earth (leveled or sloppy) is
are closely spaced organisms.
Topography known as topography.
• When different crops of cereals and • HoneybeesTopographic
and wasps help in cross
factors affect
legumes are grown together, mutual pollination the
andcrop
increases
growthyield and
indirectly.
benefit results in higher yield (synergistic considered as beneficial organisms
effect) • Burrowing earthworm facilitates aeration
• Competition between weed and crop and drainage of the soil as ingestion of
plants as parasites organic and mineral matter by earthworm
Increase in altitude causes
• Example: Striga parasite weed on results in constant mixing
a decrease of these materials
in temperature
sugarcane crop in the soils.and increase in
Altitude
6.2.4 Physiographic Factors
• Large animals precipitation
cause damage and wind
to crop plants
Physiographic factors are again of 4 types viz., Topography, Altitude, steepness of slope,and
velocity (hills andplains)
exposure to
by grazing (cattle, goats etc)
light and wind.
Physiological
Characteristics
Factor
It results in run off of rain

Steepness of
The nature of surface water and loss of nutrient
earth (leveled or sloppy) is
Slope
rich top soil.
Topography known as topography.
Topographic factors affect
the crop growth indirectly.
A mountain slope exposed

Increase in altitude causes to low intensity of light and
Exposure to
a decrease in temperature strong dry winds may
Light and
Altitude and increase in results in poor crop yields
Wind
precipitation and wind (coastal areas and interior
velocity (hills and plains) pockets).
It results in run off of rain
Steepness of
water and loss of nutrient
Slope
rich top soil.
6.2.5 Socio economic Factors
✓ Society inclination to farming and members available for cultivation
✓ Appropriate choice of crops by human beings to satisfy the food and fodder requirement of farm
household.
✓ Breeding varieties by human invention for increased yield or pest & disease resistance
✓ The economic condition of the farmers greatly decides the input/ resource mobilizing ability
(marginal, small, medium, and large farmers)
For
Farming Systems
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Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Farming systems ................................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Definition or Meaning of ‘Farm’ and ‘System’ .............................................................................. 7
1.1.1 Farm ...................................................................................................................................... 7
1.2 Definition or Meaning of Farming System .................................................................................... 7
1.3 Structure/Concept of Farm/Farming system ................................................................................ 7
1.4 Factors influencing Farming systems ............................................................................................ 7
1.5 Sustainability in a Farming system based on various factors involved ......................................... 8
1.6 Classification of Farming System .................................................................................................. 8
1.6.1 Traditional Farming System .................................................................................................. 9
1.6.2 Semi Commercial System ...................................................................................................... 9
1.6.3 Commercial system ............................................................................................................. 10
2 Types of Farming Systems in India ...................................................................................................... 11
2.1 Subsistence Farming System ....................................................................................................... 12
2.2 Conventional Farming System .................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Alternative Farming Systems ...................................................................................................... 12
2.3.1 Organic Farming .................................................................................................................. 12
2.3.2 Agro-ecological Farming system ......................................................................................... 12
2.3.3 Bio-intensive Farming System ............................................................................................. 13
2.3.4 Bio-dynamic Agriculture...................................................................................................... 14
2.3.5 Permaculture....................................................................................................................... 17
2.3.6 Natural Farming .................................................................................................................. 19
2.4 Specialised Farming System ........................................................................................................ 20
2.4.1 Advantages of Specialised Farming System ........................................................................ 20
2.4.2 Disadvantages of Specialised Farming System ................................................................... 21
2.5 Integrated Farming System ......................................................................................................... 21
2.5.1 Advantages of Integrated Farming System ......................................................................... 21
2.5.2 Components of Integrated Farming System ....................................................................... 22
2.5.3 Factors to be considered while selecting IFS ...................................................................... 22
2.5.4 Agronomic approaches for increasing overall productivity and sustainability of IFS ......... 23
2.5.5 Enterprises that can taken up as per different Agro ecosystems ....................................... 23

2.5.6 Integrated Farming System models .................................................................................... 24
3 Organic Farming – Meaning or Definition........................................................................................... 24
3.1 Need of organic farming ............................................................................................................. 24
3.2 Components of organic farming ................................................................................................. 25
3.2.1 Crop Rotation ...................................................................................................................... 25
3.2.2 Crop residue utilization ....................................................................................................... 25
3.2.3 Organic Manure .................................................................................................................. 26
3.2.4 Waste Management............................................................................................................ 26
3.2.5 Bio-Fertilizers ...................................................................................................................... 27
3.2.6 Bio-Pesticides ...................................................................................................................... 27
3.2.7 Vermicompost ..................................................................................................................... 27
3.3 The key characteristics of organic farming include .................................................................... 27
3.4 Principles of Organic Farming ..................................................................................................... 28
3.4.1 Principle of health ............................................................................................................... 28
3.4.2 Principle of ecology ............................................................................................................. 28
3.4.3 Principle of fairness ............................................................................................................. 29
3.4.4 Principle of care .................................................................................................................. 29
3.5 Basic Steps of Organic Farming ................................................................................................... 29
3.5.1 Habitat Management .......................................................................................................... 29
3.5.2 Crop Diversity ...................................................................................................................... 29
3.5.3 Conversion period ............................................................................................................... 30
3.5.4 Contamination control ........................................................................................................ 30
3.5.5 Soil and Water conservation ............................................................................................... 30
3.5.6 Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) - National Standards for Organic Production -
General Requirements ........................................................................................................................ 30
3.5.7 Marketing of agricultural products with organic tag .......................................................... 31
3.6 Organic Farming Vs Conventional Farming ................................................................................. 32
4 Modern Farming Meaning or Definition ............................................................................................. 32
4.1 Hydroponics system of Modern Farming.................................................................................... 33
4.2 Aeroponics system of Modern Farming methods ...................................................................... 33
4.3 Aquaponics system of Modern Farming methods ...................................................................... 33
4.4 Tissue culture system of Modern farming methods ................................................................... 34

4.5 Vertical Farming .......................................................................................................................... 34
4.6 Precision Agriculture ................................................................................................................... 34
4.6.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Precision Agriculture .................................................... 35
4.6.2 Technology involved/Tools required in Precision Agriculture ............................................ 35
4.7 Intensive Farming........................................................................................................................ 38
4.7.1 Advantages of Intensive Farming ........................................................................................ 38
4.7.2 Disadvantages of Intensive Farming ................................................................................... 38
4.8 Extensive Farming ....................................................................................................................... 39
4.8.1 Differences between Intensive and Extensive Farming system ......................................... 39
5 System of Crop Intensification ............................................................................................................ 39
5.1 Cropping Intensity ....................................................................................................................... 39
5.2 System of Rice Intensification (SRI)............................................................................................. 40
5.2.1 Benefits of SRI ..................................................................................................................... 40
5.2.2 Process flow of SRI cultivation in Rice................................................................................. 42
6 Crop Diversification ............................................................................................................................. 42
6.1 Strategies for Crop Diversification .............................................................................................. 42
6.2 Drivers of Diversification ............................................................................................................. 43
6.3 Challenges/Constraints in Crop Diversification .......................................................................... 43
6.4 Approaches to Crop Diversification ............................................................................................ 44
6.5 Impact of Crop diversification ..................................................................................................... 44
7 Dryland Agriculture ............................................................................................................................. 44
7.1 Categories ................................................................................................................................... 45
7.2 Crops mainly grown in dryland regions ...................................................................................... 45
7.3 Given below is the comparison study of dry farming, dryland farming and rainfed farming: ... 45
7.4 Given below is the crop regions in India that are classified based on average rainfall: ............. 46
7.5 The following is the list of aberrant weather conditions prevailing in Dryland areas/Problems
of Dryland Agriculture:............................................................................................................................ 46
7.5.1 Inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall .................................................................. 46
7.5.2 Late onset and early cessation of rains ............................................................................... 46
7.5.3 Prolonged Dry spells during the crop period ...................................................................... 46
7.5.4 Low moisture retention capacity ........................................................................................ 46
7.5.5 Low Fertility of Soils ............................................................................................................ 46

7.5.6 Small size of land holdings .................................................................................................. 47
7.6 All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) for Dryland Agriculture ................................... 47
7.6.1 The following is the mandate of the mission: ..................................................................... 47
7.7 Improved dryland technologies .................................................................................................. 47
7.7.1 Crop planning ...................................................................................................................... 47
7.7.2 Planning for weather........................................................................................................... 47
7.7.3 Crop substitution ................................................................................................................ 47
7.7.4 Cropping systems ................................................................................................................ 48
7.7.5 Integrated nutrient management (INM)............................................................................. 48
7.7.6 Integrated weed management and integrated pest management (IWM and IPM) .......... 48
7.7.7 Other technologies include ................................................................................................. 48

1 Farming systems
1.1 Definition or Meaning of ‘Farm’ and ‘System’
1.1.1 Farm
Farm is an area of land and its buildings which is used for growing crops and rearing animals. It is devoted
primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops. It is
the basic facility in food production.
1.2 Definition or Meaning of Farming System

✓ Farming System is an appropriate mix of farm enterprises and the means available to the farmers to
raise them for profitability.
✓ It interacts adequately with environment without dislocating the ecological and socio-economic
balance on one hand and attempt to meet the national goal on the other.
✓ In its real sense it will help in lifting the economy of agriculture and standard of living of the farmers
of the country as a whole.
1.3 Structure/Concept of Farm/Farming system

Farming system can be viewed as a system, with INPUTS, PROCESSES, OUTPUTS and FEEDBACK.
This can be pictorially depicted as
Knowledge
1.4 Factors influencing Farming systems

Agricultural farming systems arise as a matter of necessity. Over the years many factors have influenced
farming systems. These factors include:
✓ Available water, land, grazing areas, arable lands, forest; climate, landscape etc.
✓ The dominant pattern of farm activities and household livelihoods. These include field crops,
livestock, trees, aquaculture, hunting and gathering, processing and off-farm activities. Also,

considering the main technologies used, which determine the intensity of production and integration
of crops, livestock and other activities.
1.5 Sustainability in a Farming system based on various factors involved

As you can see, from the below picture, sustainability of farming system is based on various Factors, viz.,
1. Environmental factors
2. Social factors
3. Economic Factors
These are all again interlinked and fuse to give rise to another set of factors that include
1. Environmental-Economic
2. Socio Economic
3. Social-Environmental
1.6 Classification of Farming System

As you can see from the below picture, Farming system can be classified into 3 major types.

1.6.1 Traditional Farming System
✓ As the name suggests, the farming is done in the most traditional way possible without any hint of
modern techniques.
Examples: Shifting cultivation, Subsistence farming and Nomadic herding.
Comparative study of various forms of Traditional Farming systems
Nomadic herding/nomadic pastoralism

Subsistence Farming system Shifting Cultivation Farming System Farming system
Subsistence farming, form of farming in

which nearly all of the crops or livestock In this type of agriculture, first of all a
raised are used to maintain the farmer piece of forest land is cleared by felling It is a form of pastoralism when
and the farmer’s family, leaving little, if trees and burning of trunks and livestock are herded in order to find
any, surplus for sale or trade. branches. fresh pastures on which to graze.
After the land is cleared, crops are True nomads follow an irregular pattern
Preindustrial agricultural people grown for two to three years and then of movement, in contrast with
throughout the world have traditionally the land is abandoned as the fertility of transhumance where seasonal pastures
practiced subsistence farming. the soil decreases. are fixed.
The whole family works on the farm The farmers then move to new areas and
manually and follow all traditional the process is repeated. Dry paddy,
methods. Yield is not high and Most of maize, millets and vegetables are the Nomads herd cattle, goats, sheep, and
the yield is consumed by the family with crops commonly grown in this type of camels and other animals as per the
very little surplus for the family farming. availability and demand of the local areas
The practice is known by various names
as Jhum in Assam, Nomadic herders wander in small groups
Ponam in Kerala, Podu in Andhra and have no permanent home. They are
Pradesh and Odisha and found in the region of Africa, Asia, and
Followd by small farmers all over India Bewar masha penda and Bera in various Europe, along with the tundra regions of
and the world parts of Madhya Pradesh. Asia and Europe.
1.6.2 Semi Commercial System

This is midway between Traditional and commercial. It is a mix of both. It can be classified into 2 types.
1.6.2.1 Cropping System

Cropping system* is an important component of a farming system. It represents cropping pattern used
on a farm and their interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology
which determine their make up.
*Cropping system would be dealt in detail in the coming chapters.

1.6.2.2 Mixed System
Mixed farming* is an agricultural system in which a farmer conducts different agricultural practice
together, such as cash crops and livestock. The aim is to increase income through different sources and
to complement land and labour demands across the year.
*This is not to be confused with mixed cultivation, implying merely a series of different crops.
The main characteristics of the mixed farming are
✓ Farms produce both crops and livestock and the two enterprises are interwoven and integrated.
✓ The grass is an important crop of mixed farming system, occupying at least 20 per cent of the
cultivated land.
✓ Mixed farming has a three-fold advantage
• It protects the farmer against the risk of poor prices and disease.
• It spreads labor requirements more evenly throughout the year.
• It helps in the maintenance of soil fertility if crops are grown in rotation.
1.6.3 Commercial system

This is done with the help of technology and on a very large scale. It can be again classified into 2 types.
1.6.3.1 Perennial Crops

✓ It is the cultivation of crop species that live longer than two years without the need for replanting
each year.
✓ It differs from mainstream agriculture in that it involves relatively less tilling and, in some cases,
requires less labor and fewer pesticides, helping to maintain or even improve soil health.
✓ Perennial crops used in perennial agriculture are grown worldwide in various climates and are
adapted to local environmental stressors.
Examples of Perennial Farming system are Plantations and Agroforestry.
A. Plantations
✓ Plantation is a type of commercial farming. In this type of farming, a single crop is grown on a large
area. The plantation also includes the processing of that crop in the nearby industries.
✓ Plantations cover large tracts of land using capital intensive inputs, with the help of migrant
labourers and Plantation management provides housing, food, and medical facilities and at times
elementary education to their employees within the plantation.
✓ Crops on plantations are normally intended or grown for export.
Examples: In India, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana, etc. are important plantation crops.
B. Agroforestry
✓ Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials
(trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land-management units as
agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence.
Pictorial representation of Agroforestry Farming system structure
1.6.3.2 Livestock Ranching

✓ Livestock is commonly defined as domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce
labor and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool.
✓ Most of the meat we eat comes from livestock farms including beef, pork, and poultry.
✓ Ranching is common in temperate, dry areas, such as the Pampas region of South America, the
western United States, the Prairie Provinces of Canada, and the Australian Outback. Some Australian
ranches, known as stations, extend more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles). The
largest, Anna Creek station, covers almost 24,000 square kilometers (9,266 square miles).
2 Types of Farming Systems in India

The following are the various types of Farming systems followed in India.
2.1 Subsistence Farming System
We have already done this in detail in one of the above sections (classification of Farming systems).
2.2 Conventional Farming System

✓ Conventional farming, also known as industrial agriculture, refers to farming systems which include
the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other
continual inputs, genetically modified organisms, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,
heavy irrigation, intensive tillage, or concentrated monoculture production.
✓ Conventional agriculture is typically highly resource and energy intensive, but also highly productive.
✓ A meta-study lead by researchers at Newcastle University based on 343 earlier studies found that
conventionally-produced crops contained 18-69% less antioxidants, were four times as likely to
contain pesticide residues, and had, on average 48% higher concentrations of heavy metals (including
cadmium) than organically-produced crops.
✓ Conventional food production often utilizes GMO’s which are different from plants and animals that
have been selectively bred.
2.3 Alternative Farming Systems

The term 'Alternative agriculture ' as it applies to the area of agriculture can be defined as 'A systematic
approach to farming intended to reduce agricultural pollution, enhance sustainability, and improve
efficiency and profitability.
2.3.1 Organic Farming

Organic Farming is a method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising
crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic wastes (crop, animal
and farm wastes, aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes
(biofertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco friendly
pollution free environment.
2.3.2 Agro-ecological Farming system

✓ Agroecology is the “ecology of the food system” and a farming approach that is inspired by natural
ecosystems. It combines local and scientific knowledge and applies ecological and social approaches
to agricultural systems.
✓ The concept of Agroecological Farming Systems includes the idea that the agricultural practices are
both site-specific and specific to the socio-economic position of the (type of) farmer or farm family
applying them.
2.3.3 Bio-intensive Farming System
✓ Biointensive agriculture is a sustainable organic farming system based on working with the basic
elements needed for life – soil, water, air, and sun – to achieve maximum yields, while increasing
biodiversity and soil fertility.
✓ This system comprises of intensive mixed farming, which supports the principles of nutrient recycling
and integrated pest management.
✓ One of the main differences between conventional agriculture and any sustainable practice is the
emphasis on maintaining healthy soils.
✓ Biointensive agriculture achieves optimal soil conditions by performing so-called double digging
(which involves loosening two layers of soil instead of just one) to allow easier exchange of nutrients,
air and water with plant roots, and by adding compost to return carbon and nutrients back to the soil.
Pictorial representation of Bio-intensive Farming with the example of setting it up in a 4000 Sq ft. area
2.3.3.1 The 8 basic principles of this type of farming system are:
Deep soil Penetration: Deep soil preparation builds soil and soil structure by loosening the soil to a depth
of 24 inches (60 cm). Ideal soil structure has both pore space for air and water to move freely and soil
particles that hold together nicely.
Composting: Healthy compost is broken down plant material that returns nutrients and carbon to the soil,
so the soil regains fertility and waste is minimized. Quality compost in the soil provides sustained release
of nutrients for plant roots and microorganisms.
Intensive Planting: It creates enhanced and uninterrupted plant and root growth by transplanting
seedlings in a close, off-set spacing pattern so their leaves are barely touching at maturity, creating a
living mulch over the soil.
Companion Planting: Companion planting includes choosing crops that are good neighbors and
encourage each other’s growth. Good companion plants can follow one another in the same area, grow
next to one another at the same time, or be interplanted to cooperatively share the same space. Example:
Plant a deep- and thick-rooting grain like rye after a root crop to loosen the soil. Interplant beans with
corn to help support soil nitrogen and efficiently use the above-soil area while covering the soil
thoroughly.
Carbon Farming: “Carbon” refers to plant material, also called “biomass,” that has a lot of complex cell
structures and meets the criteria for mature material for compost building. Carbon farming promotes
sustainable soil fertility by focusing on growing crops that produce a large amount of carbonaceous
material (mature material) for composting.
Calorie Farming: Calorie farming produces a complete diet in the smallest space possible by focusing on
special root crops that are calorie-dense and yield well in a small area. These specific crops are, potatoes,
sweet potatoes, parsnips, leeks, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, and salsify.
Open pollinated seeds: Using open-pollinated (OP) seeds allows the farmer to save seeds on the farm,
providing for future crops through growing healthy, locally acclimatized, fresh seeds. This helps create
a self-sufficient closed system by reducing dependence on large or small seed vendors, and by saving
money.
Whole system method: This is a unified farming method, with all eight principles playing an important
role in creating a thriving mini ecosystem that sustains itself and its farmers.
2.3.4 Bio-dynamic Agriculture

✓ Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture very similar to organic farming,
Biodynamics is a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and
nutrition. Biodynamics is rooted in the work of philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861–
1925).
✓ Biodynamics derived from two Greek words, bios- life and dynamos-energy.
✓ Rudolf Steiner, founder of "anthroposophic agriculture", later known as "biodynamic".
✓ Steiner defined Anthroposophy as “A path of knowledge whose objective is to guide the spiritual in
man to the spiritual in the universe”. The word "Anthroposophy" comes from the Greek language
and means "wisdom of the human being".
✓ Initially developed in 1924, it was the first of the organic agriculture movements. It treats soil fertility,
plant growth, and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks, emphasizing spiritual and mystical
perspectives.
✓ Each biodynamic farm or garden is an integrated, whole, living organism. This organism is made up
of many interdependent elements: fields, forests, plants, animals, soils, compost, people, and the
spirit of the place. Biodynamic farmers and gardeners work to nurture and harmonize these
elements, managing them in a holistic and dynamic way to support the health and vitality of the
whole.
✓ There are Biodynamic associations of farmers and gardeners and certifying bodies that guarantee
the produce being sold by issuing a Demeter certificate. “DEMETER=Greek goddess of the Earth”
2.3.4.1 Principles of Biodynamic Farming/Agriculture

In order to establish a system that brings into balance all factors which maintain life, the following areas
are considered:
Substance and energy: Life is more than just chemicals; it depends on the interaction of matter and
energies. For example, plants need light and warmth as well as earth and water to grow. The interaction
of substance and energy forms a balanced system. Only plants which have grown in a balanced soil can
give us energy (through trace minerals, enzymes, growth hormones) as well as substance.
Soil: To produce healthy, vital plants, one must concentrate mainly on the structure and the life of the
soil: the nutrients, the trace elements, the microorganisms, the worms and other animals present in the
soil. But primarily, the soil is a living system of connections and relationships. In terms of structure, the
soil should be crumbly, friable, well aerated and deep in order to be fertile.
Organic matter: In order to create this balanced, living soil, what is required is skillful use of organic
matter. This is done by building compost heaps and using the Biodynamic compost preparations.
Humus: It holds the fertility of the soil in a stable way and retains water. Humus is completely digested
crude organic matter: rich, dark, and moist with a fresh odour. This is the base for building up the soil and
fostering its formation should be the first priority when converting to Biodynamic farming.
Cow manure: This is a very special substance given to us by the holy animal Cow which is essential for
healthy soil life. Cow dung is special because of the lengthy digestion process of the cow which adds much
beneficial bacteria to the substance. It is used in building the compost heaps as a starter and for its
nitrogen content and in preparing the Biodynamic preparations.
Cosmic forces: Recognizing and working with the influences of heavenly bodies on plant growth by using
the preparations and following the sowing calendar.
Crop rotation: Crop rotation, proper soil cultivation and other organic farming methods: intelligent
planning to let the soil rest after heavy-feeding crops (such as potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage), by sowing
green manures (legumes, clover) and covering the soil (grass, clover) so that it may build up its humus
content and nitrogen levels
Peppering: To deal with an unbalanced insect problem, animal pests or weed problem, one may collect
the insects, weed seeds, or dead animal skins, burn them at the appropriate time according to planetary
positions, potentize the ash in water as a homeopathic medicine, and spray it on the land.
The farm organism: The more self-sufficient a farm can be, the healthier it will be. The aim is to have a
wide variety of plants and animals, and to bring something from outside (such as manure, bio-
pesticides) only if there is an imbalance that must be rectified, as medicine.
Weeds, Pests and Diseases: Weeds growing in specific places show a deficiency in the soil, as pests and
diseases show a shortcoming in agricultural practices. They are signs for us to understand where the
problem is, and actually help us to rectify imbalances.
Biodynamic preparations
✓ These simple, natural, homeopathic preparations are used to enhance the effects of the planets and
of silica and lime on the soil and the plants, and also to enhance the breaking-down process and
potential life forces in the compost heaps.
✓ Dr Steiner gave two preparations to be sprayed directly on the soil or the plants (numbered 500 and
501), and six preparations to be used when making compost (numbered 502 to 507).
✓ The measures include two groups of specifically fermented substances, which are called preparations.
✓ The first group includes 6 different herbal substances; they are numbered 502-507 and are added
in small amounts to manures and composts. So, they are collectively called as compost preparations
(Biocatalysts/Compost Biodynamics). These numbers are arbitrary, having been chosen by those who
first produced the preparations.
✓ The second group includes the sprays (Polarity/Field Biodynamics); they are numbered as 500 and
501. Although not considered one of the eight main preparations, a ninth preparation, sometimes
referred to as 508 is made by boiling the horse tail plant and is applied only in excessively wet years
to prevent fungal diseases.
2.3.4.2 Advantages of Biodynamic Farming/Agriculture

✓ Production of top-quality fruits and vegetables
✓ Yields always above the average level, higher on average than those produced by organic farming.
✓ Little trouble with livestock and plant diseases
✓ No spreading of insect pests, and no great economic damage due to their presence
2.3.5 Permaculture
✓ The term permaculture combines the words permanent and culture, or permanent and agriculture.
✓ The philosophy behind permaculture was developed about thirty years ago in Australia by Bill
Mollison and David Holmgren.
✓ Permaculture is a term used to describe an intentional system of agriculture and settlement that
aims to reflect the interrelationships and sustainability of natural ecosystems.
✓ It draws from several disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry, integrated farming,
sustainable development, and applied ecology.
2.3.5.1 Permaculture lies on three ethics

They form the foundation for permaculture design and are also found in most traditional societies. At the
same time, permaculture moves beyond simply being a mechanical set of principles for management of
all cultures that can be used in designing sustainable systems.
✓ Care for people

✓ Care for the Earth
✓ Fair share
2.3.5.2 Principles of permaculture

As part of that, there are 3 kinds of Principles, which have been given by both David Holmgren and Bill
Mollison
1. Core Principles:
These were given by Bill Mollison and include the following
✓ Multiple functions
✓ Relative location
✓ Functional Interconnection
✓ Redundancy
2. Attitudinal Principles:
These were also given by Bill Mollison and include the following
✓ Less change for greatest effect (Leverage)
✓ Work with nature, not against
✓ Infinite yield
✓ The problem is the solution
✓ Everything gardens
3. Holmgren Principles:
These are the most important and most followed principles. These were given by Holmgren and include
the following
✓ Observe and interact by taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our
particular situation.
✓ Catch and store energy by developing systems that collect resources when they are abundant, we can
use them in times of need.
✓ Obtain a yield ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the working you are doing.
✓ Apply self regulation and accept feedback we need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure
that systems can continue to function well.
✓ Use and value renewable resources and services make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce
our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
✓ Produce no waste by valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes
to waste.
✓ Integrate rather than segregate by putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop
between those things and they work together to support each other.
✓ Use and value diversity that reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the
unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
2.3.6 Natural Farming
✓ Natural farming is a system where the laws of nature are applied to agricultural practices. This
method works along with the natural biodiversity of each farmed area, encouraging the complexity
of living organisms, both plants, and animals that shape each particular ecosystem to thrive along
with food plants.
✓ Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008),
a Japanese farmer and philosopher, introduced in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution.
Key differences between natural farming and organic farming:
Organic Farming Natural Farming

organic fertilizers and manures like Neither chemical nor organic fertilizers are added to the
compost, vermicompost, cow dung manure, etc. are soil. In fact, no external fertilizers are added to soil or give
used and added to farmlands from external sources. to plants whatsoever.
Along with the decomposition of organic matter by Decomposition of organic matter by microbes and
microbes and vermiculture, external organic fertilizers earthworms is encouraged right on the soil surface itself,
and manures are added which gradually adds nutrition in the soil, over the period.
There no plowing, no tilting of soil and no fertilizers, and
Requires basic agro practices like plowing, tilting, no weeding is done just the way it would be in natural
mixing of manures, weeding, etc. to be performed. ecosystems.
Expensive due to the requirement of bulk manures, and
it has an ecological impact on surrounding It is an extremely low-cost farming method, completely
environments molding with local biodiversity.
There are many working models of natural farming all over the world, the Zero Budget Natural Farming
(ZBNF) is the most popular model in India. This comprehensive, natural, and spiritual farming system is
developed by Padma Shri Subhash Palekar.
2.3.6.1 Features of Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF)

✓ Commercial level farming can be done in almost zero budget only by using locally available and farm-
based resources.
✓ According to ZBNF principles, plants get 98% of their supply of nutrients from the air, water, and
sunlight. And the remaining 2% can be fulfilled by good quality soil with plenty of friendly
microorganisms. (Just like in forests and natural systems)
✓ Soil microclimate: The soil is always supposed to be covered with an organic mulch, which creates
humus and encourages the growth of friendly microorganisms.
✓ Desi cow: The system requires cow dung and cow urine (Gomutra) obtained from Indian breed cow
only. Desi cow is apparently the purest as far as the microbial content of cow dung, and urine goes.
✓ Cultures: A farm made bio-culture named ‘Jeevamrutha’ is added to the soil instead of any fertilizers
to improve microflora of soil. Jeevamrutha is derived from very little cow dung and cow urine of desi
cow breed.
✓ Natural, farm-made pesticides like Dashparni ark and Neem Astra are used to control pests and
diseases.
✓ Weeds are considered essential and used as living or dead mulch layer.
✓ In ZBNF, multi-cropping is encouraged over single crop method.
2.4 Specialised Farming System

In a general sense, when only few enterprises are run by the farmer, in which he has acquired special
knowledge, it is known as Specialised farming. Specifically, Specialised farming refers to only one kind
of farm business such as raising food crops or rearing sheep or raising dairy cattle. Raising two to three
crops makes it specialized. The motive behind specialised farming is profit.
2.4.1 Advantages of Specialised Farming System

✓ Better use of land
✓ Better marketing
✓ Less equipment and labor.
✓ Costly and efficient machinery can be kept
✓ The efficiency and skill of the labor increased
✓ Farm records can be maintained easily.
✓ Intensity of production leads to relatively large amount of output.
✓ Better management
2.4.2 Disadvantages of Specialised Farming System
These disadvantages of specialization are evident when the farmer realizes that “all his eggs are in one
basket”.
✓ There is greater risk

✓ It is not possible to maintain soil fertility-lack of crop rotation.
✓ The productive resources i.e. land; labor and capital are not fully utilized.
✓ Irregular income of the farm
✓ Proper Utilization of resources is not possible.
✓ By product of crop are not property utilized
✓ Due to specialization of a single enterprise, the knowledge about other enterprises vainness.
✓ Does not help in supplying all the food needs of the family members of the farmer.
2.5 Integrated Farming System

Integrated Farming System (IFS) is an interdependent, interrelated often interlocking production
systems based on few crops, animals and related subsidiary enterprises in such a way that maximize
the utilization of nutrients of each system and minimize the negative effect of these enterprises on
environment.
✓ Integration of various agricultural enterprises viz., cropping, animal husbandry, fishery, forestry etc.
have great potentialities in the agricultural economy. These enterprises not only supplement the
income of the farmers but also help in increasing the family labour employment.
✓ The integrated farming system approach introduces a change in the farming techniques for
maximum production in the cropping pattern and takes care of optimal utilization of resources.
✓ The farm wastes are better recycled for productive purposes in the integrated system.
✓ A judicious mix of agricultural enterprises like dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, sericulture etc. suited
to the given agro-climatic conditions and socio-economic status of the farmers would bring
prosperity in the farming.
2.5.1 Advantages of Integrated Farming System

✓ Higher food production
✓ Increased farm income
✓ Sustainable soil fertility and productivity.
✓ Integration of allied activities
✓ Integrated farming will help in environmental protection
✓ Reduced production cost of components
✓ Regular stable income
✓ Inclusion of biogas & agro forestry
✓ Cultivation of fodder crops as intercropping and as border cropping.
✓ Firewood and construction wood requirements could be met
✓ Avoidance of soil loss through erosion by agro-forestry
✓ Generation of regular employment.
2.5.2 Components of Integrated Farming System

Crops, livestock, birds, and trees are the major components of any IFS.
2.5.3 Factors to be considered while selecting IFS

The combinations provided below is most suitable for Rainfed areas/with no proper irrigation facilities
(IFS is the most needed and useful for farmers in the rainfed areas and where they cannot take much
major crops owing to the lack of irrigation facilities but with IFS, they can have income source throughout
the year on the same farm).
Soil types, rainfall and its distribution and length of growing season are the major factors that decide
the selection of suitable annual crops, trees, and livestock components.
2.5.3.1 Suitable grain crops

According to soil type we can select suitable crops.
Black soil Red soil

Cereals: Maize Millets: Sorghum
Millets: Sorghum, bajra Minor Millets: Ragi, tenai, samai, pani
Pulses: Greengram, blackgram, redgram, varagu, varagu
chickpea, soybean, horse gram Pulses: Lab- lab, Green gram, red gram,
Oilseeds: Sunflower, safflower soybean, horse gram, cowpea
FIbre: Cotton Oilseeds: Groundnut, castor, sesame
Other crops: Coriander, Chillies etc.,
2.5.3.2 Suitable forage crops
Red soil
Black soil Fodder cholam, fodder bajra,
Fodder sorghum, fodder bajra, fodder Neelakolukattai (Blue Buffel Grass), fodder
cowpea, desmanthus, Rhodes grass, Mayil ragi, Sanku pushpam (Conch flower creeper),
kondai pul, Elusine sp., Thomson grass fodder cowpea, Muyal Masal (Stylo), siratro,
marvel grasses, spear grass, vettiver
2.5.3.3 Suitable tree species
Black soil Red gravelly/Sandy red loam soils Tamarind,

Karu vel, A.tortilis, A.albida, Neem, Vagai, Simarouba, Vagai (Ladies tongue), Arappu,
Holoptelia integrifolia, Manja neythi, Kodai vel, A. tortilis, Maan Kathu vel, A.
Hibiscus tilifolia, Gmelina arborea, Casuarina, mellifera, Neem, Hardwickia binata, Ber,
Subabuland, Adina cordifolia Indian Gooseberry, Casuarina, Silk cotton
etc.
2.5.3.4 Suitable livestock and birds

Goat, sheep, white cattle, black cattle, pigeon, rabbit, quail and poultry.
2.5.4 Agronomic approaches for increasing overall productivity and sustainability of IFS
✓ Adoption of improved cropping system according to the rainfall and soil moisture availability
✓ Selection of suitable grain crop species, tree species that supply pods/leaves for a longer period or
throughout the year
✓ The surplus fodder leaves, crop residues etc. during the rainy season should be preserved as
silage/hay for lean season (summer).
2.5.5 Enterprises that can taken up as per different Agro ecosystems

As mentioned earlier also, there can be a combination of various enterprises that can be taken up under
the Integrated Farming systems. The below mentioned table represents the enterprises that can be
taken up on the basis of type of agriculture followed viz., irrigated/Rainfed/Dryland and also available of
the type of crops/gardens in the area.
2.5.6 Integrated Farming System models
There are various types of Integrated Farming system models based on the type of enterprise the farmer
choses.
✓ Agricultural + livestock
✓ Agricultural + livestock + poultry
✓ Horticulture + fish culture + poultry
✓ Pig cum fish culture
✓ Sericulture + fish culture
✓ Agricultural(rice) + fish cultivation
✓ Poultry + fish culture
3 Organic Farming – Meaning or Definition

✓ Organic Farming is a method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land and
raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic wastes
(crop, animal and farm wastes, aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along with beneficial
microbes (biofertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an eco
friendly pollution free environment.
3.1 Need of organic farming

✓ With the increase in population our compulsion would be not only to stabilize agricultural production
but to increase it further in sustainable manner.
✓ The scientists have realized that the ‘Green Revolution’ with high input use has reached a plateau and
is now sustained with diminishing return of falling dividends.
✓ Thus, a natural balance needs to be maintained at all cost for existence of life and property. Objectives
of Organic Farming
The following are the main objectives of Organic Farming
3.2 Components of organic farming
There are various components of Organic Farming. They are
3.2.1 Crop Rotation
In crop rotation, crops are changed from year to year

according to a planned sequence. For example: Pearl
millet and Groundnut; Gingelly and groundnut;
Groundnut and pulses (for rainfed areas where
irrigation facilities are not there in summers). Rice,
Cotton, Cowpea (for areas where irrigation facilities are
available)
3.2.2 Crop residue utilization
Crop residues are the non-economic plant parts that are left in the field after harvest. The harvest refuses
include straws, stubble, and haulms of different crops. Composting process recycles various organic
materials otherwise regarded as waste products and produces a soil conditioner called compost which is
rich in nutrients.
✓ The greatest potential as a biomass resource appears to be from the field residues of sorghum,
maize, soybean, cotton, sugarcane etc.
✓ Carbon and nitrogen ratio decides the initiation of composting process. If C:N ratio is wide (100:1)
composting will not take place. Narrow C:N ratio of 30:1 is ideal for composting.
✓ Green coloured waste materials like glyricidia leaves, parthenium, freshly harvested weeds; sesbania
leaves are rich in nitrogen, whereas brown coloured waste material like straw, coir dust, dried leaves
and dried grasses are rich in carbon.
✓ Minimum 4 feet height should be maintained for composting.
✓ Alternate layers of carbon and nitrogen rich material with intermittent layers of animal dung are
essential. After heap formation the material should be thoroughly moistened.
✓ For one ton crop residues, 40 kg fresh cow dung is required. This 40 kg fresh cow dung is mixed with
100litres of water and it should be thoroughly poured over the waste material. Cow dung slurry acts
as nitrogen source as well as source of microbial inoculum.
✓ To allow the fresh air to get inside, the compost heap should be turned upside down, once in fifteen
days.
✓ Throughout the composting period 60% moisture should be maintained.
✓ Volume reduction, black colour, earthy odor, reduction in particle size are all the physical factors to
be observed for compost maturity.
✓ After curing for one day, the composted material is sieved through 4 mm sieve to get uniform
composted material. The residues collected after composting has to be again composted to finish the
composting process.
✓ The beneficial microorganisms like Azotobacter or Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Phosphobacteria
(0.2%) and rock phosphate (2%) have to be inoculated for one ton of compost. 40 per cent moisture
should be maintained for the maximum growth of inoculated microorganism. This incubation
should be allowed for 20 days for the organism to reach the maximum population. Now the compost
is called as enriched compost.
✓ For one hectare of land 5 tons of enriched biocompost is recommended. It can be used as basal
application in the field before taking up planting work (during manuring stage of preparation of field
for sowing).
3.2.3 Organic Manure

Manures are plant and animal wastes that are used as sources of plant nutrients. They release nutrients
after their decomposition.
✓ Manures are the organic materials derived from animal, human and plant residues which contain
plant nutrients in complex organic forms.
✓ Naturally occurring or synthetic chemicals containing plant nutrients are called fertilizers.
3.2.4 Waste Management

Biogas production technology is the promising potential to deal with Waste Management in Organic
Farming.
✓ Farm waste such as dung is mixed with straw, grass, leaves and kitchen waste and kept in anaerobic
environment produce gas which is called as bio-gas.
✓ The carbon dioxide, nitrogen, methane and hydrogen sulfide gases combinations, methane is
inflammable. This is 55 per cent.
Bio-gas Plant
Uses and features of Bio-gas Waste management:
✓ Accumulation of moist dung in heap will produce various pathogens and this will be avoided by
biogas production.
✓ Because of smoke free it can be used for cooking. Speedy in cooking time. In the cooking protect the
utensils from carbon sedimentation. it can be used to generate electricity and to run the engine. Saves
70-80% diesel requirement.
✓ Well digested and odourless dung liquid is called as sludge. It can be used for land reclamation and
enrichment.
✓ If weeds and seeds by fermentation reduced capacity and in field production of weeds reduced.
✓ Used wastes as food to fish and pig and to make compost/Azolla fertilizer.
3.2.5 Bio-Fertilizers
A biofertilizer is a substance which contains living micro-organisms which, when applied to seeds, plant
surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing
the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. Examples: Rhizobium, Azotobacter etc.,
3.2.6 Bio-Pesticides
The most commonly used biopesticides are living organisms, which are pathogenic (disease causing) for
the pest of interest. These include biofungicides (Trichoderma), bioherbicides (Phytopthora) and
bioinsecticides (Bacillus thuringiensis). There are few plant products also which can now be used as a
major biopesticide source.
3.2.7 Vermicompost
It has been estimated that organic resources available in the country alone can produce not less than 20
million tonnes of plant nutrients (NPK). Vermicomposting has tremendous prospects in converting agro-
wastes and city garbage into valuable agricultural input. Vermicompost is the product of the
decomposition process (Vermicomposting) using various species of worms, usually earthworms, to create
a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast is the
end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms.
✓ From vermiculture, we get well decomposed worm casts, which can be used as manure for crops,
vegetables, flowers, gardens, etc.
✓ In this process, earthworms also get multiplied and the excess worms can be converted into
vermiprotein which can be utilised as feed for poultry, fish, etc.
✓ Vermi-wash can also be used as spray on crops.
3.3 The key characteristics of organic farming include
✓ Protecting the long-term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter levels, encouraging soil
biological activity, and careful mechanical intervention.
✓ Providing crop nutrients indirectly using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made
available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms.
✓ Nitrogen self-sufficiency using legumes and biological nitrogen fixation, as well as effective recycling
of organic materials including crop residues and livestock manures.
✓ Weed, disease and pest control relying primarily on crop rotations, natural predators, diversity,
organic manuring, resistant varieties and limited (preferably minimal) thermal, biological, and
chemical intervention.
✓ The extensive management of livestock, paying full regard to their evolutionary adaptations,
behavioral needs and animal welfare issues with respect to nutrition, housing, health, breeding and
rearing.
✓ Careful attention to the impact of the farming system on the wider environment and the
conservation of wildlife and natural habitats.
3.4 Principles of Organic Farming
3.4.1 Principle of health

✓ This principle points out that the health of individuals and communities cannot be separated from
the health of ecosystems - healthy soils produce healthy crops that foster the health of animals and
people.
✓ Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is not simply the absence of illness, but the
maintenance of physical, mental, social and ecological well-being. Immunity, resilience and
regeneration are key characteristics of health.
✓ The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution, or consumption, is to
sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human
beings.
3.4.2 Principle of ecology

✓ This principle roots organic agriculture within living ecological systems. It states that production is
to be based on ecological processes, and recycling. Nourishment and well-being are achieved
through the ecology of the specific production environment.
✓ Organic farming, pastoral and wild harvest systems should fit the cycles and ecological balances in
nature. These cycles are universal, but their operation is site-specific. Organic management must be
adapted to local conditions, ecology, culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, recycling
and efficient management of materials and energy to maintain and improve environmental quality
and conserve resources.
3.4.3 Principle of fairness
✓ Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common
environment and life opportunities.
✓ Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the shared world, both
among people and in their relations to other living beings.
3.4.4 Principle of care

✓ Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the
health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.
✓ Organic agriculture is a living and dynamic system that responds to internal and external demands
and conditions.
3.5 Basic Steps of Organic Farming
✓ Conversion of land from conventional management to organic management

✓ Management of the entire surrounding system to ensure biodiversity and sustainability of the
system.
✓ Crop production with the use of alternative sources of nutrients such as crop rotation, residue
management, organic manures, and biological inputs.
✓ Management of weeds and pests by better management practices, physical and cultural means and
by biological control system
✓ Maintenance of livestock in tandem with organic concept and make them an integral part of the
entire system
3.5.1 Habitat Management

✓ Habitat management is an important part of organic management system and forms the first step
towards organic conversion.
✓ To ensure proper living conditions for all living beings, steady supply of green material for manuring
and to create diversified plant stand it is essential that diversified plants/ trees etc are planted on
bunds and other non-cultivated area of the farm.
✓ Adequate space may be provided for plantation of nitrogen fixing trees. Nitrogen fixing tree hedge
not only act as biological fence but also ensure steady supply of biologically fixed nitrogen and other
nutrients drawn from deeper layers of soil.
✓ These plants also provide home and shelter to friendly insects and birds.
✓ If required rainwater harvesting pits and farm ponds can also be created.
3.5.2 Crop Diversity

✓ Diversity in crop production is second most important step of organic management which not only
helps in management and control of pests and diseases but also ensure balance nutrition of the soil.
✓ Diversity can be achieved by a combination of mixed cropping, intercropping, relay cropping and
rotation with legumes. Use of trap crops and barrier crops also add to the diversity.
3.5.3 Conversion period
✓ The time taken for a farm to comply with the PGS (Participatory Guarantee system) organic
standards is defined as the conversion period.
✓ In other words, it is the time required by the conventional farm to attain full PGS organic status.
✓ The whole farm including the crop production and animal husbandry shall be converted to organic
management.
✓ Parallel or part conversion is not allowed under PGS organic management.
✓ For newly acquired fields or fields managed conventionally, the conversion period shall be not less
then 24 months in case of seasonal and annual crops while it shall be not less than 36 months in
case of perennial and permanent crops from the last date of use of prohibited inputs or from the
date of taking the pledge, whichever is later.
✓ Duration of conversion period can be reduced to 12 months if no prohibited substances have been
used since last three years and all the members in the group are fully satisfied with past history of no
synthetic input use and collectively declare so.
✓ Conversion period for animal products shall be not less than 12 months provided they are fed with
fully organic feed and fodder and all the members of group are satisfied that the standard
requirements have been met since last 12 months.
✓ In case of existing ICS groups (under NPOP) or members of such groups joining PGS, their certification
status, as granted by accreditation certification body* and valid at the time of joining PGS shall
continue, provided the group/ members meets all other requirements of PGS and have necessary
documents to prove their claim to the full satisfaction of other group members (if they join an existing
group) or RC (if they join as independent group).
* Accredited certification agency is an agency accredited by National Accreditation Body under
National Program on Organic Production (NPOP) for certification of organic production system.
3.5.4 Contamination control

✓ All organic production units shall have effective measures to check accidental contamination with
prohibited substance through drift or water flow.
✓ All organic farms shall be either protected with biological fence (hedge/hedge rows etc) or maintain
a buffer zone.
✓ Organic farms also need to be protected from contaminated water flow from adjoining non-organic
fields. This can be achieved by putting appropriate bunds and escape channels.
3.5.5 Soil and Water conservation

✓ Relevant measures should be taken to prevent erosion, salination of soil, excessive and improper
use of water and the pollution of ground and surface water.
✓ Clearing of land through the means of burning organic matter, e.g. slash-and burn, straw burning shall
be restricted to the minimum. The clearing of primary forest is prohibited.
3.5.6 Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) - National Standards for Organic Production -
General Requirements
To promote organic farming and domestic organic market a free / no cost domestic organic
certification system called Participatory Guarantee system-India (PGS-India) in India is being
implemented by Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation,
Government of India through National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF), Ghaziabad and
its seven Regional Centres (Ghaziabad -Head Quarter, Bangalore, Nagpur, Jabalpur,
Panchkula, Bhubaneswar & Imphal).
An Internal Control System (ICS) is the part of a documented quality assurance system that allows
an external certification body to delegate the periodic inspection of individual group members to
an identified body or unit within the certified operator.
✓ To provide for the focused and well-directed development of organic

agriculture and quality products, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
under the Government of India launched the National Program for Organic
Production (NPOP) in 2000.
✓ This program was formally notified in October 2001 under the Foreign Trade &
Development Act.
✓ According to DGFT notifications, agricultural products exported as organic
need to have an organic certificate issued by an accredited certifying agency.
✓ Certification allows you to use the India Organic logo.
✓ The India Organic certification mark certifies that an organic food product
conforms to NPOP standards.
Logos used in Participatory Guarantee System-INDIA organic certification Program
Logo Used while marketing on the Logo Used while marketing on the
products produced from the field products produced from fields of
under conversion completely converted into organic
3.5.7 Marketing of agricultural products with organic tag

✓ Any organic food manufactured, packed, sold, offered for sale, marketed, or otherwise distributed
in the country is regulated as per the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Organic Food)
Regulations, 2017.
✓ These regulations require Organic Food to comply with the provisions of National Program for
Organic Production (NPOP) or Participatory Guarantee System (PGS).
✓ However, to support small original organic producer or producer organisation, those with annual
turnover not exceeding 12 lakhs per annum have been exempted from certification through NPOP
or PGS.
✓ The Organic food covered through these regulations should bear FSSAI organic logo i.e. Jaivik Bharat
logo along with PGS- Organic (or) India Organic logo.
✓ Jaivik Kheti portal (https://www.jaivikkheti.in/) has also been created for promotion and sale of
organic produce to connect farmers involved in organic farming with consumers directly for better
prices.
3.6 Organic Farming Vs Conventional Farming
4 Modern Farming Meaning or Definition

Modern farming means farming using modern techniques and technology. That means farming with the
facilities of modern science and technologies. Using modern science and technologies in farming increase
the farming productions. There are various methods in Modern Farming.
4.1 Hydroponics system of Modern Farming
4.2 Aeroponics system of Modern Farming methods
4.3 Aquaponics system of Modern Farming methods
4.4 Tissue culture system of Modern farming methods
* Some plants, which do not multiply by seeds, can be propagated through plant tissue culture
technique. By the help of tissue through protoplast fusion, cell fusion, genetic engineering and
hybridization technique, new improved varieties of crops can be produced within a short time period
4.5 Vertical Farming
4.6 Precision Agriculture

Precision Agriculture (PA), Satellite Farming or Site Specific Crop Management (SSCM) can be described
as ‘a technology-enabled approach to farming management that observes, measures, and analyzes the
needs of individual fields and crops’. It is otherwise also called as “Digital Agriculture”.
Pierre Robert is often regarded as the father of precision farming because of his active promotion of the
idea and organization of the first workshop, “Soil Specific Crop Management,” during the early 1990s.
Precision agriculture can be broadly looked upon in 3 stages in a cyclical manner viz., Data Collection,
Interpretation and application which can be clearly observed from the picture below
Precision Agriculture cycle
4.6.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Precision Agriculture
Disadvantages of Precision Farming

Advantages of Precision Farming
✓ It cannot be utilized completely in every
✓ Refined set of cultivation practices and
crop.
choice of crops based on suitability of land
✓ It needs the farmers to embark on various
✓ Elimination of volatility and risk
technological, technical, and economical
✓ Waste management
conditions before the adoption of this
✓ Reduced production costs
technology.
✓ Minimum environmental impact
✓ High capital costs may discourage farmers to
✓ Optimized use of fertilizers
not adopt this method of farming.
✓ Water management
✓ Precision agriculture techniques are still
under development and requires expert
advice before actual implementation.
4.6.2 Technology involved/Tools required in Precision Agriculture

Computers, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), Remote sensing,
automatic tractor navigation and robotics are the latest technology that is involved/required in Precision
agriculture.
4.6.2.1 Geoinformatics for Precision Farming
✓ Geoinformatics deals with integrating computer science & geosciences to solve complex scientific
questions. It is the science of gathering, analysing, interpreting, distributing & using geographic
information. Geoinformatics encompasses surveying and mapping, RS, GIS, and GPS.
A. Global Positioning System (GPS)

✓ GPS provides continuous, real-time, 3D positioning and navigation worldwide in any weather
condition.
✓ GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used in farm planning, field mapping, tractor
guidance, variable rate applications (automated precise application of Seeds, pesticides, fertilizers,
etc. based on data that is collected by sensors, maps, and GPS) and yield mapping.
Application of seeds with the use of GPS technology
B. Remote Sensing (RS) Technique

✓ RS is the science of making inferences about material objects from measurements, made at
distance, without coming into physical contact with the objects under study.
✓ Remote sensing in precision farming is used for crop yield modelling, identification of pests and
disease infestation, soil moisture estimation, irrigation monitoring, assessment of crop damage, etc.
Crop Yield mapping through application of Remote sensing
C. Geographic Information System (GIS)

✓ The GIS is a computerised data storage and retrieval system, which can be used to manage and
analyse spatial data relating crop productivity and agronomic (study of crops and the soils) factors.
✓ It can integrate all types of information and interface with other decision support tools.
✓ GIS can display analysed information in maps that allow better understanding of interactions among
yield, fertility, pests, weeds and other factors, and decision-making based on such spatial
relationships.
D. Internet of things
✓ The computers and low latency internet (5G) are the most important components in precision farming
as they are main source of information processing and gathering.
Coordination between technologies involved in Precision Farming in Palm crop
4.7 Intensive Farming
Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is a kind of agriculture where a lot of money and labour are
used to increase the yield that can be obtained per area of land. The use of large amounts of pesticides
for crops, and of medication for animal stocks is common. Industrialization is a key determining fact of
intensive farming.
✓ Higher levels of input (seeds, fertilizer, water, pesticides etc.)

and output per unit area
✓ Minimum fallow land
✓ Capital and labor intensive
✓ Higher farm profitability in contrast to traditional agriculture
✓ May apply to crops and as well animals,
✓ in latter case, it is also called factory farming
4.7.1 Advantages of Intensive Farming

✓ One of the major advantages of this farming technique is that the crop yield is high.
✓ It helps the farmer to easily supervise and monitor the land and protect his livestock from being hurt
or hounded by dangerous wild animals.
✓ It also aids in solving the worldwide hunger problems to a great extent.
✓ With the introduction of intensive farming, the space, equipment, and other requirements for
farming are less and more economical.
✓ Another advantage is that large productivity of food is possible with less amount of land. This leads to
economies of scale, directly contributes towards meeting the ever-growing demand for food supplies.
4.7.2 Disadvantages of Intensive Farming

✓ Intensive farming involves the use of various kinds of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and
insecticides. Apart from this, it is also associated with farms that keep livestock above their holding
capacity, which in turn leads to pollution, various diseases, and infections brought about by
overcrowding and poor hygiene.
✓ Reports and studies reveal that intensive farming affects and alters the environment in multiple
ways. Forests are destroyed to create large open fields, and this could lead to soil erosion. It affects
the natural habitat of wild animals. Use of chemical fertilizers contaminates soil and water bodies,
such as lakes and rivers.
✓ Pesticides sprayed on crops not only destroy pests and contaminate the crops, but also kill beneficial
insects. Eventually, these chemicals are passed on to human beings, who consume the agricultural
produce.
✓ Fruits and vegetables purchased from farms that promote intensive farming are covered with
invisible pesticides. These cannot be washed off easily. Exceeding the use of pesticides affects the
health of human beings severely, leading to skin allergy, physical deformity, and congenital disease.
✓ There are many hybrid varieties of livestock, plants, and poultry available today. The livestock and
poultry are injected with hormones and other chemicals to increase the yield.
4.8 Extensive Farming
Extensive farming or extensive agriculture (as opposed to intensive farming) is an agricultural production
system that uses small inputs of labor, fertilizers, and capital, relative to the land area being farmed.
Extensive system of farming involves:
✓ Larger farm size ✓ Commercial approach

✓ High intensity of capital ✓ Low production per unit of land
✓ Low intensity of labor ✓ Dominance of single cereals
✓ High per capita Production ✓ Huge surplus
✓ Emphasis on mono-cropping ✓ Dominance of machine
4.8.1 Differences between Intensive and Extensive Farming system

Parameters of
Intensive Farming Extensive Farming
Comparison
Meaning More use of Labor and capital Less Input of labor and Capital
Location Close to markets Remote location. Far from market
Farming land Small & extensive agriculture system Large and inexpensive farming technique
within a densely populated area practiced in a moderately populated area
Output Large scale Small Scale
Environment Negative Positive
5 System of Crop Intensification

✓ Crop intensification can be defined as growing more number of mono crops in the same piece of
land per year.
✓ Crop intensification is measured by cropping intensity (CI). Higher the CI, higher is the cropping
intensity.
5.1 Cropping Intensity
Cropping intensity (CI) refers to raising of a number of crops from the same field during one
agricultural year. It can be expressed through a formula.
Cropping Intensity = Gross Cropped Area / Net Sown Area x 100.
✓ CI differs as per the amount of rainfall received by the areas.

o In rain fed areas with a short rainy season, you can grow only one crop per year, and the CI
is “1” here. In rain fed areas with a longer rainy season, one main crop is followed by a short
duration legume or oil seed crop. Here the CI is 2.0.
o In irrigated areas, up to 3 crops can be grown with a CI of 3, or 5 crops in two years with a
CI of 2.5.
✓ While intensifying production, proper crop rotation is critical to optimize crop yields, minimize weeds
as well as pests and diseases, maintain soil quality, and maximize water and nutrient use efficiency.
✓ SCI has emerged in several Asian and African countries, raising the productivity of the land, water,
seed, labor, and capital resources that farmers invest can for growing a wide range of crops.
✓ The ideas and practices that have given rise to SCI have derived from farmers’ and others’ experience
with the system of rice intensification (SRI).
✓ The principles constituting both SCI and SRI, based on demonstrated agronomic theory and practice,
are shared with other agroecological domains of innovation such as agroforestry, conservation
agriculture, integrated pest management, and integrated range and livestock management.
✓ The common elements involved in SCI crop management, extrapolated by farmers and others from
what has been learned from their SRI experience, can be summarized as:
o Establishment of healthy plants both early and attentively, taking care to conserve and
nurture their potential for root system growth and for associated shoot growth.
o Significant reductions in crop density, transplanting or sowing individual plants with wider
spacing between them, giving each plant more room to grow both above and below ground.
o Enrichment of the soil with organic matter and keeping the soil well-aerated to support the
better growth of roots and of beneficial soil biota.
o Application of water in ways that favor plant-root and soil-microbial growth, avoiding
hypoxic soil conditions that adversely affect both roots and aerobic soil organisms.
5.2 System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a farming methodology, aimed at increasing the
yield of rice produced in farming. It is a low water, labor-intensive, method that uses younger
seedlings singly spaced and typically hand weeded with special tools. It was developed in
1983 by the French Jesuit Father Henri de Laulanié in Madagascar.
5.2.1 Benefits of SRI

✓ The benefits of SRI have been demonstrated in over 50 countries, which include, 20%-100% or more
increased yields, up to a 90% reduction in required seed, and up to 50% water savings.
✓ SRI principles and practices have been adapted for rainfed rice as well as for other crops (such as
wheat, sugarcane and tef, among others), with yield increases and associated economic benefits.
✓ The below picture clearly enumerates the benefits of SRI cultivation in Rice.
LAI (Leaf Area Index): Leaf area index (LAI) is a dimensionless quantity that characterizes plant canopies.
It is defined as the one-sided green leaf area per unit ground surface area (LAI = leaf area / ground area,
m2 / m2).
Senescence: Plant senescence is the process of aging in plants. Plants have both stress-induced and age-
related developmental aging. Chlorophyll degradation during leaf senescence reveals the carotenoids,
and is the cause of autumn leaf color in deciduous trees.
Cytokinins (CK): They are a class of plant growth substances (phytohormones) that promote cell division,
or cytokinesis, in plant roots and shoots. They are involved primarily in cell growth and differentiation,
but also affect apical dominance, axillary bud growth, and leaf senescence.
5.2.2 Process flow of SRI cultivation in Rice
6 Crop Diversification
✓ In agricultural context, diversification of Crops can be regarded as the re-allocation of some of a
farm’s productive resources, such as land, capital, farm equipment and paid labor, into new
activities. These can be new crops or livestock products, value adding activities, provision of services
to other farmers.
✓ Crop diversification is not only the shift from traditional and less remunerative to more
remunerative crops, but it is demand driven, and involves spatial, temporal, value- addition and
resource-complementary approaches.
✓ It implies a shifting of resources from low-value crops to high-value crops, usually intended for human
consumption such as fruits and vegetables.
6.1 Strategies for Crop Diversification

✓ Replacement of low yielding value crops with high yielding high value crops with longer shelf life.
✓ Intercropping in rainfed areas.
✓ Diversion of high-water requiring crops with less water requiring crops.
✓ Legumes intervention.
✓ Inclusion of crops having both domestic and international demands.
✓ Inclusion of energy efficient crops.
✓ Systems with high productivity, profitability and sustainability.
✓ Shift high risk crops with short duration pulses and drought resistant oilseed crops.
6.2 Drivers of Diversification

It is a response to both Opportunities and Threats.
Opportunities
✓ Changing consumer demand- As consumers become Threats
richer, food consumption pattern changes. People ✓ Urbanization- With expansion of cities there is
move away from a diet based on staples to one with pressure on the land resources.
greater content of animal products and fruits and ✓ Risk- Farmers face the risk from bad weather and
vegetables. from fluctuating prices. A diversified portfolio of
✓ Changing demographics- With rapid urbanization, no. products should ensure that farmers do not
of farmers are reducing while the consumers are suffer complete ruin when the weather is bad.
increasing. This calls for the change in agronomic ✓ External and Domestic Threats- Agricultural
practices. production is sometimes undertaken because of
✓ Export potential- Developing countries had government subsidies, rather than because it is
considerable success by diversifying into crops that can profitable. The reduction or removable of those
meet export market demand. subsidies can have a major impact on farmers.
✓ Adding Value-People are shifting to Ready-T0-Go meals Similarly, trade can have impact on farmers.
and labor-saving packaging. This provides the ✓ Climate Change-The type of crop being grown is
opportunity for farmers to diversify into value-addition. affected by changes in temperatures and the
✓ Improving Nutrition- Diversifying from the monoculture length of the growing season. It can modify the
of traditional staples can have important nutritional availability of water for production.
benefits for farmers.
6.3 Challenges/Constraints in Crop Diversification

✓ Majority of the cropped area in the country is completely dependent on rainfall.
✓ Sub-optimal and over-use of resources like fertilizers, land, and water, causing negative impact on
the sustainability of agriculture.
✓ Fragmentation of land holding, less favoring modernization, and mechanization of agriculture.
✓ Very weak agro-based industry.
✓ Inadequately trained human resources together with persistent and large-scale illiteracy among
farmers.
✓ Decreased investment in agriculture sector over the years.
6.4 Approaches to Crop Diversification
Horizontal diversification
✓ It includes the farm diversification through crop intensification

Vertical diversification
and crop substitution. It is the primary approach to crop
In this approach, farmers and
diversification in production agriculture.
others, add value to products
✓ Here, diversification takes place through crop intensification by
through processing, regional
adding new high-value crops to the existing cropping systems or
branding, packaging,
to suit the defined objective like use of gap between 2 crops,
merchandizing, or other
utilize the space available in the fields or bunds, as a way to
efforts to enhance the
improve the overall productivity of a farm.
marketable access of the
✓ A tendency towards cereal specialization was observed during
product.
1967-76 replacing coarse cereals. Similarly, replacing tendency
continued by giving space to oilseeds and other high value crops
when income from food grain plateaued.
6.5 Impact of Crop diversification

For export: Crops like basmati rice and spices have demand for export and there is need for diversification
with high quality basmati rice and spices to meet the demand. Similarly, there is demand for cut flowers,
onion and other vegetable crops. So there is need to rationalize area under these crops to avoid scarcity
and excess in the domestic market to ensure price stability.
For Nutritional Security: Intervention of legumes and genetically fortified genotypes of cereals such as
golden rice, etc. can help to tackle the problem of malnourishment.
For Nutrient management: The crop with deep root system must be followed by crop with fibrous root
system. This helps in proper and uniform use of nutrients from the soil. The leguminous crops must be
sown after non-leguminous crops as they help in the fixation of atmospheric N into the soil.
For Pest management: Intercropping can be practiced in widely spaced crops to reduce weed infestation
apart from increasing overall productivity. Crops with different botanical relationship should be altered
for control of weed, pest and diseases.
7 Dryland Agriculture
Dryland Agriculture refers to cultivation of crops entirely under natural rainfall without irrigation.
✓ It is a form of subsistence farming in the regions where deficit of the soil moisture retards the growth
of water consuming crops like rice (Oryza sativa), sugarcane etc.
✓ Dryland areas are characterized by low and erratic rainfall and no assured irrigation facilities.
✓ Dryland agriculture is important for the economy as most of the coarse grain crops, pulses, oilseeds,
and raw cotton are grown on these lands.
✓ Dryland areas receive rainfall between 500 and 1150 mm.
7.1 Categories
Based on amount of rainfall received, Dryland agriculture can be grouped into three categories:
Dry Farming Dryland farming Rainfed farming

Cultivation of crops in areas where Cultivation of crops in areas receiving Cultivation of crops in regions
average annual rainfall is less than 750 rainfall from 750 to 1150 mm per receiving rainfall more than 1150
mm per annum. annum. mm per annum.
7.2 Crops mainly grown in dryland regions

Pulses and oilseeds, important commercial crops like cotton, castor, groundnut and all coarse grains like
jowar, bajra etc.
7.3 Given below is the comparison study of dry farming, dryland farming and
rainfed farming:
Particular Dry farming Dryland farming Rainfed Farming
Rainfall/annum(mm) <750 750-1150 >1150
Moisture availability Acute shortage Shortage Enough
Crop growing season <75 days 75 - 120days >120 days
Growing region Arid Semi-arid Humid
Single crop/Inter Single crop/Inter
Cropping systems Inter/ multicropping
cropping cropping
Dry spells Most common Less frequent No occurrence
Crop failure More frequent Less frequent Rare
Wind erosion/water
Constraints Wind Erosion Water erosion
erosion
Moisture Moisture conservation
Proper drainage
Measures required Conservation practices & drainage for
required
practices vertisols
Kindly note point No.4. This is a very general classification of the regions.
7.4 Given below is the crop regions in India that are classified based on
average rainfall:
7.5 The following is the list of aberrant weather conditions prevailing in

Dryland areas/Problems of Dryland Agriculture:
Dry farming crops are characterized by very low and highly variable and uncertain yields. Crop failures are
quite common. These are mainly due to the following causes.
7.5.1 Inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall

In general, the rainfall is low and highly variable which results in uncertain crop yields. Besides its
uncertainty, the distribution of rainfall during the crop period is uneven, receiving high amount of
rain, when it is not needed and lack of it when crop needs it.
7.5.2 Late onset and early cessation of rains

Due to late onset of monsoon, the sowing of crop are delayed resulting in poor yields. Sometimes
the rain may cease very early in the season exposing the crop to drought during flowering and
maturity stages which reduces the crop yields considerably
7.5.3 Prolonged Dry spells during the crop period

Long breaks in the rainy season is an important feature of Indian monsoon. These intervening dry
spells when prolonged during crop period reduces crop growth and yield and when unduly
prolonged crops fail.
7.5.4 Low moisture retention capacity

The crops raised on red soils, and coarse textured soil suffer due to lack of moisture whenever
prolonged dry spells occur due to their low moisture holding capacity. Loss of rain occurs as runoff
due to undulating and sloppy soils.
7.5.5 Low Fertility of Soils

Drylands are not only thirsty, but also hungry too. Soil fertility has to be increased, but there is limited
scope for extensive use of chemical fertilizers due to lack of adequate soil moisture.
7.5.6 Small size of land holdings
Land holding (less than 2 hectares) usually fragmented and scattered, lack of market facilities,
frequent crop failure, poor economic condition and other socio-economic problem related to
drylands. Extremely poor condition of farmers, lack of infrastructure to boost production.
7.6 All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) for Dryland Agriculture
In order to deal with the above mentioned aberrant weather conditions which are a problem for farming
in such areas, Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) started All India Coordinated Research
Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) in 1970 with the assistance from the Government of Canada.
The project presently has 25 co-operative centres.
The establishment of Central Research Institute for dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderabad in 1985
gave an impetus by providing basic and strategic research support.
7.6.1 The following is the mandate of the mission:

✓ Optimize the use of natural resources, i.e., rainfall, land and water, and minimize soil and water loss
and degradation of environment.
✓ Evolve simple technologies to substantially increase crop productivity and profitability.
✓ Increase stability of crop production over years by providing improvements in natural resources
management, crop management systems and alternate crop production technologies matching
weather aberrations.
✓ Develop alternate and sustainable land use systems.
✓ Evaluate and study transferability of improved dryland technologies to farmers’ fields.
7.7 Improved dryland technologies

Following are the various improved techniques and practices recommended for achieving the objective
of increased and stable crop production in dryland areas.
7.7.1 Crop planning

Crop varieties for dryland areas should be of short duration, drought resistant and high yielding which
can be harvested within rainfall periods and have sufficient residual moisture in soil profile for post-
monsoon cropping.
7.7.2 Planning for weather

Variation in yields and output of the dryland agriculture is due to the observation in weather conditions
especially rainfall.
7.7.3 Crop substitution

Traditional crops/varieties which are inefficient utilizer of soil moisture, less responsive to production
input and potentially low producers should be substituted by more efficient ones. For the non-farm
operation dryland areas have to be supplemented with non-form occupation like animal husbandry,
fisheries, poultry, social forestry and cottage for the development of these areas.
7.7.4 Cropping systems
Increasing the cropping intensities by using the practice of inter cropping and multiple cropping is the way
of more efficient utilization of resources.
7.7.5 Integrated nutrient management (INM)

INM need to be practiced with special emphasis on use of bio-fertilizers to maintain the soil fertility.
7.7.6 Integrated weed management and integrated pest management (IWM and IPM)
(IWM and IPM) need to be adopted to control weeds and pests, respectively.
7.7.7 Other technologies include

Watershed management, Rain-water management, Alternate Land use etc.
For
Cropping Patterns and Cropping Systems

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Cropping Pattern ............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Types of Cropping Patterns ...................................................................................................... 4
1.1.1 Monoculture or Monocropping ........................................................................................ 5
1.1.2 Multiple Cropping............................................................................................................. 5
1.1.3 Types of Multiple Cropping ............................................................................................... 5
2 Cropping System .............................................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Rice based Cropping System..................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Types of Rice based Cropping System ............................................................................... 7
2.2 Root based Cropping system .................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Grain-legume based Cropping system ...................................................................................... 8
2.4 Maize based Cropping system .................................................................................................. 8
2.5 Wheat based cropping system ................................................................................................. 9
2.6 Sugarcane based Cropping Systems.......................................................................................... 9
3 Multistoreyed or Multi level cropping ............................................................................................ 10
3.1 Advantages of multi-storied cropping system ......................................................................... 10
3.2 Disadvantages of multi-storied cropping ................................................................................ 10

Lets have a look at the following set of differences between Farming Systems and Cropping systems
before proceeding any further.
Cropping system Farming system

The cropping patterns used on a farm and their Farming systems represent integration of farm
interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises such as cropping systems, animal
enterprises and available technology which husbandry, fisheries, etc., for optimal utilisation of
determines their make-up is called cropping resources leading to remunerative farming.
system.
Includes, monocropping, multiple cropping, Includes, dairy, piggery, crops etc…
intercropping etc…
Here there is no recycling of crop residues. Farming system follows crop residues recycling,
Cropping system mitigating adverse effects of Farming system doesn’t mitigate adverse effects
aberrant weather. of aberrant weather.
Examples: rice based cropping system, wheat Examples: wet land based farming system; dry
based cropping system, oilseed based cropping land based farming system, garden land farming
system, and sugarcane based cropping system. system.
Some indices are available to evaluate cropping There are no special indices or index not available
system. to evaluate farming system.
1 Cropping Pattern
✓ Cropping pattern is a dynamic concept because it changes over space and time.
✓ It can be defined as the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time.
✓ In other words, it is a yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of sowing and fallow on a given area.
In India, the cropping pattern determined by rainfall, climate, temperature, soil type and
technology.
✓ So, we can say that it is combination of crops in time and space.
1.1 Types of Cropping Patterns

Now let us discuss about various types of Cropping Patterns.

1.1.1 Monoculture or Monocropping
✓ If the land is occupied by one crop during one season, the cropping pattern would be Monocropping
(space sequence).
✓ If the land is occupied by one crop during one season and next season and next to next season (same
crop grown year after year), the cropping pattern would be monoculture (Time sequence).
1.1.2 Multiple Cropping

Growing two or more crops on the same field in a year. This is a method of intensification of cropping in
time and space dimensions. Before we discuss the types of multiple cropping, we shall have a look at the
concept of Intensive Cropping and crop rotation:
1.1.2.1 Intensive farming

✓ It is an agricultural intensification and mechanization system that aims to maximize yields from
available land through various means, such as heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
1.1.2.2 Crop rotation

In crop rotation, crops are changed from year to year according to a planned sequence.
This can be better understood with the help of an example.
For Example: Some insect pests and disease-causing organisms are hosts' specific. For example, rice
stem borer feeds mostly on rice. If you don't rotate rice with other crops belonging to a different
family, the problem continues as food is always available to the pest. However, if you plant legume as
the next crop, then corn, then beans, then bulbs, the insect pest will likely die due to absence of food.
Advantages of crop rotation
✓ Prevents soil depletion and maintains soil fertility

✓ Reduces soil erosion and reduces reliance on synthetic chemicals
✓ Controls insect/mite pests. Crop rotation as a means to control to insect pests is most effective.
✓ Reduces the pests' build-up, Prevents diseases and helps control weeds
1.1.3 Types of Multiple Cropping

There are two types of Multiple cropping systems

1.1.3.1 Sequential Cropping
✓ Sequential cropping refers to growing of two or more crops in sequence on the same piece of land
in a farming year (one after the other).
✓ On the basis of number of crops in a year, it is called double, triple or quadruple cropping.
✓ Examples of double cropping are Rice-Potato, Rice-mustard; Examples of triple sequential cropping
include Rice-Potato-Groundnut; Examples of Quadruple sequential cropping is Short duration rice-
mustard-mungbean-short duration rice
Under this we shall study about Ratoon cropping:
✓ Ratoon cropping is growing a fresh crop from the stubbles or suckers of the plant crop without
replanting. It is also referred to as stubble cropping, re-harvesting, second crop, etc.
✓ When we cut crops, some crops have the tendency to resprout, which is called rationing.
✓ Perfect example of ratoon crop is sugarcane, in this method when the cane is harvested, a portion
of stalk is left underground to give rise to a succeeding growth of cane, the ratoon or stubble crop.
The basal part of plants and especially cereal grasses remaining attached to the soil after harvest is
called as Stubble.
1.1.3.2 Intercropping
✓ Intercropping refers to growing of two or more crops in same field at the same time.
✓ It is again of 4 types
1. Mixed intercropping: Growing two or more crops 2. Row intercropping: It involves the component crops
simultaneously with no distinct row arrangement. arranged in alternate rows.
4. Relay intercropping: Growing two or more crops
3. Strip intercropping: Growing two or more
simultaneously during the part of the lifecycle of each.
crops simultaneously in strips wide enough to
A second crop is planted after the first crop has reached
permit independent cultivation but narrow
its reproductive stage of growth, but, before it is ready
enough for the crops to interact agronomically.
for harvest. Thus both the crops share some part of the
season.
Companion cropping: A secondary crop planted to increase or hasten returns on a plot of land is called
as Companion cropping. Ex: Sugarcane+ Toria. Much of the space between two rows of sugarcane
remains unutilized for an initial period of 100-120 days, because of slow growth. Companion cropping
offers opportunity for profitable utilization of available space.
2 Cropping System
✓ Cropping system refers to cropping pattern as well as its interaction with resources; technology,
environment etc.
✓ Thus, a cropping system comprises cropping pattern plus all components required for the production
of a particular crop and the interrelationships between them and environment.
✓ It is executed in the field level and is of 3 types (Rice based, Root based and Legume grain based)

2.1 Rice based Cropping System
✓ RICE-based cropping system can be described as mix of farming practices that comprises of rice as
the major crop followed by subsequent cultivation of other crops.
✓ It is a major cropping system practiced in India, which include the rotation of crops involving
cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane, green manures, vegetable etc.
✓ In rice growing areas, several crop combinations (cropping systems) are in practice based on agro-
ecological conditions, market and domestic needs and facilities available with farmers.
Rice under
Irrigated Upland integrated farming
condictions condition system
Rice-Rice-Rice Rice-Chickpea Rice-Fish-Poultry
Rice-Rice-Cereal Rice-Lentil Rice-Fish-Duckery
Rice-Rice-Pulses Rice-Mustard
Rice-Wheat-Pulses Rice-Barley
Rice-Toria-Wheat Rice-Wheat
Rice-Wheat Rice-Pea
Rice-Mustard
2.1.1 Types of Rice based Cropping System
2.1.1.1 Mixed varietal cropping of rice

✓ System of mixing seed of early rice with late maturing deep-water rice is being practices in West
Bengal to avoid total crop loss at the event of flood.
✓ The seed of both the types of mixed in 1:1 ratio and has given higher yield than sole cropping of
either type.
✓ Similarly, growing of a mixture of autumn and winter varieties in 3:1 ratio in Tamil Nadu and
Kerala is frequently in practice.
2.1.1.2 Intercropping rice with other crops:

✓ It is a common practice under upland conditions in north and north-eastern part of India to grow
rice intercropped with blackgram, greengram, sesame, maize, finger millet or other minor millets.
✓ The ratio of rice and intercrop is preferred to be 3-4:1.
2.1.1.3 Relay/paira/utera cropping:

✓ The seed of succeeding crops like lentil, gram, pea, lathyrus, berseem, linseed etc. is sown broadcast
in maturing rice crop.
✓ This practice saves time; money (to be spent on land preparation etc.) and utilizes residual fertility.
2.1.1.4 Sequential cropping in rice:

✓ Sequential cropping refers to the crops grown as preceding or succeeding with rice.
2.2 Root based Cropping system

✓ The Root Crop Farming System is a type of Farming system wherein Root crops or Tuber crops like
Cassava, Sweet Potato etc., are grown in rotation with Rice or Maize. Most suitable land for this
type of cropping system is largely moist sub-humid and humid agro-ecological zones.

✓ This farming system is not one of the most highly rates systems in terms of drought. The length of
the growing in this system is also fairly long.
✓ This is commonly followed in some African countries, viz., Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
2.3 Grain-legume based Cropping system

✓ Grain legumes fulfil important roles in cropping systems as sources of nitrogen for the following crop,
in terms of phytosanitary effects in the crop rotation and for supporting farm biodiversity.
✓ Grain legumes such as cowpeas, soybeans, groundnuts, Red gram, Black gram, Green gram and
common beans are commonly grown as mono crop, intercrop or in rotation with other crops in the
sub-humid and semi-arid zones.
✓ The contribution of grain legumes to biological nitrogen fixation varied widely depending on the
crop, variety and the management practices adopted.
✓ Example: In West, east and South African countries, as per studies conducted, the choice of an
improved variety of cowpea increased N-fixed by 120 kg per hectare, while the application of 30 kg P
per hectare has increased the N-fixed by 58 kg per hectare.
There are few more important cropping system followed in India, that is Maize based Cropping system,
Wheat based Cropping Systems and Sugarcane based Cropping sytems.
2.4 Maize based Cropping system

✓ Maize has wide adaptability and compatibility under diverse soil and climatic conditions. Hence, it
is cultivated in sequence with different crops under various agro-ecologies of the country.
✓ Among different maize based cropping systems, Maize-Wheat ranks 1st having maximum area
mainly concentrated in rainfed ecologies.
✓ The other major Maize systems in India are Maize-Mustard, Maize-Chickpea, Maize-Maize, Cotton-
Maize.
✓ Rice-Maize has emerged a potential maize based cropping system in peninsular and eastern India.
✓ Compared to existing cropping systems like Rice-Wheat and Rice-Rice, Maize based cropping
systems are better user of available resources and the water use efficiency of maize based
cropping systems was about 100 to 200 % higher at different locations.

2.5 Wheat based cropping system
✓ One of the major cropping systems in wheat based cropping system is Wheat- Rice cropping
system.
✓ The Rice-Wheat based Cropping Systems (RWCS) in India have significantly contributed in
enhancing the food grain production and achieving the food self-sufficiency and food security.
✓ Major Rice-Wheat growing states are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and
West Bengal.
✓ Few other Wheat based Cropping systems: Wheat –Chickpea; Wheat –fallow; Wheat-Rice-Wheat;
Wheat-Green manure-Wheat; Wheat-fallow-Wheat.
Major issues faced under Wheat based Cropping Systems are:
✓ Over mining of nutrients from soil

✓ Disturbed soil aggregates due to puddling in rice
✓ Decreasing response to nutrients
✓ Declining ground water table
✓ Build up of diseases/pests, weeds like Phalaris minor
✓ Low input use efficiency in north western plains
2.6 Sugarcane based Cropping Systems

✓ When sugarcane is mono-cropped even with large quantities of applied inputs, as balance between
removal and addition is not maintained in all nutrients, the soil gets depleted of some nutrients
excessively. This leads to stunted growth of the crop, poor leaf area development and low light
interception and consequently the harvesting of solar energy is also low.
✓ Combining crops with sugarcane in time and space helps in balanced use of both natural resources
and applied inputs, facilitates development and maintenance of optimum leaf area throughout
leading to maximum harvesting of solar energy and sustainable crop production.
✓ Cultivation of sugarcane in a sequence with other crops can minimize all the ill-effects observed in
mono-cropping of sugarcane.
✓ Crops suitable for growing in sequence with sugarcane under tropical conditions are Rice, Banana,
Turmeric, Groundnut, Cowpea, Black gram, Green gram, Soybean, Daincha, Sunn-hemp.
✓ For sustainable agriculture in areas where sugarcane is a dominant crop, either a 3-year or 4-year
crop sequence should be adopted. Of these, two years will be occupied by one plant plus one
ratoon crop of sugarcane while in the remaining one- or two-years compatible crops could be grown
in sequence with sugarcane.
✓ In garden-land conditions, crops like Maize, Finger millet, Pulses, Groundnut, Sesame, Sunflower,
Cotton etc. could be grown.
✓ In wetland conditions, crops like Rice, Turmeric, Banana, Groundnut, and Pulses would be ideal.

3 Multistoreyed or Multi level cropping
✓ Two or more crops of different heights are grown simultaneously on a piece of land in a certain
period.
✓ Sunlight, nutrient, land, water, and space are utilized in the most efficient and economic way.
✓ Increased biological diversity and higher production stability.
✓ Improve soil health and physical property of soil.
✓ Examples: Coconut-black pepper-Cacao-Pineapple, Coconut-Jackfruit-coffee-Papaya-Pineapple,
Coconut-Papaya-Pineapple etc.,
3.1 Advantages of multi-storied cropping system

✓ Better use of growth resources including sunlight, nutrient and water.
✓ Yield stability (suppress the growth of weeds).
✓ Ecological stability i.e. improved soil health and agro-ecosystem.
✓ Flow of income during cropping periods.
✓ Other miscellaneous benefits like distribution of labour, physical support of one crop to another
etc.,
3.2 Disadvantages of multi-storied cropping

✓ Labour intensive.
✓ Chemical control of weeds, pests and diseases may be difficult.
✓ Difficulty in mechanization.
✓ Adverse competitive effect or by allelopathy.
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals

that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These
biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the
target organisms and the community.
Supplementary notes on Ley Farming

Contents
1 What is Ley Farming? ............................................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Advantages of Ley Farming ........................................................................................................... 3
1.1.1 Improvement of nitrogen content for subsequent plantations ........................................... 3
1.1.2 Restoration of soil and organic matter structure ................................................................. 4
1.1.3 Controlling the growth of weeds .......................................................................................... 4
1.1.4 Preventing deep drainage and erosion ................................................................................. 4
1.1.5 Improves livestock efficiency ................................................................................................ 4
1.1.6 Natural fertilizers .................................................................................................................. 4
1.2 Disadvantages of Ley Farming ...................................................................................................... 4

“Nothing in Nature blooms all year. Be patient with yourself.” - Unknown
1 What is Ley Farming?

✓ The growing of grass or legumes in rotation with grain or tilled crops as a soil conservation measure
is Ley farming.
✓ This system is a type of Crop rotation and involves the use of various annual and perennial crops
(grasses, legumes), grown in long-term and short-term, to manage the soil.
✓ It is important for increased fodder production, a critical component in Rainfed farming.
✓ Example: grass + stylosanthes
Pasture OR
Legume (Eg: Cowpea)

Cereal (Eg: Maize)
✓ Emphasis is placed on the value of grass-legume mixture to get fodder for livestock and improve soil
fertility for obtaining higher yields of arable crops.
✓ For maximum crop yield, the best use of available land.
✓ Latest methods of crop husbandry are put into practice.
1.1 Advantages of Ley Farming
1.1.1 Improvement of nitrogen content for subsequent plantations

✓ Legumes improve the fertility of the soil, the quality of the grain and increase the volume of crops.
✓ Most of the nitrogen in the soil gets used up by grains, so the alteration with legume crops gives an
extremely positive effect.

1.1.2 Restoration of soil and organic matter structure
✓ Legume pastures can't produce the desired effect if used separately; in this case, grass can become
an excellent helper, since it promotes the production of organic materials.
✓ It has been scientifically proven that meadow grasses increase soil organic matter by about 0.1% per
year.
1.1.3 Controlling the growth of weeds

✓ Cattles that eat unwanted plants can graze on these pastures. This approach is especially effective in
combating weeds annually.
1.1.4 Preventing deep drainage and erosion

✓ On perennial pastures, the root system develops quite well, which provides access to water and
nutrients at a considerable depth.
✓ As a result, the top layer becomes dry, and the loss of water and useful substances during drainage
is prevented.
✓ Shallow soil is quite unstable as it does not hold water well, so ley pastures are able to become good
tools for reducing drainage.
1.1.5 Improves livestock efficiency

✓ During the grazing season, animals receive high nutritional support so farmers can obtain milk of
better quality.
1.1.6 Natural fertilizers

✓ It helps in adding natural fertilizers.
1.2 Disadvantages of Ley Farming

✓ Considerable time and investment of lots of money.
✓ Problems could also arise due to improper preparation of the seeds, their low quality or unfavorable
weather conditions.
✓ It is necessary to remove all modern forms of plant cultivation from the soil before sowing new
under the ley farming system.
✓ Sometimes, in order to ensure a good future harvest, it is required to observe a certain interval
before removing and sowing plants.

For
Agrometeorology

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Meteorology .................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Why do we need to study the atmosphere? ............................................................................. 8
1.2 What is the difference between weather and climate?............................................................. 8
2 Agrometeorology............................................................................................................................. 9
2.1 Why is it important to establish a relationship between the plants and the physical
environment? ...................................................................................................................................... 9
3 Agro Climatic Zones of India............................................................................................................. 9
3.1 Factors based on which the classification is done ..................................................................... 9
3.2 Need for such a classification ................................................................................................. 10
3.3 Agroclimatic zones (ACZs) classification based on Planning Commission of India .................... 10
3.3.1 Western Himalayan Region............................................................................................. 11
3.3.2 Eastern Himalayan Region .............................................................................................. 12
3.3.3 Lower Gangetic Plains..................................................................................................... 12
3.3.4 Middle Gangetic Plains ................................................................................................... 12
3.3.5 Upper Gangetic Plain ...................................................................................................... 13
3.3.6 Transgangetic plains ....................................................................................................... 13
3.3.7 Eastern and Plateau Hills ................................................................................................ 13
3.3.8 Central Plateau and Hills ................................................................................................. 14
3.3.9 Western Plateau and Hills ............................................................................................... 14
3.3.10 Southern Plateau and Hills .............................................................................................. 14
3.3.11 East Coast plains ............................................................................................................. 15
3.3.12 West Coast Plains and Ghats........................................................................................... 15
3.3.13 Gujarat Plains and Hills ................................................................................................... 15
3.3.14 Western Dry region ........................................................................................................ 16
3.3.15 Island regions ................................................................................................................. 16
3.4 List of regions (states) in which the various Agro-Climatic zones lie ........................................ 16
3.5 Agroclimatic zones (ACZs) classification based on ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture Research)
17
3.6 Agro-ecological regions by the National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning (NBSS &
LUP) 17

3.6.1 Classification of Agro-ecological regions by NBSS&LUP based on various eco-systems of
India 18
3.6.2 LGPs of various ecosystems of India................................................................................ 18
3.6.3 Important Features of the Agro-ecological Zones of India ............................................... 19
4 What is Atmosphere? .................................................................................................................... 23
4.1 Importance of atmosphere for agriculture.............................................................................. 24
4.2 Structure of atmosphere ........................................................................................................ 24
4.2.1 Main features/characteristics of the layers of atmosphere ............................................. 24
4.3 Factors that affect Weather and Climate of a place ................................................................ 26
5 Clouds............................................................................................................................................ 26
5.1 Definition or Meaning of clouds ............................................................................................. 26
5.2 How do clouds form? ............................................................................................................. 26
5.3 Classification of clouds ........................................................................................................... 27
5.4 Classification of clouds - A scheme of distinguishing and grouping clouds according to their
appearance, and, where possible, to their process of formation ........................................................ 27
5.4.1 Number and types of determinants ................................................................................ 28
5.4.2 Family A - High level clouds (altitudes of 5-13 km) .......................................................... 29
5.4.3 Family B - Medium level clouds (altitudes of 2.5-7 km) ................................................... 29
5.4.4 Family C – Lower level clouds (altitudes of 0 - 2.5 km) .................................................... 30
5.4.5 Family D - Clouds with large vertical extending (0-13 km) ............................................... 30
5.4.6 Main characteristics of the classified clouds (especially placement of types of clouds
under various Genera) ................................................................................................................... 30
5.5 Classification of clouds - A scheme of classifying clouds according to their usual altitudes. ..... 33
5.6 Classification of Clouds - A scheme of classifying clouds according to their particulate
composition, namely, water clouds, ice-crystal clouds, and mixed clouds. ......................................... 34
5.6.1 Water Clouds.................................................................................................................. 34
5.6.2 Ice crystal clouds ............................................................................................................ 34
5.6.3 Mixed clouds .................................................................................................................. 34
6 Precipitation .................................................................................................................................. 34
6.1 Terminologies of Precipitation................................................................................................ 34
7 Latitudes ........................................................................................................................................ 36
7.1 Tropical Zone: ........................................................................................................................ 36

7.2 Sub-Tropics (23.5◦C to 40◦C):.................................................................................................. 36
7.3 Temperate Zone:.................................................................................................................... 37
7.4 Polar Zones: ........................................................................................................................... 37
8 Altitude.......................................................................................................................................... 37
9 Monsoon ....................................................................................................................................... 37
9.1 Types of Monsoons in India .................................................................................................... 37
9.1.1 South West Monsoon ..................................................................................................... 38
9.1.2 North east Monsoon....................................................................................................... 38
9.1.3 Winter Rainfall................................................................................................................ 38
9.1.4 Summer Rainfall ............................................................................................................. 38
9.2 Terminology related to Monsoons.......................................................................................... 38
9.3 Pressure systems of the world................................................................................................ 40
10 Classification of Climate (Introduction) ...................................................................................... 40
10.1 Factors based on which classification of Climate is done ........................................................ 41
10.1.1 Evapo-transpiration ........................................................................................................ 41
10.1.2 Precipitation ................................................................................................................... 42
10.2 Important classifications of Climate........................................................................................ 42
10.3 Koeppen’s Scheme ................................................................................................................. 42
10.3.1 Climatic distribution based on Koeppen’s scheme .......................................................... 43
10.4 Thornthwaite’s system of classification .................................................................................. 43
10.4.1 1931 classification of climate by Thornthwaite ............................................................... 43
10.4.2 1948 classification of climate by Thornthwaite ............................................................... 44
10.5 Troll classification................................................................................................................... 44
10.6 ICAR classification of climate .................................................................................................. 44
11 Scales of climate and their importance....................................................................................... 45
11.1 Macro climate ........................................................................................................................ 45
11.1.1 Planetary Scale ............................................................................................................... 45
11.1.2 Synoptic Scale................................................................................................................. 45
11.2 Meso-scale............................................................................................................................. 46
11.3 Micro-scale ............................................................................................................................ 46
12 Crop Weather Advisory .............................................................................................................. 46

13 Indian Meteorological Department: ........................................................................................... 46
13.1 Mandate of IMD:.................................................................................................................... 47
13.1.1 Agricultural meteorology division of the IMD:................................................................. 47
13.2 What are Agrometeorological services? ................................................................................. 47
13.3 Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (IAAS) program of India .............................. 48
13.4 District-level Agrometeorological Advisory Service (DAAS) ..................................................... 48
13.5 How is the weather forecasting done? ................................................................................... 48
13.6 AAS (Agro-meteorological Advisory Service) Bulletins at different levels: ............................... 49
13.6.1 Components of Agro-meteorological Advisory Service bulletin ....................................... 49
13.7 Advisory Dissemination mechanism: ...................................................................................... 50
14 Crop-Weather modelling:........................................................................................................... 50
14.1 What are the steps involved in crop-weather modelling? ....................................................... 50
14.2 Important variables used in the system .................................................................................. 50
14.3 Types of Models ..................................................................................................................... 51
14.3.1 Statistical models ........................................................................................................... 51
14.3.2 Mechanistic models ........................................................................................................ 51
14.3.3 Deterministic models...................................................................................................... 51
14.3.4 Stochastic models ........................................................................................................... 51
14.3.5 Dynamic models ............................................................................................................. 51
14.3.6 Static models .................................................................................................................. 51
14.3.7 Phenological models....................................................................................................... 51
14.4 Some important Crop weather models running in India.......................................................... 51
c. PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies): PRECIS generates high-resolution climate
change information and can be applied in any region of the world. ....................................................... 52
14.4.1 Other crop models reported ........................................................................................... 52
15 Weather Forecasting:................................................................................................................. 52
15.1 Types of weather forecast: ..................................................................................................... 53
15.2 Weather Calender .................................................................................................................. 53
15.2.1 Bottom part.................................................................................................................... 53
15.2.2 Middle part .................................................................................................................... 53
15.2.3 Top part ......................................................................................................................... 53
16 IMD Classification of the rainfall in India .................................................................................... 53

16.1 Criteria to classify the Seasonal Rainfall.................................................................................. 54
16.1.1 The new categories are................................................................................................... 54
16.2 Certain standardized key terms given by the IMD................................................................... 54
17 Weather abberations ................................................................................................................. 54
17.1 Drought.................................................................................................................................. 55
17.2 Different types of drought: ..................................................................................................... 55
17.2.1 Meteorological Drought ................................................................................................. 55
17.2.2 Hydrological Drought...................................................................................................... 55
17.2.3 Agricultural Drought ....................................................................................................... 55
17.2.4 Socio-Economic Drought................................................................................................. 55
17.3 How does the India Meteorological Department monitor the Agricultural Drought? .............. 55
17.4 Aridity Anomaly Index (AAI): .................................................................................................. 56
17.5 What is the concept behind using this Index? ......................................................................... 56
17.6 Significance of Aridity Anomaly Index (AAI) ............................................................................ 57
18 Weather Modification: ............................................................................................................... 57
18.1 Cloud Seeding: ....................................................................................................................... 57
18.2 There are two basic types of cloud seeding - Cold and Warm ................................................. 57
19 Weather normal for various agricultural crops ........................................................................... 58

1 Meteorology
✓ Meteorology is, by definition, the study of Earth's atmosphere.
✓ It is derived from the Greek word “meteoron” which means "in the sky" or "high in the sky" and “logy”
meaning “indicating science or study of”
✓ Meteorology is an extremely interdisciplinary science, drawing on the laws of physics and chemistry
(among others) to aid in our understanding of Earth's atmosphere, its processes, and its structure.
1.1 Why do we need to study the atmosphere?

✓ Over the centuries, the atmosphere has been studied for a variety of reasons, including agricultural
knowledge, military defense and planning, and developing better warnings for severe weather
systems like tornadoes and hurricanes.
✓ Technological advances, such as the development of scientific computing and an increase in the total
number of meteorological observations being taken daily across the globe, have allowed for better
forecasts and a much better overall understanding of our atmosphere.
We need to be clear with certain concepts before proceeding further with the chapter
1.2 What is the difference between weather and climate?

Features Weather Climate
Definition Weather is the state of the atmosphere on a Climate is the average conditions that are
current day at a current time. It changes day to expected at a certain place over a number of
day. years.
Components Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, Climate may include precipitation,
winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, temperature, humidity, sunshine, and wind
blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms, steady velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and
rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive hail storms over a long period of time.
heat, heat waves and more.
Forecast Day to day forecast can be done depending on Climate forecast can only be done over
the air pressure, temperature and other similar longer periods of time, such as 30 years. The
factors. average of weather over 30 years helps
determine the climate of a certain area.
Determined Real-time measurements of atmospheric Aggregating weather statistics over periods
by pressure, temperature, wind speed and of 30 years
direction, humidity, precipitation, could cover,
etc.
Study Meteorology Climatology

2 Agrometeorology
✓ Agrometeorology (abbreviate from Agricultural Meteorology) is the branch of meteorology which
investigates the relationship of plants and animals to the physical environment.
✓ It also takes into account the climatic and hydrologic conditions which are significant for agriculture
owing to their interaction with the objects and processes of agricultural production.
2.1 Why is it important to establish a relationship between the plants and the physical
environment?
✓ Weather and climate is a resource and considered as basic input or resources in agricultural planning,
every plant process related with growth development and yield of a crop is affected by weather.
✓ Similarly, every farm operation such as ploughing harrowing, land preparation, weeding, irrigation,
manuring, spraying, dusting, harvesting, threshing, storage and transport of farm produce are
affected by weather.
Pictorial representation of how the physical environment is linked to the crop production
3 Agro Climatic Zones of India

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defined an Agro-climatic zone (ACZ) as a land unit represented
accurately or precisely in terms of major climate and growing period, which is climatically suitable for
certain range of crops and cultivars. In other words, it is an extension of the climate classification keeping
in view the suitability to agriculture.
3.1 Factors based on which the classification is done

✓ Climatic Factors such as Rainfall, Temperature etc.
✓ Soil Properties
✓ Physiographic settings like topography and drainage
✓ Cropping pattern
✓ Development of irrigation and mineral resources

Based on these factors ‘The Length of Growing Period (LGP)’ of crops vary.
LGP refers to the number of days available for crop growth with suitable conditions.
3.2 Need for such a classification

✓ With the diverse climate-soil-crop situations that exist in vast areas of the Indian sub-continent, no
single technology or practice satisfies overall planning of agricultural systems.
✓ Therefore, regional planning based on agro-climatic zones is much relevant to achieve higher crop
production.
✓ Identification of homogeneous agro-climatic zones for regional planning is essential for proper
utilization of land, water and other resources through
o transfer of suitable technology,
o choice of crops,
o adoption of uniform policy and
o distribution of management inputs
✓ Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) of the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) also gave much emphasis on agriculture policy and programmes based on agro-
climatic zonal approach.
Classification of Agro-climatic zones in India based on various agencies
3.3 Agroclimatic zones (ACZs) classification based on Planning Commission of

India
✓ Planning Commission of India (1988-89) divided country into different agro climatic regions based on
homogeneity in rainfall, temperature, topography, cropping and farming systems and water
resources.
✓ The principles used for this sub-regionalization related intrinsically with the character of the
agricultural economy, namely, soil type, climate, temperature and its variations, rainfall and other
agro-metereological characteristics, water demand and supply characteristics including quality of
water and acquifer conditions.
✓ India is divided into 15 agro-climatic regions.
✓ The demarcated agro-climatic zones were not considered adequately homogeneous for the purpose
of a detailed operational planning and hence sub-regionalization was carried out.
✓ The 15 zones were further divided into 73 sub-zones (regions). These sub-zones describe within the
state level agro-climatic and socio-economic features.
Agro Climatic Zones of India based on the classification by Planning Commission of India
Now, let us study the above classified Agro climatic zones in detail.
3.3.1 Western Himalayan Region
✓ This region covers Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and

Uttaranchal
✓ Climate is cool and humid.
✓ Annual rainfall -75 cm to 150 cm, except in Ladakh where it is below
30 cm. Soil is predominantly alluvial.
✓ The valley floors grow rice, while the hilly tracts grow maize in the
kharif season.
✓ Winter crops are barley, oats, and wheat.
✓ The region supports horticultural crops like apple, peaches, apricot,
pears, cherry, Almond, litchis, walnut, etc. Saffron is grown in this
region.
✓ Cropping intensity is lowest in J & K and highest in Himachal Pradesh.
3.3.2 Eastern Himalayan Region
✓ This region includes Arunachal Pradesh, the hills of Assam, Sikkim,

Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Jalpaiguri,
Coochbihar, Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
✓ Climate is humid and sub humid.
✓ Annual rainfall-200 cm.
✓ The main crops are rice, maize, potato, tea.
✓ Jhuming (shifting cultivation) prevails in the hilly areas.
✓ The major constraint is soil erosion.
3.3.3 Lower Gangetic Plains
✓ It includes regions in West Bengal.

✓ Climate is moist humid and dry humid.
✓ Annual rainfall-100-200/250 cm.
✓ Productivity of rice is lower than national average
but contributes 12% of total rice production of
country.
✓ Rice is the main crop and others are jute, rapeseed,
wheat.
3.3.4 Middle Gangetic Plains
✓ This region includes eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh

and Bihar plains.
✓ It is fertile alluvial plain drained by the ganga and its
tributaries.
✓ Climate is moist hot sub humid to dry humid
✓ Annual rainfall-100-150 cm
✓ 40% of total cropped area is irrigated and cropping
intensity is 142%
✓ Main crops- Sugarcane, paddy, maize, wheat.
3.3.5 Upper Gangetic Plain
✓ This region includes the western parts of UP.

✓ Climate is dry sub humid to sub dry climate
✓ Annual rainfall – 75 to 150 cm
✓ Main crops-rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane
✓ Irrigation intensity is 131% and cropping intensity is
145%
✓ Milk production and processing units are being
established
3.3.6 Transgangetic plains
✓ This region (also called the Satluj-Yamuna plains)

extends over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi
and the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan
✓ Semi-arid characteristics prevail in this region
✓ Annual rainfall – 40 -100 cm
✓ Cropping intensity is highest
✓ Important crops include wheat, sugarcane, cotton,
rice, gram, maize, millets, pulses, and oilseeds
3.3.7 Eastern and Plateau Hills
✓ This region includes eastern part of MP, southern

part of WB, most of inland Odisha
✓ Climate is moist sub humid to dry sub humid
✓ Annual rainfall is 75 to 150 cm
✓ The region is deficient in water resources due to
plateau structure and non -perennial streams
✓ Important crops are rice, millets, maize, oilseeds,
ragi, gram and potato
✓ Soils are red and yellow with occasional patches of
laterites and alluvium
3.3.8 Central Plateau and Hills
✓ Central Plateau and Hills Region is a large region comprising 46 districts of
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
✓ It is sub-divided into 14 sub-regions having varied topography of low hills,
mounds, valleys, and ravines.
✓ Nearly one-third of land is not available for cultivation.
✓ Climate is arid in western part to sub-humid in eastern part. Irrigation intensity
and cropping intensity are low, and cropping is dominated by food crops.
✓ The undulating topography, underdeveloped irrigation potential, and large
proportion of rainfed farming suggest water conservation, crop
diversification, ground water development and input supplies and services to
be main measures necessary for proper development and growth of the
region
3.3.9 Western Plateau and Hills
✓ This region includes major part of Maharashtra, parts of

MP & one district of Rajasthan
✓ It covers maximum parts of peninsular area.
✓ This is a region of the regur (black soil)
✓ Climate is semi-arid
✓ Net sown area-65%, forest area-11%, irrigated area- 12.4%
✓ Major crops-jowar, bajra, cotton, and wheat
✓ Irrigation is mainly done by canals
✓ This region provides 50 % jowar of our country and best
quality of orange, grape and banana
3.3.10 Southern Plateau and Hills
✓ This region includes the greater parts of Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu
✓ It is an area of dry-zone agriculture
✓ Annual rainfall -50-100 cm
✓ 81% dry land farming and 111% cropping intensity
✓ Major crops- Millets, Coffee, tea, cardamom and spices
Suggestions:
✓ Proper utilization of dry land technology in water shed
area.
✓ Increase fertilizer use efficiency
✓ Minor irrigation use programme
3.3.11 East Coast plains
✓ This region includes Orissa, AP, TN & Pondicherry

✓ Climate is semi-arid and dry sub humid
✓ Annual rainfall: 75 to 150 cm
✓ Soils are mainly alluvial and coastal sands are
troubled by the problem of alkalinity
✓ Irrigation through canals and tanks
✓ Major crops-Rice, Ragi, Jowar & Bajra
✓ This region contributes 20.3% in total rice
production and 17.5% in groundnut production
✓ 75% area is rainfed
3.3.12 West Coast Plains and Ghats
✓ This region includes TN, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka,

Maharashtra
✓ Climate is dry sub humid to humid
✓ Annual rainfall: >200 cm
✓ The soils are laterite and coastal alluvial
✓ Main occupation is cultivation of spices and
plantation crops which are raised along the hill
slopes of western ghats
✓ Major crops-Rice, Ragi, Groundnut, tapioca
3.3.13 Gujarat Plains and Hills
✓ This region includes 19 districts of Gujarat

✓ It is an arid and semi-arid region
✓ 32.5% land is irrigated through wells and tube wells
✓ Main crops-maize, wheat, groundnut, tobacco,
cotton, jowar, bajra
✓ This zone is famous for oilseed crop hence known as
oilseed region
✓ Cropping intensity is 114%. About 60 % area is drought
prone. 78% area is rainfed
✓ Soils are regur in the plateau region, alluvium in the
coastal plains, and red and yellow soils in Jamnagar
area
3.3.14 Western Dry region
✓ This region includes 9 districts of Rajasthan

✓ This region has an erratic rainfall of an annual average
of 95mm
✓ The desert climate further causes high evaporation
✓ This region has scanty vegetation and no perennial
rivers
✓ Drought occurs frequently
✓ Main crops - bajra, gram, wheat, rapeseed
✓ This region has 1.2% forest area, 4.5% pasture
area,6.3% irrigated area
✓ Cropping intensity is 105%
3.3.15 Island regions
✓ This region includes Andaman & Nicobar and

Lakshadweep
✓ Climate is humid
✓ Annual rainfall is 300 mm spread over 8-9 months
✓ Largely forest zone with undulating land
✓ Main crops are rice, maize, millets, pulses,
arecanut, turmeric and cassava
✓ Nearly half of the cropped area is under coconut
3.4 List of regions (states) in which the various Agro-Climatic zones lie
Agro-Climatic Zone States
Western Himalayan region J&K, HP, Uttaranchal
Eastern Himalayan region Arunachal Pradesh, the hills of Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Jalpaiguri, Coochbihar, Darjeeling
district of West Bengal
Lower Gangetic plains region West Bengal
Middle Gangetic plains region Eastern UP, Bihar plains
Upper Gangetic plains region UP
Trans- Gangetic plains region Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh & Rajasthan
Eastern plateau and hills Eastern part of MP, southern part of WB, most of inland Odisha
region
Central Plateau and hills MP, Rajasthan, UP
region
Western Plateau and hills Major part of Maharashtra, parts of MP & one district of Rajasthan
region
Southern plateau and hills AP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
region
East coast plains and hills Orissa, AP, TN & Pondicherry
region
West coast plains and Ghat TN, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra
region
Gujarat plains and hills region Gujarat
Western dry region Rajasthan
The islands region Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep
3.5 Agroclimatic zones (ACZs) classification based on ICAR (Indian Council of

Agriculture Research)
✓ The State Agricultural Universities were advised to divide each state into sub-zones, under the
National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) under ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research)
which was launched in 1979.
✓ Based on the rainfall pattern, cropping pattern and administrative units, 127 agro-climatic zones are
classified.
✓ The focus was on analyzing agro-ecological conditions and cropping patterns and come out with a
programme directly targeted to solve the major bottle necks of agricultural growth in a zone based
on natural resources, major crops, farming systems, production constraints and socio-economic
conditions prevalent in that zone. Stress was on technology generation.
The following are the Agroclimatic zones of India as classified by ICAR
3.6 Agro-ecological regions by the National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use
Planning (NBSS & LUP)
✓ The government of India was not satisfied with the classifications done so far.
✓ It further entrusted ICAR to prepare an agro-ecological region map of the country based on the
parameters (rainfall, temperature, vegetation, potential evapo-transpiration) which form the
"Bioclimate" and parameters (rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, soil storage) which constitutes
the "Length of the Growing Period" (LGP) and parameters (soils and physiography) which form the
"Soil or Land Scape."
✓ Physiographic features, soil characteristics, bio-climatic types (rainfall, potential
evapotranspiration, soil storage) and length of the growing period, Based on these 4 parameters
India is divided into 20 agro-ecological regions.
✓ National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) of the ICAR has delineated 20
agro-ecological regions (AERs) in the country using the FAO 1978 concept of superimposition of
length of growing periods and bio-climate maps on soil physiographic map.
✓ These twenty agro-ecological zones were sub-divided into 60 sub-zones.
✓ The major advantage of LGP based criteria is that the LGP is the direct indicative of moisture
availability of a given landform rather than the total rainfall.
✓ Agro-ecosystems approach allows crop planning based on length of growing period rather than the
quantity of rainfall.
3.6.1 Classification of Agro-ecological regions by NBSS&LUP based on various eco-systems

of India
3.6.2 LGPs of various ecosystems of India
System LGP Major areas
Arid ecosystem Less than 90 days Western Himalayas, Deccan plateau,
Semiarid ecosystem 90-150 days Central high lands, Gujarat plains,
Kathiawar peninsula,
Sub humid 150-180 days or 180- Eastern plateau (Chotanagpur) and
ecosystem 210 days Eastern ghats hot sub-humid eco-region,
Humid-Perhumid 210+ Bengal and Assam plain hot sub-humid
ecosystem
Coastal ecosystem 210+ Eastern coastal plain, Western ghat
Island ecosystem 210+ Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadeep,
This is important for exam purposes whereas the below mentioned table help you with the understanding
of the agro-ecological zones of India.
3.6.3 Important Features of the Agro-ecological Zones of India
AEZ Agro-ecological Geographi Gross Physiogra Precipita PET Length Major crops
No. region cal area cropped phy tion (Potential of
(million area (mm) Evapotrans growing
ha) (million ha) piration) in period
mm (days)
1. Cold arid ecoregion 15.2 0.07 Western < 150 <800 < 90 Vegetables,
with shallow (4.7%) Himalayas millets,
skeletal soils wheat,
fodder,
barley,
pulses
2. Hot arid ecoregion 31.9 20.85 Western < 300 1500–2000 < 90 Millets,
with desert and (9.7%) Plain & fodder,
saline soils Kachchha pulses
Peninsula
3. Hot arid ecoregion 4.9 4.18 Deccan 400–500 1800–1900 < 90 Sorghum,
with red and black (1.9%) Plateau safflower,
soils cotton,
groundnut,
sunflower,
sugar cane
4. Hot semi-arid 32.2 30.05 Northern 500–800 1400–1900 90–150 Millets,
ecoregion with (9.8%) Plain & wheat,
alluvium-derived Central pulses,
soils Highlands maize;
including irrigated
parts of cotton &
Gujarat sugar cane
Plains
5. Hot semi-arid 17.6 11.04 Central 500– 1600–2000 90–150 Millets,

ecoregion with (5.4%) (Malwa) 1000 wheat,
medium and deep Highlands, pulses
black soils Gujarat
Plains &
Kathiawar
Peninsula
6. Hot semi-arid 31.0 25.02 Deccan 600– 1600–1800 90–150 Millets,

ecoregion with (9.5%) Plateau 1000 cotton,
shallow and pulses,
medium sugar cane
(dominant) black under
soils irrigation
7. Hot semi-arid 16.5 6.19 Deccan 600– 1600–1700 90–150 Millets,

ecoregion with red (5.2%) (Telangan 1000 oilseeds,
and black soils a) Plateau rice, cotton
& Eastern & sugar
Ghats cane under
irrigation
8. Hot semi-arid 19.1 6.96 Eastern 600– 1300–1600 90–150 Millets,
ecoregion with red (5.8%) Ghats 1000 pulses,
loamy soils (Tamil oilseeds
Nadu (groundnut)
uplands) , sugar cane
& Deccan & rice under
Plateau irrigation
(Karnatak
a)
9. Hot subhumid (dry) 12.1 11.62 Northern 1000– 1400–1800 150– Rice, wheat,
ecoregion with (3.7%) Plain 1200 180 pigeon pea,
alluvium-derived sugar cane,
soils mustard,
maize
10. Hot subhumid 22.3 14.55 Central 1000– 1300–1500 150– Rice, wheat,
ecoregion with red (5.8%) Highlands 1500 180 sorghum,
and black soils (Malwa & soybean,
Bundelkha gram,
nd) pigeon pea
11. Hot subhumid 11.1 6.47 Eastern 1200– 1400–1500 150– Rice, millets,
ecoregion with red (4.3%) Plateau 1600 180 wheat,
and yellow soils (Chhattisg pigeon pea,
arh green gram,
Region) black gram
12. Hot subhumid 26.8 12.09 Eastern 1000– 1400–1700 150– Rice, pulses,
ecoregion with red (8.2%) (Chhota 1600 180 millets
and lateritic soils Nagpur)
Plateau
and
Eastern
Ghats
13. Hot subhumid 11.1 10.95 Eastern 1400– 1300–1500 180– Rice, wheat,
(moist) ecoregion (3.4%) Plains 1600 210 sugar cane
with alluvium-
derived soils
14. Warm subhumid to 18.2 3.20 Western 1600– 800–1300 180– Wheat,
humid with (5.6%) Himalayas 2000 210 millets,
inclusion of maize, rice
perhumid
ecoregion with
brown forest and
podzolic soils
15. Hot subhumid 12.1 8.99 Bengal 1400– 1000–1400 > 210 Rice, jute,
(moist) to humid 3.7%) Basin and 2000 plantation
(inclusion of Assam crops
perhumid) Plain
ecoregions with
alluvial-derived
soils
16. Warm perhumid 9.6 1.37 Eastern 2000– <1000 > 210 Rice, millets,
ecoregion with (2.9%) Himalayas 4000 potato,
brown and red hill maize,
soils sesame,
Jhum*cultiv
ation is
common
17. Warm perhumid 10.6 1.56 North- 1600– 1000–1100 > 210 Rice, millets,
ecoregion with red (3.3%) Eastern 2600 potato,
and lateritic soils Hills plantation
crops, Jhum
cultivation is
common
18. Hot subhumid to 8.5 6.12 Eastern 900– 1200–1900 90>210 Rice,
semi-arid (2.6%) Coastal 1600 coconut,
ecoregion with Plains black gram,
coastal alluvium- lentil,
derived soils
sunflower,
groundnut
19. Hot humid 11.1 5.70 Western 2000– 1400–1600 > 210 Rice,
perhumid (3.6%) Ghats and 3200 tapioca,
ecoregion with red, Coastal coconut,
lateritic and Plains spices
alluvium-derived
soils
20. Hot humid / 0.8 0.05 Islands of 1600– 1400–1600 > 210 Rice,
perhumid island (0.3%) Andaman 3000 coconut,
ecoregion with red & Nicobar areca nut,
loamy and sandy and oil palm
soils Lakshadw
eep
Let us first study the major differences between Meteorology and Agrometeorology
Coordinates of India
✓ India lies between 8°4' north to 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' east to 97°25' east longitude.
✓ Earth is elliptical in shape and has three spheres
Hydrosphere - the water portion; Lithosphere - the solid portion; Atmosphere - the gaseous portion
4 What is Atmosphere?
✓ Atmosphere is the air surrounding the earth.
✓ The atmosphere is a mixture of different gases.
✓ It contains life-giving gases like oxygen for humans and animals and carbon dioxide for plants.
✓ It also contains water vapour and dust particles.
✓ It envelops the earth all round and is held in place by the gravity of the earth.
✓ It helps in stopping the ultraviolet rays harmful to the life and maintains the suitable temperature
necessary for life.
✓ Generally, atmosphere extends up to about 1600 km from the earth’s surface. However, 99 % of the
total mass of the atmosphere is confined to the height of 32 km from the earth’s surface.
4.1 Importance of atmosphere for agriculture

✓ Provides oxygen which is useful for respiration in crops
✓ Provides carbon-dioxide to build biomass in photosynthesis.
✓ Provides nitrogen which is essential for plant growth.
✓ Acts as a medium for transportation of pollen.
✓ Protects crops plants on earth from harmful U.V.rays.
✓ Maintains warmth to plant life and
✓ Provides rain to field crops as it is a source of water vapour, cloud, etc
4.2 Structure of atmosphere

The atmosphere consists of 5 layers:
✓ Troposphere
✓ Stratosphere
✓ Mesosphere
✓ Thermosphere (Ionosphere)
✓ Exosphere
4.2.1 Main features/characteristics of the layers of atmosphere
Layer Height of the layer Temperature increase and Remarks

decrease within the layer?
Troposphere Lowest layer of the Temperature in this layer This is the most important layer
The word atmosphere; generally decreases with of the atmosphere because all
“Trop” means The height is about 18 km on height. kinds of weather changes take
mixing or the equator and 8 km on the It decreases at the rate of 1
place only in this layer.
turbulence poles. degree Celsius for every It contains dust particles and
and “sphere” 165 m of height/6.5 degreewater vapour.
means region Why a change in thickness? Celsius for every 1 km. The air never remains static in
The thickness is greatest at This is called Normal Lapse
this layer. Various types of
the equator because heat is Rate. clouds, thunderstorms, cyclone
transported to great heights and anticyclones occur in this
by strong convectional sphere because of the
currents and thus the height concentration of almost all the
of the troposphere varies water vapour and aerosols in it.
with location, being higher So, this layer is called as “seat of
over warmer areas and lower weather phenomena”.
over colder areas. or ‘changing sphere’ or
troposphere
Tropopause The zone separating troposphere from the stratosphere is known as tropopause.
The air temperature at the tropopause is about – 80 degrees Celsius over the equator and
about – 45 degrees Celsius over the poles.
The temperature here is nearly constant, and hence, it is called tropopause.
Stratosphere Found just above the In this layer the Weather related incidents do
This layer is troposphere. temperature increases with not take place in this layer. The
called as “Seat Extends up to a height of 50 height. air blows horizontally here.
of km. (The temperature remains Therefore, this layer is
photochemical almost the same in the considered ideal for flying of
reactions” lower part of this layer up aircraft.
to the height of 20 km. One important feature of
After this, the temperature stratosphere is that it contains a
increases slowly with the layer of ozone gas. Thus, it is the
increase in the height). region of the stratosphere that
This increase in absorbs most of the sun’s ultra-
temperature is due to the violet radiations.
presence of ozone layer The relative thickness of the
between 17 to 30 km from ozone layer is measured in
the earth’s surface. Dobson Units.
Stratopause The upper limit of the stratosphere is known as stratopause.
Mesosphere It is the third layer of the In this layer, the Meteors or falling stars occur in
atmosphere spreading over temperature starts this layer.
the stratosphere. decreasing with increasing
It extends upto a height of 80 altitude and reaches up to –
km. 100 degree Celsius at the
height of 80 km.
Mesopause The upper limit of the mesosphere is known as mesopause.
Thermosphere It extends upto a height of The temperature here It contains electrically charged
400 km (from 80 to 400 km). starts increasing with particles known as ions, and
heights. hence, it is known as
the ionosphere.
Radio waves transmitted from
the earth are reflected back to
the earth by this layer and due
to this, radio broadcasting has
become possible.
Exosphere Uppermost layer of the Gases are very sparse in this
atmosphere. sphere due to the lack of
It extends above 400km. gravitational force. Therefore,
the density of air is very less
here.
Lapse rate: The decrease in air temperature with height is known as the normal / environmental lapse rate
and it is 6.5°C/km.
Adiabatic lapse rate: The rate of change of temperature in an ascending or descending air mass through
adiabatic process is called as adiabatic lapse rate. The thermodynamic transformation which occurs
without exchange of heat between a system and its environment is known as adiabatic process. In adiabatic
process, adiabatic cooling accompanies expansion, and adiabatic warming accompanies compression
After having understood about the atmosphere and its layers, we shall have a look at the factors that
affect the weather and climate of a place.
4.3 Factors that affect Weather and Climate of a place

The following are the factors that affect the weather and climate of different places around the world
✓ Ocean currents (the movement of water at different temperatures through the oceans)
✓ Amount of water (clouds) and dust in the atmosphere and the resultant precipitation
✓ Prevailing winds (the direction that winds usually blow from)
✓ Altitude (height above sea-level)
✓ Latitude (angle of sun’s rays and effect on day length)
✓ Distance from the sea
✓ Aspect (the influence of slopes eg. different sides of a valley)
These are general points mentioned above. Now, we shall have a look at the important points that need
to be noted with respect to the examination.
5 Clouds
Clouds are not only one of the important factors that affect the weather and climate of any place but also
important for exam point of view (in our case!!)
5.1 Definition or Meaning of clouds

✓ A cloud can be defined as hydrometeor consisting of minute particles of liquid water or ice, or of
both, suspended in the free air and usually not touching the ground. It may also include larger
particles of liquid water or ice as well as non-aqueous or solid particles such as those present in fumes,
smoke or dust.
✓ In simpler terms, a cloud is a mass of water drops or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.
5.2 How do clouds form?

✓ Clouds form from water in the sky. The water may evaporate from the ground or move from other
areas. Water vapor is always in the sky in some amount but is invisible.
✓ Clouds form when an area of air becomes cooler until the water vapor there condenses to liquid form.
✓ At that point, the air is said to be "saturated" with water vapor. The air where the cloud forms must
be cool enough for the water vapor to condense.
✓ The water will condense around things like dust, ice or sea salt - all known as condensation nuclei.
The temperature, wind, and other conditions where a cloud forms determine what type of cloud it
will be.
Convectional cloud formation: It’s surface heats the air at the ground surface. If enough heating occurs,
the mass of air becomes warmer and lighter than the air in the surrounding environment. Just like a hot
air balloon it begins to rise, expand, and cool. This process is active in the interior of continents and near
the equator forming Cumulus Clouds and/or Cumulonimbus Clouds.
5.3 Classification of clouds

Clouds can be classified in 3 ways viz.,
1. A scheme of distinguishing and grouping clouds according to their appearance, and, where possible,
to their process of formation
2. A scheme of classifying clouds according to their usual altitudes
3. A scheme of classifying clouds according to their particulate composition, namely, water clouds, ice-
crystal clouds, and mixed clouds
5.4 Classification of clouds - A scheme of distinguishing and grouping clouds

according to their appearance, and, where possible, to their process of
formation
The one in general use, based on a classification system introduced by Luke Howard in 1803, is that
adopted by the World Meteorological Organization and published in the International Cloud Atlas (1956).
✓ The International Cloud Atlas is the single most authoritative and comprehensive reference for
identifying clouds.
✓ Its reputation is legendary among cloud enthusiasts and it serves as an essential training tool for
professionals working in meteorological services, and in sectors such as aviation and shipping.
✓ It includes a manual of standards and photographs of clouds and weather phenomenon.
✓ It was first published in the 19th century and was last updated 30 years ago.
✓ The new 2017 version of International Cloud Atlas was a digitalized one and has many additions.
The man who must be credited with developing the basis for the cloud classification system was Luke
Howard (1772-1864), an English manufacturing chemist and pharmacist.
✓ The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership
of 191 Member States and Territories.
✓ It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873.
✓ Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialized
agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related
geophysical sciences a year later.
✓ The Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, is headed by the Secretary-General. Its supreme body is the
World Meteorological Congress.
This classification is based on the following determination:
Genera Consideration of the most typical forms of clouds leads to the recognition of ten
genera. The classification is limited to a description of the main types and of the
essential characteristics necessary to distinguish a given genus from genera having
a somewhat similar appearance.
Species Most cloud genera are subdivided into species due to peculiarities in the shape of
clouds and differences in their internal structure.
Varieties Varieties are the arrangements of the macroscopic elements and the degree of
transparency of the genera.
Supplementary Clouds sometimes have supplementary features attached to or partly merged with
Clouds them.
Accessory Clouds Clouds may sometimes be accompanied by other usually smaller clouds, known
as accessory clouds, which are separate from the main cloud body or partly
merged with it.
Special Clouds In addition, there are special cases where clouds may form or grow as a
consequence of certain, often localized, generating factors. These may be either
natural, or the result of human activity.
Mother Clouds The origin of clouds if formed from other clouds.
5.4.1 Number and types of determinants
✓ Height: Vertical distance from the point of observation on the Earth’s surface to the point being measured.
✓ Altitude: Vertical distance from mean sea level to the point being measured.
✓ Height/Altitude of cloud base: For surface observations, height of the cloud base above ground level; for
aircraft observations, altitude of the cloud base above mean sea level.
✓ Vertical extent: Vertical distance from a cloud’s base to its top.
• Levels: Clouds are generally encountered over a range of altitudes varying from sea level to the top of
the troposphere (the tropopause). The troposphere can be vertically divided into three levels, formerly
known as “étages”: high, middle and low. Each level is defined by the range of heights at which clouds
of certain genera occur most frequently. The levels overlap and their limits vary with latitude.
✓ The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) classified the clouds according to their height and
appearance into 10 major types/Genera.
✓ From the height, clouds are grouped into 4 categories (viz., family A, B, C and D) and there are sub-
categories in each of these main categories, wherein the 10 genera of clouds are placed.
✓ The 4 clouds families, which are in different heights of the troposphere are
1. Family A - High level clouds (altitudes of 5-13 km)
2. Family B - Medium level clouds (2-7 km)
3. Family C - Low level clouds (0-2 km)
4. Family D - Clouds with large vertical extending (0-13 km)
5.4.2 Family A - High level clouds (altitudes of 5-13 km)
5.4.3 Family B - Medium level clouds (altitudes of 2.5-7 km)
5.4.4 Family C – Lower level clouds (altitudes of 0 - 2.5 km)
5.4.5 Family D - Clouds with large vertical extending (0-13 km)
Condensation level: The atmospheric level at which condensation occurs as a result of convection, the lifting
of air is called as Condensation level.
Convection: When a fluid, such as air or a liquid, is heated and then travels away from the source, it carries
the thermal energy along. This type of heat transfer is called convection. The fluid above a hot surface
expands, becomes less dense, and rises.
Condensation: Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid
phase and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle.
5.4.6 Main characteristics of the classified clouds (especially placement of types of clouds
under various Genera)
Genera Species Varieties Supplementa Accessory Mother-clouds and special clouds
ry features clouds
(most commonly occurring mother-
clouds are listed in the same order
as genera)
(listed by frequency of observation) Genitus Mutatus
Cirrus fibratus intortus mamma Cirrocumulus Cirrostratus
uncinus radiatus fluctus Altocumulus Homo
spissatus vertebratus Cumulonimbus
castellanus duplicatus Homo
floccus
Cirrocumul stratiformis undulatus virga Cirrus
us lenticularis lacunosus mamma Cirrostratus
castellanus cavum Altocumulus
floccus Homo
Cirrostratu fibratus duplicatus Cirrocumulus Cirrus
s nebulosus undulatus Cumulonimbus Cirrocumulus
Altostratus
Homo
Altocumul stratiformis translucidus virga Cumulus Cirrocumulus
us lenticularis perlucidus mamma Cumulonimbus Altostratus
castellanus opacus cavum Nimbostratus
floccus duplicatus fluctus Stratocumulus
volutus undulatus asperitas
radiatus
lacunosus
Altostratus translucidus virga pannus Altocumulus Cirrostratus
opacus praecipitatio Cumulonimbus Nimbostratus
duplicatus mamma
undulatus
radiatus
Nimbostrat praecipitatio pannus Cumulus Altocumulus
us virga Cumulonimbus Altostratus
Stratocumulus
Stratocum stratiformis translucidus virga Altostratus Altocumulus
ulus lenticularis perlucidus mamma Nimbostratus Nimbostratus
castellanus opacus praecipitatio Cumulus Stratus
floccus duplicatus fluctus Cumulonimbus
volutus undulatus asperitas
radiatus cavum
lacunosus
Stratus nebulosus opacus praecipitatio Nimbostratus Stratocumulus
fractus translucidus fluctus Cumulus
undulatus Cumulonimbus
Homo
Silva
Cataracta
Cumulus humilis radiatus virga pileus Altocumulus Stratocumulus

mediocris praecipitatio velum Stratocumulus Stratus
congestus arcus pannus Flamma
fractus fluctus Homo
tuba Cataracta
Cumuloni calvus praecipitatio pannus Altocumulus Cumulus
mbus capillatus virga pileus Altostratus
incus velum Nimbostratus
mamma flumen Stratocumulus
arcus Cumulus
murus Flamma
cauda Homo
tuba
Clouds may form in clear air. They may also form or grow from other clouds, called “mother clouds”. Depending on
the change, one of the following two suffixes may be used:
(a) “Genitus”: A part of a cloud may develop, and more or less pronounced extensions may form. These extensions,
whether attached to the mother-cloud or not, may become clouds of a genus that is different from that of the mother-
cloud. They are then given the name of the appropriate genus, followed by the name of the genus of the mother-cloud
with the addition of the suffix ”genitus“ (for example, Cirrus altocumulogenitus or Stratocumulus cumulogenitus).
(b) “Mutatus”: The whole or a large part of a cloud may undergo complete internal transformation, changing from one
genus into another. The new cloud is given the name of the appropriate genus, followed by the name of the genus of
the mother-cloud with the addition of the suffix ”mutatus" (for example, Cirrus cirrostratomutatus or Stratus
stratocumulomutatus). The internal transformation should not be confused with changes in appearance resulting from
the relative movement of clouds and the observer.
Note: In the year 2017, a digitized version of the atlas was brought out. A total of 12 new cloud types
were added: Seven have been highlighted above, the other clouds added were special clouds:
✓ Flammagenitus
✓ Homogenitus
✓ Homomutatus
✓ Cataractagenitus
✓ Silvagenitus
5.5 Classification of clouds - A scheme of classifying clouds according to their

usual altitudes.
Level General Features Genera Polar Temperate Tropical
name given region region region
to the clouds
High Cirrus Usually thin and Cirrus 3 – 8 km 5 – 13 km 6 –18 km

are made up of Cirrocumulus (10 000 (16 500 – (20 000 –
ice. Cirrostratus – 25 000 45 000 ft) 60 000
Often indicate ft) ft)
fair weather and
hence do not
produce rain.
Middle Alto Frequently Altocumulus 2 – 4km 2 – 7 km 2 – 8 km

indicate an Altostratus (6 500 – (6 500 – 23 (6 500 –
approaching Nimbostratus 13 000 000 ft) 25 000
storm. ft) ft)
Low Stratus They may appear Stratus From From the From the
dense, dark and Stratocumulus the Earth’s Earth’s
rainy (or snowy) Cumulus Earth’s surface to surface
and can also be Cumulonimbus surface 2 km to 2 km
cottony white to 2 km (0 – 6 (0 – 6
clumps (0 – 6 500ft) 500ft)
interspersed with 500ft)
blue sky.
Note: Kindly note some of the exceptions that can exist:
✓ There is another category which is known as ‘Great Vertical Extent Clouds’. The Genera: Cumulus
and Cumulonimbus can be placed under it.
✓ These clouds are most dramatic types of clouds. They are also known as the Storm Clouds. They rise
to dramatic heights, and sometimes well above the level of transcontinental jetliner flights.
✓ Altostratus is usually found in the middle level, but it often extends higher.
✓ Nimbostratus is almost always found in the middle level, but it usually extends into the other two
levels.
The word ‘nimbus’ is derived from Latin meaning rainstorm or cloud. Nimbus clouds are clouds that
produce precipitation that reach the ground in the form of rain, snow and hail.
5.6 Classification of Clouds - A scheme of classifying clouds according to their

particulate composition, namely, water clouds, ice-crystal clouds, and
mixed clouds.
5.6.1 Water Clouds
They are composed entirely of water droplets (ordinary and/or supercooled). All the rest of the genera
are usually water clouds, occasionally mixed, altocumulus, cumulus, nimbostratus, and stratocumulus.
5.6.2 Ice crystal clouds

They are made up entirely of ice crystals. Of the cloud genera, only cirrostratus and cirrus are always ice-
crystal clouds
5.6.3 Mixed clouds

They are a combination of the first two. cirrocumulus can also be mixed. only cumulonimbus is always
mixed. Altostratus is nearly always mixed but can occasionally be water.
6 Precipitation
When cloud particles become too heavy to remain suspended in the air, they fall to the earth as
precipitation. Precipitation occurs in a variety of forms; hail, rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow.
6.1 Terminologies of Precipitation

These are the definitions given by the Indian Meteorological Department
Types Description
One or two spells In a 24 hrs time, rainfall occurring with a frequency of 1-2 spells.
of rain
A few spells of In a 24 hrs time, rainfall occurring with a frequency of more than 2 spells but with
rain well-defined dry spells in between.
Intermittent rain In a 24 hrs time, rainfall occurring with a frequency more than that defined in “A
Few Spells” but is discontinuous and without presenting the character of a shower.
Drizzle Liquid precipitation in the form of water drops of very small size (by convention,
with radius of water drops between about 100 and 500 µm or less than 0.5mm).
Rain Liquid precipitation in the form of water drops of radius between about 500 and
2500 µm OR Rain is precipitation of liquid water particles either in the form of drops
having diameter greater than 0.5 mm or in the form of smaller widely scattered
drops.
Shower Solid or liquid precipitation from a vertically developed cloud is designated a
shower and is distinguished from the precipitation, intermittent or continuous,
from layer clouds. Showers are often characterized by short duration and rapid
fluctuations of intensity (by convention, with radius of water drops more than 2500
µm).
Hail Solid precipitation in the form of balls or pieces of ice (hailstones) (produced by
intense thunderstorms, where snow and rain can coexist) with diameters ranging
from 5 to 50 mm or even more.
Freezing Rain Freezing rain develops as falling snow encounters a layer of warm air deep enough
for the snow to completely melt and become rain. As the rain continues to fall, it
passes through a thin layer of cold air just above the surface and cools to a
temperature below freezing. However, the drops themselves do not freeze, a
phenomena called supercooling (or forming "supercooled drops").
Snow It is the precipitation of white and opaque grains of ice. Snow is the precipitation
of solid water mainly in the form of branched hexagonal crystals of stars. In winter,
when temperatures are below freezing in the whole atmosphere, the ice crystals
falling from the Altostratus do not melt and reach the ground as snow.
Sleet It refers to precipitation in the form of a mixture of rain and snow. It consists of
small pellets of transparent ice, 5 mm or less in diameter. It refers to a frozen rain
that forms when rain falling to the earth passing through a layer of cold air and
freezes. This happens when temperature is very low. It is not commonly seen in
India expect high ranges, that too in winter, in extreme north and northeast India.
Thunderstorm One or more sudden electrical discharges manifested by a flash of light (Lightning)
and a sharp rumbling sound (thunder).
Duststorm An ensemble of particles of dust or sand energetically lifted to great heights by a
strong and turbulent wind.
Mist Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air
Dew Condensation of water vapour on a surface whose temperature is reduced by
radiational cooling to below the DEW-POINT of the air in contact with it
Fog Fog is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air and the visibility is one
kilometer or less
Frost Frost occurs when the temperature of the air in contact with the ground, or at
thermometer-screen level, is below the freezing-point of water (‘ground frost’ or
‘air frost’, respectively). The term is also used of the icy deposits which may form
on the ground and on objects in such temperature conditions (glaze, hoar-frost).
Haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other
dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.
Smog Smoke and fog together reduce the visibility.
Squally weather Squally weather is meant to cover occasional or frequent squalls with rain or
persistent type of strong gusty winds (mean wind speed not less than 20 knot)
accompanied by rain. Such conditions are associated with low pressure systems or
onset and strengthening of monsoon.
Visibility The greatest distance that prominent object can be seen and identified by unaided,
normal eyes.
Isohyets Isohyets are the lines connecting various locations, having an equal amount of
precipitation.
7 Latitudes
The distance from the equator, either south or north, largely creates variations in the Climate. Based on
the latitude, the climate has been classified as
7.1 Tropical Zone:

✓ In the regions between the equator and the tropics (equatorial region), the solar radiation reaches
the ground nearly vertically at noontime during almost the entire year.
✓ Thereby, it is very warm in these regions.
✓ Through high temperatures, more water evaporates, and the air is often moist.
✓ The resulting frequent and dense cloud cover reduces the effect of solar radiation on ground
temperature.
7.2 Sub-Tropics (23.5◦ C to 40◦ C):

✓ The subtropics receive the highest radiation in summer, since the Sun's angle at noon is almost
vertical to the Earth, whilst the cloud cover is relatively thin.
✓ These regions receive less moisture which increases the effect of radiation. Therefore, most of
the deserts in the world are situated in this zone.
✓ In winter, the radiation in these regions decreases significantly, and it can temporarily be very cool
and moist.
7.3 Temperate Zone:

✓ In the temperate zone, the solar radiation arrives with a smaller angle, and the average
temperatures here are much cooler than in the subtropics.
✓ The seasons and daylength differ significantly in the course of a year.
✓ The climate is characterized by less frequent extremes, a more regular distribution of
the precipitation over the year and a longer vegetation period - therefore the name "temperate”.
7.4 Polar Zones:

✓ The polar areas between 60° latitude and the poles receive less heat through solar radiation, since
the Sun has a very flat angle toward the ground.
✓ Because of the changes of the Earth axis angle to the Sun, the daylength varies most in this zone.
✓ In the summer, polar days occur.
✓ Vegetation is only possible during a few months per year and even then, is often sparse.
✓ The conditions for life in these regions are very hard.
8 Altitude
✓ The height from the MSL (Mean Sea Level) creates variation in climate.
✓ Even in the tropical regions, the high mountains have temperate climate.
✓ The temperature decreases by 6.5 ºC/Km from the sea level.
9 Monsoon
✓ Indian continent receives its annual rainfall by the peculiar phenomenon known as monsoon. It
consists of series of cyclones that arise in India Ocean.
✓ These travel in northeast direction and enter the Peninsular India along its west coast.
✓ The most important of these cyclones usually occur from June to September resulting in summer
monsoon or southwest monsoon. This is followed by a second rainy season from October to
December.
✓ A third and fourth rainy seasons occur from January to February and from March to May,
respectively.
✓ Of the four rainy seasons, southwest monsoon is the most important as it contribute 80 – 95% of
the total rainfall of the country.
9.1 Types of Monsoons in India

Two main types of monsoon systems are Along with above there are 2 more types of Monsoons which are
restricted to few places in India. They are
1. South West Monsoon
2. North East Monsoon 1. Summer Rainfall
2. Winter Rainfall
9.1.1 South West Monsoon
✓ Beginning of the year temperature of the Indian Peninsular rapidly rises under the increasing heat
of the sun.
✓ A minimum barometric pressure is established in the interior parts of the Peninsular by the month
of March.
✓ Westerly winds prevail on the west Kerala and south winds on the west of northern Circars, Orissa
and Bengal.
✓ During April and May the region of high temperature is shifted to north viz., upper Sind, lower
Punjab and Western Rajasthan.
✓ This area becomes the minimum barometric pressure area to which monsoon winds are directed.
✓ The western branch of South West monsoon touches North Karnataka, Southern Maharashtra and
then it make its way to Gujarat.
✓ When the South West Monsoon is fully operating on the Western India, another branch of the same
is acting in the Bay of Bengal.
✓ It carries rains to Burma, Northern portions of the east coast of India, Bengal, Assam and the whole
of North India in general.
9.1.2 North east Monsoon

✓ During September end, the South West Monsoon penetrates to North Western India but stays on
for a full month in Bengal.
✓ On account of the increase in barometric pressure in Northern India, there is a shift of the
barometric pressure to the South East and North Easterly winds begin to flow on the eastern
coast.
✓ These changes bring on heavy and continuous rainfall to the Southern and South Eastern India.
9.1.3 Winter Rainfall

✓ It is restricted more to Northern India and is received in the form of snow on the hills and as rains
in the plains of Punjab, Rajasthan and central India.
✓ Western disturbance is a dominant factor for rainfall during these months in northwestern India.
9.1.4 Summer Rainfall

✓ The summer Rainfall is received from March to May as local storms. It is mostly received in the
South East of Peninsular and in Bengal.
✓ Western India does not generally receive these rains.
9.2 Terminology related to Monsoons
Term Description
Low / When the isobars are circular or elliptical in shape, and the pressure is lowest at the centre,
Depression such a pressure system is called ‘Low’ or ‘Depression’ or ‘Cyclone’. The movement will be
anti-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere while it is clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
Wind speed hardly exceeds 40 km per hour.
Anticyclone When isobars are circular, elliptical in shape and the pressure is highest at the centre, such
a pressure system is called ‘High’ or ‘Anticyclone’. When the isobars are elliptical rather
than circular the system is called as ‘Ridge’ or ‘Wedge’. The movement will be clockwise in
the Northern hemisphere while it is anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
Storm Low pressure centre surrounded by winds having their velocities in the range of 40 to 120
km/hour. A more favorable atmosphere condition for their occurrence exists during the
summer season.
The Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea offer ideal condition for origin and growth of the storms.
These storms produce heavy precipitation and bring about a change in the existing weather.
It occurs very rarely. It causes widespread damage.
Hurricane A severe tropical cyclone with wind speed exceeding 120 km per hour. The name hurricane
is given to the tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific Ocean.
The tropical cyclones of Hurricane force in the western North pacific are known as
typhoons.
In Australia this type of storm is given the name willy-willy, whereas in the Indian Ocean
they are called as Cyclones.
Hurricanes are fueled by water vapour (i.e.) pushed up from the warm ocean surface, so
they can last longer and sometimes move much further over water than over land. A
combination of heat and moisture along with the right wind conditions can create a new
hurricane.
Thunderstorms Storms produced by cumulonimbus clouds and always accompanied by lightening and
thunder. They are usually of short duration, seldom over 2 hours. They are also
accompanied by strong wind gusts, heavy rain and sometimes hail.
Tornadoes Defined as a violently rotating column of air attended by a funnel-shaped or tubular cloud
extending downward from the base of cumulonimbus cloud. Tornadoes are the most
violent storms of lower troposphere.
They are very small in size and of short duration. They mostly occur during spring and early
summer.
They have been reported at widely scattered locations in the mid latitudes and tropics. Crop
losses are heavy due to this event. Unknown in other parts of the world.
Waterspouts It is column of violently rotating air over water having a similarity to a dust devil of tornado.
In other words, tornadoes are weak visible vortices occurring over water are called
waterspouts. They are formed over tropical and subtropical oceans.
Atmospheric The atmospheric pressure is the weight of the air, which lies vertically above a unit area
pressure centered at a point. The weight of the air presses down the earth with the pressure of 1.034
gm / cm2. It is expressed in millibar (mb) equal to 100 N/m2 or 1000 dynes/cm2.
Unequal heating of the earth and its atmosphere by the sun and rotation of the earth bring
about differences in atmospheric pressure.
Isobars The distribution of pressure is represented on maps by ‘isobars’. Isobars are defined as the
imaginary lines drawn on a map to join places having the same atmospheric pressure.
9.3 Pressure systems of the world
✓ The shape of the earth is not uniform and subjected to uneven distribution of solar radiation,
when it revolves around the sun.
✓ The uneven distribution of solar radiation over different regions of the globe leads to contrast in
surface air temperature.
✓ This results in variations of surface atmospheric pressure systems, which are known as standard
atmospheric pressure systems / belts.
✓ There are altogether seven alternating low and high pressure belts on the earth’s surface.
✓ The equatorial region receives more solar radiation and thus the surface air temperature is high,
which creates lighter air near the ground compared to higher latitudes.
✓ The above condition leads to low atmospheric pressure over the equatorial region while sub
tropical high pressure belts develop in both the hemispheres between 25 and 35 degree latitudes
due to relatively low surface air temperature.
✓ It is due to low solar radiation received due to inclined sun’s rays over the subtropical region when
compared to the equatorial belt.
✓ Like wise alternate low and high atmospheric pressure belt systems are developed across the globe
from the equator to the poles.
G.D.Coriolis (1844), a French Mathematician indicated that air is deflected towards right in the Northern
Hemisphere and Left in the Southern hemisphere due to rotation of earth and this was termed after him as
Coriolis force. Coriolis force is not actually a force but it is effect created by rotation of earth.
10 Classification of Climate (Introduction)

✓ Classification is grouping of similar entities or objectives.
✓ Climatic classification is done to study the climate systematically, to understand its general pattern
and ecological conditions to estimate agricultural potential and to transfer technology.
✓ There are various classifications put forth by different people.
• De Candole was the first person to attempt the classification of climate around 1900 A.D.
• His classification is mainly based on vegetation.
• Koppen (1884 with modifications done later in 1918 and 1936) was the first person to classify
climate based on weather elements.
• Subsequently, about 50 classifications were proposed by different scientists and most of these
classifications took precipitation or temperature or both as the important weather elements.
• Among these, the most widely accepted ones were that of Koppen’s and Thornthwaite’s
classifications.
• The classification suitable for agricultural purpose was proposed by Troll (1965).
10.1 Factors based on which classification of Climate is done

There are 3 factors based on which classification of climate is done. They are
1. Evapo-Transpiration (ET)
2. Potential Evapo-Transpiration (PET)
3. Precipitation
10.1.1 Evapo-transpiration
It is a term used to refer to two processes combined together: Evaporation of water from the soil surface
and transpiration from the plant surface.
10.1.1.1 Transpiration
✓ Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores
on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere.
✓ Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves.
✓ Transpiration also includes a process called guttation, which is the loss of water in liquid form from
the uninjured leaf or stem of the plant, principally through water stomata.
✓ Studies have revealed that about 10 percent of the moisture found in the atmosphere is released by
plants through transpiration. The remaining 90 percent is mainly supplied
by evaporation from oceans, seas, and other bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams).
✓ Transpiration rates vary widely depending on weather conditions, such as temperature, humidity,
sunlight availability and intensity, precipitation, soil type and saturation, wind, land slope, and water
use and diversion by people.
10.1.1.2 Evaporation:
Evaporation is a process where liquid turns into a gas. When water gains heat energy it changes to a
gas. An increase in temperature speeds up the rate of evaporation.
10.1.1.3 Potential EvapoTranspiration (PET):
✓ PET is the demand or maximum amount of water that would be evapotranspired if enough water
were available (from precipitation and soil moisture).
✓ When we talk about Evapo-Transpiration, we are referring to how much water actually is
evapotranspired and is limited by the amount of water that is available.
10.1.2 Precipitation
✓ Precipitation is any type of water that forms in the Earth's atmosphere and then drops onto the
surface of the Earth.
✓ Water vapor, droplets of water suspended in the air, builds up in the Earth's atmosphere. Water vapor
in the atmosphere is visible as clouds and fog. Water vapor collects with other materials, such as dust,
in clouds.
✓ Precipitation condenses, or forms, around these tiny pieces of material, called cloud condensation
nuclei (CCN).
✓ Clouds eventually get too full of water vapor, and the precipitation turns into a liquid (rain) or a solid
(snow).
✓ Precipitation is part of the water cycle. There are various forms of precipitation viz., rain, fog, snow,
hail etc., which we have already discussed above.
10.2 Important classifications of Climate
10.3 Koeppen’s Scheme

✓ Koeppen has used certain critical values of temperatures of the warmest and the coldest months
and of rainfall of the wettest and the driest months along with the seasonal distribution of rainfall
to divide the climatic regions.
✓ His climatic divisions generally coincide with vegetational divisions, since Koeppen considered the
distribution of vegetation to be the best expression of the totality of climate.
10.3.1 Climatic distribution based on Koeppen’s scheme
10.4 Thornthwaite’s system of classification

Thornthwaite gave two classifications—one in 1931 and the other in 1948.
10.4.1 1931 classification of climate by Thornthwaite

✓ He accepted the concept that the amount of precipitation and temperature had paramount control
on vegetation but he also pleaded for inclusion of evaporation as important factor of vegetation and
climate.
✓ Thornthwaite used two factors, e.g. precipitation effectiveness and temperature effectiveness, for
the delimitation of boundaries of different climatic regions.
10.4.1.1 Precipitation Effectiveness:

✓ Precipitation effectiveness or precipitation efficiency refers to only that amount of total
precipitation which is available for the growth of vegetation. He used precipitation efficiency ratio
for the calculation of this amount of water available to vegetation.
✓ Precipitation efficiency ratio (P/E ratio) is calculated by dividing total monthly precipitation by
monthly evaporation and precipitation efficiency index (P/E index) is derived by summing the
precipitation efficiency ratios for 12 months of a year.
He identified 5 humidity zones on the basis of P/ E Index:
10.4.1.2 Temperature Effectiveness:

On the basis of the temperature effectiveness index, Thornthwaite divided the world into 6 temperature
provinces:
10.4.2 1948 classification of climate by Thornthwaite
This system of classification is important.
Note the formula that is being used as well as the various climatic classifications that have been made
using the values that have been derived from the formula. Thornthwaite’s 1948 classification used two
factors: Potential Evapotranspiration and Precipitation.
It was further modified by Mathur (1955) and the following formula was derived to calculate the Moisture
Index (Im). Im = 100 [(P-PE)/PE]
Where P = Precipitation, PE = Potential evapotranspiration
Now using the Moisture Index (Im), the following classification was made:
10.5 Troll classification

✓ Troll (1965) proposed a classification called the seasonal climates of the earth utilising monthly
rainfall and potential evapotranspiration.
✓ It is based on very sound physical principles and parameters like temperature, radiation, wind speed,
vapour pressure, duration of sunshine and albedo which are mainly responsible for loss of water
from the / surface have been taken into account.
✓ The importance of Troll's classification lies on the duration of arid and humid months rather than
assignment of climatic boundaries based on annual/monthly values of precipitation, temperature and
relative humidity.
✓ Thus he came out with a classification of climatic regions based on the humid months in a year.
✓ He defined humid month as the month having precipitation more than PET.
The Troll Classification was modified by ICRISAT for India and the classification was brought out based
on the number of humid months:
10.6 ICAR classification of climate

The ICAR under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture adopted classification
based on Moisture Deficit Index (MDI).
✓ All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) for Dryland Agriculture:
• In order to deal with the above mentioned aberrant weather conditions which are a problem for farming
in such areas, Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) started All India Coordinated Research Project
for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) in 1970 with the assistance from the Government of Canada.
• The project presently has 25 co-operative centres.
• The establishment of Central Research Institute for dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderabad in 1985 gave
an impetus by providing basic and strategic research support.
The Moisture Deficit Index is calculated using the following formula:
The types of climate put forth are as follows:
11 Scales of climate and their importance

S. No Types of Climate Horizontal Scale Vertical Scale Time Scale
(km) (km) (hrs)
1 Macro-climate
A Planetary Scale (Global) 2000-5000 & 10 200 to 400
more
B Synoptic Scale (continental or 500-2000 10 100
oceanic)
2 Meso climate (City or country) 1 to 100 1-10 1 – 10
3 Micro climate (Park or <100m 200 m 6 – 12
schoolyard) minutes
11.1 Macro climate

This can be again classified into 2 types
11.1.1 Planetary Scale

✓ Planetary, or global scale weather features are the largest and longest-lived. As their name suggests,
they generally span tens of thousands of kilometers in size, extending from one end of the globe to
another. They last weeks or longer.
✓ They include the general circulation features, such as the trade winds, prevailing westerlies, Rossby
waves and the jet streams, and regions of the atmosphere such as the tropics, the mid-latitudes, the
polar regions and the ozone layer.
11.1.2 Synoptic Scale

✓ Spanning somewhat smaller, yet still large distances of a few hundred to several thousand
kilometers in breadth; the area of one continent and may extend from the surface to the lower
stratosphere are the synoptic scale weather systems.
✓ This scale covers weather elements such as high and low-pressure systems, air masses and frontal
boundaries, tropical cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons, features commonly found on standard weather
maps.
✓ Derived from the Greek word which means "seen together," synoptic can also mean an overall view.
11.2 Meso-scale
✓ If we focus a little closer, we see the mesoscale.
✓ This scale, also known as the local scale, covers atmospheric elements from a few kilometres to tens
of kilometres in the horizontal dimension and from the surface to the top of the planetary boundary
layer, about 1 kilometre in depth.
✓ It includes the coverage of the events like Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Sea and Land breezes.
✓ The mesoscale can be thought of as encompassing an area from the size of towns to that of
metropolitan regions.
✓ Mesoscale weather is what you see on the weather maps and forecasts for a specific area, or a state
or province.
11.3 Micro-scale
✓ Finally, if we look really close, we see the microscale.
✓ The microscale includes all atmospheric processes less than a few kilometres in size. This size range
can include our backyard or garden, our neighbourhood, or a small lake, hills or wooded area.
12 Crop Weather Advisory

The advance prediction of these weather events and crop planning (Crop Weather Advisory) based on
prediction would help the farmer enormously in reducing the crop losses under aberrant weather
situations and also taking-up suitable contingency measures.
13 Indian Meteorological Department:

✓ The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department, is an agency of
the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible
for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
✓ It was established in 1875.
✓ IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations
across India and Antarctica.
✓ IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological
Organization (headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland).
✓ It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in
the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian
Sea and the Persian Gulf.
13.1 Mandate of IMD:
✓ To take meteorological observations and to provide current and forecast meteorological
information for optimum operation of weather-sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation,
shipping, aviation, offshore oil explorations etc.
✓ To warn against severe weather phenomena like tropical cyclones, dust storms, heavy rains, snow,
heat waves etc which cause destruction to life and property.
✓ To provide meteorological statistics required for agriculture, water resources management,
industries, oil exploration and other nation-building activities.
✓ To conduct and promote research in meteorology and allied disciplines.
✓ To detect and locate earthquakes and to evaluate seismicity in different parts of the country for
development projects.
Under IMD, there are separate divisions to deal with specialized subjects. One among them is
Agricultural Meteorology.
13.1.1 Agricultural meteorology division of the IMD:

✓ This division was established under IMD at Pune in 1932 in order to provide direct services to the
farming community of the country.
✓ The prime objective is to minimize the impact of adverse weather on crops and to make use of crop-
weather relationships to boost agricultural production.
Services of the Division:
I. Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva

II. Dissemination of Agromet advisories
III. Feedback & Awareness of Agromet Service
IV. Training Programme to AMFUs (Agro-Met Field Units)
We have seen how there is a separate division of Agricultural meteorology to provide agrometeorological
services under IMD. We shall now study about these services.
13.2 What are Agrometeorological services?

✓ All agrometeorological and agroclimatological information that can be directly applied to try to
improve and/or protect the livelihood of farmers in agricultural production may be considered to
belong to agrometeorological services.
✓ This improvement/protection applies to yield quantity, quality and income while safeguarding the
agricultural resource base from degradation
✓ The Agromet Advisory Services provide a very special kind of inputs to the farmers as advisories that
can make a tremendous difference to the agriculture production by taking the advantage of
benevolent weather and minimize the adverse impact of malevolent weather.
✓ This has a potential to change the face of any country in terms of food security and poverty
alleviation.
Now, let us have a detailed look at the Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (IAAS) program
of India:
13.3 Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (IAAS) program of India

✓ India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS) program is one of the largest
agrometeorological information programs in the world.
✓ The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) started broadcasting weather services for farmers by
radio in 1945.
✓ Agrometeorological advisories were first initiated in 1976 to provide state level forecast-based
advisories to farmers based on short-range weather forecasts issued by the India Meteorological
Department (IMD).
✓ Made available to farmers one day in advance, these advisories were inadequate for planning
weather-based agricultural practices and/or undertaking precautionary measures, which required a
much longer lead time.
✓ In agriculture, location-specific weather forecasts in the medium range (3-10 days in advance) hold
greater salience for farmers.
✓ In addition, forecasts issued need to be finetuned to the specific requirements of farmers,
particularly in recommending activities and modifications to specific farm-level practices.
✓ Keeping these needs in mind, the NCMRWF (National Center for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasting) was established in 1988 by the Government of India as a scientific mission to develop
operational Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models for forecasting weather in the medium
range.
✓ To disseminate these forecasts and build forecast-based agricultural advisories, Agro
Meteorological Field Units (AMFUs) were created across the country, in all 127 agroclimatic zones.
✓ IMD took over leadership of the AAS in 2007 (IAAS was launched in collaboration with different
organizations/institutes/stakeholders on 1st April 2007 for weather-wise farm management) and
launched a District-level Agrometeorological Advisory Service (DAAS) in 2008, with the aim of
providing relevant weather information and management advisories at a district scale across the
country.
13.4 District-level Agrometeorological Advisory Service (DAAS)

✓ DAAS aims to generate district-level agrometeorological advisories based on weather forecasts.
✓ DAAS continues to be a multi-institutional project involving a variety of stakeholders
✓ The program provides meteorological (weather forecasting), agricultural (identifying how weather
forecasts affect farming), extension (two-way communication with users) and information
dissemination (media, IT and others) services.
13.5 How is the weather forecasting done?

✓ Currently, IMD issues quantitative district level 5-day weather forecasts twice a week using a Multi-
Model Ensemble technique based on forecast products from models available in India and other
countries.
✓ Weather forecasts for seven parameters (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, wind
speed and direction, relative humidity and cloudiness) as well as weekly cumulative rainfall
forecasts are generated.
✓ These products are disseminated to Regional Meteorological Centres and Meteorological Centres of
IMD located in different states.
✓ Experts in these centres add value to IMD forecast products, which are then communicated to 130
AMFUs located within SAUs, ICAR Institutes, and Indian Institutes of Technology.
✓ Weather forecast collected over 5 days is sent to all regional met centres of IMD for value addition
keeping local synoptic condition and climatology in consideration.
✓ The value-added forecast is provided to concerned agro-met field units for advisory preparation on
every Tuesday and Friday of the week and prepared advisories disseminated to farmers through multi-
channel dissemination network.
13.6 AAS (Agro-meteorological Advisory Service) Bulletins at different levels:

✓ The Agromet Advisory Bulletins are issued at district, state and national levels.
✓ The district level bulletins are issued by AMFUs (there are 130 Agro-Met Field Units established under
this initiative) and include crop specific advisories including field crops, horticultural crops and
livestock. The frequency of it is twice a week, that is, Tuesday and Friday.
✓ The State Level bulletin jointly prepared by State Meteorological Centre of IMD and AMFUs is a
composite of district bulletins helping to identify the distressed districts of the state as well as plan
the supply of appropriate farm inputs such as seeds, irrigation water, fertilizer, pesticides etc.
✓ It forms a significant input to the State level weekly Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) meeting
and used by state government line function departments viz: Fertilizer industry, Pesticide industry,
Irrigation Department, Seed Corporation, Transport and other organizations which provide inputs in
agriculture.
✓ National Agromet Advisory Bulletins are prepared by National Agromet Advisory Service Centre,
Division of Agriculture Meteorology, IMD, Pune, using inputs from various states. This bulletin helps
identify stress on various crops for different regions of the country and suitably incorporate advisories.
A typical Agromet Advisory Bulletin enables farmers to reap benefits of benevolent weather and
minimize or mitigate the impacts of adverse weather.
13.6.1 Components of Agro-meteorological Advisory Service bulletin

✓ District specific weather forecast, in quantitative terms, for next 5 days for weather parameters like
rainfall, cloud, maximum/minimum temperature, wind speed/direction and relative humidity,
including forewarning of hazardous weather events (cyclone, hailstorm, heat/cold waves, drought and
flood etc) likely to cause stress on standing crop and suggestions to protect the crop from them.
✓ Weather forecast based information on soil moisture status and guidance for application of
irrigation, fertilizer, and herbicides etc.
✓ Overall, the bulletins issued are encoded in a format and language which is easy to comprehend by
the farmer.
✓ The agrometeorologists first interpret the immediate past weather and the forecast for next 5 days
and translate it into layman’s terms so that the farmers can understand it.
✓ They use state-of-art technology such as crop weather models, climatic risk management tools, GIS
generated agromet products etc., for framing the advisory bulletins.
13.7 Advisory Dissemination mechanism:

✓ The agromet district advisories, generated by 130 AMFUs, are being disseminated to the farmers
through mass media (Radio, Print and TV), Internet etc.
✓ A mechanism has also been developed to obtain feedback from the farmers on quality of weather
forecast, relevance and content of agromet advisory and effectiveness of information dissemination
system.
14 Crop-Weather modelling:
✓ It is a representation of a crop through mathematical equations explaining the crops interaction
with both above ground and below ground environment.
✓ Crop-weather modelling, firstly used by BAIER in 1979, refers to the techniques that can be used to
determine the likely effects of weather on crop, its growth and production.
✓ It is not wrong to say that they are computer programs that mimic the growth and development of
crops.
14.1 What are the steps involved in crop-weather modelling?
Model calibration:
Calibration is adjustment of the system parameters so that
simulation results reach a predetermined level, usually that of an
observation.
Model validation:
The model validation stage involves the confirmation that the
calibrated model closely represents the real situation. The
procedure consists of a comparison of simulated output and
observed data that have not been previously used in the calibration
stage.
14.2 Important variables used in the system

1. State Variables: Those which can be measured. Example: Soil Moisture content, crop yield
2. Rate Variables: Rates of different processes operating in a system. Example: Photosynthetic rate,
Transpiration rate etc.
3. Driving Variables: Variables which are not part of the system, but they affect the system. Example:
Sunshine, Rainfall.
4. Auxiliary Variables: These variables are the intermediated products. Example: Dry matter
partitioning, water stress.
14.3 Types of Models

Depending upon the purpose for which it is designed the models are classified into different groups or
types, they are:
14.3.1 Statistical models

These models express the relationship between yield or yield components and weather parameters. In
these models relationships are measured in a system using statistical techniques.
Example: Step down regressions, correlation, etc.
14.3.2 Mechanistic models

These models explain not only the relationship between weather parameters and yield, but also the
mechanism of these models (explains the relationship of influencing dependent variables). These models
are based on physical selection.
14.3.3 Deterministic models

These models estimate the exact value of the yield or dependent variable. These models also have
defined coefficients.
14.3.4 Stochastic models

A probability element is attached to each output. For each set of inputs different outputs are given along
with probabilities. These models define yield or state of dependent variable at a given rate.
14.3.5 Dynamic models

Time is included as a variable. Both dependent and independent variables are having values which remain
constant over a given period of time.
14.3.6 Static models

Time is not included as a variable. Dependent and independent variables having values remain constant
over a given period of time.
14.3.7 Phenological models

These models predict crop development from one growth stage to another. These predictions are based
on accumulated heat limits.
14.4 Some important Crop weather models running in India

a. CERES (Crop Environment Resource Synthesis model): It is a series of crop simulation models on crops,
e.g. Rice, Maize, Sorghum, Wheat etc. running in different regions of India.
b. DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agro technology Transfer): It was used for assessing the impact
of climate change on rice and developing adaptation strategies to sustain rice production in western
zone of Tamil Nadu.
c. PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies): PRECIS generates high-resolution
climate change information and can be applied in any region of the world.
d. InfoCrop-RICE model: Since rice is sensitive to high temperatures, a simulation analysis was carried
out to quantify the impact of increased temperatures and elevated CO2 alone and in combination on
the yield.
e. CROPGRO-Groundnut model was used to quantify the impact of climate change on the productivity
of groundnut, running in Anantapur, Mahboobnagar and Junagadh.
14.4.1 Other crop models reported

Models Details
REALSOY Soyabean
IRRIGATE Irrigation scheduling model
COTTOM Cotton
GWM General weed model in row crops
CropSyst Wheat and other crops
LUPINMODE Lupine
SIMPOTATO Potato
WOFOST Wheat and maize, water and nutrient
WAVE Water and Agrochemicals
ORYZA1 Rice, Water
EPIC Erosion productivity impact calculator
SIMCOY Corn
QCANE Sugarcane, potential conditions
AUSCANE Sugarcane, potential & water stress conditions, erosion
15 Weather Forecasting:
It means any advance information about the probable weather in future, which is obtained by evaluating
the present and past meteorological conditions of the atmosphere.
15.1 Types of weather forecast:
Types of forecast Validity period Main users Predictions
Short range Upto 72 hours Farmers marine Rainfall distribution, heavy rainfall, heat
agencies, and cold wave conditions, thunder storms
general public etc.
a) Now casting 0 to 2 hours
b) Very short range 0-12 hours
Medium range Beyond 3 days and Farmers Occurrence of rainfall, temperature

upto 10 days
Long range Beyond 10 days upto a Planners This forecasting is provided for Indian
month and a season monsoon rainfall. The outlooks are usually
expressed in the form of expected
deviation from normal condition.
15.2 Weather Calender

✓ In order to provide the farmers with an efficient weather service, it is essential that the weather
forecaster should be familiar with the crops that are grown in a particular agroclimatic zone.
✓ The type of forewarnings to be given depend on the stages of the crop.
✓ In case of farmers, they should become familiar with weather bulletins and learn how to interpret.
✓ To meet the above requirement, the detailed information collected from the agricultural
departments has been condensed by the IMD and presented in a pictorial form known as crop
weather calendar.
✓ This calendar has three parts as follows:
15.2.1 Bottom part

It provides the activities related to crop or information related to phenological stages of the crop and
the months.
15.2.2 Middle part

It gives information regarding normal weather condition required for active crop growth. It is divided
into different sections according to rainfall, rainy days, minimum temperature, maximum temperature,
pan evaporation and sunshine hours.
15.2.3 Top part

It gives information related to the weather abnormalities or to take precautionary measures.
16 IMD Classification of the rainfall in India

In the year 2016, the IMD had come up with the revised terminologies used in weather forecasting.
Below, we shall have a look at the earlier terminologies and the new ones
Long Period Average (LPA): Averages of rainfall received between 1961 and 2010 (50 years) are termed
as the Long Period Average or LPA and are considered as normal. This is computed to be 88cm.
16.1 Criteria to classify the Seasonal Rainfall

The rules have been changed to classify seasonal rainfall. IMD has introduced 6 new categories replacing
old four rainfall categories (excess, normal, deficient and scanty).
16.1.1 The new categories are

1. Large Excess: 60 percent and above of LPA
2. Excess: between 20 percent and 59 percent of LPA
3. Normal: minus 19 percent to plus 19 percent of LPA
4. Deficient: minus 20 percent to minus 59 percent of LPA
5. Large deficient: below 60 percent of LPA
6. No Rain: 0 percent of LPA
16.2 Certain standardized key terms given by the IMD

1. Heat wave: When the temperature is greater than 4.5-degree C above usual temperatures for the
particular region.
2. Severe heat wave: When the temperature greater than or equal to 47-degree C.
3. Cold wave: When the temperature is less than 4.5-degree C above usual temperatures for the region.
4. Severe cold wave: When minimum temperature is 2-degree C or lower.
17 Weather abberations
✓ Weather aberrations may cause physical damage to crops and soil erosion. The quality of crop
produce during movement from field to storage and transport to market depends on weather.
✓ Bad weather may affect the quality of produce during transport, and the viability and vigour of
seeds and planting material during storage. Thus, there is no aspect of crop culture that is immune
to the impact of weather.
✓ One of the most important weather aberrations is Drought.
17.1 Drought
Drought is the consequence of a natural reduction in the amount of precipitation over an extended
period of time, usually a season or more in length, often associated with other climatic factors (viz. high
temperatures, high winds and low relative humidity) that can aggravate the severity of the drought event.
17.2 Different types of drought:

17.2.1 Meteorological Drought
✓ In India, according to India Meteorological Department, meteorological drought over an area is
defined as a situation when the seasonal rainfall received over the area is less than 75% of its long-
term average value.
✓ It is further classified as "moderate drought" if the rainfall deficit is between 26-50% and "severe
drought" when the deficit exceeds 50% of the normal.
17.2.2 Hydrological Drought

Meteorological drought, if prolonged, results in hydrological drought with marked depletion of surface
water and consequent drying up of inland water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, streams and rivers and
fall in level of water table.
17.2.3 Agricultural Drought

It occurs when soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate to support crop growth to maturity and cause
extreme crop stress leading to the loss of yield, leading to extreme stress and wilting in the plants.
17.2.4 Socio-Economic Drought

✓ Abnormal water shortage affects all aspects of established economy of a region.
✓ This in turn adversely affects the social fabric of the society creating unemployment, migration,
discontent and various other problems in the society.
✓ Thus, meteorological, hydrological and agricultural drought often lead to what is termed as ‘Socio-
economic Drought ‘.
17.3 How does the India Meteorological Department monitor the Agricultural
Drought?
IMD has developed aridity indices to monitor agricultural drought scenario in the country based on
rainfall, potential evapotranspiration and actual evapotranspiration using water budgeting method.
Let us have a look at the index used:
✓ India Meteorological Department (IMD) monitors the incidence, spread, intensification and
cessation of drought (near real-time basis) on a weekly time scale over the country based on Aridity
Anomaly Index.
✓ It also issues Weekly Drought Outlook, based on this index, which indicates the impending drought
scenario in the country in the subsequent week.
✓ Based on aridity anomaly index, weekly Aridity Anomaly Reports and maps for the Southwest
Monsoon Season for the whole country and for the Northeast Monsoon Season for the five
meteorological sub-divisions are prepared.
✓ These Aridity Anomaly maps/reports help to assess the moisture stress experienced by growing
plants and to monitor agricultural drought situation in the country.
17.4 Aridity Anomaly Index (AAI):

Aridity is the Thornthwaite’s concept to describe water deficiency experienced by plants. Thornthwaite
gave the following formula for computing aridity index (AI):
✓ PE denotes the water need of the plants (which is called potential
evapotranspiration).
✓ AE denotes the actual evapotranspiration and (PE-AE) denotes the water
deficit.
17.5 What is the concept behind using this Index?
✓ Rainfall is first utilized by the plants for evapotranspiration purpose.
✓ When the evapotranspirative demands of the plants are fully met (as given by PE) the excess amount
of rainfall percolates and recharges the soil.
✓ This soil moisture recharge continues till the soil reaches its field capacity.
Field Capacity: It is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has
drained away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place
within 2-3 days after rain or irrigation.
✓ Any excess amount of rainfall after the evapotranspirative demands are fully met and the soil is
recharged completely is considered as water surplus and goes as surface or deep drainage runoff.
✓ When the rainfall is less than the evapotranspirative demands, the plant extracts moisture from the
soil till the soil is dessicated of its moisture.
✓ The Aridity Index is worked out on weekly/biweekly basis.
✓ It refers to the water stress suffered by a growing plant due to shortage of available moisture (both
rainfall and soil moisture).
✓ Every week the actual aridity at the place is computed from the weekly total rainfall and antecedent
soil moisture conditions.
✓ The difference between the actual aridity for the week and the normal aridity (Actual-Normal) i.e.
the anomaly is obtained.
✓ A negative or a zero value of this anomaly would imply that as compared to the normal, the place
had experienced less arid/drought conditions; a positive value would indicate that the place had
experienced more arid/drought conditions than the normal.
The positive values of the anomalies have been classified into three different classes as follows:
17.6 Significance of Aridity Anomaly Index (AAI)
✓ Aridity Anomaly Map gives information about the moisture stress experienced by growing plant.
✓ This analysis would indicate qualitatively retardation in the plants growth and so poor yields.
✓ Indirectly, this may also be helpful for irrigation scheduling, the amount and the time at which the
water is badly needed by the plant.
Note: There is another index known as SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index), computation of which is
done at a monthly time scale. Kindly note the full form of it.
18 Weather Modification:
Weather modification refers to willful manipulation of the climate or local weather.
18.1 Cloud Seeding:

✓ To meet the demand of water resources scientist have started using weather modification commonly
called as cloud seeding.
✓ Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique which involves the introduction of material into
a cloud (using aircraft or ground-based generators) with a view to encouraging the formation and
growth of ice crystals or raindrops and, in turn, enhancing the precipitation (snow and/or rain) falling
from the cloud.
✓ When water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere, it's in gas form.
Over time, this water vapor cools and condenses to become clouds.
As more water condenses onto these other droplets, the droplets get
heavier and, eventually, they fall as rain.
If the cloud is at or below the freezing point of water, and the layers of air
the precipitation falls to are similarly at or below the freezing point, you
get snow.
Cloud-seeding enterprises intending to create rain or snow basically try to
spur on the condensation of water and nudge the water to cling onto
these introduced particles, like silver iodine, or to form more ice crystals
by cooling the clouds' temperatures.
18.2 There are two basic types of cloud seeding - Cold and Warm
✓ Cold cloud seeding (glaciogenic seeding) involves adding particles such as silver iodide crystals or
dry ice pellets to the super-cooled (below freezing point) water already present in clouds to promote
the formation of ice crystals. The ice crystals grow, fall and melt to below the freezing level to become
raindrops.
✓ Warm cloud seeding (hygroscopic seeding) involves adding salt particles (sodium, magnesium and
calcium chlorides), which attract water into or just below the base of suitable clouds to enhance the
growth of cloud droplets by coalescence.
19 Weather normal for various agricultural crops
For
Seeds and Sowing

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 What is a seed?................................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Seed Rate: ................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2 Recommended seed rate of Field Crops ................................................................................... 6
2 Various seed sowing methods:......................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Broadcasting method: .............................................................................................................. 8
2.2 Dibbling: .................................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.1 Dibbler ............................................................................................................................. 9
2.3 Seed Drilling: ............................................................................................................................ 9
2.4 Transplanting: ........................................................................................................................ 10
2.5 Sowing behind the plough: ..................................................................................................... 10
3 Germination process...................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Types of Germination ............................................................................................................. 10
3.1.1 Epigeal Germination ....................................................................................................... 10
3.1.2 Hypogeal Germination .................................................................................................... 10
3.2 Factors effecting germination process .................................................................................... 11
3.2.1 Soil ................................................................................................................................. 11
3.2.2 Moisture......................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.3 Temperature .................................................................................................................. 11
3.2.4 Light ............................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.5 Soil condition.................................................................................................................. 11
3.3 Crop Stand Establishment ...................................................................................................... 11
3.4 Optimum plant population ..................................................................................................... 11
3.5 Factors affecting plant population .......................................................................................... 12
3.5.1 Genetic Factors............................................................................................................... 12
3.5.2 Environmental factors .................................................................................................... 13
4 Plant Geometry ............................................................................................................................. 13
4.1 What are the different types of crop geometry?..................................................................... 13
4.1.1 Random plant geometry ................................................................................................. 14
4.1.2 Square plant geometry ................................................................................................... 14
4.1.3 Rectangular method of sowing ....................................................................................... 14

4.1.4 Triangular method of planting: ....................................................................................... 14
4.1.5 Quincunx or diamond pattern:........................................................................................ 15
4.1.6 Paired Row arrangement ................................................................................................ 15
4.2 Recommended Planting Geometry (Spacing of Field Crops):................................................... 15
5 Production of Seeds ....................................................................................................................... 16
5.1 Characteristics of Good Quality Seeds .................................................................................... 17
5.1.1 Seed Health .................................................................................................................... 17
5.1.2 Physical Purity of Seeds .................................................................................................. 17
5.1.3 Genetic Purity................................................................................................................. 17
5.1.4 Moisture Content of the Seeds ....................................................................................... 17
5.2 Factors Influencing Seed Production....................................................................................... 17
5.2.1 Site / Land Selection ....................................................................................................... 17
5.2.2 Selection of Species and Seed Source ............................................................................. 17
5.2.3 Field Preparation ............................................................................................................ 17
5.2.4 Seed Selection ................................................................................................................ 18
5.2.5 Seed testing .................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.6 Seed germination ........................................................................................................... 18
5.2.7 Seed Vigour .................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.8 Seed Dormancy .............................................................................................................. 18
5.2.9 Sowing Season................................................................................................................ 19
5.2.10 Planting Density.............................................................................................................. 19
5.2.11 Weed Management........................................................................................................ 19
5.2.12 Pest and Disease Management ....................................................................................... 19
5.2.13 Intercultural Technologies .............................................................................................. 19
5.3 Few other important factors of Seed production .................................................................... 20
5.3.1 Seed Multiplication Ratio (SMR) ..................................................................................... 20
5.3.2 Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) ......................................................................................... 20
5.4 Various steps are required to be taken in order to maintain the purity of the seed accessions.
They are ............................................................................................................................................ 21
5.4.1 Isolation distance ........................................................................................................... 21
5.4.2 Bagging Technique ......................................................................................................... 21
5.4.3 Rouging .......................................................................................................................... 21

5.5 Harvest of Seed crop .............................................................................................................. 21
5.6 Seed Processing ..................................................................................................................... 22
5.6.1 Cleaning ......................................................................................................................... 22
5.6.2 Winnowing ..................................................................................................................... 22
5.6.3 Sieving ............................................................................................................................ 22
5.6.4 Drying of Seeds............................................................................................................... 22
5.6.5 Tests to ascertain the dryness of seeds ........................................................................... 23
6 Seed Certification .......................................................................................................................... 23
6.1 Purpose of seed certification .................................................................................................. 23
6.1.1 Nucleus Seeds ................................................................................................................ 23
6.1.2 Breeder Seeds ................................................................................................................ 24
6.1.3 Foundation Seeds ........................................................................................................... 24
6.1.4 Registered Seed .............................................................................................................. 24
6.1.5 Certified Seeds ............................................................................................................... 24
6.1.6 Truthfully Labeled (TFL) Seeds ........................................................................................ 24
6.2 Seed Certification Procedures ................................................................................................ 24
6.2.1 Steps Involved in Seed Certification ................................................................................ 25
6.3 Certification of seeds as organic ............................................................................................. 25
6.3.1 Seed Germination and Purity Standards of some important crops .................................. 26
7 What is seed village?...................................................................................................................... 26
7.1 Establishment of seed villages ................................................................................................ 27
7.1.1 Seed production of different crops ................................................................................. 27
7.1.2 Establishment of Seed Production Unit ........................................................................... 28
7.2 Advantages of Seed Village Concept or Compact Area Approach ............................................ 28

1 What is a seed?
✓ A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some
stored food.
✓ Thus, biologically, seed is a ripe, fertilized ovule and a unit of reproduction of flowering plants.
1.1 Seed Rate:

✓ It is the number of seeds planted per hectare (ha) to ensure normal density of crops and a
maximum yield.
✓ It is expressed by the number of germinating seeds (millions) and the weight of the seeds (kg).
✓ The seed rate depends on germination of the seed, size of the seed, growing habit of the crop, etc.
✓ Extremes from the recommended seed rate (i.e. too high or too low) affect the plant population &
then yield of crop.
Usually, the seed rate is calculated using the following formula:
Seed Rate (kg/ha) = Target plants/ m² x Seed weight (mg)

Germination percentage (%)
Germination percentage is an estimate of the viability of a population of seeds.
The equation to calculate germination percentage is
GP = seeds germinated/total seeds x 100. Usually for every crop and variety there are certain values
that are calculated using various methods
Example: For a target population of 100 plants/m2 and using seed of average weight (35 mg) and a
laboratory germination test of 95 percent. Seed rate = 100 x 35/90 = 39 kg ha-1
1.2 Recommended seed rate of Field Crops
Crops Seed rate (kg/ha)

1 Rice
a. Transplanting 50-60
b. Broadcasting 80-100
c. Dibbling and Drilling 25-30
d. Hybrid rice 15
e. SRI method 6-8
2 Wheat 100-125
a. Wheat Late sowing 125
b. Wheat hybrid 67

c. Wheat by dibbler 25-30
3 Maize
a. Hybrid 20-25
b. Composite 15-20
c. Fodder 40-60
4 Sorghum, Moong, Arhar 12-15
a. Sorghum Fodder 20-30
5 Pearl Millet 2-3
a. Pearl millet fodder 20-30
6 Gram 60-80
7 Field Pea 75-100
8 Urd (spring), Cowpea, Sunhemp 20-25
a. Urd (Kharif) 12-15
9 Lathyrus
a. Pure crop 40-50
b. Mixed crop 8-10
c. Utera crop 80
10 Lentil, Linseed 30-40
11 Soybean 70-80
12. Safflower 15
13. Sunflower, Sugarbeet, Jute 8-10
14 Groundnut:
a. Bunch type 100-120
b. Spreading type 80-100
15 Til 3-4
16 Rapseed & Mustard
a. Pure cropping 4-6
b. Mixed cropping 2-3
17 Castor 10
18 Cotton Desi 10-12
19 Hybrid cotton, tobacco 2.5-3
a. American Cotton 15-20
20 Potato 10-15 quintals
21 Kodo 6-8
22 Lucerne 20
23 Berseem
a. Diploid spp. 20-25
b. Tetraploid spp. 30-35
24 Oat
a. Small seeded 80-100
b. Bold seeded 100-120

25 Cluster bean/gaur 30-40
26 Teosinate 20-30
Teosinte is a wild grass in the Poaceae family that includes the species Zea
mays. Teosinte is widely used as a forage crop for cattle in Mexico and the
seeds may be fed to other livestock such as chickens and pigs.
27 Barley 100
a. Barley late sowing 125
28. Moong
a. Moong Kharif 12-15
b. Moong Spring 20-25
Source: Agriculture at a Glance by R.K.Sharma
2 Various seed sowing methods:

There are various seed sowing methods which are as follows
2.1 Broadcasting method:

✓ Broadcasting is otherwise called as random sowing. Literally means ‘scattering the seeds’.
✓ Broadcasting is mostly followed for small sized to medium sized crops.
✓ This is the largest method of sowing followed in India, since; it is the easiest and cheapest and
requires minimum laborers.
✓ The seeds are broadcasted in a narrow strip and the sowing is completed strip by strip.
✓ To ensure a good and uniform population, it is better to broadcast on either direction. This is called
criss-cross sowing.
✓ If the seed is too small, it is mixed with sand to make a bulky one and for easy handling. Example:
Seasame seeds are mixed with sand at 1:15 or 1:10 ratio and sown.
✓ In certain cases, the person sowing will be beating the seeds against the basket for uniform
scattering. Ex. Sorghum, pearl millet.
✓ After broadcasting, the seeds are covered gently either using a country plough with a very shallow
ploughing or some wooden planks (boards / levelers) are used to cover the surface.
✓ In some cases, tree twigs or shrub branches are used. If the seeds are large, levelers collect the
seeds and leave in the other side. Comb harrow is the best used one.

2.2 Dibbling:
Dibbler
✓ This is actually line sowing.

✓ Dibbling is the process of placing seeds at cross marks made in the field with the help of dibbler as
per the requirement of the crop in both the directions.
✓ Through this method seeds can be dibbled at desired depth in the moisture zone and spacing
between rows and plants can be maintained.
✓ Dibbling is practiced on plain surface and ridges and furrows or beds and channels.
✓ Rice fallow cotton is dibbled on a plain surface.
✓ The seeds are dibbled at 2/3rd from top or 1/3rd at bottom of the ridge. Advantages of line sowing:
2.2.1 Dibbler
✓ A dibber or dibble or dibbler is a pointed wooden stick for making holes in the ground so that
seeds, seedlings or small bulbs can be planted.
✓ Dibbers come in a variety of designs including the straight dibber, T-handled dibber, trowel dibber,
and L-shaped dibber.
2.3 Seed Drilling:

• Drilling is the practice of dropping seeds in a definite depth covered with soil and compacted. In
this method, sowing implements are used for placing the seeds into the soil.
• Both animal drawn, and power operated (seed drills) implements are available.

• In this method, depth of sowing can be maintained, and fertilizer can also be applied
simultaneously. It is possible to take up sowing of inter crops also.
2.4 Transplanting:
✓ Seed are sown in small patch of land and later on transplanted from that patch to main field.
✓ Age of seedlings is 1/4th of the total duration of the crop.
✓ Thumb rule – 3 months crop – nursery duration 3 weeks, minimum 4 months – 4 weeks minimum
period; 5 months – 5 weeks.
✓ After the nursery period, seedlings are pulled out and transplanted.
✓ Note: AREA - 1/10th of the total area. If you want to sow seeds in 1ha land then your Nursery for
transplanting the same should be 1000 sqm (since 1ha= 10000sqm).
2.5 Sowing behind the plough:

✓ Sowing behind the plough is done by manual or mechanical means. Seeds are dropped in the
furrows opened by the plough and the same is closed or covered when the next furrow is opened.
✓ The seeds are sown at uniform distance. Manual method is a laborious and time-consuming process.
✓ Seeds like red gram, cowpea and groundnut are sown behind the country plough. Major sown crop
is groundnut.
3 Germination process
✓ After the seed has made it to a new location and is covered with dirt, it can begin germination.
✓ Germination is the process of seeds developing into new plants.
✓ First, environmental conditions must trigger the seed to grow.
✓ Usually, this is determined by how deep the seed is planted, water availability, and temperature.
✓ When water is plentiful, the seed fills with water in a process called imbibition.
✓ The water activates special proteins, called enzymes, that begin the process of seed growth.
✓ First the seed grows a root to access water underground.
✓ Next, the shoots, or growth above ground, begin to appear.
✓ The seed sends a shoot towards the surface, where it will grow leaves to harvest energy from the
sun.
✓ The leaves continue to grow towards the light source in a process called photomorphogenesis.
3.1 Types of Germination

There are two types of germination
3.1.1 Epigeal Germination

In this type of germination, the hypocotyl elongates rapidly and arches upwards pulling the cotyledons
which move above the soil. Examples: Mustard, Tamarind, Sunflower, Castor, Onion
3.1.2 Hypogeal Germination

In this type of germination, the epicotyl elongates and the cotyledons remain below the soil. Examples:
Cereals, Gram, Redgram, Lentil
3.2 Factors effecting germination process
The following are the various factors effecting germination process in various crop plants.
3.2.1 Soil
✓ Soil type, texture, structure and microorganisms greatly influence the seed germination.
3.2.2 Moisture
✓ When the seeds do not get required moisture in the soil, the viability is lost. When the moisture is
excess after germination, it will lead to rotting of the sprouts.
3.2.3 Temperature
✓ When it is above and below the optimum temperature, the germination rate will be affected.
3.2.4 Light
✓ The most effective wavelength for promoting germination is red (662 nm) and 730 nm inhibits
germination.
3.2.5 Soil condition

It again influences in 2 types.
3.2.5.1 Tilth
✓ It is the most important soil factor influences on germination of seed. Small seeds require fine tilth
whereas, moderate and larger seeds require medium and coarse tilth soils, respectively.
3.2.5.2 Depth of sowing

✓ The seeds should be placed at optimum depth. When the seeds are placed at deeper layer they have
to spend more energy for germination.
✓ When it is placed on soil surface, it will be taken away by birds/worked away.
✓ The thumb rule is to sow seeds to a depth of approximately 3 to 4 times diameter of the seed. The
optimum depth of sowing for most of the field crops ranged between 3 and 5 cm depth.
3.3 Crop Stand Establishment

Good crop establishment is one of the most important features in better crop production. The better
crop establishment is in turn expressed as optimum plant population in fields.
Number of plants per unit area in the cropped field is called as plant population.
3.4 Optimum plant population

✓ Optimum plant population is the number of plants required to produce maximum output or
biomass per unit area.
✓ Under high plant population, individual plant yield will be low due to narrow spacing leading to
competition between plants.
✓ Yield per plant decreases gradually as plant population per unit area is increased but yield per unit
area increases up to certain level of population. That level of plant population is called as optimum
population.
3.5 Factors affecting plant population

The factors affecting plant population can be divided into 2 major categories, viz., Genetic and
Environmental factors.
3.5.1 Genetic Factors
3.5.1.1 Size of the plant

✓ The volume occupied by the plant at the time of flowering decides the spacing of the crop.
✓ Plants of red gram, cotton, sugarcane etc. occupy larger volume of space in the field compared to
rice and wheat.
3.5.1.2 Elasticity of the plant

✓ Variation in size of the plant between minimum size of the plant that can produce some economic
yield to the maximum size of the plant that can reach under unlimited space and resources is the
elasticity of the plant.
✓ The optimum plant population range is less in indeterminate (unlimited branching) plants.
✓ The elasticity is due to tillering and branching habit of the plants.
✓ For determinate (limited branching) plants like pearl millet, sorghum elasticity range is less.
✓ For indeterminate (unlimited branching) plants like cotton and Red gram, more branches will be
produced by the crop.
3.5.1.3 Foraging area or soil cover

✓ Crop should cover the soil as early as possible so as to intercept maximum sunlight.
✓ Higher the intercepted radiation more will be the dry matter produced.
3.5.1.4 Dry matter partitioning

✓ Dry matter production is related to amount of solar radiation intercepted by the canopy which
depends on plant density.
✓ As the plant density increases, the canopy expands more rapidly, more radiation is intercepted,
and more dry matter is produced.
3.5.1.5 Crop and variety

✓ Depending on the crops and varieties, the plant population varies.
✓ Rice: Short duration - 6, 66,666 plants/ha (15 cm x 10 cm).
Calculation Example:
✓ Plant population = area / spacing
✓ Rice (Short duration) spacing 15cm x 10cm, Area= 1ha= 10000sqm
✓ Plant Population: 10000/0.15x0.10
✓ PP= 666666 Plants/ha
Other Examples:
✓ Medium: 5,00,000 plants/ha (20 cm x 10 cm)
✓ Long: 3,33,000 plants/ha (20 cm x 15 cm)
Cotton:
✓ Medium - 55,555 plants/ha (60 cm x 30 cm)
✓ Long: 44444 plants/ha (75 cm x 30 cm)
✓ Hybrids: 18,518 plants/ha (120 cm x 45 cm)
Maize:
✓ Varieties: 83,333 plants/ha (60 x 20 cm)
✓ Hybrids: 47,620 plants/ha (60 x 35 cm)
3.5.2 Environmental factors
3.5.2.1 Time of sowing

✓ The crop is subjected to various weather conditions when sown at different periods.
✓ Among weather factors, day length and temperature influence much on the plant population. As
low temperature retards growth, high plant population is required to cover the soil.
3.5.2.2 Rainfall / irrigation

✓ Plant population has to be less under rainfed than irrigated condition.
✓ Under more plant densities, more water is lost through transpiration.
✓ Under adequate rainfall / irrigation, high plant population is recommended.
3.5.2.3 Fertilizer application

✓ Higher plant population is necessary to fully utilize higher level of nutrients in the soil to realize
higher yield.
✓ Nutrient uptake increases at optimum plant population.
✓ High population under low fertility soils leads to nutrient deficiency symptoms leading low yield.
3.5.2.4 Seed rate

✓ Quantity of seed sown/unit area, viability and establishment rate decides the plant population.
✓ Under broadcasting the seed rate is higher when compared with line sowing/transplanting.
✓ Example: Rice - Direct sowing - 100 kg/ha; Line sowing - 60 kg/ha; Transplanting - 40 kg/ha.
4 Plant Geometry
✓ The arrangement of the plants in different rows and columns in an area to utilize the natural
resources efficiently is called crop geometry.
✓ It is otherwise area occupied by a single plant
✓ Example: Rice – 20 cm x 15 cm.
4.1 What are the different types of crop geometry?
4.1.1 Random plant geometry
✓ Random plant geometry results due to broadcasting method of sowing and no equal space is
maintained.
✓ Resources are either underutilized or over exploited.
4.1.2 Square plant geometry

✓ The plants are sown at equal distances on either side.
✓ Mostly perennial crops, tree crops follow square method of cultivation.
✓ Example: Coconut – 7.5 x 7.5 m; banana – 1.8 x 1.8 m. But, due to scientific invention, the square
geometry concept is expanded to close spaced field crops like rice too.
Advantages:
✓ Light is uniformly available
✓ Movement of wind is not blocked
✓ Mechanization can be possible.
4.1.3 Rectangular method of sowing

✓ There are rows and columns, the row spacing are wider than the spacing between plants.
✓ The different types exist in rectangular method are:
4.1.3.1 Solid row

Each row will have no proper spacing between the plants. This is followed only for annual crops which
have tilling pattern.
There is definite row arrangement but no column arrangement. Example: Wheat.
4.1.3.2 Skip row

A row of planting is skipped and hence there is a reduction in population. This reduction is compensated
by planting an intercrop; practiced in rain-fed or dry-land agriculture.
4.1.4 Triangular method of planting:

✓ It is recommended for wide spaced crops like coconut, man etc.
✓ The number of plants per unit area is more in this system.
4.1.5 Quincunx or diamond pattern:
✓ The quincunx or diamond pattern of arranging row-planted crops is a modified form of the square
pattern. It consists of a square that is formed by 4 closest plants with an additional plant at the
center of these 4 plants.
✓ The 4 plants that form a square are the main crops while the crop at the center is called a filler crop.
4.1.6 Paired Row arrangement

✓ The paired row arrangement can be seen both in the Square and Rectangular plant geometry type.
✓ In some cases, we observe this in triangular method of plant geometry as well.
✓ In paired row plantation with squared geometry, plant to plant spacing (Z) is same as that of row
(X) to spacing while in paired row plantation with rectangular geometry the plant to plant spacing
(Z) is more than the row to row spacing (X).
✓ In both the geometries one lateral is provided at the middle of the two crop rows such that two rows
are equally spaced from the lateral.
✓ Dimension Y is the distance between two paired rows.
Some features:
✓ The number of rows per hectare remains the same.
✓ The advantages are that wide spacing is available between the any two sets of paired rows which can
be utilized for growing profitable intercrops.
4.2 Recommended Planting Geometry (Spacing of Field Crops):

Crops Spacing (cm) Plant population/ ha
1 Rice
a. Transplanting 20*10 5,00,000
b. Hybrid rice 20*15 3,33,333
c. SRI method 25*25 1,16,000
2 Wheat 22.5 (R*R)
3 Maize 60*25 67000
4 Moong, Urd 40 *10 2,50,000
5 Cotton
a. Desi 60*30 55000
b. Hybrid 120*60 13,388
6 Sorghum 45*15 1,48,000
7 Gram, pea, cowpea, til, sun hemp, French 30*10 3,33,000
bean
8 Potato 50*20 & 60*25 100000 & 67000
9 Sunflower 60*20 83,333
10 Groundnut, Til, Soybean, Kodo 45*5 4,44,444
11 Jute 20*7 7,14,286
12 Castor 60*45 & 45*60 37,111
13 Sugarcane 75-90 (R*R) 33,000-45000
14 Lentil 30*5 6,66,666
Till now, we have studied about seed sowing and other concepts related to it. Now we shall understand
how seed production is done and various other concepts related to the same.Before going into the
production of Seeds and other concepts, let us study about the differences between scientifically
produced seeds and Grains used as seeds
5 Production of Seeds
Production of seeds through scientific methods solely for seeds purpose and not for commercial sale as
Grain/food. In order to get a good crop, seeds must be of good quality.
5.1 Characteristics of Good Quality Seeds
5.1.1 Seed Health

✓ Seeds with good germination capacity and seed vigor are considered as quality seeds.
✓ Seeds should be devoid of insect damage and infestation by any microbes like bacteria and fungi.
5.1.2 Physical Purity of Seeds

✓ The physical purity of the seeds should be maintained at 96-98% and the seeds should be of uniform
size and shape without any damage.
5.1.3 Genetic Purity

✓ Genetic purity of the seed should be maintained in order to ensure the quality of the seeds.
✓ The traditional and inherent characteristics of the seed should be maintained from generation to
generation and is referred as genetic purity.
5.1.4 Moisture Content of the Seeds

✓ Seeds with high moisture content will loose its germination vigor and viability soon. Hence, it is
necessary to maintain correct moisture content of the seeds in order to ensure the good germination
capacity and viability.
✓ Seeds should be stored at a safe moisture level of 9 – 13%. Moisture content of the seeds is
measured directly using digital moisture meter.
5.2 Factors Influencing Seed Production

During seed multiplication, certain guidelines should be followed - otherwise the quality of the seeds will
be affected.
5.2.1 Site / Land Selection

✓ The soil in the seed production field should be fertile with adequate irrigation and good drainage
facilities.
✓ The field should be devoid of high weed incidence and free from volunteer plants (Volunteer plants
are the unwanted plants growing in the seed production field from the previous seasons’ crop).
✓ The field should not be cultivated with the same crop variety in the previous season.
✓ It should have enough sunlight and proper aeration for the effective control of pest and diseases.
5.2.2 Selection of Species and Seed Source

✓ Healthy and uniform sized seeds from a reliable source should be selected.
✓ Seeds should be selected based on the type of seed production (i.e.) breeder seeds are required for
the production of foundation seeds; foundation seeds are required for the production of certified
seeds.
✓ Selected seeds should be genetically pure with high germination percentage and vigour.
5.2.3 Field Preparation

✓ Soil condition in the selected field should be suitable for the crop.
✓ The field should be ploughed thoroughly without any lumps.
✓ Green manure crops can be raised in the field in order to enhance the nutrient content of the soil.
✓ Organic manures like farm yard manure, compost and vermicompost can be used to enhance the soil
fertility.
✓ Field should be irrigated well within three days of sowing to avoid hardness of the soil.
5.2.4 Seed Selection

✓ Salt solution can be used to remove the chaffy seeds from good seeds.
✓ Take some water in a vessel and drop an egg in it. Keep adding salt to it slowly until the egg reaches
the surface of the water.
✓ When the seeds are dropped in this water, the good quality seeds will sink into the water. Remove
the unviable seeds that float on the surface of the water.
✓ Wash the selected seeds in good water for 2 - 3 times to remove the salt deposits. If this is not done,
the germination capacity of the seeds will be affected.
5.2.5 Seed testing

✓ The selected seeds should be tested for its viability, i.e. seed germination.
✓ Seed production and multiplication is possible only when the germination capacity is high. If the
germination rate is high ultimately the seed multiplication can also be higher.
5.2.6 Seed germination

✓ Germination capacity of a seed lot refers to the capacity of the seeds in that lot to germinate normally
and produce all parts of a healthy seedling and grow. The necessary parts of the seedling include well
developed primary roots, young pair of leaves and one or two cotyledons.
✓ % of germination = Number of normal seedlings/Total number of seeds germinated x 100
✓ A germination rate of 70-80% is an indication of high seed viability. Germination can also be affected
by seed dormancy.
5.2.7 Seed Vigour

✓ Seeds with good vigour will produce good quality seedlings that will grow and give good yields.
✓ Seed vigour is the sum total of all the seed attributes that favours rapid and uniform standard
establishment in the field under varying field conditions.
✓ In general, seeds with good germination capacity and uniformity in size will have good vigour. It varies
from species to species.
✓ A countable number of seeds can be sown in small pots filled with moistened soil and placed in a
sunny area. After a few days, number of normal seedlings in each pot should be counted.
5.2.8 Seed Dormancy

✓ Seed dormancy is the temporary suspension of growth of viable seeds accompanied by reduced
internal metabolic activity. It is the resting stage of the seed and it delays germination of the seed.
✓ Unfavourable climatic conditions like temperature, variation and lack of water leads to seed
dormancy. Dormancy may occur due to the presence of a hard seed coat, immature embryo and also
due to the presence of germination inhibitors in the seeds. It may also be due to the exposure of seeds
to excess heat, light or darkness and also due to the presence of chemical toxins in the seeds.
✓ Dormancy of the seeds can be broken by any of the following methods
5.2.8.1 Scarification
Removal of the hard seed coat by rubbing the seeds with sand paper. Examples: Pulses
5.2.8.2 Hot water treatment

Soak the seeds in hot water at 45-50°C. Examples: Tree crops.
5.2.8.3 Leaching
Soak the seeds in water for overnight to remove the germination inhibiting chemicals present in the seeds.
Example: Coriander
5.2.8.4 Stratification
Subject the seeds to very low temperature of 0-5°C to break the embryo dormancy. Example: Cole crops.
5.2.8.5 Light treatment

Some seeds do not germinate in dark and periodic exposure to light is essential to break the dormancy.
Example: Lettuce.
5.2.9 Sowing Season

✓ The best sowing season depends upon the suitable temperature, rain, wind speed and photoperiod.
✓ For quality seed production there should not be heavy rains during the flowering stage of the seed
crop and the maturity of the seed should coincide with the summer season.
✓ Seeds harvested during dry season are always better in quality.
5.2.10 Planting Density

✓ Density of the plant in the field directly influences the quality of the seeds.
✓ More densely populated planting leads to the incidence of diseases, whereas less populated planting
acquires more weed infestation with uneven ripening.
✓ Hence it is necessary to maintain the optimum plant density pertaining to each crop variety.
5.2.11 Weed Management

✓ Land selected for seed production should be maintained free from weeds.
✓ Weed seeds will remain dormant for a long period and grow faster than the main crop and produce
seeds, which will reduce the purity of the seed crop.
5.2.12 Pest and Disease Management

✓ Insects will spread disease causing microbes and particularly affect the seeds.
✓ Special care and attention should be given at every stage of the seed production in order to keep the
field free from the pest and diseases.
5.2.13 Intercultural Technologies

✓ The soil in between and around the crop should be tilted slightly for good aeration and better water
holding capacity.
✓ Soil should be heaped or mounted near the root region of the plant.
5.3 Few other important factors of Seed production
5.3.1 Seed Multiplication Ratio (SMR)

✓ It is the number of seeds to be produced from a single seed when it is sown and harvested.
SMR = Seed Yield/Seed Rate
5.3.2 Seed Replacement Rate (SRR)

✓ Seed replacement rate is the percentage of area sown out of total area of crop planted in the season
by using certified / quality seeds other than the farm saved seeds.
✓ SRR = X / Y x 100; Where, Y = total cultivated area under a crop in a season; X = area sown with
certified/quality seeds of a particular variety reported to cover a given area.
✓ Thus, higher the Seed Replacement Ratio, higher is production as well as productivity and higher are
chances of achieving nutritional security, food security and containing food price inflation.
✓ Currently, only around 15 per cent of India’s total cropped area is planted with freshly obtained
quality seeds every year. A huge 85 per cent area is sown with farm saved seeds.
✓ This ratio varies from crop to crop between 7% in staple crops to maximum 70% in some vegetables
and fruits. For wheat and rice, it is between 9 to 18%.
SEEDS REPLACEMENT RATE OF MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS IN THE
COUNTRY FROM 2012-13 TO 2016-17
Figure in %
CROP 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
WHEAT 33.82 34.90 35.53 35.07 40.30
PADDY 39.05 57.55 32.80 36.76 39.81
MAIZE 54.22 63.50 71.80 70.48 64.68
JOWAR 26.01 27.95 40.08 50.04 38.22
BAJRA 56.67 54.85 53.61 58.03 57.09
RAGI 44.72 25.46 52.43 56.14 53.39
BARLEY 29.12 19.78 28.62 29.69 30.27
URD 33.96 49.55 30.27 33.72 37.97
MOONG 32.41 49.63 23.55 30.72 33.55
ARHAR 21.46 46.25 40.97 45.24 48.11
PEAS 28.48 36.12 34.09 29.97 30.23
GRAM 21.17 31.43 25.35 27.64 31.83
LENTIL 21.46 34.12 31.49 26.65 35.40
GROUNDNUT 24.91 25.38 23.65 23.56 25.24
RAPE/MUST 57.31 51.28 54.56 62.20 68.03
TIL 19.84 23.62 19.48 30.92 42.36
SUNFLOWER 35.83 86.29 96.32 86.20 30.67
SOYABEAN 51.63 37.46 30.48 37.74 38.17
CASTOR 61.54 41.06 42.94 54.12 80.80
SAFFLOWER 14.62 32.91 29.05 29.52 29.32
5.4 Various steps are required to be taken in order to maintain the purity of the seed
accessions. They are
5.4.1 Isolation distance

It is the distance maintained between the seed crops and the different varieties of the same crop located
in the adjacent area in order to maintain the genetic purity of the seeds. Two types of isolation are
followed
1. Space isolation (planting distance)

2. Time isolation (difference in the time of sowing)
Isolation Distance for Selected Crops
5.4.2 Bagging Technique

✓ In order to protect the pollination through insects or wind covering the floral portion of a plant is
practiced.
✓ Materials like mosquito net, paper bags, and nylon stockings are used for bagging purpose.
✓ The base of the bag is tightly secured around the stem with a cotton ball in it. This mechanical isolation
method is suitable for small quantity of seeds. Eg. Tomato.
5.4.3 Rouging
✓ It is the process of removing the plant varieties of other than the variety grown for seed production
like other crops, weeds etc.
✓ Rouging should not be done in intense sun light.
✓ Timely rouging is critical for the conservation of the genetic purity of the seeds.
5.5 Harvest of Seed crop

✓ Harvest can be done only when the seeds attain complete physiological maturity (full size and
maturity).
✓ Harvest should coincide with the dry season. It will increase the germination capacity of the seeds.
✓ Method of harvest and harvest time varies from crop to crop.
✓ Most preferred method of seed harvesting is manual harvesting. It will reduce the mechanical
damage to the seeds.
✓ The total number of harvest of matured seeds varies from crop to crop. Example: Single harvest crops
-Paddy and Maize; Multiple harvest crops - Tomato, Brinjal, Bhendi etc.
5.6 Seed Processing

After harvest the seeds need to be processed by various methods in order to maintain the physical purity
and also to increase the shelf life. This should be done before seeds are taken for storage.
5.6.1 Cleaning
Stem bits and chaff collected along with the seeds will harbor insects which would damage stored seeds.
In order to prevent such damage, cleaning either by wet method or dry method should be followed.
5.6.1.1 Wet cleaning

✓ Plants which carry seeds in their moist flesh can be cleaned by this method. Seeds scooped from the
flesh of a ripened fruit should be collected in a vessel and rubbed vigorously with coarse sand to
remove flesh around the seeds.
✓ Then seeds are taken in a sieve and washed repeatedly under running water to remove the bits and
pieces of flesh and mucilage. After such cleaning seeds should be dried for 10 days before storage.
Examples: Cucumber, Tomato etc.
5.6.1.2 Dry cleaning

✓ This method is used for the matured seeds in a dry capsule / pod. Either the dry pods can be harvested
individually or the whole plant with the pod is pulled out and shade dried, threshed for the collection
of seeds.
✓ After threshing seeds are gently crushed or rolled and winnowed before storing.
Examples: Paddy, Millets, Pulses, Oilseeds etc.
5.6.2 Winnowing
✓ It is an ancient method to remove the chaff from the seeds by tossing them in the air.
✓ Elongated flat baskets are used for winnowing. It helps to remove stem bits, old petals, husks and
other parts of the flower and debris mixed with the seeds. There are also mechanical winnowers
available
5.6.3 Sieving
✓ Sieves with different gauge sizes are used for sieving in order to remove the debris and chaff from
the seeds.
✓ Large debris retains in the larger sieve, whereas the dust materials smaller than the seeds is removed
in the small size sieve.
5.6.4 Drying of Seeds

✓ Seed drying is the process of lowering the moisture content of the seed in order to improve the
vigour and viability of the seed and thereby increasing the storage life.
✓ Drying should be done at a lower temperature.
✓ Various drying methods involved are:
5.6.4.1 Natural drying / Sun drying

✓ It is a common method of drying followed in the field or threshing yard by using the radiant energy
of the sun. Seeds should be spread in a thin layer to enhance the uniform drying of the seeds.
✓ Seeds with high moisture content should be shade dried and later exposed to sun drying.
✓ Sun drying is advisable only in the morning and evening hours. Drying in mid noon causes damage to
seed quality.
5.6.4.2 Artificial / Mechanical drying by using forced natural / heated air

✓ This type of drying can be carried out inside the storage godown itself.
✓ It is possible only during the dry seasons. In some cases, drying is done by passing the heated outside
air with the use of burner heater. This principle is followed in most of the present day dryers.
✓ Main advantage of this method is that drying is uniform and done within a short span of time. But the
cost of the equipment and fuel requirement is very expensive.
5.6.5 Tests to ascertain the dryness of seeds

✓ Simple traditional methods are involved in order to ascertain whether the seeds are properly dried
or not.
✓ Thin seeds are twisted between the fingers, thick seeds can be bitten by the front tooth and the
small seeds can be squeezed between the fingernails. If they break with a cracking sound,
it shows that the seeds are dried well.
6 Seed Certification
Seed certification is a legally sanctioned system for quality control of seed multiplication and
production.
6.1 Purpose of seed certification

Four main classes of seeds are defined by the Association of Official Seed Certification Agency. They are
6.1.1 Nucleus Seeds

✓ Nucleus seeds are the basic seed class for seed production. These seeds are maintained by the
breeder for further multiplication. It is produced under the direct supervision of the concerned plant
breeder. It is produced based on the various crop multiplication techniques and methods.
✓ Nucleus seeds possess high percentage of genetic purity (100%).
6.1.2 Breeder Seeds
✓ Breeder seeds are produced using nucleus seeds in the Research institutes or Universities under the
supervision of a breeder.
✓ The entire production process will be monitored by the Scientists and Officers of the Seed Certification
Department and by the representatives of the National Seed Corporation.
✓ The genetic purity of the breeder seeds is 100% and the tag provided for the breeder seed is golden
yellow in colour.
6.1.3 Foundation Seeds

✓ Foundation seeds are produced from the breeder seeds. It is produced at Government farms or by
private seed producers.
✓ Its production can also be taken up by the farmers by getting suitable breeder seeds. Genetic purity
of the foundation seeds are 99.5% and its certification tag is white in colour.
6.1.4 Registered Seed

✓ It is considered to be the parent of Certified Seed and produced from Foundation seed or
Registered seed itself.
✓ It is usually produced by progressive farmers under technical guidance and supervision from State
Seed Corporation.
✓ It has purple tag.
6.1.5 Certified Seeds

✓ Seeds produced from foundation seeds are known as certified seeds.
✓ The production of certified seeds is taken up by the National and State Seed Corporation, private
seed companies and also by farmers.
✓ The certified seeds should possess uniformity and purity as defined by the Department of Seed
Certification.
✓ The genetic purity of the certified seeds is 99% and the certification tag provided is blue in colour.
6.1.6 Truthfully Labeled (TFL) Seeds

✓ One more class of seeds is truthfully labeled seeds. This type of seeds does not come under the
purview of the Department of Seed Certification.
✓ This kind of seeds are tested only for its physical purity and germination. By this method, any farmer
can produce seeds and market it as truthfully labeled seeds.
✓ Labeling is compulsory but certification is voluntary.
6.2 Seed Certification Procedures

✓ The Seed Certification Department is the legally authorized body to manage the production,
multiplication and monitoring of the seed quality. As per the Seed Act 1966, seed certification is
voluntary.
✓ Seeds which are certified by the Seed Certification Agency are called certified seeds, which passes
through both the field and seed standards as specified by the certification body.
✓ Seed standards are specified and uniform throughout the country, whereas the seed certification
procedures and fee vary from one State to another State.
6.2.1 Steps Involved in Seed Certification

Application for seed production, Registration of sowing report, Field inspection, Seed processing, Seed
sample&seed analysis And Tagging and sealing
6.3 Certification of seeds as organic

✓ A prerequisite for farmers following organic cultivation methods is that they should use organically
certified seeds in their farms. However, certified organic seeds are not commonly available in the
markets. To overcome this situation, certified organic farmers could take up the production of
quality certified organic seeds in consultation with the Department of Seed Certification and an
Organic Certifying Agency.
✓ Farmers should follow all the organic certification standards according to the National Programme
for Organic Production (NPOP) in addition to the seed certification standards for the production of
certified organic seeds. For the production of such seeds, farmers have to register their land with any
of the accredited organic certification bodies in India and also the seed crop with the Department or
Board of Seed Certification in the respective State.
6.3.1 Seed Germination and Purity Standards of some important crops
Sl. No. Variety Germination Purity

Minimum Minimum
Percentage Percentage
1 Cowpea 75 98
2 Cluster beans 70 98
3 Field beans 75 98
4 Beans 75 98
5 Ladies finger 65 99
6 Bitter gourd 60 99
7 Sponge gourd 60 99
8 Bottle gourd 60 99
9 Cucumber 60 99
10 Snake gourd 60 99
11 Watermelon 60 99
12 Pumpkin 60 99
13 Cauliflower 65 98
14 Cabbage 70 98
15 Knol-khol 70 98
16 Carrot 60 95
17 Radish 70 98
18 Brinjal 70 98
19 Tomato 70 98
20 Chillies 60 98
21 Capsicum 60 98
22 Greens 70 95
23 Fenugreek 70 98
24 Basella 60 96
25 Onion 70 98
7 What is seed village?

A village, wherein trained group of fanners are involved in production 'of seeds of various crops and
cater to the needs of themselves, fellow fanners of the village and fanners of neighboring villages in
appropriate time and at affordable cost is called "a seed village".
✓ Seed is the starting point of agriculture and dictates ultimate productivity of other inputs. Good
quality seed alone increases the yield by 15-20 per cent.
✓ Quality seed is the key input for realizing potential productivity. As the quality deteriorates during
subsequent generations the old seed must be replaced with fresh lots of quality seeds. Ideally seed
should be replaced every year for hybrids and every three to four years for non-hybrids.
✓ Therefore, it is necessary to improve the availability of quality seeds to raise the Seed Replacement
Rate (SRR).
✓ Despite implementation of the organized seed programme, the seed replacement rate has only
reached 15 per cent and there exists an alarming gap between the demand and supply of quality
seeds.
✓ The role of private seed industry in the production and distribution of quality seeds is well recognized
in the Indian' seed industry.
✓ There is vast scope to produce and distribute quality seeds in various crops for which seed village
concept is a noval and highly practical approach and needs to be promoted to facilitate production
and timely distribution of quality seeds of desired varieties at village level.
✓ In this context, the concept of seed village which advocates village self-sufficiency in production and
distribution of quality seeds is getting momentum.
7.1 Establishment of seed villages

The present programme of seed village scheme is having two phases
7.1.1 Seed production of different crops

Seed village concept is to promote the quality seed production of foundation and certified seed classes.
The area which is suitable for raising a particular crop will be selected and raised with single variety of a
kind.
7.1.1.1 Selection of area

The area with the following facilities will be selected.
✓ Irrigation facilities and suitability of climatic conditions to raise the crop for more than one season
✓ Labour availability and Knowledge of local farmers on that particular crop
✓ Occurrence or out break of pest and diseases.
✓ Past history of the area for suitability to raise seed crop, along with Average rainfall and distribution.
✓ Closeness to urban area for easy movement of seed and other inputs
7.1.1.2 Seed Supply

✓ Suitable area for seed production will be identified by the Scientists.
✓ The foundation/ certified seeds or University labeled seeds will be supplied by the University
through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and Research Stations at 50% subsidy cost to the identified
farmers in the area.
✓ The farmers will use these quality seeds and take up their own seed production in a small area (1 acre)
for their own use. The crops are Rice, Pulses and Oilseeds.
7.1.1.3 Capacity building

✓ In order to harness the synergy between technologies and the community participation, special
emphasis is being given to build farmer's capacity to produce quality seeds.
✓ A training on seed production and seed technology to the identified farmers for the seed crops grown
in the seed villages will be given for technology empowerment of farmers.
✓ Duration of the training : 3 days
First one day training : At the time of sowing - Training on : Isolation distance, sowing practices,
seed treatment, and other agronomic practices.
Second one day training : During flowering - Training on : Identifying off-types and removal,
maintenance of seed plots, plant protection measures, maturity status and harvesting methods.
Third one day training : After harvest - Training on : Seed cleaning, grading, seed treating, bagging
and storage aspects, seed sampling and sending to seed testing laboratory for analysis.
✓ A seed grower forum will be organized for further empowerment of technology and marketing.
7.1.2 Establishment of Seed Production Unit

✓ Post-harvest seed handling is a vital component of the total technology in marketing available good
quality seeds of improved varieties.
✓ If the seeds are not processed and handled properly, all the past efforts in production may be lost.
Thus, seed processing and packaging is very important aspect in seed production.
✓ The location of seed processing centers is based on the available infrastructure and convenience.
Such a place will be well connected with roads and transportation facilities.
7.2 Advantages of Seed Village Concept or Compact Area Approach

✓ Solve the problem of isolation. Mainly in cross pollinated crops like maize, sunflower where it
required more Isolation distance the problem will be solved by raising a single variety in a large
area.
✓ Mechanization is possible from sowing to harvesting.
✓ Post harvest handling of seed is easy.
✓ Because of a single variety, the problem of varietal admixture during processing, drying will be
avoided.
✓ Seed certification official will cover large area per unit time.
✓ Totally it reduces the cost of cultivation.
✓ Seed will be with high genetic, physical purity.
For
Soil and Water Conservation

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 What is Soil? .................................................................................................................................. 15
2 What is Soil Science?...................................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Soil Science has six well defined and developed disciplines .................................................... 15
3 Pedological and Edaphological approaches of soil study:................................................................ 15
3.1 Pedological Approach:............................................................................................................ 15
3.2 Edaphological Approach: ........................................................................................................ 16
4 Some important terms related to soil ............................................................................................ 17
4.1 Pedon .................................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Polypedon .............................................................................................................................. 17
5 Soil Components (Composition of soil on volume basis) ................................................................. 17
.............................................................................................................................................................. 17
5.1 Mineral .................................................................................................................................. 17
5.2 Organic Matter....................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.1 Division of organic matter:.............................................................................................. 18
5.2.2 Functions of Organic matter ........................................................................................... 18
5.3 Pore Spaces............................................................................................................................ 19
5.4 Soil Water .............................................................................................................................. 19
5.5 Soil Air.................................................................................................................................... 21
5.5.1 Composition of Soil Air ................................................................................................... 21
5.5.2 Influence of soil air on Crop Growth: .............................................................................. 22
6 Soil Profile ..................................................................................................................................... 22
6.1 Eluviation ............................................................................................................................... 22
6.2 Illuviation ............................................................................................................................... 23
6.3 Humification .......................................................................................................................... 23
6.4 Layers of the soil: ................................................................................................................... 23
6.4.1 O (humus or organic) ...................................................................................................... 23
6.4.2 A (topsoil) ....................................................................................................................... 24
6.4.3 E (eluviated) ................................................................................................................... 24
6.4.4 B (subsoil) – Illuvial Horizon ............................................................................................ 24
6.4.5 C (parent material) ......................................................................................................... 24
6.4.6 R (bedrock) ..................................................................................................................... 24

7 Process of soil formation................................................................................................................ 24
7.1 How does formation of soils happen? .................................................................................... 25
7.2 Types of weathering:.............................................................................................................. 25
7.2.1 Physical Weathering: ...................................................................................................... 25
7.2.2 Chemical weathering ...................................................................................................... 26
7.2.3 Biological weathering ..................................................................................................... 26
8 Erosion: ......................................................................................................................................... 26
8.1 What is soil erosion? .............................................................................................................. 26
8.2 Types of soil erosion based on natural or Man made activities ............................................... 27
8.3 Agents of soil erosion ............................................................................................................. 27
8.4 Soil Erosion Types (The agent of soil erosion is water) ............................................................ 27
8.4.1 Splash erosion ................................................................................................................ 27
8.4.2 Sheet erosion ................................................................................................................. 27
8.4.3 Rill erosion ..................................................................................................................... 28
8.4.4 Gully erosion .................................................................................................................. 28
8.4.5 Slip Erosion..................................................................................................................... 28
8.4.6 Stream bank erosion....................................................................................................... 28
8.5 Soil Erosion Types (The agent of soil erosion is wind) ............................................................. 28
8.5.1 Saltation ......................................................................................................................... 28
8.5.2 Suspension ..................................................................................................................... 29
8.5.3 Surface creep ................................................................................................................. 29
9 Soil Conservation Practices ............................................................................................................ 29
10 Soil Conservation Practices ........................................................................................................ 29
10.1 Agronomic Measures ............................................................................................................. 30
10.1.1 Summer Ploughing ......................................................................................................... 30
10.1.2 Ridges and Furrows ........................................................................................................ 30
10.1.3 Contour Farming ............................................................................................................ 30
10.1.4 Ploughing across the slope ............................................................................................. 31
10.1.5 Vegetative barriers ......................................................................................................... 31
10.1.6 Intercropping.................................................................................................................. 31
10.1.7 Crop rotation .................................................................................................................. 32

10.1.8 Strip Cropping................................................................................................................. 32
10.1.9 Mulching ........................................................................................................................ 33
10.1.10 Soil amendment practices........................................................................................... 33
10.1.11 Chisel ploughing ......................................................................................................... 34
10.1.12 Alternate Land use pattern (ALUP).............................................................................. 34
10.2 Engineering Measures ............................................................................................................ 34
10.2.1 BBF (Broad Bed and Furrow system) ............................................................................... 34
10.2.2 Contour bunding ............................................................................................................ 35
10.2.3 Contour trenches............................................................................................................ 36
10.2.4 Contour stonewalls......................................................................................................... 36
10.2.5 Compartmental bunding................................................................................................. 36
10.2.6 Random Tied ridging....................................................................................................... 36
10.2.7 Basin Listing.................................................................................................................... 37
10.2.8 Percolation Ponds........................................................................................................... 37
10.2.9 Micro catchment ............................................................................................................ 37
10.2.10 Farm Ponds ................................................................................................................ 37
10.2.11 Keyline design............................................................................................................. 38
10.2.12 Windbreaks and shelter belts ..................................................................................... 38
11 Various factors affecting soil formation ...................................................................................... 39
11.1 Parent material ...................................................................................................................... 39
11.2 Time....................................................................................................................................... 39
11.3 Climate .................................................................................................................................. 40
11.4 Topography and Relief ........................................................................................................... 40
11.5 Organisms .............................................................................................................................. 40
12 Important factors affecting soil formation given by various scientists......................................... 40
12.1 Dokuchaiev (1889) ................................................................................................................. 40
12.2 Jenny (1941)........................................................................................................................... 40
12.3 Five stages of development by Mohr and van Baren............................................................... 41
12.4 Difference between Young soil and Mature soil...................................................................... 41
12.5 Basic processes taking place in the soil ................................................................................... 42
12.5.1 Additions ........................................................................................................................ 42

12.5.2 Losses ............................................................................................................................. 42
12.5.3 Transformations ............................................................................................................. 42
12.5.4 Translocations ................................................................................................................ 42
13 Mechanisms of soil formation .................................................................................................... 42
14 ‘What are Rocks’? ...................................................................................................................... 44
14.1 Types of rocks ........................................................................................................................ 45
14.1.1 Igneous rocks (Primary or massive rocks)........................................................................ 45
14.1.2 Sedimentary rocks .......................................................................................................... 46
14.1.3 Metamorphic Rocks........................................................................................................ 48
15 Rock Cycle.................................................................................................................................. 48
15.1 Minerals................................................................................................................................. 48
15.2 Physical properties of Minerals .............................................................................................. 49
15.3 Classification of minerals: ....................................................................................................... 49
15.3.1 The basic classification.................................................................................................... 49
15.3.2 Based on the weathering of minerals.............................................................................. 49
15.4 Primary and Secondary minerals ............................................................................................ 50
15.4.1 Ferro Magnesium Mineral .............................................................................................. 51
15.4.2 Non-Ferromagnesium Mineral........................................................................................ 52
15.4.3 Silicate minerals ............................................................................................................. 52
15.4.4 Non-silicate minerals ...................................................................................................... 53
15.5 Formation of Secondary Minerals........................................................................................... 54
15.6 Clay Mineral ........................................................................................................................... 54
15.6.1 Silicate Clay Minerals: ..................................................................................................... 54
15.6.2 Types of Silicate Clay Minerals ........................................................................................ 54
16 Some Important Points .............................................................................................................. 58
17 Important Properties of Soil ....................................................................................................... 58
17.1 Soil Texture ............................................................................................................................ 58
17.1.1 Sand ............................................................................................................................... 59
17.1.2 Silt .................................................................................................................................. 59
17.1.3 Clay ................................................................................................................................ 59
17.2 Characteristics of the particles ............................................................................................... 59

17.3 Classification of soil particles (International System) .............................................................. 60
17.4 Influence on primary particles on soil properties .................................................................... 60
17.5 Types of soil ........................................................................................................................... 60
17.5.1 Textural classes of soils ................................................................................................... 60
17.6 Soil Structure ......................................................................................................................... 61
17.6.1 There are four principal types of soil structures .............................................................. 61
17.7 Bulk Density ........................................................................................................................... 62
17.7.1 What does bulk density indicate? ................................................................................... 62
17.7.2 How is high bulk density a major problem?..................................................................... 62
17.7.3 Particle Density............................................................................................................... 63
17.8 Soil Colour.............................................................................................................................. 63
17.8.1 Soil colour is usually due to 3 main pigments .................................................................. 63
17.8.2 Determining soil colours ................................................................................................. 63
17.9 Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of the soil ............................................................................. 64
17.9.1 Expressing CEC ............................................................................................................... 64
17.9.2 CEC levels based on the soil type .................................................................................... 65
17.9.3 Effect of pH on Soil CEC .................................................................................................. 65
17.9.4 Implications of high or low CEC....................................................................................... 65
17.10 Pore Space ......................................................................................................................... 65
17.11 Soil pH................................................................................................................................ 66
18 Various types of soils in India ..................................................................................................... 66
18.1 The salient features of the various types of soils are given below ........................................... 66
S.No .................................................................................................................................................. 66
Types of Soils ..................................................................................................................................... 66
States where found ........................................................................................................................... 66
Rich in ............................................................................................................................................... 66
Lacks in.............................................................................................................................................. 66
Crops grown ...................................................................................................................................... 66
18.2 Alluvial soils: .......................................................................................................................... 68
18.3 Black soils............................................................................................................................... 68
18.4 Red soils ................................................................................................................................. 68

18.5 Laterite soils........................................................................................................................... 69
18.6 Forest and Mountain soils ...................................................................................................... 69
18.7 Arid and Desert soils .............................................................................................................. 69
18.8 Saline and alkaline soils .......................................................................................................... 69
18.9 Peaty and Marshy soils ........................................................................................................... 69
19 Modern Classification System .................................................................................................... 69
19.1 Categorization: ....................................................................................................................... 70
19.2 Soil Order ............................................................................................................................... 70
19.2.1 Inceptisols ...................................................................................................................... 71
19.2.2 Entisols ........................................................................................................................... 72
19.2.3 Vertisols ......................................................................................................................... 72
19.2.4 Oxisols ............................................................................................................................ 72
19.2.5 Ultisols ........................................................................................................................... 72
19.2.6 Alfisols ............................................................................................................................ 73
19.2.7 Histosols ......................................................................................................................... 73
19.2.8 Aridosols ........................................................................................................................ 73
19.2.9 Spodosols ....................................................................................................................... 73
19.2.10 Mollisols ..................................................................................................................... 74
19.2.11 Andisols/Endisols ........................................................................................................ 74
19.2.12 Gelisols ....................................................................................................................... 74
20 Problematic soils........................................................................................................................ 74
20.1 Characteristics of Saline, Alkali and Saline-Alkali Soils ............................................................. 74
20.1.1 Saline soils ...................................................................................................................... 75
20.1.2 Alkali soils....................................................................................................................... 75
20.1.3 Saline-Alkali soils ............................................................................................................ 75
21 Problematic soils based on PH value .......................................................................................... 75
21.1 Acidic Soils ............................................................................................................................. 75
21.1.1 Reasons for acidity ......................................................................................................... 75
21.1.2 Injury to crops ................................................................................................................ 76
21.1.3 Crop suitable for cultivation in acidic soils....................................................................... 76
21.1.4 Management of acid soils ............................................................................................... 76

21.2 Saline soils ............................................................................................................................. 77
21.2.1 Reasons for Salinity ........................................................................................................ 77
21.2.2 Injury to crops ................................................................................................................ 77
21.2.3 Crop suitable for cultivation in saline soils ...................................................................... 78
21.3 Alkali Soils .............................................................................................................................. 78
21.3.1 Reasons for the formation of alkali soils ......................................................................... 78
21.3.2 Injury to crops ................................................................................................................ 78
21.3.3 Crops suitable for cultivation in Alkali soils ..................................................................... 78
21.3.4 Where are these soils found? ......................................................................................... 78
21.3.5 Reclamation of alkali / sodic soils.................................................................................... 79
22 What is Soil Fertility? ................................................................................................................. 79
23 What is Soil Productivity?........................................................................................................... 79
24 Mineralization and Immobilization ............................................................................................. 80
24.1 Mineralization ........................................................................................................................ 80
24.2 Immobilization ....................................................................................................................... 80
24.3 Scenario 1: High C:N ratio....................................................................................................... 81
24.4 Scenario 2: Low C:N ratio ....................................................................................................... 81
24.5 Crop Environment .................................................................................................................. 81
24.5.1 Soil environment ............................................................................................................ 81
24.5.2 Aerial environment......................................................................................................... 82
25 Plant nutrients ........................................................................................................................... 82
25.1 Essentiality of plant nutrients ................................................................................................. 82
25.2 Terms commonly used to describe levels of nutrients in plants and other important terms.... 83
25.2.1 Deficient ......................................................................................................................... 83
25.2.2 Critical range .................................................................................................................. 83
25.2.3 Sufficient ........................................................................................................................ 83
25.2.4 Excessive or toxic ............................................................................................................ 83
25.2.5 Basic Nutrients ............................................................................................................... 83
25.2.6 Macro-nutrients ............................................................................................................. 83
25.2.7 Micro-nutrients .............................................................................................................. 83
25.2.8 Beneficial nutrients......................................................................................................... 83

25.3 Forms in which the nutrients are taken up ............................................................................. 84
25.4 Mobility of nutrients in the soil and the plants ....................................................................... 84
25.4.1 Mobility in the soils ........................................................................................................ 84
25.5 Mobility in plants ................................................................................................................... 85
25.5.1 How mobility of nutrients in plants has an effect on the appearance of deficiency
symptoms? .................................................................................................................................... 85
25.5.2 Law of Minimum by Justus Von Liebig (1862).................................................................. 85
26 Functions of the Nutrients ......................................................................................................... 86
26.1 Overall, based on the functions, nutrients are grouped into four: Basic structure, energy use,
charge balance and enzyme activity:.................................................................................................. 88
27 Deficiency symptoms ................................................................................................................. 88
27.1 Identification of deficiency symptoms .................................................................................... 88
27.1.1 Deficiency symptoms on old leaves ................................................................................ 89
27.1.2 Deficiency Symptoms on New Leaves ............................................................................. 89
27.1.3 Terminal buds................................................................................................................. 90
27.1.4 Deficiency on both old and new leaves ........................................................................... 90
28 Detailed discussion of each nutrient .......................................................................................... 90
28.1 Nitrogen (N) ........................................................................................................................... 91
28.2 Phosphorous (P) ..................................................................................................................... 91
28.3 Potassium (K) ......................................................................................................................... 91
28.4 Calcium (Ca) ........................................................................................................................... 92
28.5 Magnesium (Mg) .................................................................................................................... 92
28.6 Sulphur (S) ............................................................................................................................. 92
28.7 Boron (B)................................................................................................................................ 92
28.8 Chlorine (Cl) ........................................................................................................................... 93
28.9 Copper (Cu)............................................................................................................................ 93
28.10 Iron (Fe) ............................................................................................................................. 93
28.11 Manganese (Mn) ................................................................................................................ 93
28.12 Molybdenum (Mo) ............................................................................................................. 94
28.13 Zinc (Zn) ............................................................................................................................. 94
28.14 Nickel (Ni): ......................................................................................................................... 94
29 Toxicity symptoms ..................................................................................................................... 94
29.1 NITROGEN.............................................................................................................................. 94
29.2 PHOSPHOROUS ...................................................................................................................... 95
29.3 IRON ...................................................................................................................................... 95
29.4 MANGANESE .......................................................................................................................... 95
29.5 BORON................................................................................................................................... 95
30 Manures and Fertilizers.............................................................................................................. 95
30.1 Differences between Manures and Fertilizers......................................................................... 95
31 Classification of Manures ........................................................................................................... 96
31.1.1 Green Manure (B)........................................................................................................... 97
31.2 Concentrated Organic Manures.............................................................................................. 98
31.2.1 Below is the list of the NPK ratios of important Concentrated Organic Manures ............. 98
32 Fertilizers ................................................................................................................................. 100
32.1 Classification of Fertilizers .................................................................................................... 100
32.1.1 Based on the number of nutrients it provides ............................................................... 100
32.1.2 Based on physical form ................................................................................................. 100
32.1.3 Based on the type of nutrients it provides .................................................................... 101
32.2 Secondary major-nutrient fertilizers ..................................................................................... 105
32.2.1 Magnesium fertilizers ................................................................................................... 105
32.2.2 Calcium fertilizers ......................................................................................................... 105
32.2.3 Sulphate Fertilizers ....................................................................................................... 105
32.3 Micronutrient Fertilizers....................................................................................................... 105
32.3.1 lron fertilizers ............................................................................................................... 105
32.3.2 Manganese fertilizers ................................................................................................... 105
32.3.3 Zinc fertilizers ............................................................................................................... 106
32.3.4 Copper Fertilizers ......................................................................................................... 106
32.3.5 Boron Fertilizers ........................................................................................................... 106
32.3.6 Molybdenum Fertilizers ................................................................................................ 106
32.4 Fertiliser Grade .................................................................................................................... 107
32.5 Fertilizer Ratio...................................................................................................................... 107
32.6 Suppliers of Plant Nutrients .................................................................................................. 107
32.7 Conditioners ........................................................................................................................ 107
32.8 Filler ..................................................................................................................................... 107
32.9 Neutralizers of Residual Acidity ............................................................................................ 107
33 Methods of fertilizer application .............................................................................................. 109
33.1 Application of Solid Fertilizers .............................................................................................. 110
33.2 Broadcasting ........................................................................................................................ 110
33.2.1 Broadcasting at sowing or planting (Basal application) .................................................. 110
33.2.2 Top Dressing................................................................................................................. 111
33.3 Placement ............................................................................................................................ 111
33.3.1 Plough sole placement.................................................................................................. 111
33.3.2 Deep placement ........................................................................................................... 111
33.3.3 Localized placement ..................................................................................................... 111
33.4 Band placement ................................................................................................................... 112
33.4.1 Hill placement .............................................................................................................. 112
33.4.2 Row placement............................................................................................................. 112
33.5 Pellet application ................................................................................................................. 112
33.6 Advantages of placement of fertilizers ................................................................................. 113
33.7 Methods of applying Liquid fertilizers................................................................................... 113
33.7.1 Starter solutions ........................................................................................................... 113
33.7.2 Foliar application .......................................................................................................... 113
33.7.3 Application through irrigation water (Fertigation)......................................................... 113
33.7.4 Injection into soil .......................................................................................................... 114
33.7.5 Aerial application.......................................................................................................... 114
34 Biofertilizers............................................................................................................................. 115
34.1 Rhizobium ............................................................................................................................ 115
34.2 Azotobacter ......................................................................................................................... 116
34.3 Azospirillum ......................................................................................................................... 116
34.4 Cyanobacteria ...................................................................................................................... 116
34.5 Azolla ................................................................................................................................... 116
34.6 Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) ...................................................................... 116
34.7 AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) fungi ........................................................................................ 117
34.8 Silicate solubilizing bacteria (SSB) ......................................................................................... 117
34.9 Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) ..................................................................... 117
34.10 Liquid Bio-fertilizer application methodology ................................................................... 118
34.10.1 Seed Treatment ........................................................................................................ 118
34.10.2 Root dipping ............................................................................................................. 118
34.10.3 Soil application ......................................................................................................... 118
34.11 Dosage of liquid Bio-fertilizers in different crops .............................................................. 118
35 Vermicompost ......................................................................................................................... 119
35.1 Materials for preparation of Vermicompost ......................................................................... 120
35.2 Phase of vermicomposting ................................................................................................... 120
35.3 What Worms are Needed? ................................................................................................... 121
35.3.1 Bedding ........................................................................................................................ 121
35.3.2 Housing ........................................................................................................................ 121
35.3.3 Bedding and feeding materials ..................................................................................... 121
36 Vermicompost Production Methodology.................................................................................. 122
36.1 Selection of suitable earthworm........................................................................................... 122
36.2 Selection of site for vermicompost production ..................................................................... 122
36.3 Containers for vermicompost production ............................................................................. 122
36.4 Vermiculture bed ................................................................................................................. 122
36.5 Worm Food .......................................................................................................................... 123
36.6 Selection for vermicompost production ............................................................................... 123
36.7 Putting the waste in the container ....................................................................................... 123
36.8 Watering the vermibed ........................................................................................................ 123
36.9 Harvesting vermicompost .................................................................................................... 123
36.10 Harvesting earthworm ..................................................................................................... 124
37 Nutritive value of vermicompost .............................................................................................. 124
38 Water conservation ................................................................................................................. 125
38.1 What is a watershed?........................................................................................................... 125
38.2 Basin and catchments .......................................................................................................... 125
38.3 Types of Watershed ............................................................................................................. 126
38.4 What is watershed management? ........................................................................................ 126
38.5 Why is watershed management important? ......................................................................... 127
38.6 Objectives of watershed management ................................................................................. 127
38.7 Steps in watershed management ......................................................................................... 127
38.7.1 Recognition Phase: ....................................................................................................... 128
38.7.2 Restoration Phase......................................................................................................... 128
38.7.3 Protection Phase .......................................................................................................... 128
38.7.4 Improvement Phase ..................................................................................................... 128
38.8 Factors affecting watershed management............................................................................ 128
38.8.1 Watershed characters .................................................................................................. 128
38.8.2 Climatic characteristics ................................................................................................. 128
38.8.3 Land use pattern .......................................................................................................... 128
38.8.4 Others .......................................................................................................................... 129
39 Rainwater harvesting and Ground Water recharge................................................................... 129
39.1 What is Rainwater harvesting? ............................................................................................. 129
39.2 Artificial Recharge to Ground Water..................................................................................... 129
39.3 Why Rainwater Harvesting? ................................................................................................. 129
39.3.1 Storage of rainwater on surface for future use ............................................................. 129
39.3.2 Recharge to ground water ............................................................................................ 130
39.3.3 Benefits of Artificial Recharge ....................................................................................... 131
“Hope is a fertile soil where flowers (life) blossoms.” - Unknown
1 What is Soil?
✓ Soil is one of the three major natural resources, alongside air and water. It forms at the surface of
land – it is the “skin of the earth.” Soil is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth.
✓ The term SOIL is derived from the Latin Word “SOLUM” Meaning FLOOR.
✓ Soil is made up of three main components – minerals that come from rocks below or nearby, organic
matter which is the remains of plants and animals that use the soil, and the living organisms that
reside in the soil.
2 What is Soil Science?

Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation,
classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils and these
properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
2.1 Soil Science has six well defined and developed disciplines
1. Soil fertility: Nutrient supplying properties of soil
2. Soil chemistry: Chemical constituents, chemical properties and the chemical reactions
3. Soil physics: Involves the study of physical properties
4. Soil microbiology: Deals with micro organisms, its population, classification, its role in
transformations
5. Soil conservation: Dealing with protection of soil against physical loss by erosion or against chemical
deterioration i.e excessive loss of nutrients either natural or artificial means.
6. Soil Pedology: Dealing with the genesis, survey and classification
But, here we are more concerned with Soil Pedology in brief and Soil fertility in detail for our study
purpose.
3 Pedological and Edaphological approaches of soil study:

✓ There are two main branches of soil science based on the approach used to study soil. They are:
Pedology and Edaphology.
✓ Out of these two approaches, one treats soil as a natural body, weathered and synthesized product
in nature (Pedology) while other treats soil as a medium for plant growth (Edaphology).
3.1 Pedological Approach:

✓ The origin of the soil, its classification and its description are examined in Pedology.
✓ Pedology is the study of soil as a natural body and does not focus on the soil’s immediate practical
use.
✓ A pedologist studies, examines and classifies soil as they occur in their natural environment.
✓ Derived from the two Greek words: Pedon meaning Soil and Logos meaning Study.
✓ Thus, Soil Pedology deals with the genesis, survey and classification of soils.
3.2 Edaphological Approach:
✓ Edaphology is the study of soil from the stand point of higher plants.
✓ Edaphologists consider the various properties of soil in relation to plant production.
✓ They are practical and have the production of food and fibre as their ultimate goal.
✓ They must determine the reasons for variation in the productivity of soils and find means for
improvement.
✓ Derived from two Greek words:
✓ Edaphos meaning Soil and Logos meaning Discourse.
Note: The Origin of the word mentioned above have their meaning depending upon the context in which
they are used.
Vasily Vasil'evich Dokuchaev, a Russian scientist is commonly regarded as the father of Soil Science.
✓ He developed soil science in Russia, and was, perhaps the first person to make wide geographical
investigations of different soil types.
✓ His great contribution to science was, figuratively, to "put soils on the map".
✓ He introduced the idea that geographical variations in soil type could be explained in relation not
only to geological factors (parent material), but also to climatic and topographic factors, and the
time available for pedogenesis (soil formation) to operate. Using these ideas as a basis, he created
the first soil classification.
Given below is the understanding of soil as per Dokuchaev:
✓ Dokuchaev considers the soil as a natural body having its own genesis and its own history of
development, a body with complex and multiform processes taking place within it.
✓ The soil is considered as different from bedrock.
✓ The latter becomes soil under the influence of a series of soil-formation factors (climate, vegetation,
parent material, relief and age).
✓ According to him, soil should be called the "daily" or outward horizons of rocks regardless of the type;
they are changed naturally by the common effect of water, air and various kinds of living and dead
organisms.
4 Some important terms related to soil
4.1 Pedon
✓ A pedon is the smallest volume that can be called ‘a soil’.
✓ Pedons are real, natural soil volumes just large enough to show all the soil horizons present and their
relationships.
4.2 Polypedon
✓ A polypedon is therefore, defined as a contiguous

similar pedons bounded on all sides by "not soil or
by pedons of unlike characters”.
✓ It is a real physical soils body which has a
minimum area of more than 1 sq. km and an
unspecified maximum area.
5 Soil Components (Composition of soil on volume basis)

✓ Soil is a three-dimensional body having length, breadth and depth.
✓ They form a continuation over the land surface and differ in properties from place to place. Its upper
boundary is air or water and lower boundary is the rock lithosphere.
Component Percentage
Mineral Matter 45%
Organic Matter 5%
Soil Water 25%
Soil Air 25%
Let us have a look at each of the component in detail
5.1 Mineral
✓ The largest component of the soil is the mineral portion.
✓ Soil minerals are derived from two principal mineral types.
✓ Primary minerals, such as those found in sand and silt, are those soil materials that are similar to the
parent material from which they formed. They are often round or irregular in shape.
✓ Secondary minerals, on the other hand, result from the weathering of the primary minerals, which
releases important ions and forms more stable mineral forms such as silicate clay.
A lot about this has been discussed in our previous chapters and we shall be discussing more about this
component in the coming sections as well.
5.2 Organic Matter
✓ Organic matter makes up only a small fraction of the total materials in soil, yet it is extremely
important.
✓ Organic matter is any living or dead animal and plant material.
✓ It includes living plant roots and animals, plant and animal remains at various stages of decomposition,
and microorganisms and their excretions.
✓ Plant residues contain 60-90 percent moisture. The remaining dry matter consists of carbon (C),
oxygen, hydrogen (H) and small amounts of sulphur (S), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K),
calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). Although present in small amounts, these nutrients are very
important from the viewpoint of soil fertility management.
✓ Earthworms and microorganisms decompose these materials. The end product of decomposition is
humus, a black crumbly material resistant to further decomposition which is the stable soil OM.
Below is the approximate composition of the Soil Organic Matter:
5.2.1 Division of organic matter:

✓ For practical purposes, organic matter may be divided into aboveground and belowground fractions.
✓ Aboveground organic matter comprises plant residues and animal residues; belowground organic
matter consists of living soil fauna and microflora, partially decomposed plant and animal residues,
and humic substances.
5.2.2 Functions of Organic matter

✓ Organic matter within the soil serves several functions.
✓ From a practical agricultural standpoint, it is important for two main reasons:
• as a “revolving nutrient fund”; and
• as an agent to improve soil structure, maintain tilth and minimize erosion.
As a revolving nutrient fund, organic matter serves two main functions

✓ As soil organic matter is derived mainly from plant residues, it contains all of the essential plant
nutrients. Therefore, accumulated organic matter is a storehouse of plant nutrients.
✓ The stable organic fraction (humus) adsorbs and holds nutrients in a plant-available form.
Organic matter releases nutrients in a plant-available form upon decomposition. In order to maintain
this nutrient cycling system, the rate of organic matter addition from crop residues, manure and any
other sources must equal the rate of decomposition and take into account the rate of uptake by plants
and losses by leaching and erosion.
As an agent to improve the soil structure

✓ In terms of improving soil structure, the active and some of the resistant soil organic components,
together with micro-organisms (especially fungi), are involved in binding soil particles into larger
aggregates.
✓ Aggregation is important for good soil structure, aeration, water infiltration and resistance to
erosion and crusting.
✓ The resistant or stable fraction of soil organic matter contributes mainly to nutrient holding capacity
and soil colour.
5.3 Pore Spaces

✓ We have seen that the spaces between the particles is occupied by Water and Air.
✓ The pores are classified into micro-pores and macro-pores depending on the diameter of the pore.
✓ The amount of pore space depends upon the size of the particles, the texture, structure and
biological activity.
We shall be studying about this in detail while studying ‘the properties of soil’ section.
5.4 Soil Water

✓ Soil moisture (also called rhizic water), is the water present in the space between the soil particles.
Soil moisture influences the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil.
✓ Soil moisture is a key component of microclimate that both directly affects water availability to plants
and indirectly influences the temperature and humidity close to the ground, via its effect on the
surface water and energy balance.
Let us investigate some important terms/elements related to soil moisture
Irrigation scheduling: It is the process used by irrigation system managers/farmers to determine the
correct frequency and duration of watering.
Mineralization: It is the decomposition (i.e., oxidation) of the chemical compounds in organic matter, by
which the nutrients in those compounds are released in soluble inorganic forms that may be available
to plants.
Saturation: It refers to a soil's water content when practically all pore spaces are filled with water. This
is a temporary state for well-drained soils, as the excess water quickly drains out of the larger pores under
the influence of gravity, to be replaced by air.
Field capacity (FC): upper limit of available water.

✓ It is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has drained away
and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place within 2-
3 days after rain or irrigation.
✓ Thus, it is the amount of water that a soil can hold against drainage by gravity. This usually occurs
between 1/10 atm (coarse soils) and 1/3 atm (heavy soil).
✓ The matric potential at this soil moisture condition is around - 1/10 to – 1/3 bar.
Maximum allowable depletion or deficit (MAD)

✓ Also called as Management allowable depletion, Maximum allowable Depletion specifies the
maximum amount of soil water the irrigation manager chooses to allow the crop to extract from
the active rooting zone between irrigations.
✓ Management allowable depletion is usually expressed as a percentage of the total available water
capacity in the rooting zone.
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) or Wilting Point (WP)

✓ It is the moisture content of a soil at which plants permanently wilt and will not recover. This occurs
between 10 and 20 atm of tension.If the moisture decreases to this or any lower point a plant wilts
and can no longer recover its turgidity when placed in a saturated atmosphere for 12 hours.
Pictorial representation Soil moisture and plant growth
Pictorial representation of Available water capacity and range of Available water content in various
types of soils
Kindly note, the above available water capacities are for reference purpose only. Clay containing soils
generally have the highest available water capacity owing to a greater number of pores that it contain.
Ex: Clayey loams.
5.5 Soil Air

✓ The volume ratios of the three constituent phases of soil, namely solids, water and air are continually
changing as the soil undergoes wetting or drying, swelling or shrinking, tillage or compaction and
aggregation or dispersion.
✓ Specifically, water and air compete for the same pore space, and their volume fractions are so
related that an increase of one generally decreases the other.
✓ Field air capacity is the fractional volume of air in a soil at field capacity. The air capacity depends on
soil texture.
✓ In sandy soils, it is of the order of 25 percent or more. In loamy soils, it is generally between 15 and
20 percent and in clay soils which tend to retain more water, it is likely to fall below 10 percent of
the total soil volume.
Note: We shall be discussing about the various soil particles and the various textures resulting from its
varying compositions in the coming sections.
5.5.1 Composition of Soil Air

The composition of soil air differs from the atmospheric air. The carbon dioxide content and relative
humidity are higher and oxygen is less compared to atmospheric air.
Composition of soil air (Percentage by Volume):
Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon dioxide

Atmospheric air 79 20.95 0.03
Soil air (surface) 79.20 20.60 0.25
Sandy soil air 79.20 19.95 0.30
Loamy soil air 79.20 19.20 0.62
Clay soil air 79.20 19.69 0.66
Manured soil air 79.20 18.23 1.85
5.5.2 Influence of soil air on Crop Growth:

✓ When the oxygen content of the soil is limited, the growth of most crops is affected and stops when
oxygen content reaches a level below 2 percent.
✓ Under field condition, exclusion of oxygen takes place due to excess amount of water in the soil. Root
growth is decreased due to decrease in oxygen and increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide.
✓ Germination is inhibited in the absence of oxygen.
✓ Decomposition of organic matter is reduced and change in micro flora occurs.
✓ Potato, tobacco, cotton, linseed, tea and legumes need higher level of oxygen in soil air compared
to other crops.
✓ Cereals except rice are intermediate in oxygen requirement and rice can tolerate very low level or
even complete absence of oxygen in the soil.
Now that we have had a look at the important components of the soil, let us have a look at the Soil
Profile or the various layers of the soil.
6 Soil Profile
✓ There are different types of soil, each with its own set of
characteristics. Dig down deep into any soil, and you’ll see that
it is made of layers, or horizons (O, A, E, B, C, R). Put the horizons
together, and they form a soil profile.
✓ Like a biography, each profile tells a story about the life of a soil.
✓ Most soils have three major horizons (A, B, C) and some have an
organic horizon (O).
✓ Note: The A horizon is further divided into A1, A2 and A3. The
A2 horizon is also known as the E-horizon.
✓ First, we need to understand the term: Horizonation
✓ Horizonation is the process of differentiation of soil in different
horizons along the depth of the soil body. The differentiation is
due to the fundamental processes, humification, eluviation and
Illuviation.
6.1 Eluviation
✓ It is the mobilization and translocation of certain constituent’s viz. Clay, Fe2O3, Al2O3, SiO2, humus,
CaCO3, other salts etc. from one point of soil body to another. Eluviation means washing out.
✓ It is the process of removal of constituents in suspension or solution by the percolating water from
the upper to lower layers.
✓ The eluviation encompasses mobilization and translocation of mobile constituents resulting in
textural differences.
✓ The horizon formed by the process of eluviation is termed as eluvial horizon (A2 or E horizon).
✓ Translocation depends upon relative mobility of elements and depth of percolation.
6.2 Illuviation
✓ The process of deposition of soil materials (removed from the eluvial horizon) in the lower layer (or
horizon of gains having the property of stabilizing translocated clay materials) is termed as Illuviation.
✓ The horizons formed by this process are termed as illuvial horizons (B-horizons).
6.3 Humification
Humification is a process of formation of humic substances (organic matter that has reached maturity)
decomposed from plant remains. It can also be called as Mineralization
6.4 Layers of the soil:
6.4.1 O (humus or organic)

Mostly organic matter such as decomposing leaves. The O horizon is thin in some soils, thick in others,
and not present at all in others.
6.4.2 A (topsoil)
Mostly minerals from parent material with organic matter incorporated. A good material for plants and
other organisms to live.
6.4.3 E (eluviated)
Leaching of clay, minerals, and organic matter, leaving a concentration of sand and silt particles of quartz
or other resistant materials – missing in some soils but often found in older soils and forest soils.
6.4.4 B (subsoil) – Illuvial Horizon

Rich in minerals that leached (moved down) from the A or E horizons and accumulated here.
6.4.5 C (parent material)

The deposit at Earth’s surface from which the soil developed.
6.4.6 R (bedrock)
A mass of rock such as granite, basalt, quartzite, limestone or sandstone that forms the parent material
for some soils – if the bedrock is close enough to the surface to weather. This is not soil and is located
under the C horizon.
Soils are the products of weathering from some parent rocks. All soils initially come from some pre-
existing rocks. They are called as ‘parent materials’. The Parent Material may be directly below the soil,
or at great distances away from it.
Soil formation is a long-term process. It takes several million years to form a thin layer of soil.
7 Process of soil formation

Pedogenesis or soil evolution (formation) is the process by which soil is formed.
The process of soil formation involves two consecutive stages:
1. The weathering of rock (R) into Regolith

2. The formation of true soil from Regolith
✓ The first step is accomplished by weathering (disintegration & decomposition)

✓ The second step is associated with the action of Soil Forming Factors
We shall be discussing both these processes in detail.
Regolith: Unconsolidated residues of the weathering rock on the earth’s surface or above the solid rocks.
Let us have a detailed look at it.

✓ Soil formation occurs as a result of a gradual breakdown of rocks.
✓ Rocks are broken down into finer particles through many processes such as weathering and erosion.
✓ The geological components are mixed with organic materials to form soil.
✓ This implies that it is a mixture of rocks which are broken into smaller particles and the dead and
decayed organic matter along with the little microbes.
Now, let us have a quick look at the steps in the formation of soils
7.1 How does formation of soils happen?

Plants do not grow in the sand because pure sand is only rock particulate matter and it does not contain
the minerals required for the proper growth of plants. Sand can be converted into soil by adding organic
matter to it.
As we have discussed in the beginning of this chapter, there are two main components of soil, the rock
particles and the organic matter.
✓ Soil also has a lifecycle of its own.
✓ Formation of soil starts with the disintegration of rocks under certain environmental conditions.
✓ Rainwater seeps in rocks and the fluctuation in temperature causes differential expansion and
contraction of the rocks.
✓ Then the freezing and thawing of the water captured inside the rocks creates cracks inside the rocks
and finally breaks them into finer particles.
✓ In the pioneering vegetations, if rocks are kept still for some day, lichens start growing on the surface
of the rocks.
✓ During their growing period, lichens release certain substances which convert the rocks into powder
form and slowly convert the powdery material into the soil.
✓ Small plants like moss can grow on these surfaces and their growing roots further loosen the rock
particles.
✓ The decaying plants produce organic acids that attack the rocks. Organic matter and the rock particles
are mixed with the minerals and forms soil.
So by now we have understood that the process of transformation of solid rocks into parent material or
Regolith is the first step in the soil formation process. This is the process of weathering.
7.2 Types of weathering:

There are three types of processes in weathering: Physical, Chemical and Biological
7.2.1 Physical Weathering:

In physical weathering the rocks are broken down into smaller pieces, but the chemical composition of
the rock remains the same. It can be due to Temperature Change or Freeze-Thaw:
Temperature Change
✓ Hot temperatures can give rise to thermal expansion in rocks and cool temperatures can cause rocks
to contract.
✓ During the night the temperature can drop significantly making it very cold and so the rocks contract.
✓ This continuous expansion of the rock during the day and contraction during the night exerts stress
on the rock and cracks form eventually causing pieces of the rock to fall away.
Freeze-thaw
✓ Water expands when it freezes.
✓ So when water enters the cracks in a rock and freezes it expands and pushes the cracks further apart.
✓ When the water melts in can travel further into the bigger cracks making the cracks even bigger when
the water freezes again.
✓ This process occurs continuously until the crack is big enough to break a piece of the rock off.
✓ The other agents that can cause physical or mechanical weathering are wind, rain and waves.
7.2.2 Chemical weathering

✓ Chemical weathering occurs when rocks are broken down by a chemical change.
✓ Rainwater can become slightly acidic by absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and this reacts
with the mineral grains in the rock giving rise to new minerals and salts.
✓ The degree of chemical weathering depends on the type of rock for example limestone is more
readily chemically weathered than granite.
So, we can see that the various processes involved in chemical weathering are: Carbonation, Hydrolysis,
Hydration, Oxidation and Reduction.
7.2.3 Biological weathering

✓ Biological weathering takes place when rocks are worn away by living organisms.
✓ Trees and other plants can grow within the cracks in a rock formation.
✓ As the roots grow bigger they push open cracks in the rocks making them wider and deeper. Over
time the growing tree eventually prizes the rock apart.
✓ Tiny organisms like bacteria, algae and moss can grow on rocks and produce chemicals which can
break down the surface layer of the rock.
Along with weathering, there is one more process that is involved in the soil formation process. It is called
erosion.
8 Erosion:
✓ Once the rock has been weakened and broken up by weathering it is ready for erosion. Erosion
happens when rocks and sediments are picked up and moved to another place by ice, water, wind or
gravity.
✓ So, we can conclude that while erosion is the process by which soil and rock particles are worn away
and moved elsewhere by wind, water or ice, weathering involves no moving agent of transport.
Weathering, on the other hand, is the process of breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface, either
by extreme temperatures or rainwater or biological activity. It simply does not involve any
movement of rock material.
8.1 What is soil erosion?

✓ Soil erosion is the process of removal of superficial layer of the soil from one place to another.
✓ It leads to soil infertility as the top soil layer is lost and also ability of soil to hold water and sediment
is reduced.
8.2 Types of soil erosion based on natural or Man made activities
8.3 Agents of soil erosion
8.4 Soil Erosion Types (The agent of soil erosion is water)

8.4.1 Splash erosion
✓ Splash erosion is the first stage of the erosion process. It occurs when raindrops hit bare soil. The
explosive impact breaks up soil aggregates so that individual soil particles are ‘splashed’ onto the soil
surface. The splashed particles can rise as high 60cm above the ground and move up to 1.5 metres
from the point of impact.
8.4.2 Sheet erosion

✓ Sheet erosion is the removal of soil in thin layers by
raindrop impact and shallow surface flow.
✓ It results in loss of the finest soil particles that
contain most of the available nutrients and organic
matter in the soil.
8.4.3 Rill erosion
✓ Rills are shallow drainage lines less than 30cm

deep. They develop when surface water
concentrates in depressions and erodes the soil.
✓ It is common in bare agricultural land, particularly
overgrazed land, and in freshly cultivated soil
where the soil structure has been loosened.
8.4.4 Gully erosion
✓ Gully erosion is a widespread and often dramatic

form of soil erosion caused by flowing surface
water.
✓ It consists of open, unstable channels that have
been cut more than 30 centimetres deep into the
ground.
8.4.5 Slip Erosion

This occurs due to heavy rainfall on slopes of hills and mountains.
8.4.6 Stream bank erosion

During the rainy season, when fast running streams take a turn in some other direction, they cut the soil
and make caves in the bank.
Thus, the degree of the soil erosion increases as the erosion moves from Splash to Gully which can be
clearly seed from the graphic below.
8.5 Soil Erosion Types (The agent of soil erosion is wind)

Wind is the important climatic agent, which carries away the fine particles of soil and creates soil
erosion
8.5.1 Saltation
This occurs under the influence of direct pressure of stormy wind and the soil particles of 1-1.5 mm
diameter move up in vertical direction.
8.5.2 Suspension
Here fine soil particles (less than 1 mm diameter) which are suspended on the air are kicked up and taken
away to distant places.
8.5.3 Surface creep

Here the large particles (5-10 mm diameter) creep over the soil surface along with wind.
Apart from water and wind as agents of soil erosion, there are some biotic agents as well that cause soil
erosion. For example: Overgrazing and deforestation.
Let us have a look at the various soil conservation practices that are in place:
9 Soil Conservation Practices

In order to prevent or minimize soil erosion, there are various practices that are followed.
10 Soil Conservation Practices

In order to prevent or minimize soil erosion, there are various practices that are followed. They are:
Practices like Crop Rotation, Multiple Cropping, Agro-Forestry, Mulching, Contour Bunding, Terrace
farming etc. The tillage practices like Conservation Tillage also reduce soil erosion.
There are 2 types of soil and water conservation methods that should be followed which are again
classified into various methods listed above in the classification. We shall now investigate all the methods
one by one.
10.1 Agronomic Measures
10.1.1 Summer Ploughing
✓ "Summer Ploughing" is defined as the ploughing the field across the slope during hot summer with
the help of specialized tools with primary objective of opening of the soil crust accompanied by
deep ploughing and simultaneously overturning of the soil underneath to disinfect it with the help
of piercing sun rays.
✓ Perform deep summer ploughing (off season tillage) with pre-monsoon showers (during May) to
recharge the soil profile. It facilitates to sow the crops immediately after onset of southwest monsoon.
Off season tillage increases water content of soils and reduces runoff. It also reduces pest and weed
infestation.
✓ The number and depth of ploughing depends on weed intensity. At best two summer ploughings are
done prior to advent of monsoon at an interval of 15-20 days. Third ploughing can be done once with
the help of harrow or cultivator to pulverize the soil and prepare field beds for sowing/transplanting
soon after the first monsoon rain.
10.1.2 Ridges and Furrows
✓ Ridges and furrows formed act as continuous

barrier to the free movement of water
downwards thus provides more infiltration
time. Hence, the removal of soil along with
nutrients is checked to a greater extent leading
to increment in soil fertility and crop yield.
✓ Ridges and furrows is one of the the various in
situ soil and water conservation methods for
black and red soils cause an increase of up to 15
per cent in crop yields
10.1.3 Contour Farming

✓ Contour farming involves ploughing, planting and weeding along the contour, i.e, across the slope
rather than up and down. Contour farming is recommended for lands with the slope range of 2 to 7%.
✓ Contour lines are lines that run across a (hill) slope such that the line stays at the same height and
does not run uphill or downhill. As contour lines travel across a hillside, they will be close together
on the steeper parts of the hill and further apart on the gentle parts of the slope.
✓ Experiments show that contour farming alone can reduce soil erosion by as much as 50% on
moderate slopes. However, for slopes steeper than 10%, other measures should be combined with
contour farming to enhance its effectiveness.
✓ Infiltration rates increase, and more water is kept in place. Contour ploughing is especially important
at the beginning of the rainy season when biological conservation effects are poor.
✓ The effectiveness of contour ploughing decreases with increase in slope gradient and length, rainfall
intensity and erodibility of the soil.
✓ Trash lines made by laying crop residues or "trash" in lines along the contour. They slow down runoff
and trap eroded soil, eventually forming terraces.
✓ Grass barrier strips planted along the contour. They are planted with fodder grass such as Napier, or
are left with natural grass. They are effective soil conservation measures on soils that absorb water
quickly, and on slopes as steep as 30%.
10.1.4 Ploughing across the slope
✓ The problem of soil erosion and water loss in slopy

areas can be solved if the length of run in the slopy
land is reduced and some obstruction is placed
before the flow to increase its opportunity time to
infiltrate into the soil.
✓ This can be achieved by ploughing the slopy land
across the slope and have the corrugation
terminated due to subsequent ploughing (without
leveling Sowing can be done).
✓ Production of crops increases because of increased
availability of water and plant nutrients.
✓ Energy of flow being reduced, erosion of top soil is
drastically reduced.
✓ With multiple cropping the net economic returns of
the farmer will be enhanced.
✓
10.1.5 Vegetative barriers
✓ Vegetative barrier is a strip planted with a grass or shrub that runs across the slope. It slows down
water flowing down the slope and catches the sediment that has been eroded uphill. Over time, soil
may build up behind the strip.
✓ Slope of the land is <1% - planting of vettiver, kollukattaipull, supapul, velimasal, gliricidia and lemon
grass in across the slope as vegetative barriers. According to sloppiness vegetative barriers could be
planted at 30-50 metre distance. It yields good benefits in the dryland soils
✓ During heavy rainfall, barriers checks the run-off water which carries potential soil from the land and
checks soil erosion and conserve moisture through reduction in velocity of water flow.
✓ Reduction in run off velocity increased the infiltration rate, only clear water alone will flow out of land.
Vegetative barriers are cheap and easy to establish and are easy to maintain.
10.1.6 Intercropping
Growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a definite row pattern.
E.g. growing maize + black gram in 1:2 ratio i.e. after everyone row of maize two rows of black gram is
sown. Thus, cropping intensity in space dimension is achieved. Few Intercropping pattern examples
mentioned below.
S.No Region Intercropping system
Groundnut + Sorghum
1 North east
Groundnut + Pulses (Redgram)+ Castor
Groundnut + Pulses (Redgram)
Sorghum + Lab lab
2 North west
Groundnut + Castor
Cotton + Black gram
Groundnut + Castor
Groundnut + Redgram
3 Western
Sorghum + Redgram
Groundnut + Sunflower
Sorghum + Sunflower
4 Southern Cotton + Black gram
Cotton + Cluster bean
10.1.7 Crop rotation

Crops are changed year by year in a planned sequence. Crop rotation is a common practice on sloping
soils because of its potential for soil saving. Rotation also reduces fertilizer needs, because alfalfa and
other legumes replace some of the nitrogen corn and other grain crops remove.
Profile
Growing
Rainfall storage
Soil type season Suggested cropping system
(mm) capacity
(weeks)
(mm)
Alfisols, shallow Single rainy season cropping sorghum / maize /
350-600 20 100
vertisols soybean
Deep aridisols, Single cropping sorghum / maize / soybean in
350-600 20 100
Entisols(alluvium) kharif / rabi
350-600 Deep vertisols 20 100 Single post rainy season cropping sorghum
Intercropping
Alfisols, vertisols,
600-750 20-30 150 1. Sorghum & Pigeon pea
entisols
2. Cotton & Black gram
Double cropping with monitoring
Entisols, deep vertisols, 1. Maize & safflower
750-900 30 200
deep alfisols, inceptisols 2. Soybean & chick pea
3. Groundnut & horsegram
Assured double cropping
> 900 As above > 30 > 200 Maize & chick pea
Soybean & safflower
10.1.8 Strip Cropping

✓ Strip cropping is a practice of growing field crops in narrow strips either at right angles to the
direction of the prevailing wind or following the natural contours of the terrain to prevent wind and
water erosion of the soil.
✓ The strip crops check the surface runoff and force them to infiltrate into the soil, thereby facilitates
to the conservation of rainwater.
✓ Strip cropping is more intensive practice for conserving the rainwater than contouring (i.e. about
twice as effective as contouring) but it does not involve greater effect on soil erosion as terracing and
bunding. Generally, the use of strip cropping practice for soil conservation is decided in those areas
where length of slope is not too longer.
10.1.8.1 Forms of strip cropping are

Field strip cropping: A specialized strip cropping where crops are planted in parallel bands across a slope
but do not follow contour lines; bands of grass or other close-growing species are alternated with the
bands of cultivated crops.
Contour Strip Cropping: Contour strip cropping is the growing of a soil-exposing and erosion permitting
crop in strips of suitable widths across the slopes on contour, alternating with strip of soil protecting and
erosion-resisting crop.
Wind Strip Cropping: It consists of planting tall-growing crops such as jowar, bajra or maize, and low-
growing crop in alternately arranged straight and long, but relatively narrow, parallel strips laid out right
across the direction of the prevailing wind regardless of the contour.
Permanent or Temporary Buffer Strip Cropping: In the case of permanent or temporary buffer strip
cropping, the strips are established to take care of critical, i.e. steep or highly eroded, slopes in fields under
contour strip cropping.
10.1.8.2 Purposes
✓ Reduce soil erosion from water and wind. Strip Cropping reduces the rate of soil erosion and the
runoff velocity. Increasing the infiltration rate of the soil under cover condition. Reduce the transport
of sediment and other waterborne contaminants. Protect growing crops from damage by windborne
soil particles. Improve water quality.
10.1.9 Mulching
✓ Mulch is a material placed on the soil surface to maintain moisture, reduce weed growth, mitigate
soil erosion, and improve soil conditions.
✓ Mulching is one of the simplest and beneficial practices for soil and moisture conservation.
✓ Mulch can either be organic such as grass clippings, straw, bark chips and similar materials or inorganic
such as stones brick chips and plastic.
✓ Conservation tillage is a common practice that creates mulch on the soil surface. It leaves the crop
residue on the top of the soil as mulch.
Examples: Sorghum stalk spread over 40 cm depth with 15 cm wide in the beds increased 20-30% crop
yield, Coir waste can hold water five times as of its own weight.
10.1.10 Soil amendment practices

✓ Soil amendment includes all inorganic and organic substances mixed into the soil for achieving better
soil constitution regarding plant productivity. There are different substances for different soils and
plants to optimize the soil conditions.
✓ A very common amendment is the addition of organic matter like compost, due to its low production
costs.
Suitable organic amendments: Organic amendments consist of material derived from living things (e.g.
plants) or the by products of processing plants or mills (saw dust, chips, bark, bagasse, rice hulls) or waste
disposal plants (compost, processed sewage sludge). The main purpose of using organic amendments is
to loosen the soil and create large pores to increase water holding.
Benefits of amendments application:
✓ The reason for soil amendment is to provide a better environment for roots and plant growth.
✓ Improvement of the soil structure and water holding capacity. Increases the availability of nutrients.
✓ Improves living conditions of soil organisms. Better soil texture and better root growth avoids soil
degradation during heavy rains. Increase aeration.
✓ Increase drainage.
10.1.11 Chisel ploughing

✓ Chisel plough is a common tool to get deep tillage (prepared land) with limited soil disruption. The
main function of this plough is to loosen and aerate the soils while leaving crop residue at top of the
soil.
✓ This plough can be used to reduce effects of compaction and help to break up the ploughpan and
hardpan. Unlike many other ploughs the chisel will not invert or turn the soil.
✓ This characteristic has made it a useful addition to no-till and low till farming practices which attempt
to maximize the erosion- prevention benefits of keeping organic matter and farming residues present
on the soil surface through the year.
10.1.12 Alternate Land use pattern (ALUP)

All drylands are not suitable for crop production. Same lands may be suitable for range/pasture
management and for tree farming and ley farming, dryland horticulture and agro-forestry systems
including alley cropping. All these systems which are alternative to crop production are called as alternate
land use systems. Examples: Afforestation, horticulture development etc., etc.,
10.2 Engineering Measures

These are majorly followed through the various agronomic practices.
10.2.1 BBF (Broad Bed and Furrow system)

Growing crops during rainy season in deep black soils is a problem due to ill-drained conditions and as
tillage is not possible during the rainy season. Broadbed and furrows (BBF)* are, therefore, formed
before the onset of monsoon and dry sowing is resorted to.
* Broad bed and furrow (BBF) system involves preparation of

a broad bed of 90 cm, furrow of 45 cm and sowing of crop at
a row spacing of 30 cm. The BBF technology has many
advantages including in-situ conservation of rainwater in
furrows, better drainage of excess water and proper aeration
in the seedbed and root zone
10.2.2 Contour bunding
✓ To intercept the runoff flowing down the slope by an embankment and also to control runoff
velocity.
✓ The embankment may be closed or open, surplus arrangements are provided whenever necessary.
✓ It can be adopted in light and medium textured soils.
✓ It can be laid upto 6% slopes.
✓ It helps to retain moisture in the field.
Situations for various bunding options:
Bunding options Soil type Rainfall (mm) Slope (%)

Contour bund Light soil <600 >1.5
Graded bund All soils >600 1.5
Bench terraces Deep soil >1000 6.0
Graded boarder strip Deep Alfisol and related red soil >800 >1.5
Graded Bund: When a grade is provided along

the bund for safe disposal of runoff water over the area
between two consecutive bunds, they are called graded
bund. Graded bunds are adopted in case of high or
medium annual rainfall (>600 mm) and relatively less
permeable soil areas.
Bench terraces: are a soil and water conservation

measure used on sloping land with relatively deep
soils to retain water and control erosion. They are
normally constructed by cutting and filling to produce a
series of level steps or benches. This allows water to
infiltrate slowly into the soil. The slopes where such
terraces are found useful vary from 6 to 30%.
Graded border strips: contour bunds are created in graded strips (similar to contour bunding but
in narrow strips). This is applicable where rainfall is > 800 mm.
What is Terracing?
✓ Terracing is the practice of creating nearly level areas in a hillside area. The terraces form a series of
steps, each at a higher level than the previous.
✓ Terraces are protected from erosion by other soil barriers.
✓ Terraced farming is more common on small farms and in underdeveloped countries, since
mechanized equipment is difficult to deploy in this setting.
✓ It protects the soil from its erosion. It is one of the way by which soil erosion can be stopped.
10.2.3 Contour trenches
✓ It is suitable where slope of the land is > 33.33% and Dimension of trenches- 2 x 1 x 1 m3
✓ Trenches are excavated in contours and excavated soil was used to form bunds in the down line.
✓ The trenches are formed in 5 to 10 feet vertical distance.
✓ It helps to reduce velocity of water and also checks soil erosion.
10.2.4 Contour stonewalls
✓ Contour stone wall is constructed where the slope is > 15 to < 30% under the guidance of
engineers.
✓ In case of highly hill areas, contour trenches were constructed along with stone wall.
✓ It is suitable for shallow and gravel soil.
✓ It is recommended where difficult to construct bench terrace.
✓ It helps in land preparation and checks soil erosion.
10.2.5 Compartmental bunding

Compartmental bunding means the entire field is divided into small compartments with pre determined
size to retain the rain water where it falls and arrest soil erosion. The compartmental bunds are formed
using bund former. The size of the bunds depends upon slope of the land. Compartmental bunds provide
more opportunity time for water to infiltrate into the soil and help in conserving soil moisture.
✓ Compartmental bunding is an effective moisture conservation measure in dryland.

✓ It is suitable for lesser rainfall areas and the slope is < 1%
✓ The lands are divided into small compartments with the dimension of 8 x 5 m2.
✓ Small compartments act as a dam and store the rainfall received in the compartments for longer period.
✓ It increases water holding capacity of the soil.
✓ It can be formed while ploughing itself or before early sowing.
✓ Reduces the formation of cracks.
✓ It will overcome the disadvantages of contour bunding.
Summer ploughing, broad bed and furrows, ridges and furrows, random tie ridging, compartmental
bunding etc. are the various in situ water harvesting methods for black and red soils cause an increase of
up to 15 per cent in crop yields.
10.2.6 Random Tied ridging

✓ The ridges are vertically tied at shorter interval to create rectangular water harvesting structures. During
heavy rainy season it facilitates to infiltrate water to the soil.
✓ The slight sloppiness in the tied ridges facilitates draining of excess water infiltrate into the soil.
✓ Summer ploughing, broad bed and furrows, ridges and furrows, random tie ridging, compartmental bunding
etc. are the various in situ water harvesting methods for black and red soils cause an increase of up to 15 per
cent in crop yields. It conserves soil and moisture in redsoils.
10.2.7 Basin Listing
✓ In this method of soil and water conservation basins are constructed using a special implement called
basin-lister. These basins are constructed across the slope. Basin listing provides maximum time to
rain water for infiltration into the soil.
10.2.8 Percolation Ponds
✓ Percolation ponds are small ponds located mostly in low lying areas of waste lands and formed in
order to store the run-off of rainwater and to allow it to percolate downwards and sideways.
✓ Deep ponds are preferred since evaporation of the stored water therein will be less (min 1.5m
depth)
✓ It has been observed that the percolation ponds are effective up to a distance of 1000 metres on the
downstream side and wells within this range are benefited with more replenishment of water.
10.2.9 Micro catchment
✓ In slopy land this type of catchments could be developed across the slope.
✓ For tree crops, according to inter space available catchments are formed. It stores rain water where it
falls and helps in growth of trees. For plain and hill areas the shape of the bunds were decided.
✓ Micro catchments size of 5 x 5 m and the quantum of rainfall is 20 mm will give 500 liters of water.
Circular & Semicircular basins “V” ditches Catch Pits
10.2.10 Farm Ponds

Farm ponds are small water bodies formed either by the construction of a small dam or embankment
across a waterway or by excavating or dug out. The water is usually harvested from a small catchment
area and then used for irrigation during prolonged periods.
In the selected farmland, the farm pond dimension of 8m x 8m x 1.5m can be constructed for every 1 or
2 ha of land area.
Water spreading area (sq.m) Depth of water (m) Suitable uses

2000 to 10000 2.5 - 3.0 Irrigation, fisheries and drinking water
2000 to < 10000 1.5 – 2.5 Irrigation & drinking water
< 2000 1.5-2.5 Pot irrigation for trees and drinking water
Few other types of Soil conservation methods followed are as follows
10.2.11 Keyline design

✓ Keylines are enhanced contours which collect and direct water on sloping land without the need for
terracing.
✓ The water collected by the keylines is directed into dammed ponds and is then drip-fed by
gravity irrigation for crops and animals.
✓ The key lines are carefully chosen to ensure maximum water collection potential.
✓ As well as collecting water, key line design reduces soil erosion and flooding and gathers nutrients
which build up soil fertility over time.
10.2.12 Windbreaks and shelter belts

✓ Windbreaks are such structures which break the wind-flow and reduce wind speed while
shelterbelts are rows of trees or shrubs planted for protection of crop against wind.
✓ A row of trees and shrubs planted across the winds-direction is the most effective. It reduces the
wind speed up to 60-80% on leeward side.
✓ The height of tall tree and length of wind break determine the extent of protection provided to soil.
Windbreaks and shelterbelts provide the protective shelter against desiccating winds to extent of 5-
10 times the height of the tall tree on windward side and up to 30 times on leeward side. For
example a 10-11 meter tall windbreak when encountered by 45-50 km /hr wind, it reduces on
windward side to 20-30 km /hr and to 10 km / hr on just leeward side. At an interval of 300m,
such windbreaks should be repeated.
✓ The windbreaks and shelterbelts should be formed in North-West direction. These shall secure the
crops and livestock against cold wave also. And A windbreak should be planted at right angles to
the prevailing wind.
✓ The positive effect of a windbreak is said to be felt up to a distance 20 times the height of the trees
in the windbreak.
✓ Generally, it can either consist of a single line of trees with a spacing of 1.5-2.0 m, or two lines with
a spacing of 4-5 m within the line and 2-4 m between the lines.
✓ In addition to one or two lines of trees, a line of shrubs spaced at approximately 1 m can be planted
on the side facing the prevailing wind.
✓ The beneficial effects of the shelterbelts are more clearly seen in drought areas. In such areas
windbreaks of 3-7 rows and 15-30 m wide are more effective. It modifies the micro-climate
favourable for crop production and shelters for birds, honeybees and pet animals.
Benefits:
✓ The environmental benefits, reduced wind and increased retention of moisture, are the most
important ones.
✓ They provide a protective shelter against wind and suitable habitat for birds and honeybees as well
as produce cattle feed and fuel wood.
✓ In the wind erosion areas, windbreaks and shelterbelts are to be planted. They prevent the soil
erosion, arrest the desert and protect the agricultural and residential lands from dust-storms.
Examples of species: Acacia albida, Albizia spp., Anacardium occidentale, Annona senegalensis,
Azadirachta indica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Calliandra calothyrsus, Calodendrum capense, Cassia siamea,
Casuarina spp., Cupressus lusitanica, Ekebergia capensis, Eriobotrya japonica, Eucalyptus spp., Gliricidia
sepium, Gmelina arborea, Grevillea robusta, Hakea saligna, Juniperus procera, Macadamia tetraphylla,
Mangifera indica, Markhamia lutea, Morus alba, Olea europaea, Prosopis spp., Prunus africanus, Psidium
guajava, Spathodea campanulata, Syzygium cuminii, Trichilia emetica, Vitex spp., Ziziphus spp.
11 Various factors affecting soil formation

Soils form from the interplay of five main factors namely Parent material, Time, Climate, Topography
and Relief, Organisms.
11.1 Parent material

✓ This refers to the mineral material from which the soil is formed.
✓ Soils will carry the characteristics of its parent material such as color, texture, structure, mineral
composition and so on.
✓ For example, if soils are formed from an area with large rocks (parent rocks) of red sandstone, the
soils will also be red in color and have the same feel as its parent material.
11.2 Time
✓ Soils can take many years to form.
✓ Younger soils have some characteristics from their parent material, but as they age, the addition of
organic matter, exposure to moisture and other environmental factors may change its features.
✓ With time, they settle and are buried deeper below the surface, taking time to transform. Eventually
they may change from one soil type to another.
11.3 Climate
✓ Climate especially precipitation, temperature and frost action have a fundamental influence on the
soil formation process that takes place within any given location.
✓ Climate affects the soil formation directly and indirectly.
✓ Directly, climate affects the soil formation by supplying water and heat to react with parent material.
✓ Indirectly, it determines the fauna and flora activities which furnish a source of energy in the form of
organic matter.
11.4 Topography and Relief

✓ This refers to the landscape position and the slopes it has.
✓ Steep, long slopes mean water will run down faster and potentially erode the surfaces of slopes. The
effect will be poor soils on the slopes, and richer deposits at the foot of the slopes.
✓ Also, slopes may be exposed to more direct sunlight, which may dry out soil moisture and render it
less fertile.
11.5 Organisms
✓ The source and richness of organic matter is down to the living things (plants and animals) that live
on and in the soils.
✓ Plants in particular, provide lots of vegetative residue that are added to soils.
✓ Fungi, bacteria, insects, earthworms, and burrowing animals help with soil aeration. Worms help
breakdown organic matter and aid decomposition.
✓ Animal droppings, dead insects and animals result in more decaying organic matter.
✓ Microorganisms also help with mineral and nutrient cycling and chemical reactions.
Various soil scientists have come up with a list of factors that according to them has an effect on the
soil formation process
12 Important factors affecting soil formation given by various scientists

Let us have a look at the important ones
12.1 Dokuchaiev (1889)

He established that the soils develop as a result of the action of soil forming factors
S = f (P, C, O)
12.2 Jenny (1941)

He formulated the following equation; S = f (C, O, R, P, T, …
Where,
C – Climate
O – Organisms and vegetation (biosphere)
R – Relief or topography
P – Parent material
T - Time
… - additional unspecified factors.
These factors can be grouped into the category of active and passive soil forming factors.
✓ The passive factors comprise of parent material, relief and time

✓ The active factors consist of climate and biosphere
12.3 Five stages of development by Mohr and van Baren

Mohr and van Baren recognized the following five stages of soil development
1. Initial stage: Un-weathered parent material.

2. Juvenile stage: Weathering just started, but much of the original material is still un-weathered.
3. Virile: Easily weatherable minerals have been decomposed for the greater part, the clay content has
increased, and certain mellowness is discernible. The content of soil components less susceptible to
weathering is still appreciable.
4. Senile: Decomposition arrives at a final stage, and only the most resistant minerals to weathering
have survived.
5. Final: Soil developed has been completed and the parent material is completely weathered.
12.4 Difference between Young soil and Mature soil

✓ We usually find the terms Young soil and Mature soil mentioned in a number of places.
✓ In Pedology, the age of the soil is the stage of soil development irrespective of the time taken.
✓ So let us have a look at what it means when we describe a soil as young or old.
Young soil Mature soil

The term young soil means the soil where the soil A mature soil represents a steady state of parent
forming factors and pedogenic processes are still in material (no change of parent material). Time
operative conditions and changing the properties of factor has no relevance after the soil reaches its
soil in the profile and the processes have not made maturity.
a prominent impression on the soil profile.
The horizons are not well demarcated. The different genetic horizons are clearly
discernible.
Clay from the primary minerals is still being actively Clay is more or less in equilibrium with the primary
formed. minerals.
Clay content decreases with depth. Clay content increases with the depth of profile,
accumulating at an intermediate depth.
Now in the section below, we shall have a look at certain basic/fundamental soil forming processes and
certain specific pedogenic processes. First, we shall have a look at certain basic processes taking place
in the soil.
12.5 Basic processes taking place in the soil
12.5.1 Additions
There is continuously new material being added to the soil like Rain adds water; Dust adds mineral;
Animal waste add organic matter and Nutrients; Humans add Fertilizer.
12.5.2 Losses
The chemical and physical makeup of the soil gets altered due to the various losses that takes place like
Water evaporates into the air; Soil particles wash away in storms; Organic matter decomposes into carbon
di-oxide; Nutrients and minerals leach into groundwater or are taken up by plants.
12.5.3 Transformations
The processes like weathering of hard rock into soft clay, transformation of coarse organic matter into
stable or decay resistant organic compounds (humus).
12.5.4 Translocations
✓ Movement of soil constituents (organic or mineral) within the profile and/or between horizons.
✓ Over time, this process is one of the more visibly noticeable as alterations in color, texture, and
structure become apparent.
Note: Kindly have a good understanding regarding the soil profile before going through the below given
processes as there would be mention of Horizons made in the description.
13 Mechanisms of soil formation

Name of the Explanation
process
Basic Humification Humification is the process of transformation of raw organic matter into
processes humus. It is extremely a complex process involving various organisms.
Eluviation It is the mobilization and translocation of certain constituent’s viz. Clay,
Fe2O3, Al2O3, SiO2, humus, CaCO3, other salts etc. from one point of soil
body to another. Eluviation means washing out.
Illuviation The process of deposition of soil materials (removed from the eluvial
horizon) in the lower layer is termed as illuviation.
Horizonation It is the process of differentiation of soil in different horizons along the
depth of the soil body.
Leaching It is the removal of soluble components of the soil column. As water
washes down through the soil it can carry away bases such as calcium,
held as exchangeable ions in clay-humus complexes, as well as acidification
through the substitution of hydrogen ions.
Through the movement of water, wind, ice or the uptake of the
accumulated materials by plants, the new particles including clay, organic
matter, clay, silt or other chemical compounds are leached and eroded
away or taken up from the soil by plants.
As a result, the physical and chemical compositions of the new
accumulated materials together with the soil parent material are altered.
Specific Calcification It occurs when evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation causing the
processes upward movement of dissolved alkaline salts from the groundwater.
At the same time, the movement of rain water causes a downward
movement of the salts.
The net result is the deposition of the translocated cations in
the B horizon.
In some cases, these deposits can form a hard layer called caliche.
The most common substance involved in this process is calcium carbonate.
Decalcification It is the reverse of calcification that is the process of removal of CaCO3 or
calcium ions from the soil by leaching.
Podzolization It is associated with humid cold mid-latitude climates
and coniferous vegetation. Decomposition of coniferous litter and heavy
summer precipitation create a soil solution that is strongly acidic.
This acidic soil solution enhances the processes of eluviation and leaching
causing the removal of soluble base cations and aluminum and iron
compounds from the A horizon.
This process creates a sub-layer in the A horizon that is white to gray in
color and composed of silica sand.
Laterization It is a pedogenic process common to soils found in tropical and subtropical
environments. High temperatures and heavy precipitation result in the
rapid weathering of rocks and minerals. Movements of large amounts of
water through the soil cause eluviation and leaching to occur. Almost all of
the byproducts of weathering, very simple small compounds or
nutrient ions, are translocated out of the soil profile by leaching if not
taken up by plants for nutrition. The two exceptions to this process are
iron and aluminum compounds. Iron oxides give tropical soils their unique
reddish coloring. Heavy leaching also causes these soils to have
an acidic pH because of the net loss of base cations.
Salinization It is the process of accumulation of salts, such as sulphates and chlorides
of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium, in soils in the form of a
salty (salic) horizon.
The accumulation usually takes place near the surface layer.
It is quite common in arid and semi-arid regions.
Desalinization It is the removal by leaching of excess soluble salts from horizons or soil
profile (that contained enough soluble salts to impair the plant growth) by
ponding water and improving the drainage conditions by installing artificial
drainage network.
Gleization The term glei, which is of Russian origin means blue, grey or green clay.
The Gleization is a process of soil formation resulting in the development
of a glei (or gley horizon) in the lower part of the soil profile above the
parent material due to poor drainage condition (lack of oxygen) and where
waterlogged conditions prevail.
Gleization is responsible for the production of typical bluish to greyish
horizon with mottling of yellow and or reddish-brown colors.
Solonization/A The process involves the accumulation of sodium ions on the exchange
lkalization complex of the clay, resulting in the formation of sodic soils (Solonetz).
Solodization / The process refers to the removal of Na+ from the exchange sites. This
Dealkalization process involves dispersion of clay. Dispersion occurs when Na + ions
become hydrated.
Pedoturbation It is the process of mixing of the soil. The most common types of
pedoturbation are:
Faunal pedoturbation: It is the mixing of soil by animals such as ants,

earthworms, moles, rodents, and man himself.
Floral pedoturbation: It is the mixing of soil by plants as in tree tipping

that forms pits and mounds.
Argillic pedoturbation: It is the mixing of materials in the soil by the

churning process caused by swell shrink clays as observed in deep Black
Cotton Soils.
14 ‘What are Rocks’?
✓ They are very tiny grains of different minerals, compressed together in chemical reaction to form a
bigger mass. Rocks make up non-water part of the earth’s crust.
✓ A rock is made of a combination of two or more different minerals. They may also contain organic
compounds.
✓ The rocks come in infinite sizes, shapes, colors, weights, textures and strengths. Rocks constantly
change from one type to another, and from place to place, in a cycle known as the rock cycle.
✓ This change does not occur in short periods—they take thousands to millions of years to change.
✓ Rocks may be hard or soft. Rocks with rough grains fitting perfectly into each other tend to leave no
room for moisture
✓ As a result, they are harder and non-porous in nature. Granite is a good example.
✓ Rocks with rounded or fine grains often have spaces that hold moisture and tend to be softer. They
crumble quicker than hard rocks. Rocks that have lots of spaces holding water, or through which water
can pass are called porous rocks. Sandstone is a great example.
Now, Let us have a look at the difference between Soils, Sands and Rocks:
✓ Sand is the fine debris resulting from broken down rocks (weathered).
✓ Sand therefore carries the same or similar properties of the rocks that they came from.
✓ Soils are sands that contain air, water and organic materials, in proportions that support the growth
of plants and organisms that live in them.
14.1 Types of rocks
There are three types of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. These are formed as the rocks
go through the Rock Cycle.
While discussing the rock cycle, we shall see the details of the types of rocks mentioned above.
The Rock Cycle is a group of changes. Igneous rock can change into sedimentary rock or into metamorphic
rock. Sedimentary rock can change into metamorphic rock or into igneous rock. Metamorphic rock can
change into igneous or sedimentary rock.
14.1.1 Igneous rocks (Primary or massive rocks)

✓ Igneous rock forms when magma cools and makes crystals.
✓ Magma is a hot liquid made of melted minerals. The minerals can form crystals when they cool.
✓ Igneous rock can form underground, where the magma cools slowly or above ground, where the
magma cools quickly.
14.1.1.1 Extrusive rocks or volcanic rocks

✓ These rocks are formed due to the consolidation of magma on the surface of the earth.
✓ The magma, when it flows on the Earth surface is called LAVA. It is the same molten liquid that we
see coming out of the volcanoes. Example: Basalt.
14.1.1.2 Intrusive rocks or plutonic rocks
✓ These rocks are produced due to solidification of magma below the surface of the earth. Example:
Granite, syenite, diorite, Gabbro etc.
Note: Rocks formed in vertical cracks are called dykes and in horizontal cracks are called sills. These are
first formed in the earth crust due to the solidification of molten magma.
Classification of igneous rocks based on the Silica ContentIt can be divided into 4 groups
Acidic Intermediate Basic Ultra Basic

(silica>66%) (Silica 55 -65%) (Silica 45-55%) (Silica<44%)
14.1.2 Sedimentary rocks

✓ On Earth's surface, wind and water can break rock into pieces. They can also carry rock pieces to
another place.
✓ Usually, the rock pieces, called sediments, drop from the wind or water to make a layer.
✓ The layer can be buried under other layers of sediments.
✓ After a long time, the sediments can be cemented together to make sedimentary rock. In this way,
igneous rock can become sedimentary rock. These sediments so formed contain various size particles
cemented together by substances like SiO2, Fe2O3 or lime.
✓ These rocks are also called as clastic rocks. These constitute the pieces of other rocks cemented
together (Derived from the Greek word ‘klastos’, meaning broken).
✓ They are also known as aqueous rocks as they are formed by the action of water.
✓ They may be also referred to as stratified rocks as they are deposited in layers or strata.
Classification of sedimentary rocks based on the mode of formation

TYPES EXAMPLE
1. Residual Laterite
2. Transported
a. Deposited as solids in suspension Sandstone, shale
b. Deposited by chemical precipitation Limestone, ironstone
c. Deposited through agency of organic matter Peat, Phosphatic deposits
Types of sedimentary rocks based on the grain size

TYPES EXAMPLE
Rocks with boulder pebbles sized minerals (Rudaceous) Conglomerate
Rocks with sand size particles (Arenaceous) Sandstone
Rocks with silt size particles (silt rocks) Siltstone
Rocks with clay size particles (Argillaceous) Shale
14.1.2.1 Composition of sedimentary rocks

TYPE COMPOSITION
Arenaceous: Formed of the deposits of coarse grained particles. Sand stone
They are composed of siliceous material derived from the
disintegration of older rocks
Argillaceous rocks: Consist of small sized particles known as clay. Shale
They are composed of hydrated silica of alumina in admixture with
sand, various other silicates and calcareous matter. When clay is
deposited mainly of silicate of alumina, it is known as kaolin or China
clay
Calcareous rocks: Consists of carbonate of lime or lime and limestone, chalk, magnesian,
magnesia. They may be of sedimentary origin or formed by chemical dolomite
precipitation or by organic agency
Carbonaceous rocks: Formed from decomposing vegetation under peat, lignite, coal, anthracite
anaerobic conditions. When plants undergo decomposition under
restricted air supply, is greater portion of the carbonaceous matter
is retained and the material is slowly converted into coal
Siliceous rocks: Siliceous rocks of organic origin formed from parts diatoms, radiolaria etc
of minute plants and animals
Precipitated salts: Consist mainly of deposits formed as rock masses i. Oxides: eg. hematite,
either by cooling, evaporation or by chemical precipitation. Salts limonite, bauxite and quartz.
thus formed deposit as rocks and such rocks vary in composition. ii. Carbonates: eg. stalactite,
stalagmite, magnetite and
limestone.
iii. Sulphates: eg. gypsum and
anhydrite
iv. Phosphates: eg.
phosphorite
v. Chlorides: e.g. rock salt.
There are three important sedimentary rocks. Given below are a few points regarding these:
14.1.3 Metamorphic Rocks
✓ These are formed from igneous and sedimentary rocks under the influence of heat, pressure,
chemically active liquids and gases.
✓ Change may occur in mineral composition or texture or both. The changes due to water is called
hydro metamorphosis and due to pressure is called dynamo metamorphosis.
Original Rock Transformed
(Igneous/Sedimentary) Metamorphic Rock
Sandstone Quartzite
Shale Slate/Mica, Schist
Limestone Marble
Granite Granite Gneiss
Dolerite Hornblende Gneiss
15 Rock Cycle
As we have already discussed, The Rock Cycle is a group of changes. Igneous rock can change into
sedimentary rock or into metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rock can change into metamorphic rock or into
igneous rock. Metamorphic rock can change into igneous or sedimentary rock.Given below is a very
simple representation of the Rock Cycle
Lithification usually refers to the transformation of loose sediment into solid rock.
As we have seen that rocks are made up of a combination of minerals, let us study the different minerals
and its classification
15.1 Minerals
✓ Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.
✓ They can form under a variety of conditions, such as:
• During the cooling of molten materials (steel, from lavas, igneous rocks).
• During the evaporation of liquids (salt, sugar, reference to evaporites).
• During the cooling of liquids (saturated solution).
• At high temperature and pressures new crystals may grow in solid materials (diamonds from coal,
metamorphism).
15.2 Physical properties of Minerals
S.No Physical Property Characteristics
1 Color Denotes the natural colour of the mineral
2 Streak Refers to the colour of the powder form of the mineral When an
unknown mineral is rubbed against a piece of unglazed porcelain
3 Fracture/ cleavage These terms describe the way a mineral breaks Fracture is the nature of
the surface produced as a result of its breakage
4 Hardness This is how resistant a mineral is to being scratched
5 Luster The way a mineral reflects light
6 Crystal form Crystal structure is the result of regular grouping of atoms that are
homogeneous
7 Taste This property is used to identify the mineral halite (salt)
8 Specific gravity This characteristic relates to the minerals density.
9 Magnetism Magnetic Property
10 Effervescence When some minerals are exposed to acids, they begin to fizz
(fizz)
11 Birefringence This is also known as double refraction
12 Fluorescence Some minerals display the phenomenon of photoluminescence
15.3 Classification of minerals:
15.3.1 The basic classification

✓ Minerals, being natural chemicals, are classified according to their chemistry and crystal
form.
✓ A basic classification for minerals is as follows
1. Native elements eg. Gold, Silver, Mercury, graphite, diamond.
2. Oxides eg corundum (incl. sapphire), hematite, spinel.
3. Hydroxides eg. Goethite, brucite.
4. Sulfides eg. Pyrite, galena, sphalerite.
5. Sulfates eg. Baryte, gypsum.
6. Carbonates eg. Calcite, magnesite, dolomite.
7. Phosphates eg. Apatite, monazite.
8. Halides eg. Fluorite, halite (rock salt).
9. Silicates:
a. Orthosilicates eg. Garnet, olivine.
b. Ring silicates eg. Tourmaline, beryl.
c. Chain silicates eg. Pyroxenes, amphiboles.
d. Sheet silicates eg. Muscovite mica, biotite mica, clay minerals
e. Framework silicates eg. Quartz, feldspars, zeolites.
15.3.2 Based on the weathering of minerals

These are of 3 types
1. Very slowly weathered/most resistant (to weathering) minerals are:
✓ Quartz (most)
✓ Muscovite
2. Slowly weathered/moderate resistant minerals are:
✓ Feldspar
✓ Biotite
3. Easily weathered/least resistant minerals are:
✓ Augite
✓ Hornblende
✓ Olivine
✓ Calcite (least)
15.4 Primary and Secondary minerals

Two types of minerals are found in natural systems: primary and secondary.
✓ Whether the mineral is primary or secondary depends on the mode of formation and not on the
mineral composition.
✓ Minerals that crystallize from cooling magma are called primary.
✓ Minerals that crystallize during the weathering of primary minerals are called secondary minerals.
The tabular column given below gives the categorization of the minerals:
Mineral in order of their Crystallization Important Constituent % Distribution
1. Ferro magnesium minerals

Ortho-ino silicates 16.8
Olivine Fe, Mg
Pyroxenes Ca, Na, Fe, Mg
Amphiboles Ca, Na, Fe, Mg, Al, OH
Phyllo silicates 3.6
Biotite K, Fe, Mg, Al, OH
Muscovite K, Al, OH
2. Non – Ferro magnesium
Tecto silicates
Feldspars 61.0
Anorthite Ca, Al
Albite Na, Al
Orthoclase K, Al
Quartz
3. Secondary clay minerals
Minerals Na, K, Ca 11.6
Others Mg, Fe, Al, OH 6.0
15.4.1 Ferro Magnesium Mineral

A. Pyroxenes and amphiboles
✓ The pyroxenes and amphiboles are two groups of ferromagnesian minerals (heavy group) the
structure of which consists of long chains of linked silica tetrahedral.
✓ The pyroxenes consist of a single chain (2 oxygen shared in each tetrahedron) whereas amphiboles
consist of double chains (alternately 2 and 3 oxygen atoms shared successive tetrahedral).
✓ These chain silicates are sometimes referred to inosilicates.
✓ The pyroxene group of minerals comprised of different minerals namely enstatite, hypersthene,
diopside and augite, of which augite is the most important minerals in soils and it is found in basic
rocks, While Amphibole is common in Acidic rocks.
The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated to Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate
minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Pyroxenes are silicon-aluminum oxides with Ca, Na, Fe, Mg, Zn, Mn, Li substituting for Si and Al.
Amphibole
e
B. Mica
✓ Micas occur extensively in soils.

✓ They are primarily originated from the parent rock from which the soil is derived.
✓ Generally soils are inherited from well-ordered and imperfectly ordered micas. Well-ordered micas
are derived from sedimentary rocks.
✓ The most common well-ordered micas are muscovite, paragonite, biotite and phlogopite
(trioctahedral).
✓ The imperfectly ordered micas contain less potassium and more water as compared to well-ordered
micas and this type of micas are most abundant in the clay fraction of soils.
✓ Among the ordered micas, biotite weathers more rapidly than muscovite.
✓ In imperfectly ordered micas, many of the illite-type specimens as well as the disordered micas of soils
exhibits some mixed-layering with phases of vermiculite, smectite group of minerals, chlorite and
intergrades of several of these species.
Ordered micas: muscovite, paragonite, biotite Imperfectly Ordered Micas: Vermiculite,

(Weathers rapidly) and phlogopite (trioctahedral). Smectite, Illite
15.4.2 Non-Ferromagnesium Mineral
Contains no or very negligible Iron and Magnesium.
A. FELDSPAR:
Feldspars (KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8) are a group of rock forming tectosilicate minerals that make
up about 41% of the Earth's continental crust by weight.
There are two groups of feldspars:
✓ Potassium feldspars (KA1Si3O8) include orthoclase, microcline, adularia and sanidine. Orthoclase and
microcline are more common in the plutonic and metamorphic rocks. The potassium feldspars occur
commonly in the silts and sands of soils and also abundant in clay-size,
✓ Plagioclase feldspars- a series consisting of a solid solution of albite (NaA1Si3O8) high in sodium and
anorthite (CaA12Si2O8) high in calcium. Plagioclase weathers more rapidly than orthoclase.
B. Quartz:
It is very densely packed and occurs in a high degree of purity. It is strongly resistant to weathering as the
structure is densely packed, electrically neutral and free from any substitution. It is the most abundant
mineral next to feldspars.
15.4.3 Silicate minerals

A. Ortho/ Neosilicates
The orthosilicate ion, or silicon tetroxide anion, is SiO4:
✓ The name of the ion is frequently simplified to silicate, as it forms the basis of most mineral-forming
silicate oxoanions.
✓ An orthosilicate compound is a compound that contains this group.
B. Inosilicates
✓ The inosilicate group has in its structure single-chain (pyroxenes) and double chain (amphiboles) silica
tetrahedral linked together by Ca, Mg, or Fe.
✓ Because of the presence of many weak spots provided by the Ca-O, Mg-O, or Fe-O bonds, these
minerals tend to weather rapidly.
C. Phyllosilicates
✓ Phyllosilicates are sheet Silicate minerals, formed by parallel sheets of silicate tetrahedra with
Si2O5 or a 2:5 ratio.
✓ The phyllosilicates, or sheet silicates, are an important group of minerals that includes the micas,
chlorite, serpentine, talc, and the clay minerals.
D. Tectosilicates
✓ Tectosilicates are framework silicates which have a three-dimensional framework of silicate
tetrahedra with SiO2 or a 1:2 ratio.
✓ This is the largest mineral group comprising nearly 75% of the crust of the Earth.
15.4.4 Non-silicate minerals

A. Oxides
✓ Hematite (Fe2O3)
✓ Limonite (Fe2O3, 3H2O)
✓ Goethite (FeO (OH) H2O)
✓ Gibbsite (Al2O3H2O)
✓ The red, yellow or brown colours in soils are due to the presence of goethite and hematite,
which occur as coatings on the surface of soil particles.
B. Carbonates
✓ Calcite (CaCO3)
✓ Dolomite (CaMgCO3)
C. Sulphates
✓ Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O)
D. Phosphates
✓ Apatite (Rock phosphate Ca3 (PO4)2 - primary source of phosphorus
15.5 Formation of Secondary Minerals

✓ The secondary minerals are formed at the Earth’s surface by weathering of the preexisting primary
minerals under variable conditions of temperature and pressure.
✓ During weathering, water accompanied by CO2, from the atmosphere plays an important role in
processes, such as hydrolysis, hydration and solution.
✓ As a result the primary minerals are altered or decomposed.
✓ Because of weathering, many elements are released into solution; a part of which may be used as a
source of plant nutrients, a part may be leased out into the groundwater; still another part together
with other constituents of the environment (like CO2, H2O) may recombine to form secondary
minerals.
✓ The most commonly formed secondary minerals are clay minerals (e.g. illite, montmorillonite,
kaolinite, etc.) and iron and aluminium oxides.
✓ Other secondary minerals observed in soils, especially in arid and semi-arid (dry) regions are gypsum,
calcite, attapugite and apatite.
SILICATES NON-SILICATES
Clay minerals: hydrous aluminosilicates, with layer Haematite Goethite; Limonite Gibbsite
structure similar to micas, e.g. illite,
montomorillonite, kaolinite,
15.6 Clay Mineral

✓ Clay minerals in soils are formed from primary minerals due to weathering processes.
✓ These clay minerals are of size <0.002 mm and are considered to be the most reactive part of soil.
✓ Important soil properties like nutrient and water holding capacity are controlled by clay minerals.
✓ These minerals are layered silicates consisting of silica tetrahedron and aluminium octahedron.
15.6.1 Silicate Clay Minerals:

✓ The silicate clay unit consists of alternate sheets comprised of one type if sheet is dominated by Silicon
(Si) and other by Al/Mg.
✓ Silica-dominated sheet is called tetrahedral and Al/Mg sheet is called octahedral because of 8-sided
building blocks.
15.6.2 Types of Silicate Clay Minerals

On the basis of the number and arrangement of tetrahedral (silica) and octahedral (alumina-magnesia)
sheets contained in the crystal units or layers, silicate clays are classified into three different groups:
✓ 1 :1 Type clay minerals
✓ 2:1 Type clay minerals
✓ 2: 1: 1 Type clay minerals
A. 1:1 Type Minerals: one tetrahedral (silica) sheet is combined with one octahedral (alumina) sheet.
Eg. kaolinite, which includes hallosite, nacrite, and dickite.
B. 2:1 Type Minerals: The crystal units (layers) of these minerals are characterized by an
octahedral sheet sandwiched between two tetrahedral sheets. Three general groups have this basic
crystal structure.
These 2:1 Type minerals can be expanding or non-expanding:
✓ Expanding type: smectites and vermiculite

✓ Non-expanding type: mica (illite)
Expanding Minerals:
✓ Smectites (e.g., Montmorillonite) are composed of an expanding lattice 2:1-type clay mineral.
✓ In montmorillonite magnesium has replaced aluminium in some sites of the octahedral sheet.
✓ Vermiculites are also 2: 1 type minerals.
✓ In the tetrahedral sheet of most vermiculite, considerable substitution of aluminium for silicon has
taken place.
✓ The degree of swelling is considerable less for vermiculites than for smectites, for this reason,
vermiculites are considered limited-expansion clay minerals, expanding more than kaolinite but much
less than the smectites.
Non-expanding minerals:
✓ Micas are the type minerals in this group (e.g.) Muscovite and biotite, found in sand and silt.
✓ Illite are found in the clay fraction of soils.
C. 2:1:1 Type Minerals: This silicate group is represented by chlorites.

✓ In a typical chlorite clay crystal, 2:1 layers, such as in vermiculites, alternate with a magnesium-
dominated tri-octahedral sheet, giving a 2:1:1 ratio.
✓ There is no water adsorption between the chlorite crystal units, which accounts for the non-
expanding nature of this mineral.
Kindly go through the following tabular column for better understanding of the secondary minerals
Type of Clay Example Pictorial Representation/Composition

(1:1) silicon Kaolinite
tetrahedron + 1
aluminium
octahedron
2: 1 non-expanding i. Black mica (Biotite)

clay mineral
ii. White mica
(Muscovite)
iii. Weathered mica

(illite)
2: 1 expanding clay i. Partially expanding

mineral (Vermiculite)
ii. Fully expanding

(Montmorillonite)
2: 2 clay mineral Chlorite
Summary of the properties of silicate clay minerals:
Secondary mineral Type Interlayer condition / CEC Swelling

Bonding [cmol/kg] potential
Kaolinite 1 : 1 (nonexpanding) lack of interlayer 3 - 15 almost
surface, strong bonding none
Montmorillonite 2 : 1 (expanding) very weak bonding, 80 - 150 high
great expansion
Vermiculite 2 : 1 (expanding) weak bonding, great 100 -150 high
expansion
Hydrous Mica 2 : 1 (nonexpanding) partial loss of K, strong 10 – 40 low
bonding
Chlorite 2 : 1 : 1 moderate to strong 10 – 40 none
(nonexpanding) bonding,
nonexpanding
16 Some Important Points

✓ While primary minerals are observed in all rocks and in sand and silt fractions of soils, the secondary
minerals dominantly occur in the clay fractions of almost all soils and in sedimentary rocks, especially
shales.
✓ The most common clay mineral observed is illite.
✓ The most common clay mineral observed is illite. Apart from illite, smectite predominates in the
cracking-clay soils, kaolinite in the highly-weathered soils of the inter tropical zones
✓ Having High surface area and negative charge on them, they are considered as a source of cation
adsorption and cation release which are so important in acidic soil fertility.
✓ Of the naturally-occuring inorganic crystalline minerals found in the clay fraction of soils, the most
commonly observed are layer silicates (illite, montmorillonite, chlorite, vermiculite, kaolinite).
Till now, we have discussed about rocks and minerals in detail, the major components of the soil, and its
various types based on various factors.
Now, we shall have a look at certain important properties of soil. Knowing these becomes important as
it has effect on the growth of crops.
17 Important Properties of Soil

We shall be having a look at the following important properties:
1. Soil Texture
2. Soil Structure
3. Bulk Density
4. Particle Density
5. Soil Colour
6. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
7. Pore Space
8. Soil pH
17.1 Soil Texture

Soil is made up of various particles resulting from the weathering of the rocks. These particles have
varying sizes and based upon the sizes they are classified as clay, silt and sand particles.
Given below is the size of the three types of particles:
Let us have a look at the characteristics of the particles:
17.1.1 Sand
✓ The sand particles are further classified as coarse sand (0.2 to 2mm) and fine sand (0.2 to 0.02mm).
✓ Sand particles are small pieces of unweathered rock fragments.
✓ Unless these particles are coated with clay or silt, they don’t exhibit the properties such as plasticity,
cohesion, stickiness, moisture and water retention.
✓ Because of the large size of the particles macropores exist between them which facilitate free
movement of air and water.
17.1.2 Silt
✓ Because of an adhering film of clay, they exhibit some plasticity, cohesion, adhesion and adsorption.
✓ These particles can hold more amount of water than sand but less than clay.
✓ Both silt and sand particles are approximately spherical and cubical in shape.
17.1.3 Clay
✓ Clay is the most important constituent of soil that controls most of the soil physical and chemical
properties. They have the highest surface area since the surface area is inversely related to the size.
✓ They can adsorb and retain water and nutrients.
17.2 Characteristics of the particles

✓ Sand and Silt are the products of physical and chemical weathering of the parent rock; clay, on the
other hand, is a product of the precipitation of the dissolved parent rock as a secondary mineral.
✓ Sand is least reactive; followed by silt; clay is the most active;
✓ Sand’s greatest benefit to soil is that it resists compaction and increases the soil’s porosity.
✓ Silt is mineralogically like sand but with its higher specific surface area, it is more chemically active
than sand.
✓ But it is the clay content of the soil with its very high specific surface area and large number of
negative charges that gives the soil its high retention capacity for water and nutrients.
✓ Clay also resists wind and water erosion better than silty and sandy soils as the particles bind tightly
to each other.
17.3 Classification of soil particles (International System)
Particle Diameter (mm)
Stone >20
Gravel 2-20
Fine earth <2
Coarse sand 0.2-2
Fine sand 0.2-0.02
Silt 0.02-0.002
Clay <0.002
17.4 Influence on primary particles on soil properties

Property Sand Silt Clay
Water holding Low Medium to high High
capacity
Aeration Good Medium Poor
Drainage rate High Slow to medium Very slow
Suitability for tillage Good Medium Poor
after rain
Ability to store plant Poor Medium to high High
nutrients
Now the relative proportions of these three types of particles gives the soil its texture.
The principle textural classes are clay, clay loam, sandy clay, silt clay, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam,
sandy loam, silt loam, sand, loamy sand and silt.
17.5 Types of soil

1. Sandy soils are typically comprised of approximately 80-100 per cent sand, 0-10 per cent clay by
volume. Sandy soils are light and typically very free draining, usually holding water very poorly due
to very low organic content.
2. Loam soils are typically comprised of approximately 25-50 per cent sand, 30-50 per cent silt and 10-
30 per cent clay by volume. Loam soils are somewhat heavier than sandy soils, but also tend to be
fairly free draining, again, due to typically low organic content.
3. Clay soils are typically comprised of approximately 0-45 per cent sand, 0-45 per cent silt and 50-100
per cent clay by volume. Clay soils are not typically free draining, and water tends to take a long
time to infiltrate. When wet, such soils tend to allow virtually all water to run off. Clay soils tend to
be heavy and difficult to work when dry.
17.5.1 Textural classes of soils

Textural class Ranges (%) of
Sand Silt Clay
Sand 85-100 0-15 0-10
Loamy sand 70-90 0-30 0-15
Sandy loam 43-80 0-50 0-20
Loam 23-52 28-50 7-27
Silty loam 0-50 50-88 0-27
Silt 0-20 88-100 0-12
Sandy clay loam 45-80 0-28 20-55
Clay loam 20-45 15-53 27-40
Silty clay loam 0-20 40-73 27-40
Sandy clay 40-65 0-20 35-45
Silty clay 0-20 40-60 40-60
Clay 0-40 0-40 40-60
17.6 Soil Structure

The primary soil particles, that is, sand, silt and clay are usually grouped together in the form of
aggregates.
✓ Soil aggregates are groups of soil particles that bind to each other more strongly than to adjacent
particles.
✓ The space between the aggregates provide pore space for retention and exchange of air and water.
✓ The arrangement of primary particles and their aggregates into certain defined patterns is called soil
structure.
✓ Natural aggregates are called fragments while the word clod is used for an artificially formed soil mass.
✓ Stable aggregates are those that resist break down by disruptive forces such as water and wind.
✓ Soil structure is an important property which influences the soil environment through its effect on
the amount and size of pore space, water holding capacity, availability of plant nutrients and growth
of micro-organisms.
✓ The altered soil environment affects germination and root growth of crops.
✓ Soil structure is denoted in order of grade, class and type (GCT).
17.6.1 There are four principal types of soil structures

A. Platy: The peds (aggregates) are arranged in relatively thin horizontal layers, plates. This structure is
found in recently deposited clay soils, surface layers of virgin soils but also in subsoil horizons i.e. ‘B’.
B. Prismatic: The vertically oriented aggregates or pillars. It occurs in ‘B’ horizon of clayey soils in arid
and semi-arid regions. When the tops are flat, these vertical aggregates are called prismatic and when
rounded, they are known as columnar. The size of prism like structure is up to 15 cm in diameter.
C. Blocky: Original aggregates have been reduced to block, irregularly, six-faced, cube like blocks of soil,
2-8 cm in size, common on heavy subsoils particularly of humid regions and in upper part of ‘B’ horizon.
D. Spheroidal: Rounded aggregates or peds not more than 2cm in diameter often found in a loose
condition in the ‘A’ horizon.
✓ Such units are ordinarily called granules and when granules are especially porous the term ‘crumb’ is
used.
✓ For farmers, crumb and granular structure is favourable for plant growth.
✓ Formation of crumbs is more pronounced in clayey than in sandy soils.
✓ Clay humus and lime in the soil promote the formation of crumbs.
17.7 Bulk Density

✓ Bulk density is an indicator of soil compaction.
✓ It is calculated as the dry weight of soil divided by its volume.
✓ This volume includes the volume of soil particles and the volume of pores among soil particles. Bulk
density is typically expressed in g/cm3.
17.7.1 What does bulk density indicate?

Bulk density reflects the soil’s ability to function for structural support, water and solute movement,
and soil aeration. Bulk densities above thresholds indicate impaired function.
The table below shows the values of bulk densities that are considered to be ideal and the ones that
restrict root growth:
Soil Texture Ideal bulk densities for Bulk densities that restrict
plant growth (g/cm3) root growth (g/cm3)
Sandy < 1.60 > 1.80
Silty < 1.40 > 1.65
Clayey < 1.10 > 1.47
17.7.2 How is high bulk density a major problem?

✓ High bulk density is an indicator of low soil porosity and soil compaction.
✓ It may cause restrictions to root growth, and poor movement of air and water through the soil.
✓ Compaction can result in shallow plant rooting and poor plant growth, influencing crop yield and
reducing vegetative cover available to protect soil from erosion.
✓ By reducing water infiltration into the soil, compaction can lead to increased runoff and erosion from
sloping land or waterlogged soils in flatter areas.
✓ In general, some soil compaction to restrict water movement through the soil profile is beneficial
under arid conditions, but under humid conditions compaction decreases yields.
The table given below gives us an idea regarding the bulk density and the pore spaces:
Textural class Bulk density (g/cc) Pore space (%)
Sandy soil 1.6 40
Loam 1.4 47
Silt loam 1.3 50
Clay 1.1 58
Note: The presence of organic matter decreases the Bulk Density and the tillage operations too causes a
decrease in the bulk density.
While discussing the Bulk Density, let us have a look at the Particle Density:
17.7.3 Particle Density

✓ A soil particle has no pore space and is nothing more than a very small piece of rock. The weight of
an individual soil particle per unit volume is called particle density.
✓ Usually, particle density is expressed in units of grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3). An average
value for particle density is 2.66 g/cm3.
✓ This means that a soil particle that is 1 cubic centimeter in volume weighs 2.66 g. In comparison,
water has a density of 1 g/cm3, and organic matter has a density of 0.8 g/cm3.
✓ Particle density is also known as real density or gain density or absolute density. It lowers when the
organic matter is added to the soil.
✓ Generally, the bulk density is half of the particle density (approximately).
17.8 Soil Colour

✓ The colour of the soil is usually the first thing people notice.
✓ Mostly this is just the topsoil, but it does not reflect the entire soil. The topsoil is usually darker than
lower layers (or horizons) because this is where organic matter accumulates.
✓ Soil colors are used to infer pedogenic processes in soils. The main pigmenting (coloring) agents in
soils are organic matter, iron, and, to a lesser extent, manganese.
✓ When these agents are not covering the mineral grains, the natural color of the grains is visible. Most
mineral grains are naturally gray.
✓ The change in soil colour with depth is directly related to a variety of processes that are occurring in
the soil.
✓ The soil colour does not affect the behavior of the soils but provides insights into environmental
conditions, formation processes and other influences on the soil.
✓ This characteristic is used in classifying the soils.
17.8.1 Soil colour is usually due to 3 main pigments

✓ black—from organic matter
✓ red—from iron and aluminium oxides
✓ white—from silicates and salt.
17.8.2 Determining soil colours

✓ The most widely used method for determining soil colors is comparison of soil samples with the color
chips in the Munsell soil color charts.
✓ In the Munsell color system, color is expressed in terms of hue (basic color, it consists of the rainbow
colour), value (lightness or darkness), and chroma (intensity of basic hue or we can call it as the
relative purity or strength of the spectral colour).
✓ These three variables combine to give all colours.
Soil Colour Soil Characteristics
Black These soils are often associated with high levels of organic matter (peats).
White/pale/bleached These soils are often referred to as bleached or 'washed out'. The iron and
manganese particles have been leached out due to high amounts of rainfall or
drainage.
Red This colour indicates good drainage. Iron found within the soil is oxidised more
readily due to the higher oxygen content. This causes the soil to develop a 'rusty'
colour. The colour can be darker due to organic matter
Yellow to yellow- These soils often have poorer drainage than red soils. The iron compounds in
brown these soils are in a hydrated form and therefore do not produce the 'rusty' colour.
Brown Soils associated with moderate organic matter level and iron oxides.
Gleyed/grey/green These soils are associated with very poor drainage or waterlogging. The lack of air
in these soils provides conditions for iron and manganese to form compounds that
give these soils their colour.
17.9 Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of the soil

Note: CEC topic is important for understanding the topic: ‘Problematic Soils’.
✓ The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of a soil is its capacity to exchange cations between the soil
particles and the soil solution (the water in the soil).
✓ It is determined by the negative electric charge on the surface of soil particles.
✓ This charge attracts the cations, restricting them from leaching away.
✓ The phenomenon is called cation exchange because it is possible to exchange or displace one cation
for another.
✓ Cations are held by negatively charged particles of clay and humus called colloids. Colloids consist of
thin, flat plates, and for their size have a comparatively large surface area.
✓ For this reason they are capable of holding enormous quantities of cations. They act as a storehouse of
nutrients for plant roots.
✓ As plant roots take up cations, other cations in the soil water replace them on the colloid. If there is a
concentration of one particular cation in the soil water, those cations will force other cations off the
colloid and take their place.
✓ The stronger the colloid's negative charge, the greater its capacity to hold and exchange cations.
✓ The five most abundant exchangeable cations in the soil are calcium (Ca++), magnesium (Mg++),
potassium (K+), sodium (Na+) and aluminium (Al+++).
✓ Out of these Aluminium and Sodium cations are not plant nutrients and so they are not wanted by the
plants. Excess amount of these can act as a competition for the desired nutrients in the soil thus resulting
in a soil which has low fertility.
17.9.1 Expressing CEC

✓ The quantity of cations that a clay mineral can hold on its negatively charged surface is commonly
expressed in milliequivalents (meq) per 100 g. (CEC is also expressed as cmol (+)/kg, or centimoles of
charge per kilogram. This is identical to meq/100 g).
✓ A better way to express CEC is to show each cation as a percentage of the total CEC.
17.9.2 CEC levels based on the soil type
Humus
✓ CEC varies according to the type of soil.
✓ Humus, the end product of decomposed organic matter, has the highest CEC value because organic
matter colloids have large quantities of negative charges.
Clay
✓ Clay has a great capacity to attract and hold cations because of its chemical structure.
✓ Low CEC values can be improved by adding organic matter.
Sandy soils
✓ Sand has no capacity to exchange cations because it has no electrical charge.
✓ So sandy soils have very low CEC, but this can be improved by adding organic matter.
17.9.3 Effect of pH on Soil CEC

✓ In addition to clay and organic matter, pH also has an effect on CEC. And, of these three factors,
usually only pH can be changed.
✓ Soil pH changes the CEC because the soil has exchange sites that become active as the pH increases.
✓ Soil CEC could be expected to increase up to 50 percent if the pH was changed from 4.0 to 6.5 and
nearly double if the pH increased from 4.0 to 8.0.
17.9.4 Implications of high or low CEC

✓ The higher the CEC the more clay or organic matter present in the soil. This usually means that high
CEC (clay) soils have a greater water holding capacity than low CEC (sandy) soils.
✓ Low CEC soils are more likely to develop potassium and magnesium (and other cation) deficiencies,
while high CEC soils are less susceptible to leaching losses of these cations. So, for sandy soils, a large
one-time addition of cations e.g. potassium can lead to large leaching losses (soil isn’t able to hold on
to the excess K). More frequent additions of smaller amounts are better.
✓ The lower the CEC, the faster the soil pH will decrease with time. So, sandy soils need to be limed
more often than clay soils.
✓ The lower the CEC, the larger the quantity of lime that must be added to increase the soil pH.
17.10 Pore Space

✓ The volume of soil not occupied by soil particles is known as pore space.
✓ Pore space is occupied by air or water or both.
✓ Plant roots exist and grow in pore space.
✓ It directly controls the amount of water and air in the soil and thus indirectly controls plant growth
and crop production.
✓ The pores are classified into micro and macro pores depending on the diameter of the pore. The
amount of pore space depends on particle size, texture, structure and biological activity.
✓ Clay soils have less macropores compared to sandy soils. However, the total pore space is 50 to 60
per cent in clay soils, 30 to 50 per cent in loamy soils and 20 to 30 per cent in sandy soils.
✓ Sandy soils contain 25,000 pores/m2 and clay soils have 25 million pores/m2. Addition of organic
matter increases the pore space.
✓ Burrowing animals increase pore space. Pore space can be modified by tillage and irrigation.
17.11 Soil pH
pH is defined as the negative logarithm of Hydrogen ion activity. The pH of a soil indicates its acidity or
alkalinity.
Influence of pH: pH influences nutrient availability, soil physical condition and plant growth.
Soil reaction preference of crop plants
Crop pH Crop pH
Rice 4.0-6.0 Soybean 5.5-7.0
Wheat 6.0-7.5 Pea 5.5-7.0
Sorghum 6.0-7.5 Sugarcane 6.0-7.5
Maize 6.0-7.5 Cotton 5.0-6.5
Barley 6.0-7.5 Potato 5.0-5.5
Millets 5.0-6.5 Tea 4.0-6.0
Oats 5.0-7.5
18 Various types of soils in India

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) set up an All India Soil Survey Committee in 1953,
which divided the Indian soils into eight major groups.
1. Alluvial soils
2. Black soils
3. Red soils
4. Laterite soils
5. Forest and Mountain soils
6. Arid and Desert soils
7. Saline and Alkaline soils and
8. Peaty and Marshy soils
18.1 The salient features of the various types of soils are given below
S.No Types of Soils States where found Rich in Lacks in Crops grown
1. Alluvial
1 Occupy plains (from Potash and Nitrogen Large variety of rabi and
. Punjab to Assam) and Lime and kharif crops such as
river valleys of Phosphoro wheat, rice, sugarcane,
Peninsular India. us cotton, jute etc.
Punjab, Haryana, UP,
Bihar, Jharkhand &
West Bengal etc.
2. Black
2 (Regur soil) Deccan plateau- Lime, Iron, Phosphoro Cotton, sugarcane,
. Maharashtra, Madhya Magnesia us, jowar, tobacco, wheat,
Pradesh, Gujarat, and Alumina, Nitrogen rice etc.
Andhra Pradesh, Potash and organic
Tamil Nadu, Valleys of matter
Krishna and Godavari.
3. Red Eastern and southern Iron, Nitrogen, Wheat, rice, cotton,
part of the Deccan Manganese Phosphoro sugarcane and pulses
plateau, Orissa, and Potash us and
Chhattisgarh and humus.
southern parts of the
middle Ganga plain.
4. Laterite Eastern & Western Iron oxide Organic Cashewnuts, tea, coffee,
Ghats, Karnataka, and potash matter, rubber
Kerala, Tamilnadu, Nitrogen,
Madhya Pradesh, Phosphate
Assam and Orissa hills. and
Calcium
5. Forest and Hills of Jammu and Iron Lime With fertilizers Tea
Mountain Kashmir, Slopes of plantation, fruits and
mountains in Medicinal plants
Uttarakhand, Assam
hills and West Bengal
6. Arid and Desert Western Rajasthan, Soluble salts, Humus, Generally unsuitable for
north Gujarat and phosphate Nitrogen cultivation but with
southern Punjab irrigation, useful for
wheat, barley, gram,
bajra and melons
7. Saline and Alkaline Drier parts of Bihar, Sodium, Nitrogen Unfit for agriculture
UP, Haryana, Punjab, Potassium, and
Rajasthan and Magnesium Calcium
Maharashtra
8. Peaty and marshy Kerala, Coastal region Iron and Potash and Useful for Jute and Rice
of Orissa & Tamil organic Phosphoro cultivation
Nadu, and Sunderban mater us
areas of West Bengal
Let us have a look at certain important points under each of the soil types in detail
18.2 Alluvial soils:

✓ Mostly available soil in India (about 43%) which covers an area of 143mha (highest area in UP
followed by Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan).
✓ Formed mainly from Entisol soil order.
✓ Deposited in flood plains by transportation in streams and rivers.
✓ It is azonal soil with no horizons.
✓ Geographically, it is of 2 types:
✓ Khaddar/ newly formed alluvium, more sandy.
✓ Bhangar/ older alluvium, more clayey soils.
✓ Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
✓ Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
18.3 Black soils

✓ Second largest soil group with occupying 55mha (mainly in Maharashtra & MP).
✓ Formed mainly from Vertisol soil order.
✓ In Maharashtra, soil is derived from Deccan trap called as Regur or black cotton soil.
✓ Rich in montmorillonite clay (2:1) minerals.
✓ It is dark, fine grained soil with high clay content.
✓ It is called as late soil, as it moistened sufficiently in the later period of the season due to its lower
permeability than other soils.
✓ Colour: Deep black to light black.
✓ Texture: Clayey.
18.4 Red soils

✓ Also known as Omnibus group of soil.
✓ Red soil occupied about 15mha (largest area in TN followed by Karnataka & Goa).
✓ Formed mainly from Alfisol soil order.
✓ Rich in kaolinite clay minerals.
✓ It is called as early soil because in the light & frequent rains of South west monsoon, red soils permit
sowing being done earlier than other soils.
✓ Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide. The lower layer is reddish yellow or yellow.
✓ Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy.
18.5 Laterite soils

✓ Name from Latin word ‘Later’ which means Brick.
✓ Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried.
✓ Laterite soils has occupied about 25mha.
✓ Formed mainly from ultisol & oxisol soil order.
✓ Formed under heavy rainfall and high temperature.
✓ Maximum leaching takes place in this soil.
✓ Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide.
18.6 Forest and Mountain soils

✓ Regions of high rainfall.
✓ Humus content is less and thus the soil is acidic.
18.7 Arid and Desert soils

✓ Deposited mainly by wind activities.
✓ High salt content.
✓ Lack of moisture and Humus.
✓ Kankar or Impure Calcium carbonate content is high which restricts the infiltration of water.
✓ Texture: Sandy
✓ Colour: Red to Brown
18.8 Saline and alkaline soils

✓ Saline soils or Usara soils contain a larger proportion of sodium, potassium and magnesium, and thus,
they are infertile, and do not support any vegetative growth.
✓ They have more salts, largely because of dry climate and poor drainage.
✓ They occur in arid and semi-arid regions, and in waterlogged and swampy areas.
18.9 Peaty and Marshy soils

✓ Growth of vegetation is very less.
✓ A large quantity of dead organic matter/humus which makes the soil alkaline.
✓ Heavy soil with black colour.
19 Modern Classification System

✓ To identify, understand, and manage soils, soil scientists have developed a soil classification or
taxonomy system.
✓ Like the classification systems for plants and animals, the soil classification system contains several
levels of detail, from the most general to the most specific.
✓ USDA soil taxonomy (ST) developed by United States Department of Agriculture and the National
Cooperative Soil Survey provides an elaborate classification of soil types according to several
parameters (most commonly their properties) and in several levels.
✓ This modern classification of soil is US comprehensive soil classification based on 7 th approximation
(1975).
This system maintains natural body concept and two major features adopted were:
✓ Primary basis for identifying different classes are properties of soils rather than genesis of soils.
✓ Nomenclature employed i.e. Latin or Greek root words are the basis for nomenclature nomenclature
(Soil taxonomy).
19.1 Categorization:
Six categories were adopted for this system:
The smallest category of soil classification is the Soil Series.
19.2 Soil Order

✓ Each order is based on one or two dominant physical, chemical, or biological properties that
differentiate it clearly from the other orders.
✓ Perhaps the easiest way to understand why certain properties were chosen over others is to
consider how the soil (i.e., land) will be used.
✓ That is, the property that will most affect land use is given precedence over one that has a relatively
small impact.
Soil Order Features
Inceptisols Moderate degree of soil development, young soil very few diagnostic features; Origin: Latin –
inceptum – beginning
Entisols Alluvial soil formed from it. Occur in areas where deposition is faster than soil formation;
Identifiable Top soil horizon with little profile development;
Vertisols Black soils are formed from this order; Clay rich soil, develop crack when dried and swell when
completely filled with water; Black in colour; highly fertile; Latin verto – turn
Oxisols Laterite soils are formed from Oxisols and Ultisols; Present in tropical and sub-tropical regions;
Highly weathered soils and thus low natural fertility; dominated by iron oxides, quartz, and
highly weathered clay minerals such as kaolinite; nearly featureless soils without clearly
marked layers, or horizons;
Ultisols Laterite soils are formed from Oxisols and Ultisols; Weathered soil, low fertility; forest soil
Latin ultimus – last
Alfisols Red Soils are formed mainly by the Alfisols soil order; Relatively young soils; Less acidic and
weathered than Ultisols; more fertile than Ultisols; Forest soils
Histosols Called Organic soil and contain more than 20% organic matter; most often occurs in extremely
wet areas or underwater; Greek histos – tissue
Aridosols Desert soils of arid regions; Latin aridus – dry
Spodosols acidic, and have low fertility and low clay content; soils form as rainfall interacts with acidic
vegetative litter, such as the needles of conifers, to form organic acids; Greek spodos – wood ash
Mollisols Highly fertile; rich in chemical “bases” such as calcium and magnesium; found in climates with
pronounced dry seasons; Latin mollis – soft
Andisols/E formed from the weathering of volcanic materials such as ash; Very productive and fertile;
ndisols occur in areas with moderate to high rainfall and cool temperatures; Japanese ando – black soil
Gelisols permanently frozen; found in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as at extremely high elevations;
Latin gelare – to freeze;
The above tabular column can be used for revision. In the section below, we shall discuss each of the
orders in detail
19.2.1 Inceptisols
✓ Inceptisols (from the Latin inceptum –

beginning) exhibit a moderate degree of
soil development, lacking significant clay
accumulation in the subsoil.
✓ They occur over a wide range of parent
materials and climatic conditions, and thus
have a wide range of characteristics.
19.2.2 Entisols
✓ Entisols exhibit little to no soil development other than the presence

of an identifiable topsoil horizon.
✓ These soils occur in areas of recently deposited sediments, often in
places where deposition is faster than the rate of soil development.
✓ Some typical landforms where Entisols are located include: active flood
plains, dunes, landslide areas, and behind retreating glaciers. They are
common in all environments.
✓ Alluvial soils are formed from it.
19.2.3 Vertisols
✓ The black soils are formed from this order.

✓ Vertisols (from the Latin verto – turn) are clay-rich soils that contain a type of
“expansive” clay that shrinks and swells dramatically. These soils therefore
shrink as they dry and swell when they become wet. When dry, vertisols form
large cracks that may be more than one meter (three feet) deep and several
centimeters, or inches, wide. The movement of these soils can crack building
foundations and buckle roads. Vertisols are highly fertile due to their high clay
content; however, water tends to pool on their surfaces when they become
wet. Vertisols are located in areas where the underlying parent materials allow
for the formation of expansive clay minerals.
19.2.4 Oxisols
✓ Laterite soils are formed from Ultisols and Oxisols soil groups. Oxisols are soils of
tropical and subtropical regions, which are dominated by iron oxides, quartz, and
highly weathered clay minerals such as kaolinite.
✓ These soils are typically found on gently sloping land surfaces of great age that have
been stable for a long time. For the most part, they are nearly featureless soils without
clearly marked layers, or horizons.
✓ Because they are highly weathered, they have low natural fertility, but can be made
productive through wise use of fertilizers and lime.
19.2.5 Ultisols
✓ Laterite soils are formed from Ultisols and Oxisols soil groups.
✓ Ultisols (from the Latin ultimus – last) are soils that have formed in humid
areas and are intensely weathered. They typically contain a subsoil horizon
that has an appreciable amount of translocated clay and are relatively acidic.
✓ Most nutrients are held in the upper centimeters of Ultisol soils, and these
soils are generally of low fertility although they can become productive with
additions of fertilizer and lime.
19.2.6 Alfisols
✓ Red Soils are formed mainly by the Alfisols soil order.

✓ Alfisols (from the soil science term Pedalfer – aluminum and iron)
are similar to Ultisols but are less intensively weathered and less
acidic. They tend to be more inherently fertile than Ultisols and are
located in similar climatic regions, typically under forest vegetation.
✓ They are relatively young soils.
19.2.7 Histosols
✓ Histosols (from the Greek histos – tissue) are dominantly composed of organic material
in their upper portion.
✓ These soils form when organic matter, such as leaves, mosses, or grasses, decomposes
more slowly than it accumulates due to a decrease in microbial decay rates.
✓ This most often occurs in extremely wet areas or underwater; thus, most of these soils
are saturated year-round.
✓ Histosols can be highly productive farmland when drained; however, drained Histosols
can decompose rapidly and subside dramatically.
✓ They are also not stable for foundations or roadways and may be highly acidic.
19.2.8 Aridosols
✓ Aridisols (from the Latin aridus – dry) are soils that occur in climates that are
too dry for “mesophytic” plants—plants adapted to neither too wet nor too
dry environments—to survive. High in Boron.
✓ The climate in which Aridisols occur also restricts soil weathering processes.
✓ Aridisols often contain accumulations of salt, gypsum, or carbonates, and
are found in hot and cold deserts worldwide.
19.2.9 Spodosols
Spodosols (from the Greek spodos – wood ash) are among the most attractive soils.
✓ They often have a dark surface underlain by an ashy gray layer, which is subsequently underlain by a reddish,
rusty, coffee-colored, or black subsoil horizon.
✓ These soils form as rainfall interacts with acidic vegetative litter, such as the needles of conifers, to form organic
acids.
✓ These acids dissolve iron, aluminum, and organic matter in the topsoil and ashy gray (eluvial) horizons.
✓ The dissolved materials then move (illuviate) to the colorful subsoil horizons.
✓ Spodosols most often develop in coarsely textured soils (sands and loamy sands) under coniferous vegetation in
humid regions of the world.
✓ They tend to be acidic and have low fertility and low clay content.
19.2.10 Mollisols
✓ Mollisols (from the Latin mollis – soft) are grassland soils that
have a dark colored surface horizon, are highly fertile, and are
rich in chemical “bases” such as calcium and magnesium.
✓ Mollisols are often found in climates with pronounced dry
seasons.
19.2.11 Andisols/Endisols
✓ Andisols (from the Japanese ando – black soil) typically form from the
weathering of volcanic materials such as ash, resulting in minerals in the
soil with poor crystal structure.
✓ These minerals have an unusually high capacity to hold both nutrients
and water, making these soils very productive and fertile.
✓ They typically occur in areas with moderate to high rainfall and cool
temperatures.
19.2.12 Gelisols
✓ Gelisols (from the Latin gelare – to freeze) are soils that

are permanently frozen.
✓ Gelisols are found in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as
at extremely high elevations.
20 Problematic soils
The problematic soils cause a concern for the growth of the crops because of its unfavourable
characteristics. We shall be discussing about the salt affected soils. There are three types of salt affected
soils that we are going to discuss. They are Saline, Alkali and Saline-Alkali:
20.1 Characteristics of Saline, Alkali and Saline-Alkali Soils
EC – Electrical Conductivity, can also be measured in dS/m (deci Siemen/meter); ESP – Exchangeable
Sodium Percentage (In Percentage)
✓ So keeping that understanding in mind, we can infer that there are negatively charged sites present
on the surface of clay minerals and organic matter present in the soil.
✓ Now these sites are very important for holding the plant nutrients for the usage of plants. These
nutrients exist in the form of cations.
✓ So ESP is the percentage of the sodium cation as a percentage of the total CEC.
20.1.1 Saline soils

✓ In these soils, the sodium ions are present in soluble form in the soil water.
✓ It mainly occurs in the coastal areas where the sea water splashes on the land during high tide and
when it recedes back, the salt is left dissolved in the soil water.
✓ Because the salt is present in soluble form, it is able to conduct electricity better when compared to
the other forms like the alkali soils.
20.1.2 Alkali soils

✓ In these soils, the sodium ions are attached to the negatively charged sites of the clay and the organic
matter of the soil.
✓ Thus they are present in the complex form.
✓ They are in competition with the plant nutrients present in the soil.
✓ Here the salt is present in the complex form and thus, it does not conduct electricity as effectively as
compared to the saline soils.
✓ These are also known as sodic soils.
20.1.3 Saline-Alkali soils

✓ These soils are a combination of saline and alkali soils.
✓ Here firstly the sodium ions get attached to the negatively charged sites and there is still excess
amount of sodium ions that exist in the soluble form.
✓ These soils conduct electricity better than alkali soils because of the presence of soluble sodium ions.
21 Problematic soils based on PH value

✓ The first thing is based on the pH, we can classify the soils into acidic and basic (alkaline). Soil having
a pH of less than 7 is called acidic and the soil having a pH above 7 upto 14 is called basic (alkaline).
✓ All the three soils: saline, alkali and saline-alkali are having a pH greater than 7 (with Saline soils
having PH <8.5 but greater than 7 and Alkaline soils having PH of >8.5)
✓ They differ in the form of sodium that is present in these soils.
21.1 Acidic Soils

21.1.1 Reasons for acidity
✓ Humus decomposition results in release of large amount of acids, thereby lowering the pH.
✓ Rainfall: In areas with more than 100 cm rainfall associated with high R.H., Ca, Mg is dissolved in water
and leached out due to this base saturation of soil decreases.
✓ Application of elemental sulphur under goes reactions resulting in formation of H2SO4.
✓ Continuous application of acid forming fertilizers like ammonium sulphates or ammonium chlorides
results in depletion of Ca by CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) phenomenon.
✓ Parent material: Generally, rocks are considered as acidic, which contain large amount of silica (SiO 2)
when this combined with water, acidity increases.
The ranges in soil pH and associated degree of acidity are as follows
21.1.2 Injury to crops

✓ Direct affects
• Plant root system does not grow normally due to toxic hydrogen ions.
• Permeability of plant membranes are adversely affected due to soil acidity.
• Enzyme actions may be altered since they are sensitive to pH changes.
✓ Indirect affects
• Deficiency of Ca and Mg occur by leaching.
• Al, Mn and Fe available in toxic amounts.
✓ Effect on activity of microorganisms
• Most of the activities of beneficial organisms like Azotobacter and nodule forming bacteria of
legumes are adversely affected as acidity increases.
21.1.3 Crop suitable for cultivation in acidic soils
pH Level Acidic soils

4.5 Citrus, blue berries
5.0 Tobacco, Apple, grapes, Plum, Watermelon
5.5 Tomato
6.0 cabbage, carrot, onion, radish, spinach,
cauliflower
6.5 Alfalfa, sugar beet
21.1.4 Management of acid soils

Management of the acid soils should be directed towards enhanced crop productivity either through
addition of amendments to correct the soil abnormalities or by manipulating the agronomic practices
depending upon the climatic and edaphic conditions.
21.1.4.1 Soil amelioration
✓ Lime has been recognized as an effective soil ameliorant as it reduces Al, Fe and Mn toxicity and
increases base saturation, P and Mo availability of acid soils.
✓ Liming also increases atmospheric N fixation as well as N mineralization in acid soils through
enhanced microbial activity.
✓ However, economic feasibility of liming needs to be worked out before making any
recommendation.
Liming materials
✓ Commercial limestone and dolomite limestone are the most widely used amendments.
✓ Carbonates, oxides and hydroxides of calcium and magnesium are referred to as agricultural lime.
✓ Among, the naturally occurring lime sources calcitic, dolomitic and stromato litic limestones are
important carbonates.
✓ The other liming sources are marl, oyster shells and several industrial wastes like steel mill slag, blast
furnace slag, lime sludge from paper mills, pressmud from sugar mills, cement wastes, precipitated
calcium carbonate, etc equally effective as ground limestone and are also cheaper.
✓ Lime requirement of an acid soil may be defined as the amount of liming material that must be
added to raise the pH to prescribed value.
✓ Shoemaker et al. (1961) buffer method is used for the determination of lime requirement of an acid
soil.
21.2 Saline soils

21.2.1 Reasons for Salinity
✓ In arid and semi-arid areas salts formed during weathering are not fully leached. During the periods
of higher rainfall, the soluble salts are leached from the more permeable high laying areas to low
laying areas and where ever the drainage is restricted, salts accumulate on the soil surface, as water
evaporates.
✓ The excessive irrigation of uplands containing salts resulting in the accumulation of salts in the valleys.
✓ In areas having salt layer at lower depths in the profile, seasonal irrigation may favour the upward
movement of salts.
✓ Salinity is also caused if the soils are irrigated with saline water.
✓ In coastal areas the ingress of sea water induces salinity in the soil.

✓ High osmotic pressure decreases the water availability to plants hence retardation of growth rate.
✓ As a result of retarded growth rate, leaves and stems of affected plants are stunted.
✓ Development of thicker layer of surface wax imparts bluish green tinge on leaves.
✓ Due to high EC germination per cent of seeds is reduced.
21.2.3 Crop suitable for cultivation in saline soils
Barley, sugarbeet, cotton, sugarcane, mustard, rice, maize, redgram, greengram, sunflower, linseed,
sesame, bajra, sorghum, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, pumpkin, bitterguard, Beetroot, guava,
asparagus, banana, spinach, coconut, grape, datepalm, pomegranate.
The Saline soils are found by different names in different regions:
✓ Reh in Uttar Pradesh

✓ Thar in Punjab
✓ Khajar in Gujarat
✓ Khar in Maharashtra
21.3 Alkali Soils

21.3.1 Reasons for the formation of alkali soils
✓ The excessive irrigation of uplands containing Na salts results in the accumulation of salts in the
valleys.
✓ In arid and semi-arid areas salt formed during weathering are not fully leached. In coastal areas if the
soil contains carbonates the ingression of sea water leads to the formation of alkali soil due to
formation of sodium carbonates. Irrigated soils with poor drainage.

✓ High exchangeable sodium decreases the availability of calcium, magnesium to plants.
✓ Dispersion of soil particles due to high exchangeable ‘Na’ leads to poor physical condition of soil, low
permeability to water and air, tends to be sticky when wet and becomes hard on drying.
✓ Toxicity due to excess hydroxyl and carbonate ions.
✓ Growth of plants gets affected mainly due to nutritional imbalance.
✓ Restricted root system and delay in flowering in sensitive varieties.
✓ Typical leaf burn in annuals and woody plants due to excess of chloride and sodium.
✓ Bronzing of leaves in citrus.
✓ It effects the solubility of zinc (Zn).
21.3.3 Crops suitable for cultivation in Alkali soils

The crops that can be grown in the saline soils can also be grown in alkali soils. Rice is preferred crop in
alkali / sodic soil as it can grow under submergence, can tolerate fair extent of ESP and can influence
several microbial processes in the soil.
21.3.4 Where are these soils found?

✓ These soils are found in the drier parts of Bihar, UP, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
✓ Some of the salts are transported in solution by the rivers and canals, which percolates in the sub-
soils of the plains.
✓ The accumulation of salts makes the soil infertile and renders it unfit for agriculture.
21.3.5 Reclamation of alkali / sodic soils
21.3.5.1 Physical Amelioration

✓ This is not actually removes sodium from exchange complex but improve physical condition of soil
through improvement in infiltration and aeration.
✓ The commonly followed physical methods include
• Deep ploughing is adopted to break the hard pan developed at subsurface due to sodium and
improving free-movement water. This also helps in improvement of aeration.
• Providing drainage is also practiced to improve aeration and to remove further accumulation of
salts at root zone.
• Sand filling which reduces heaviness of the soil and increases capillary movements of water.
• Profile inversion – Inverting the soil benefits in improvement of physical condition of soil as that
of deep ploughing.
21.3.5.2 Chemical Amelioration

✓ Reclamation of alkali / sodic soils requires neutralization of alkalinity and replacement of most of
the sodium ions from the soil – exchange complex by the more favourable calcium ions.
✓ This can be accomplished by the application of chemical amendments followed by leaching to remove
soluble salts and other reaction products.
✓ The chemical amendments can be broadly grouped as follows:
• Direct Ca suppliers: Gypsum, calcium carbonate, phospho-gypsum, etc.
• Indirect Ca suppliers: Elemental Sulphur, sulphuric acid, pyrites, FeSO4, etc Among them gypsum
is, by far, the most commonly used chemical amendment.
Calcium carbonate is insoluble in nature which of no use in calcareous sodic soils (have already
precipitated CaCO3) but can be used in non calcareous sodic soils (do not have precipitated CaCO3) since
pH of this soils
22 What is Soil Fertility?

Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to supply essential plant nutrients during growth period of the plants,
without toxic concentration of any nutrients”. i.e “the capacity of soil to supply nutrient in available to
crop.
23 What is Soil Productivity?
Soil productivity is ability of soil to produce a particular crop or sequence of crops under a specified
management system” i.e the crop producing capacity of soil. * All the productive soils are fertile, but all
the fertile soils may not be productive.
Soil Fertility Soil Productivity:
✓ It is considered as an index of available nutrient ✓ It is a broader term used to indicate crop yields
to plants ✓ It is the interaction of all the factors
✓ One of the factors for crop production; the ✓ Can be assessed in the field under particular
others are water supply etc climate conditions
✓ Can be analysed in lab ✓ Resultant of various factors influencing soil
✓ It is the potential status of the soil to produce management
crops ✓ Depends upon location, fertility, physical
✓ Depends upon physical chemical and biological conditions etc
factors of soil ✓ Soil productivity is the function of soil fertility,
✓ Soil fertility is the function of available nutrients management and climate: Soil productivity = f
of soil fertility = f (Nutrient status of soil) (soil fertility + management + climate)
✓ It is an inherent property of soil ✓ It is not an inherent property of soil
✓ The fertility of a certain soil is same in all climates
✓ Soil productivity differs according to the
✓ All fertile soils are not productive
24 Mineralization and Immobilization variations in climate and location
✓ All productive soils are certainly fertile
The two processes are Mineralization and Immobilization.
24.1 Mineralization
✓ Mineralization in soil science is the decomposition, i.e. oxidation, of the chemical
compounds in organic matter, by which the nutrients in those compounds are released in soluble
inorganic forms that may be available to plants.
✓ It increases the bioavailability of the nutrients that were in the decomposing organic compounds.
24.2 Immobilization
✓ Immobilization in soil science is the conversion of inorganic compounds to organic compounds
by micro-organisms or plants, by which it is prevented from being accessible to plants.
✓ It is the opposite of mineralization.
These two processes are dependent upon the C:N ratio of the organic matter (crop residues, fallen
leaves, plant parts, decaying plant matter). By C:N ratio, we mean the ratio of carbon parts to nitrogen
parts.
The organic matter (the carbon is decomposed, and CO2 is released) is decomposed by the soil micro-
organisms present in the soil by using the nitrogen present in the organic matter.
There are two scenarios that are possible:
1. High C:N ratio

2. Low C:N ratio
Before we discuss these two processes, we should know the ideal C:N ratio. The required C:N ratio is 30:1.
So if the parts of carbon for every one part of nitrogen is more than 30, we call it high C:N ratio. If the
parts of carbon for every one part of nitrogen is less than 30, we call it as low C:N ratio.
24.3 Scenario 1: High C:N ratio

✓ Here we see that the amount of carbon that is to be decomposed by the soil micro-organisms is more.
✓ So more amount of nitrogen is required for the process. Now, the micro-organisms start using the
nitrogen present in the soil environment.
✓ Nitrogen is taken in the organic form, thus the process of immobilization occurs where the inorganic
form is converted into organic form.
✓ In this case, there is a deficiency of nitrogen in the immediate environment of the plants.
24.4 Scenario 2: Low C:N ratio

✓ In this case the parts of carbon for every part of nitrogen is less than 30. Because of this, the nitrogen
available is sufficient.
✓ Now, the organic form of nitrogen is converted into the inorganic form and thus used up by the plants.
✓ This process is known as Mineralization.
The two processes discussed above are a part of the biological environment of the crop.
Let us have a look at the crop environment:
24.5 Crop Environment

The environment of crop constitutes both soil and aerial, as part of the plant is inside the soil and the
other part is exposed to the aerial atmosphere.
24.5.1 Soil environment

It can be divided into
1) Physical environment
It comprises of soil air, soil water and soil temperature.
2) Chemical environment
It comprises of soil solution, PH, electrical conductivity and nutrient concentration.
3) Biological environment
It comprises of living organisms present in the soil and the resultant reactions like mineralization,
immobilization, etc.
24.5.2 Aerial environment

It includes:
1) Solar radiation
2) Rainfall
3) Temperature
4) Relative humidity
5) Wind velocity, etc
Now, coming back to the discussion of the various plant nutrients
So far, we have understood that providing the nutrients to the plants is a very important function of the
soil.
25 Plant nutrients
Let us have a look at the important plant nutrients:
Plant contains more than 90 elements, out of which, 17 elements are known to be essential which are
further classified as macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients based on their relative abundance in plants.
Now, when we say that the nutrients are essential. What do we mean by ‘essential’? How do we
determine essentiality?
25.1 Essentiality of plant nutrients

Arnon and Stout (1939) and Arnon (1952) proposed the following criteria of essentiality of mineral
nutrients:
1. A deficiency of the element in question results in failure to complete the life cycle
2. Deficiency of element in question can be corrected only by supplying that particular element and
3. The element must directly be involved in the nutrition and metabolism of the plant and have a direct
influence on plant apart from its possible effects in correcting some micro-biological or chemical
conditions of the soil or other culture medium.
Note: The Primary and Secondary nutrients are together known as Macro-nutrients or Major nutrients.
25.2 Terms commonly used to describe levels of nutrients in plants and other
important terms
25.2.1 Deficient
When the concentration of an essential element is low enough to limit yield severely and distinct
deficiency symptoms are visible. Extreme deficiencies can result in plant death. With moderate or slight
deficiencies, symptoms may not be visible, but yields will still be reduced.
25.2.2 Critical range

The nutrient concentration in the plant below which a yield response to added nutrient occurs. Critical
levels or ranges vary among plants and nutrients, but occur somewhere in the transition between nutrient
deficiency and sufficiency.
25.2.3 Sufficient
The nutrient concentration range in which added nutrient will not increase yield but can increase nutrient
concentration. The term luxury consumption is often used to describe nutrient absorption by the plant
that does not influence yield.
25.2.4 Excessive or toxic

When the concentration of essential or other elements is high enough to reduce plant growth and yield.
Excessive nutrient concentration can cause an imbalance in other essential nutrients, which also can
reduce yield.
25.2.5 Basic Nutrients

✓ Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen, which constitute 96 percent of total dry matter of plants are basic
nutrients.
✓ Among them, carbon and oxygen constitute 45 percent each.
25.2.6 Macro-nutrients
✓ Those nutrients which are required by the plants in concentrations more than 1 ppm are termed as
macro-nutrients.
25.2.7 Micro-nutrients
✓ The elements which are required by plants in concentration less than 1 ppm are under this category.
✓ They are also called trace elements or oligo elements.
25.2.8 Beneficial nutrients

✓ There are other nutrients too apart from the list provided earlier that are important for the growth
of plants:
✓ They can be called as Beneficial nutrients.
✓ They are: Selenium (Se), Silicon (Si), Cobalt (Co) and Sodium (Na). The beneficial elements have not
been deemed essential for all plants but may be essential for some. They are beneficial to plant
growth but are not considered to be necessary for the completion of the plant life cycle.
25.3 Forms in which the nutrients are taken up
Now these nutrients are taken up by the plants in certain forms. The table below mentions the various
forms in which nutrients are taken:
S.No Element Conc. in plants Form of uptake

1. Nutrients from Air and Water
Carbon 45% CO2
Hydrogen 6% H2O
Oxygen 45% H2O, O2
a. Primary nutrients (Macro-nutrients)
Nitrogen(N) 1.5% NO-3 mainly, NH+4
Phosphorous (P) 0.2% H2PO-4, mainly HPO2-4
Potassium (K) 1.0% K+
b. Secondary nutrients (Macro-
nutrients)
Calcium (Ca) 0.5% Ca2+
Magnesium (Mg) 0.2% Mg2+
Sulphur(S) 0.1% SO2-4, SO2
2. Micro nutrients
Iron (Fe) 100 ppm (0.01%) Fe2+ (mainly), Fe3+
Zinc (Zn) 20ppm Zn2+
Manganese (Mn) 50ppm Mn2+
Boron (B) 20ppm H3BO3 (boric acid)
Copper (Cu) 6ppm Cu2+
Molybdenum (Mo) <1 ppm (0.1ppm) MoO42-
Chlorine (Cl) 100ppm Cl-
Nickel (Ni) 0.1-1.0ppm Ni2+
25.4 Mobility of nutrients in the soil and the plants

There is one important aspect that affects the availability of nutrients to plants. It is the mobility of the
nutrients in the soil and the plants:
25.4.1 Mobility in the soils

✓ Mobility of nutrients in the soils has considerable influence on availability of nutrients to plants and
method of fertilizer application.
✓ For plants to take up these nutrients, two processes are important:
(1) Movement of nutrient ions to the absorbing root surface
(2) Roots reaching the area where nutrients are available.
✓ In the case of immobile nutrients, the roots have to reach the area of nutrient availability and forage
volume is limited to root surface area.
✓ For highly mobile nutrients, the entire volume of the root zone is forage area.
Based on the mobility in the soil, the nutrient ions can be grouped as
mobile, less mobile and immobile.
The mobile nutrients are highly soluble and are not absorbed on clay
complex, e.g., NO3-, SO4 2-, BO32-, Cl-, Mn++.
Less mobile nutrients are also soluble, but they are absorbed on clay
complex and so their mobility is reduced, e.g., NH4+, K+, Ca+, Mg++, Cu++.
Immobile nutrients ions are highly reactive and get fixed in the soil, e.g.,
H2PO4-, HPO4 2-, Zn++.
25.5 Mobility in plants
✓ Knowledge of the mobility of nutrients in the plant helps in finding what nutrient is deficient. A mobile
nutrient in the plant, moves to the growing points in case of deficiency.
✓ Deficiency symptoms, therefore, appear on the lower leaves.
• N, P and K are highly mobile
• Zn is moderately mobile
• S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Mo and Cl, are less mobile
• Ca and B are immobile
25.5.1 How mobility of nutrients in plants has an effect on the appearance of deficiency
symptoms?
✓ The region of appearance of deficiency symptoms depends on mobility of nutrient in plants.
✓ The nutrient deficiency symptoms of N, P, K, Mg and Mo appear in lower leaves because of their
mobility inside the plants.
✓ These nutrients move from lower leaves to grouping leaves thus causing deficiency symptoms in lower
leaves.
✓ Zinc is moderately mobile in plants and deficiency symptoms, therefore, appear in middle leaves.
✓ The deficiency symptoms of less mobile elements (S, Fe, Mn and Cu) appear on new leaves.
✓ Since Ca and B are immobile in plants, deficiency symptoms appear on terminal buds.
In order to understand the importance of these nutrients in plants, we can also refer a law given by
Justus Von Liebig in 1862 which was known as the ‘Law of Minimum’.
25.5.2 Law of Minimum by Justus Von Liebig (1862)

✓ Justus von Liebig's Law of the Minimum states that yield is proportional to the amount of the most
limiting nutrient, whichever nutrient it may be.
✓ From this, it may be inferred that if the deficient nutrient is supplied, yields may be improved to the
point that some other nutrient is needed in greater quantity than the soil can provide, and the Law of
the Minimum would apply in turn to that nutrient.
26 Functions of the Nutrients
Nutrient Function
Carbon ✓ Basic molecular component of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.
Oxygen ✓ Oxygen is somewhat like carbon in that it occurs in virtually all organic compounds of living
organisms.
Hydrogen ✓ Hydrogen plays a central role in plant metabolism.

✓ Important in ionic balance and as main reducing agent and plays a key role in energy
relations of cells.
Nitrogen ✓ Nitrogen is a component of many important organic compounds ranging from proteins to
nucleic acids. Necessary for formation of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
✓ Essential for plant cell division, vital for plant growth
✓ Imparts green colour to the plant
✓ Constituent of protoplasm of chlorophyll
✓ Play an important role in synthesis of auxin
Phosphorus ✓ Most essential functions are energy storage and transfer of energy (component of ATP) and
acts as ‘energy currency’.
✓ Essential component of nucleic acid
✓ Necessary for root development
✓ Increases the disease resistance
✓ Required for grain formation and maturity of grains.
✓ Central role in plants is in energy transfer and protein metabolism.
Potassium ✓ Most essential function is stomata regulation. Helps in osmotic and ionic regulation.
✓ Provides disease resistance in plants
✓ Potassium functions as a cofactor or activator for many enzymes of carbohydrate and
protein metabolism.Helps in chlorophyll formation
✓ Reduces the transpiration rate and increases the photosynthetic rate
✓ It is useful in stress condition as it secretes 60 enzymes
Calcium ✓ Calcium is involved in cell division and plays a major role in the maintenance of membrane
integrity.
Magnesium ✓ Component of chlorophyll and a cofactor for many enzymatic reactions.
Sulfur ✓ Sulfur is somewhat like phosphorus in that it is involved in plant cell energetic. It is essential
constituents in some amino acids i.e..cystine, cysteine etc..
✓ It is essential for oil seeds and pulses because it improves oil content and protein content
in oil seeds and pulses respectively.
Iron ✓ An essential component of many heme and nonheme Fe enzymes and carries, including the
cytochromes (respiratory electron carriers) and the ferredoxins.
✓ The latter are involved in key metabolic function such as N fixation, photosynthesis, and
electron transfer. An essential component of many enzymes
✓ Essential for formation of chlorophyll
✓ Acts as an oxygen carrier
Zinc ✓ Essential component of servral dehydrogenases, and peptidases, including carbonic

anhydrase, alcohol dehydrogenase, glutamic dehydrogenase, and malic dehdrogenase,
among others. It is required for biosynthesis of hormones
✓ Aids in seed formation.
✓ Necessary for starch formation
Manganese ✓ Involved in the O2 – evolving system of photosynthesis and is a component of the enzymes
arginase and phospho transferases. Involved in the oxygen evolving system of
photosynthesis
✓ It is a cofactor of enzyme (thus functions as a part of certain enzyme systems)
Copper ✓ Constituent of a number of important enzymes, including cytochrome oxidize, ascorbic acid
oxidase, and laccase.
✓ Important for reproductive growth.
✓ Aids in root metabolism and helps in the utilization of proteins.
✓ Essential for photosynthesis and respiration
Boron ✓ Necessary for pollen germination

✓ Concerned with water reactions in the cells and regulates the intake of water into the cell
✓ Necessary for sugar translocation
✓ May act as regulator of potassium ratio and keeps calcium in soluble form within the plants
✓ The taste in cauliflower is due to the presence of Boron
Molybdenum ✓ Required for the normal assimilation of N in plants. An essential component of nitrate
reductase as well as nitrogenase (N2 fixation enzyme) which reduces nitrates to ammonium
in plant (Playing a role in Nitrogen Cycle).
✓ Helps in the Nitrogen fixation in Pulses.
✓ It converts inorganic phosphates to organic forms in the plant.
Chlorine ✓ Essential for photosynthesis and as an activator of enzymes involved in splitting water. It is
absorbed in the Cl- form.
✓ Essential for photosynthesis and as an activator of enzymes involved in splitting water.
✓ It also functions in osmoregulation of plants growing on saline soils.
Nickel ✓ It is a component of some plant enzymes, most important urease, which metabolizes urea
nitrogen into useable ammonia within the plant.
✓ It is also used as a catalyst in enzymes used to help legumes fix nitrogen.
26.1 Overall, based on the functions, nutrients are grouped into four: Basic
structure, energy use, charge balance and enzyme activity:
1. Elements that provide basic structure to the plant: Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen
2. Elements useful in energy storage, transfer and bonding: Nitrogen, Sulphur and Phosphorus. These
are accessory structural elements which are more active and vital for living tissues.
3. Elements necessary for charge balance: Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium. These elements act as
regulators and carriers.
4. Elements involved in enzyme activation and electron transport: Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo and Cl. These
elements are catalysers and activators.
27 Deficiency symptoms
✓ When nutrient is not present in sufficient quantity, plant growth is affected. Plants may not show
visual symptoms upto a certain level of nutrient content, but growth is affected, and this situation is
known as hidden hunger.
✓ When a nutrient level still falls, plants show characteristic symptoms of deficiency. These symptoms
though vary with crop, have a general pattern. These are generally marked by diseases and other
stresses and need careful and patient observation on more number of plants for typical symptoms.
The deficiency symptoms appear clearly in crops with larger leaves.
✓ Nutrient deficiency symptoms may be classified as follows:
1. Complete crop failure at the seedling stage.
2. Severe stunting of plants
3. Specific leaf symptoms appearing at varying times during the season.
4. Internal abnormalities such as clogged conductive tissues.
5. Delayed or abnormal maturity.
6. Obvious yield differences, with or without leaf symptoms.
7. Poor quality of crops, including differences in protein, oil, or starch content, and storage quality.
8. Yield differences deleted only by careful experimental work
Important terms:
✓ Chlorosis: It is a physiological disorder that occurs due to deficiency of mineral elements (eg; Mn, K,
Zn, Fe, Mg, S and N). Leaves or plants parts become abnormally yellow.
✓ Mottled surface: Surface marked with coloured spots (anthocyanin develops) eg. Due to deficiency
of N, Mg, P, S.
✓ Necrosis refers to patch of dead tissues, due to the deficiency of Mg, K, Zn, Ca and Mo.
27.1 Identification of deficiency symptoms

The deficiency symptoms can be distinguished based on the
✓ region of occurrence
✓ presence or absence of dead spots, and
✓ chlorosis of entire leaf or interveinal chlorosis
27.1.1 Deficiency symptoms on old leaves
The symptoms that appear on old leaves can be further distinguished based on the presence or absence
of dead spots.
27.1.1.1 Without dead spots

✓ The characteristic deficiency symptoms of nitrogen is uniform yellowing of the leaves including the
veins. The leaves become stiff and erect especially in cereals. The leaf may detach after a little forceful
pull in extreme deficiency in dicotyledonous crops. Cereal crops show characteristic ‘V’ shaped
yellowing at the tip of lower leaves.
✓ In phosphorous deficiency, leaves are small, erect, unusually dark green with a greenish, red, greenish
brown or purple tinge. The rear side develops bronzy appearance.
✓ Magnesium deficiency also causes yellowing but differs from that of nitrogen. The yellowing takes
place in between the veins and the veins remain green. The leaf is not erect. The leaf detaches very
easily and may be shed by blowing wind. Necrosis (death of tissues) occurs in extreme cases only in
the margins.
27.1.1.2 With dead spots

✓ In potassium deficiency, yellowing starts from tips or margins of leaves extending to the centre of
leaf base. These yellow parts become necrotic (dead spots) very soon. There is sharp difference
between green and yellow & yellow and necrotic portions. The dead spots appear particularly on
margins and tips.
✓ Molybdenum deficiency causes translucent spots of irregular shape in between the veins of leaves.
These spots are light green, yellow or brown in colour. The affected spots are impregnated with
resinous gum which exudes from rear side of the leaf from the reddish-brown spots.
27.1.2 Deficiency Symptoms on New Leaves

These symptoms may be spread over entire leaf or the veins may remain green.
27.1.2.1 Veins Remaining Green

✓ Veins remain green in iron and manganese deficiency.
✓ In iron deficiency, the principal veins remain conspicuously green and other portions of the leaf turn
yellow tending towards whiteness. Under severe deficiency, most part of the leaf becomes white.
✓ In manganese deficiency, the principal veins as well as the smaller veins are green. The interveinal
portion is yellowish, not tending towards whiteness. Dead spots also appear at a later stage. There is
a chequered appearance to the leaf.
27.1.2.2 Veins not remaining green

✓ The leaf becomes yellowish due to Sulphur deficiency but looks like nitrogen deficient leaf. The leaf
is small and the veins are paler than interveinal portion. No dead spots appear. Plants does not lose
the lower leaves as in the case of N deficiency.
✓ In copper deficiency, leaf is yellowish tending towards whiteness. In extreme deficiency, chlorosis of
veins occurs and leaf loses lustre. Leaf is unable to retain its turgidity and hence, wilting occurs. Leaf
detaches due to water-soaked conditions of the base of petiole.
27.1.3 Terminal buds
✓ The deficiency symptoms of Ca and B are many times seen on new leaves. However, it is easy to
recognize their deficiency symptoms on the terminal buds or growing points than on new leaves.
✓ In calcium deficiency, the bud leaf becomes chlorotic white with the base remaining green. About
one-third chlorotic portion of the tip hooks downward and becomes brittle. Death of terminal bud
occurs in extreme cases.
✓ Boron deficiency causes yellowing or chlorosis which starts from the base to tip. The tip becomes
very much elongated into a whip like structure and becomes brownish or blackish brown. Death of
the terminal bud occurs in extreme cases.
27.1.4 Deficiency on both old and new leaves

✓ In zinc deficiency, the leaf becomes narrow and small. Lamina becomes chlorotic, and veins remain
green. Subsequently, dead spots develop all over the leaf including veins, tips and margins.
✓ In cereals, zinc deficiency generally appears in 2-4 leaves from the top during vegetative stage. Plants
appear bushy due to reduced internodal elongation. Subsequently, panicle fails to merge completely
or emerges partially.
28 Detailed discussion of each nutrient
28.1 Nitrogen (N)
Deficiency: Uniform yellowing of older leaves including
veins, leaves that will eventually turn brown and die. Plant
growth is slow; plants will be stunted, and will mature early,
cereal crops show ‘V’ shaped pale yellowing at lower leaf tips.
Deficiency causes ‘Buttoning in cauliflower’.
Excess: Plants will be dark green in colour and new growth

will be succulent; susceptible if subjected to disease and
insect infestation; and subjected to drought stress, plants will
easily lodge. Blossom abortion and lack of fruit set will occur.
28.2 Phosphorous (P)
Deficiency: Plant growth will be slow and stunted, and the

older leaves will have a purple coloration, particularly on the
underside, rear sides develop bronzy appearance, premature
leaf falling is most common. Deficiency causes ‘Sickle leaf
disease’.
Excess: Phosphorus excess will not have a direct effect on the

plant but may show visual deficiencies of Zn, Fe and Mn. High
P may also interfere with the normal Ca nutrition, with typical
Ca deficiency symptoms occurring.
28.3 Potassium (K)
Deficiency: Yellowing starts from tip/margin of lower leaves

and extend to centre of leaf base. Yellowing parts became
dead spots (necrotic). The edges of older leaves will look
burned, a symptom known as scorch. Scorching and burning
on margins of bottom leaves are most common.
Excess: Plants will exhibit typical Mg, and possibly Ca

deficiency symptoms due to a cation imbalance.
28.4 Calcium (Ca)
Deficiency: Terminal bud leaf becomes chlorotic white with

base remains green. 1/3 chlorotic portion of tip hooks
downward and brittle. Death of terminal buds. Deficiency
causes ‘Blossom end rot’ in Tomato and Ber and ‘Tip hooking
in Cauliflower.
Excess: Plants may exhibit typical Mg Deficiency symptoms, and

when in high excess, K deficiency may also occur.
28.5 Magnesium (Mg)

Deficiency: Older leaves will be yellow between veins and veins remain
green (Interveinal chlorosis). Leaves become mottled. Also affects
chlorophyll formation. Deficiency causes ‘sand drawn disease’ in
tobacco. Excess: Results in cation imbalance showing signs of either a Ca
or K deficiency.
28.6 Sulphur (S)

Deficiency: Yellowing of leave, leaves are paler than interveinal portion. Occurrence of ‘Downward cupping of
leaves in tobacco and tea’.
Excess: A premature senescence of leaves may occur.
28.7 Boron (B)

Deficiency: Yellowing/chlorosis starts from base of terminal bud leaf and extends to tip results in appearance of ‘Whip
like structure’ and become brownish/blackish brown. Deficiency causes ‘Internal necrosis in Aonla and mango’, ‘Hen
and chicken disorder in grape’ and heart rot in sugar beet’.
Excess: Leaf tips and margin will turn brown and die.
Other disorders: Browning of hollow stem of cauliflower, Top sickness of tobacco, Die back and rosset of apples,
Fruit cracking of tomato, Hard fruit of citrus
28.8 Chlorine (Cl)
Deficiency: Younger leaves will be

chlorotic, and plants will easily wilt.
For wheat, a plant disease will
infest the plant when Cl is deficient.
Excess: Premature yellowing of the
lower leaves with burning of the
leaf margins and tips. Abscission
will occur, and plants will easily
wilt.
28.9 Copper (Cu)

Deficiency: Leaves including veins become yellow and
tending towards whiteness. Occurrence of ‘Marginal
leaf burning’. Deficiency causes ‘Dia back and Little leaf
disease in citrus.’
Excess: Fe deficiency may be induced with very slow

growth. Roots may be stunted.
Other disorder: Gummosis and Xanthomenia disease of

citrus.
28.10 Iron (Fe)
Deficiency: Veins remain conspicuously green and other

leaf portion turn yellow and tending towards whiteness.
Interveinal chlorosis will occur. Deficiency causes ‘Leaf
bleaching in sugarcane’ and ‘Ivory white of paddy’.
Excess: A bronzing of leaves with tiny brown spots on the

leaves, a typical symptom frequently occurring with rice.
28.11 Manganese (Mn)
Deficiency: Interveinal yellowing of young leaves but not tending

towards whiteness. Veins remain green. Deficiency causes ‘Marsh
disease in pea’
Excess: Older leaves will show brown spots surrounded by a

chlorotic zone and circle.
28.12 Molybdenum (Mo)
Deficiency: Older and middle leaves become chlorotic first.

Translucent spots of irregular shape between veins; spots become
impregnated with resinous gum. Occurrence of ‘typical interveinal
chlorosis’. Deficiency causes ‘Whiptail disease and browning in
cauliflower’.
Excess: Not of common occurrence.
28.13 Zinc (Zn)
Deficiency: Upper leaves will show chlorosis on midrib. Veins

green and dead spots occur in all parts of leaf (veins, tips and
margins). Plants appear bushy due to reduced intermodal
elongation. ‘White bud of maize’ is caused by the deficiency.
Excess: Fe deficiency will develop.
Other disorders:
✓ Khaira disease of rice;
✓ Little leaf of cotton and apple;
✓ Mottled leaf of citrus;
✓ Rosette formation
28.14Nickel (Ni):
Minor Nickel Deficiency displays no visual symptoms but can

reduce growth and yield of plants.
Significant nickel deficiency will display visual symptoms typically
in the old leaves of the plants.
Mostly whole leaf chlorosis accompanied by necrotic leaf tips is
observed.
29 Toxicity symptoms
When a nutrient is present in the soil in excess of plant’s requirement, the nutrient is absorbed in higher
amounts which causes imbalance of nutrients or disorder in physiological processes.
Unlike deficiency symptoms, toxicity symptoms are less common.
29.1 NITROGEN
Excess nitrogen causes delay in maturity and increases succulence. The adverse effects of excess nitrogen
are lodging and abortion of flowers.
29.2 PHOSPHOROUS
Excess phosphorous causes deficiency of iron and zinc. In some crops like maize, leaves develop purple
coloration and plant growth is stunted. In cotton, leaves become dark green in colour, maturity of bolls
gets delayed and stems turn red.
29.3 IRON
Tiny brown spots appear on the lower leaves of rice starting from tips and spreading towards bases. Leaves
usually remain green. In extreme case, the entire leaf turns purplish brown in colour.
29.4 MANGANESE
The plant is stunted, and tillering is often limited. Brown spots develop on the veins of the leaf blade and
leaf sheath, especially on lower leaves. Manganese toxicity occurs in lowland rice.
29.5 BORON
Chlorosis occurs at the tips of the older leaves, especially along the margins. Large, dark brown, elliptical
spots appear subsequently. The leaves ultimately turn brown and dry up.
30 Manures and Fertilizers

✓ Plant requires food/nutrients/elements for its growth and development which are absorbed
through soil. The nutrient supplying sources are manures and fertilizers.
✓ Application of manures and fertilizers to the soil is one of the important factors which help in
increasing the crop yield and to maintain the soil fertility. N, P and K are the 3 major elements
required for the crop growth.
✓ Manures are defined as the plant and animal wastes which are used as sources of plant nutrients.
30.1 Differences between Manures and Fertilizers

Characteristics Manures Fertilizer
Origin Plant or animal origin Chemical synthesized or manufactured

Nature Organic in nature Inorganic in nature
Type Natural product Artificial product
Conc. of nutrients Less concentrated More concentrated
Material Supply organic matter Supply inorganic matter
Nutrient availability Slowly available May or may not be readily available
Nutrients Supply all the primary nutrients Supply specific type of nutrients one, two or
including micronutrient three. Micro nutrients may or may not be
present
Effect of soil health Improves physical condition of soil Do not improve the physical condition of soil
Effect on plant growth No bad effect when applied in large Adverse effect on plant
quantities Whenever there is deficiency or excessive
application.
31 Classification of Manures
31.1.1 Green Manure (B)
Green undecomposed plant material used as manure is called green manure. It is obtained in two ways:
by growing green manure crops (otherwise called as Insitu GM) or by collecting green leaf, along with twigs
from plants grown in wastelands, field bunds and forest (Otherwise called as Exsitu GM)
31.1.1.1 Insitu Green Manures

✓ Green manuring is growing in the field plants usually belonging to leguminous family and incorporating
into the soil after sufficient growth.
✓ The plants that are grown for green manure known as green manure crops. The most important green
manure crops are sunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesara,clusterbeans and Sesbania rostrata.
✓ Sunnhemp is most outstanding green-manure, well suited to almost all parts of country.
✓ Plants at flowering stage contain the greatest bulk of succulent organic matter with low C: N ratio.
✓ The incorporation of the green manure crop at this stage allows a quick liberalisation of N in available
form.
✓ Green manuring gives 60-80kg N/ha on an average.
31.1.1.2 Exsitu Green Manures

✓ The practice of collecting green leaves from all the available sources and incorporating them in the
soil is called as green leaf manuring or Exsitu method of Green manuring.
✓ The following are few plants/trees whose leaves can be used for leaf manuring.
o Glyrcidia : Glyrcidia maculata
o Subabul : Leucaena leucocephala
o Agase : Sesbania grandiflora
o Pongamia : Pongamia glabra
o Eupatorium :Chromo laenaodorata
o Neem : Melia azadiracta
o Cassia : Cassia siamea
o Ipomea : Ipomoea carnea
o Yekka : Calotropis gigantia
31.1.1.3 Given below is the list of the NPK ratio of various Green Manures
Green manure fresh N P 2 O5 K2 O
Cowpea 0.70 0.10-0.2 0.60

Dhaincha 0.60 - -
Mothbean 0.80 - -
Greengram 0.72 0.18 0.53
Sunhemp 0.80 0.10 0.50
Blackgram 0.85 0.18 0.53
Plant residues
Rice hulls 0.3-0.5 0.2-0.5 0.3-0.5
Groundnut husks 1.6-1.8 0.3-0.5 1.0-1.7
Straw and stalky
Bajra 0.65 0.75 2.50
Jowar 0.40 0.23 2.17
Maize 0.42 1.57 1.67
Paddy 0.38 0.08 0.71
Arhar 1.10 0.58 1.28
Wheat 0.53 0.10 1.10
Sugarcane trash 0.35 0.10 0.60
Cotton 0.44 0.10 0.66
31.2 Concentrated Organic Manures

✓ Concentrated organic manures have higher nutrient content than bulky organic manure.
✓ The important concentrated organic manures are oilcakes, blood meal, fish manure etc.
✓ These are also known as organic nitrogen fertilizer.
✓ Before their organic nitrogen is used by the crops, it is converted through bacterial action into readily
usable ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen.
✓ These organic fertilizers are, therefore, relatively slow acting, but they supply available nitrogen for
a longer period.
✓ Guano is the accumulated excrement of birds and bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective
fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium: key nutrients
essential for plant growth.
31.2.1 Below is the list of the NPK ratios of important Concentrated Organic Manures
✓ Bird Guano: The excreta and dead remains of the bird. 7-8% N, 11-14% P2O5 & 2-3% K2O.
✓ Fish Guano: The refuse left over after the extraction of oil from the fish in factories, is dried in paved
yards and used as manure 7% N & 8% P2O5.
✓ Fish Manure: 4-10% N, 3-9% P2O5 & 0.3-1.5% K2O.
✓ Raw Bonemeal: 3-4% N, 20-25% P2O5.
✓ Steamed Bonemeal: 1-2% N, 25-30% P2O5.
✓ Blood meal: 13-20% N, rich in iron and its application gives a deep rich colour to the foliage, much
appreciated by ornamental gardeners.
✓ Meat meal/guano/tankage: 8-9% N and 7 % P2O5.
✓ Calcined bone: 37% P2O5.
✓ Oilcakes:
✓ Sunflower cake: 7.8% N
✓ Groundnut cake: 7.2% N, Cotton cake :6.5% N.
31.2.1.1 Oil Cakes

After oil is extracted from oilseeds, the remaining solid portion is dried as cake which can, be used as
manure. The oil cakes are of two types:
✓ Edible oil cakes which can be safely fed to livestock; e.g.: Groundnut cake, Coconut cake etc., and
✓ Non-edible oil cakes which are not fit for feeding livestock; e.g.: Castor cake, Neem cake, Mahua cake
etc.
✓ Both edible and non-edible oil cakes can be used as manures.
✓ However, edible oil cakes are fed to cattle and non-edible oil cakes are used as manures especially
for horticultural crops.
✓ Nutrients present in oil cakes, after mineralization, are made available to crops 7 to 10 days after
application.
✓ Oilcakes need to be well powdered before application for even distribution and quicker
decomposition.
32 Fertilizers
We have understood about fertilizers while discussing the differences between Manures and Fertilizers.
They are generally inorganic in origin and they supply one or more essential plant nutrients in large
proportions OR Fertilizer is any material of natural or synthetic origin added to the soil to supply one or
more plant nutrients.
32.1 Classification of Fertilizers

There are various types of classifications of Fertilizers based on various factors.
32.1.1 Based on the number of nutrients it provides

There are 3 major types of fertilizers based on the number of nutrients it provides
32.1.1.1 Straight fertilizers

Straight fertilizers are those which supply only one primary plant nutrient, namely nitrogen or phosphorus
or potassium. Eg. Urea, ammonium sulphate, potassium chloride and potassium sulphate.
32.1.1.2 Complex fertilizers

Complex fertilizers contain two or three primary plant nutrients of which two primary nutrients are in
chemical combination. These fertilisers are usually produced in granular form. Eg. Diammonium
phosphate, nitrophosphates and ammonium phosphate.
32.1.1.3 Mixed fertilizers

These are physical mixtures of straight fertilisers. They contain two or three primary plant nutrients. Mixed
fertilisers are made by thoroughly mixing the ingredients either mechanically or manually.
Binary fertilizers Fertilizers which contain two major nutrients e.g. Potassium Nitrate
Ternary fertilizers Fertilizers which contains three major nutrients e.g. Ammonium Potassium
Phosphate
Complete fertilizers Those fertilizers having all the three major nutrients viz. N, P & K e.g. IFFCO.
Low analysis fertilizers Contain less than 25 per cent of primary nutrients, e.g. SSP (16 per cent), Sodium
Nitrate (16 per cent).
High analysis fertilizers Contain more than 25 per cent of primary nutrients, e.g. Urea (46 per cent), DAP
(18 per cent N & 46 per cent P2O5)
32.1.2 Based on physical form

There are 2 major types of fertilizers based on the form of the fertilizer
32.1.2.1 Solid
Solid fertilizers are in several forms again viz. A. Powder (Example: Single Super Phosphate)
B. Crystals (Eaxmple: Ammonium sulphate)C. Prills (Example: Urea, Diammonium Phosphate)
D. Granules (Example: Urea granules) E. Supergranules (Example: Urea Supergranules) F. Briquettes
(Example: Urea briquettes)

32.1.2.2 Liquid fertilizers
✓ Liquid form fertilizers are applied with irrigation water or for direct application.
✓ Ease of handling, less labour requirement and possibility of mixing with herbicides have made the
liquid fertilisers more acceptable to farmers.
32.1.3 Based on the type of nutrients it provides

There are 2 major types of fertilizers based on the type of nutrient it provides. They are
1. Nitrogenous Fertilizers
2. Phosphatic Fertilizers
3. Potassic Fertilizers
4. Complex fertilizers
32.1.3.1 Nitrogenous fertilizer

✓ Nitrogenous fertilizers take the foremost place among fertilizers since the deficiency of nitrogen in
the soil is the foremost and crops respond to nitrogen better than to other nutrients.
✓ More than 80 per cent of the fertilizers used in this country are made up of nitrogenous fertilizers,
particularly urea.
A. Ammonical fertilizers
✓ Ammoniacal fertilizers contain the nutrient nitrogen in the form of ammonium or ammonia.
✓ Ammoniacal fertilizers are readily soluble in water and therefore readily available to crops.
✓ Except rice, all crops absorb nitrogen in nitrate form. These fertilizers are resistant to leaching loss, as
the ammonium ions get readily absorbed on the colloidal complex of the soil.
i. Ammonium sulphate [(NH4)2 S04]

✓ It is a white salt completely soluble in water containing 20.6 .per cent of nitrogen and 24.0 per cent
of sulphur.
✓ It is used advantageously in rice and jute cultivation.

✓ It is easy to handle and it stores well under dry conditions. But during rainy season, it sometimes forms
lumps.
✓ It can be applied before sowing, at the time of sowing or as a top-dressing to the growing crop.
ii. Ammonium chloride (NH4Cl)

✓ It is a white salt contains 26.0 per cent of nitrogen.
✓ It is usually not recommended for tomato, tobacco and such other crops as may be injured by chlorine.
iii. Anhydrous ammonia (NH4)

✓ It is a colourless and pungent gas containing 82.0 per cent nitrogen.
✓ It is the cheapest and can be applied directly to soil by injection using blade type applicator having
tubes.
✓ It becomes liquid (anhydrous ammonia) under suitable conditions of temperature and pressure.
B. Nitrate Fertilizers
✓ Nitrate fertilizers contain the nitrogen in the form of NO3
✓ These ions are easily lost by leaching because of the greater mobility of nitrate ions in the soil.
✓ Continuous use of these fertilizers may reduce the soil acidity as these nitrogenous fertilizers are basic
in their residual effect on soils.
i. Sodium nitrate (NaNO3)

✓ Sodium nitrate is a white salt containing about 15.6 per cent of nitrogen.
✓ It is completely soluble in water and readily available for the use of plants as such, without any
chemical change in the soil.
✓ It is easily lost by leaching and denitrification.
✓ When large quantities of sodium nitrate are added year after year, the nitrate ions are absorbed by
crops and sodium ions accumulate and affect the structure of the soil.
✓ Sodium nitrate is also known as chile salt peter or chilean nitrate.
✓ Sodium nitrate is particularly useful for acidic soils.
ii. Calcium nitrate [Ca (NO3)2]

✓ It is a white crystalline hygroscopic solid soluble in water containing 15.5 per cent nitrogen and 19.5
per cent calcium.
✓ The calcium is useful for maintaining a desirable soil pH.
ii. Potassium nitrate (KN03)

✓ The purified salt contains 13.0 per cent nitrogen and 36.4 per cent potassium.
✓ The nitrogen of the potassium nitrate has the same properties and value as that of the sodium nitrate.
C. Ammonical and nitrate fertilizers

✓ These fertilizers contain nitrogen in both ammonium and nitrate forms.
✓ The nitrates are useful for rapid utilization by crops and the ammonical is gradually available.

i. Ammonium nitrate (NH4N03)
✓ It is white, water soluble and hygroscopic crystalline salt containing 35 per cent nitrogen half as nitrate
nitrogen and half in the ammonium form.
✓ In the ammonium form, it cannot be easily leached from the soil.
✓ This fertilizer is quick-acting, but highly hygroscopic and not fit for storage.
✓ It has an acidulating effect on the soil.
✓ It is dangerous in pure form because of explosion hazard.
ii. Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN)

✓ Calcium ammonium nitrate is a fine free-flowing, light brown or grey granular fertilizer, containing 26
per cent of nitrogen.
✓ It is almost neutral and can be safely applied even to acid soils.
✓ Half of its total nitrogen is in the ammonical form and half is in nitrate form.
✓ It is made harmless by adding lime.
iii. Ammonium sulphate nitrate [(NH4)2S04 NH4NO3]
✓ It contains 26 per cent nitrogen, three fourths of it in the ammoniacal form and the rest (6.5 per cent)
as nitrate nitrogen.
✓ In addition to nitrogen it contains 12.1percent sulphur.
✓ It is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate.
✓ It is available in a white crystalline form or as dirty-white granules.
✓ It is readily soluble in water and is very quick-acting.
✓ Its keeping quality is good and it is useful for all crops.
✓ Its acid effect on the soils is only one-half of that of ammonium sulphate.
✓ It can be applied before sowing, at sowing time or as a top-dressing.
D. Amide Fertilizers
✓ Amide fertilizers are readily soluble in water and easily decomposable in the soil.
✓ The amide form of nitrogen is easily changed to ammoniacal and then to nitrate form in the soil.
i. Urea [CO (NH2)2]

✓ It is the most concentrated solid nitrogenous fertilizer, containing 46 per cent nitrogen.
✓ It is a white crystalline substance readily soluble in water.
✓ It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and has to be kept in moisture proof containers. It is readily
converted to ammoniacal and nitrate forms in the soil.
✓ The nitrogen in urea is readily fixed in the soil in an ammoniacal form and is not lost in drainage.
✓ Urea sprays are readily absorbed by plants.
✓ It may be applied at sowing or as, a top-dressing.
✓ It is suitable for most crops and can be applied to all soils.
ii. Calcium cyanamide (CaCN2)

✓ Calcium cyanamide or nitrolime contains 20.6 per cent of nitrogen.
✓ It is a greyish white powdery material that decomposed in moist soil giving rise to ammonia.
32.1.3.2 Phosphatic fertilizers

✓ Phosphatic fertilizers are chemical substances that contain the nutrient phosphorus in absorbable
form (Phosphate anions) or that yield after conversion in the soil.
i. Super phosphate [Ca (H2PO4)2)

✓ This is the most important phosphatic fertilizer in use.
✓ It contains 16 Per cent P2O5 in available form.
✓ It is a grey ash like powder with good keeping or storage qualities.
✓ Phosphatic fertilizer hardly moves in the soil and hence they are placed in the, root zone.
ii. Triple super phosphate

✓ The concentrated super phosphate is called as Triple super phosphate and it contains 46 per cent
P2O5.
✓ This fertilizer is suitable for all crops and all soils.
✓ In acid soils, it should be used in conjunction with organic manure.
✓ It can be applied before or at sowing or transplanting.
32.1.3.3 Potassic fertilizers

✓ Potassic fertilizers are chemical substances containing potassium in absorbed form (K+).
✓ There are two potassium fertilizers viz.,
o Murate of Potash (KCI)
o Sulphate of Potash (K2S04).
✓ They are water soluble and so are readily available to plants.
i. Potassium chloride (KCI)

✓ Potassium chloride or Murate of Potash is a white or red, crystal containing 60.0 per cent K2O.
✓ It is completely soluble in water and therefore readily available to the crops.
✓ It is not lost from the soil, as it is absorbed on the colloidal surfaces.
✓ It can be applied at sowing or before or after sowing.
✓ The chlorine content is about 47.0 per cent.
✓ Its chlorine content is objectionable to some crops like tobacco, potato, etc where quality is the
consideration.
ii. Potassium sulphate (K2S04)

✓ Potassium sulphate or sulphate of potash is a white salt and contains 48 per cent K2O.
✓ It is soluble in water and therefore readily available to the crop.
✓ It does not produce any acidity or alkalinity in the soil.
✓ It is prefered for fertilization of crops like tobacco, potato etc., where quality is of prime importance.
✓ It is costly because it is made by treating potassium chloride with magnesium sulphate.

32.2 Secondary major-nutrient fertilizers
Other than the NPK fertilizers, there are various other fertilizers related to other nutrients also. Let us
study them.
32.2.1 Magnesium fertilizers

✓ These are chemical substances containing the nutrient magnesium in the form of magnesium cations
(Mg2+).
✓ The utilization rate of magnesium fertilizers decreases with increasing potassium supplies.
✓ Example: Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4)
32.2.2 Calcium fertilizers

✓ These are the chemical substances containing the nutrient calcium in absorbable calcium cations
('Ca2+) form.
✓ The raw material of calcium fertilizers is lime found in nature.
✓ Eg: Calcium Chloride (CaCl2 6H2O)
o It contains at least 15 per cent calcium.
o It is highly water soluble and can, therefore, be dissolved for application as a foliar nutrient.
32.2.3 Sulphate Fertilizers

✓ These are chemical substances containing the nutrient sulphur in the form of absorbable sulphate
anions (SO42-).
✓ The sulphur requirements of plants are about two third of their phosphorus requirements.
✓ Substantial sulphur supplies occur as minor constituents of various N, P and K fertilizers.
✓ Fertilization with sulphur becomes necessary with increasing removal from the soil with rising
agricultural production especially in plants with high sulphur requirements. Eg: Mustard
32.3 Micronutrient Fertilizers

✓ The importance of fertilization of crops with micro-nutrients is increasing mainly because of greater
removal from the soil, intensive liming of soil, intensive drainage of soil, higher use of nitrogenous,
phosphatic and potassic fertilizers etc.
✓ There are seven essential micronutrients required by plants.
✓ These are iron, manganese, zinc, copper, chlorine, boron and molybdenum.
32.3.1 lron fertilizers

✓ These are generally water soluble substances, predominantly sprayed as foliar nutrients on the crops.
✓ Plants absorb iron in the form of Fe2+.
✓ Commonly used iron fertilizers are as follows.
a. Ferrous sulphate (FeSO4 7H2O) It is a water soluble fertilizer containing 20 % Fe
b. Fe – Chelates : Fe-EDTA, Fe-EDDPA Suitable for application as foliar nutrients
32.3.2 Manganese fertilizers

The manganese (Mn) fertilizers are as follows

a. Manganous Sulphate (MnSO4 7H2O)
✓ It is the well known water soluble Mn fertilizer.
✓ It is pink salt containing 24 % Mn.
✓ It dissolves in water and is suitable for foliar application.
b. Mn – chelates (Mn – DTA)

✓ It contains 13 % Mn.
✓ It plays an important role in the crop fertilization.
32.3.3 Zinc fertilizers

Zinc (Zn) fertilizers play an important role in Zn deficient areas.
a. Zinc sulphate (ZnSO4 7H2O)

✓ It is water soluble whitish salt containing 23 % Zn.
✓ It is applied as foliar nutrient.
✓ Its acidic action causes corrosion damage to plants
b. Zinc-oxide (ZnO)
✓ It contains 70 % Zn.
✓ It is slightly soluble in water
✓ It is used as slow acting foliar nutrient
32.3.4 Copper Fertilizers

Copper fertilizers have been used to correct copper (Cu) deficiencies.
a. Copper sulphate (CuSO4 5H2O) – 25 % Cu
b. Copper sulphate (CuSO4 H2O) – 36 % Cu
32.3.5 Boron Fertilizers
a. Borax (Na2B4O 10H2O)

✓ It contains 11 % B
✓ It is water soluble white salt
✓ It can be applied as a soil dressing or foliar application
b. Boric acid (H3BO3)

✓ It contains 18 % B
✓ It is a white crystalline powder
✓ It is applied as a foliar nutrient
32.3.6 Molybdenum Fertilizers
a. Sodium molybdate (Na2MoO42H2O) It contains 40 % Mo

b. Ammonium molybdate (NH4)6Mo7O244H2O)
✓ It contains 54 % Mo
✓ These are water soluble salts which contain Mo
✓ They are suitable for soil application and foliar application as well
Let us now go through few important terms related to Fertilizers
32.4 Fertiliser Grade

✓ Fertiliser grade refers to the guaranteed minimum percentage of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and
potash (K) contained in fertiliser material.
✓ The numbers representing the grade are separated by hyphens and are always stated in the sequence
of N, P, and
✓ For example, label on the fertilizer bag with a grade 28-28-0 indicates that 100 kg of fertiliser material
contains 28 kg of N, 28 kg of P and no potash.
✓ Different grades of fertilisers are available in India. Some of them are:
o 28-28-0
o 20-20-0
o 14-35-14
o 17-17-17
o 14-28-14 etc.
32.5 Fertilizer Ratio

It refers to the ratio of the percentage of N, P2O5 and K2O in the fertilizer mixture e.g., the fertilizer grade
12-6-6 has a fertilizer ratio of 2:1:1.
32.6 Suppliers of Plant Nutrients

These are straight fertilizers added to supply the plant nutrient mentioned in the grade.
32.7 Conditioners
These are low grade organic materials like peat soil, paddy husk, groundnut hulls etc., which are added to
fertilizer mixtures during their preparation for reducing hygroscopicity and to improve their physical
condition. Examples: Peat soil, Paddy husk
32.8 Filler
A filler is a weight make material like sand, soil, coal powder etc, added to the fertilizer ingredients so as
to produce a mixture of the desired grade.
32.9 Neutralizers of Residual Acidity

These are the materials like dolomite, lime stone etc, added in fertilizer mixtures to counteract the acidity
of nitrogenous fertilizers.
Given below is the list of various categories of fertilizers and their compositions under one table

Fertilizers Nutrient content (%)
N P2O5 K2O Remarks

Nitrogenous fertilizers:
The ultimate source of nitrogen is
atmosphere and immediate and
important source of nitrogen is organic
matter.
(A) Nitrate form Highly mobile in soil;
Basic in nature;
1. Sodium nitrate 16.0 - - Good for acidic soils
2. Calcium nitrate 15.5 - -
(B) Ammonical form Suitable for water logged soils;
Acidic in nature;
1. Ammonium chloride 26 - - Used for coconut, oil palm and
also in paddy.
2. Ammonium sulphate 20.6 - - Oldest N. fertilizer, best for top
dressing in rice;
Contains 24.5% Sulphur;
Also suitable for tea, groundnut
and sugarcane;
3. Anhydrous ammonia 81.0 - - Most concentrated
(C) Ammonical nitrate form (Both
NH4+ and NO3- Nitrogen fertilizer)
1. Ammonium nitrate 33-34 - - Fire hazardous fertilizer
(explosive fertilizer and highly
hygroscopic in nature)
2. Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) 26.0 - - Commonly known as Kisan
Khad; Neutral in nature
(D) Amide form
1. Urea (NH2 CO NH2) 46.0 - - Only organic N fertilizer,
cheapest & suitable for foliar
spray;
It is highly hygroscopic
therefore produced in granular
and pellet form; Continuous use
of urea for several years results
in reduced soil pH;
Neem coated urea – Because of
the slow release property, it

increases the nitrogen use
efficiency.
2. Calcium cyanamide 21.0 - -
(Inorganic form)
Phosphatic fertilizers:
(A) Water soluble

1. Superphosphate (Single) - 16-18 - Oldest commercially available
fertilizer
2. Superphosphate (double) - 32.0 -
3. Superphosphate (triple) - 46-48 -
4. DAP (Di-ammonium phosphate) 18 46
complex
5. MAP (Mono-ammonium 11 48
phosphate)
(B) Citric acid soluble
1. Di calcium phosphate - 34-39 -
2. Basic slag - 14-18 -
3. Bone meal - 23-30 - Suitable for acidic & long
duration crops
(C) Insoluble
1. Rock phosphate - 20-40 -
2. Rock bone meal - 20-25 -
3. Steamed bone meal - 22.0 -
**Biosuper: Rock phosphate + Sulphur + S oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus); It is a form of organic fertilizer
mostly found in Australia.
Potassic fertilizers:
1. Murate of potash (MOP)/KCI - 60.0 This fertilizer is made for acidic
and heavy soils but not for
alkaline soils.
2. Sulphate of potash - 48.0
3. Potassium nitrate - 44.0 Also known as salt petre or
nitre;
Excellent source of potassium
and nitrogen and mainly used
for fruit trees, tobacco and
vegetables.
33 Methods of fertilizer application

We shall have a look at the various methods of application of solid fertilizers and liquid fertilizers

33.1 Application of Solid Fertilizers
The different methods of solid fertilizer application are as follows
1. Broadcasting
2. Placement
3. Band Placement
4. Pellet application
33.2 Broadcasting
✓ It refers to spreading fertilizers uniformly all over the field.
✓ Suitable for crops with dense stand, the plant roots permeate the whole volume of the soil, large
doses of fertilizers are applied and insoluble phosphatic fertilizers such as rock phosphate are used.
✓ Broadcasting of fertilizers is of two types.
33.2.1 Broadcasting at sowing or planting (Basal application)
The main objectives of broadcasting the fertilizers at sowing time are to uniformly distribute the fertilizer over
the entire field and to mix it with soil.

33.2.2 Top Dressing
It is the broadcasting of fertilizers particularly

nitrogenous fertilizers in closely sown crops like
paddy and wheat, with the objective of
supplying nitrogen in readily available form to
growing plants.
33.2.2.1 Disadvantages of broadcasting

The main disadvantages of application of fertilizers through broadcasting are:
✓ Nutrients cannot be fully utilized by plant roots as they move laterally over long distances.
✓ The weed growth is stimulated all over the field.
✓ Nutrients are fixed in the soil as they come in contact with a large mass of soil.
33.3 Placement
✓ It refers to the placement of fertilizers in soil at a specific place with or without reference to the
position of the seed.
✓ Placement of fertilizers is normally recommended when the quantity of fertilizers to apply is small,
development of the root system is poor, soil have a low level of fertility and to apply phosphatic and
potassic fertilizer.
✓ The most common methods of placement are as follows:
33.3.1 Plough sole placement

✓ In this method, fertilizer is placed at the bottom of the plough furrow in a continuous band during the
process of ploughing.
✓ Every band is covered as the next furrow is turned.
✓ This method is suitable for areas where soil becomes quite dry upto few cm below the soil surface
and soils having a heavy clay pan just below the plough sole layer.
33.3.2 Deep placement

✓ It is the placement of ammoniacal nitrogenous fertilizers in the reduction zone of soil particularly in
paddy fields, where ammoniacal nitrogen remains available to the crop.
✓ This method ensures better distribution of fertilizer in the root zone soil and prevents loss of nutrients
by run-off.
33.3.3 Localized placement

✓ It refers to the application of fertilizers into the soil close to the seed or plant in order to supply the
nutrients in adequate amounts to the roots of growing plants.
✓ The common methods to place fertilizers close to the seed or plant are as follows:

33.3.3.1 Drilling
✓ In this method, the fertilizer is applied at the time of sowing by means of a seed-cum-fertilizer drill.
This places fertilizer and the seed in the same row but at different depths.
✓ Although this method has been found suitable for the application of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers
in cereal crops, but sometimes germination of seeds and young plants may get damaged due to higher
concentration of soluble salts.
33.3.3.2 Side dressing

✓ It refers to the spread of fertilizer in between the rows and around the plants. The common methods
of side-dressing are
o Placement of nitrogenous fertilizers by hand in between the rows of crops like maize,
sugarcane, cotton etc., to apply additional doses of nitrogen to the growing crops and
o Placement of fertilizers around the trees like mango, apple, grapes, papaya etc.
33.4 Band placement

If refers to the placement of fertilizer in bands. Band placement is of two types.
33.4.1 Hill placement

✓ It is practiced for the application of fertilizers in orchards. In this method, fertilizers are placed close
to the plant in bands on one or both sides of the plant.
✓ The length and depth of the band varies with the nature of the crop.
33.4.2 Row placement

✓ When the crops like sugarcane, potato, maize, cereals etc., are sown close together in rows, the
fertilizer is applied in continuous bands on one or both sides of the row, which is known as row
placement.
Row Placement Hill Placement
33.5 Pellet application

✓ It refers to the placement of nitrogenous fertilizer in the form of pellets 2.5 to 5 cm deep between the
rows of the paddy crop.

✓ The fertilizer is mixed with the soil in the ratio of 1:10 and made small pellets of convenient size to
deposit in the mud of paddy fields.
33.6 Advantages of placement of fertilizers

The main advantages are as follows:
✓ When the fertilizer is placed, there is minimum contact between the soil and the fertilizer, and thus
fixation of nutrients is greatly reduced.
✓ The weeds all over the field can not make use of the fertilizers.
✓ Residual response of fertilizers is usually higher.
✓ Utilization of fertilizers by the plants is higher.
✓ Loss of nitrogen by leaching is reduced.
✓ Being immobile, phosphates are better utilized when placed.
33.7 Methods of applying Liquid fertilizers

Following are the common methods of applying liquid fertilizers
33.7.1 Starter solutions

✓ It refers to the application of solution of N, P2O5 and K2O in the ratio of 1:2:1 and 1:1:2 to young
plants at the time of transplanting, particularly for vegetables.
✓ Starter solution helps in rapid establishment and quick growth of seedlings.
The disadvantages of starter solutions are
✓ Extra labour is required.

✓ The fixation of phosphate is higher.
33.7.2 Foliar application

✓ It refers to the spraying of fertilizer solutions containing one or more nutrients on the foliage of
growing plants.
✓ Several nutrient elements are readily absorbed by leaves when they are dissolved in water and
sprayed on them.
✓ The concentration of the spray solution has to be controlled, otherwise serious damage may result
due to scorching of the leaves.
✓ Foliar application is effective for the application of minor nutrients like iron, copper, boron, zinc and
manganese. Sometimes insecticides are also applied along with fertilizers.
33.7.3 Application through irrigation water (Fertigation)

✓ It refers to the application of water soluble fertilizers through irrigation water.
✓ The nutrients are thus carried into the soil in solution.
✓ Generally nitrogenous fertilizers are applied through irrigation water.

33.7.4 Injection into soil
✓ Liquid fertilizers for injection into the soil may be of either pressure or non-pressure types.
✓ Non-pressure solutions may be applied either on the surface or in furrows without appreciable loss
of plant nutrients under most conditions.
✓ Anhydrous ammonia must be placed in narrow furrows at a depth of 12-15 cm and covered
immediately to prevent loss of ammonia.
33.7.5 Aerial application

In areas where ground application is not practicable, the fertilizer solutions are applied by aircraft
particularly in hilly areas, in forest lands, in grass lands or in sugarcane fields etc.
Till now, you have studied about various types of manures and fertilizers. Now, let us investigate about a
different class of Fertilizers viz., Biofertilizers.

34 Biofertilizers
✓ Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of
microorganisms that help crop plants’ uptake of nutrients by their interactions in the rhizosphere
when applied through seed or soil.
✓ They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of
nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants.
✓ Use of biofertilizers is one of the important components of integrated nutrient management, as
they are cost effective and renewable source of plant nutrients to supplement the chemical
fertilizers for sustainable agriculture.
✓ Several microorganisms and their association with crop plants are being exploited in the production
of biofertilizers. They can be grouped in different ways based on their nature and function.
S. No. Groups Examples

N2 fixing Biofertilizers
1. Free-living Azotobacter, Beijerinkia, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Anabaena, Nostoc,
2. Symbiotic Rhizobium, Frankia, Anabaena azollae
3. Associative Azospirillum
Symbiotic
P Solubilizing Biofertilizers
1. Bacteria Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum, Bacillus subtilis
Bacillus circulans, Pseudomonas striata
2. Fungi Penicillium sp, Aspergillus awamori
P Mobilizing Biofertilizers
1. Arbuscular Glomus sp.,Gigaspora sp.,Acaulospora sp.,
mycorrhiza Scutellospora sp. & Sclerocystis sp.
2. Ectomycorrhiza Laccaria sp., Pisolithus sp., Boletus sp., Amanita sp.
3. Ericoid Pezizella ericae
mycorrhizae
4. Orchid Rhizoctonia solani
mycorrhiza
Biofertilizers for Micro nutrients
1. Silicate and Zinc Bacillus sp.
solubilizers
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria
1. Pseudomonas Pseudomonas fluorescens
Now, let us try to understand few important Biofertilizers
34.1 Rhizobium
✓ Rhizobium is a soil habitat bacterium, which can able to colonize the legume roots and fixes the
atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically.
✓ They are the most efficient biofertilizer as per the quantity of nitrogen fixed concerned.

✓ They have seven genera and highly specific to form nodule in legumes, referred as cross inoculation
group.
✓ Rhizobium inoculant was first made in USA and commercialized by private enterprise in 1930s and
the strange situation at that time has been chronicled by Fred (1932).
34.2 Azotobacter
✓ Of the several species of Azotobacter, A. chroococcum happens to be the dominant inhabitant in
arable soils capable of fixing N2 (2-15 mg N2 fixed /g of carbon source) in culture media.
✓ The bacterium produces abundant slime which helps in soil aggregation. The numbers of A.
chroococcum in Indian soils rarely exceeds 105/g soil due to lack of organic matter and the presence
of antagonistic microorganisms in soil.
34.3 Azospirillum
✓ Azospirillum lipoferum and A. brasilense (Spirillum lipoferum in earlier literature) are primary
inhabitants of soil, the rhizosphere and intercellular spaces of root cortex of graminaceous plants.
They perform the associative symbiotic relation with the graminaceous plants.
✓ Five species of Azospirillum have been described to date A. brasilense, A.lipoferum, A.amazonense,
A.halopraeferens and A.irakense.
✓ Apart from nitrogen fixation, growth promoting substance production (IAA), disease resistance and
drought tolerance are some of the additional benefits due to Azospirillum inoculation.
34.4 Cyanobacteria
✓ Both free-living as well as symbiotic cyanobacteria (blue green algae) have been harnessed in rice
cultivation in India.
✓ The benefits due to algalization could be to the extent of 20-30 kg N/ha under ideal conditions but
the labour oriented methodology for the preparation of BGA biofertilizer is in itself a limitation.
✓ Quality control measures are not usually followed except perhaps for random checking for the
presence of desired species qualitatively.
34.5 Azolla
✓ Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in association
with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae.
✓ Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to contribute 40-60 kg N/ha per rice crop.
34.6 Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM)

✓ Several soil bacteria and fungi, notably species of Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Penicillium, Aspergillus etc.
secrete organic acids and lower the pH in their vicinity to bring about dissolution of bound
phosphates in soil.
✓ Increased yields of wheat and potato were demonstrated due to inoculation of peat based cultures
of Bacillus polymyxa and Pseudomonas striata.

34.7 AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) fungi
✓ The transfer of nutrients mainly phosphorus and also zinc and sulphur from the soil milleu to the cells
of the root cortex is mediated by intracellular obligate fungal endosymbionts of the genera Glomus,
Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Sclerocysts and Endogone which possess vesicles for storage of nutrients and
arbuscles for funneling these nutrients into the root system.
✓ By far, the commonest genus appears to be Glomus, which has several species distributed in soil.
34.8 Silicate solubilizing bacteria (SSB)

✓ Microorganisms are capable of degrading silicates and aluminum silicates. During the metabolism of
microbes several organic acids are produced and these have a dual role in silicate weathering.
✓ They supply H+ ions to the medium and promote hydrolysis and the organic acids like citric, oxalic
acid, Keto acids and hydroxy carbolic acids which from complexes with cations, promote their removal
and retention in the medium in a dissolved state.
✓ The studies conducted with a Bacillus sp. isolated from the soil of granite crusher yard showed that
the bacterium is capable of dissolving several silicate minerals under in vitro condition.
✓ Rice responded well to application of organic sliceous residue like rice straw, rice husk and black ash
@ 5 t/ha. Combining SSB with these residues further resulted in increased plant growth and grain
yield. This enhancement is due to increased dissolution of silica and nutrients from the soil.
34.9 Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)

✓ The group of bacteria that colonize roots or rhizosphere soil and beneficial to crops are referred to
as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).
✓ The PGPR inoculants currently commercialized that seem to promote growth through at least one
mechanism; suppression of plant disease (termed Bioprotectants), improved nutrient acquisition
(termed Biofertilizers), or phytohormone production (termed Biostimulants).
Despite of promising results, biofertilizers has not got widespread application in agriculture mainly
because of the variable response of plant species or genotypes to inoculation depending on the bacterial
strain used.
Biofertilizers are such as Rhizobium, Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria provide nitrogen and
phosphorous nutrients to crop plants through nitrogen fixation and phosphorous solubilization processes.
These Biofertilizers could be effectively utilized for rice, pulses, millets, cotton, sugarcane, vegetable and
other horticulture crops.
Biofertilizers is one of the prime input in organic farming not only enhances the crop growth and yield but
also improves the soil health and sustain soil fertility.
The biofertilizers discussed above are in powder form. Let us now see about liquid bio fertilizers. These
are the biofertilizers which are in liquid form.
Let us look at the application methodology of liquid bio fertilizers.

34.10 Liquid Bio-fertilizer application methodology
There are three ways of using Liquid Bio-fertilizers
1. Seed treatment
2. Root dipping
3. Soil application
34.10.1 Seed Treatment

✓ Seed Treatment is a most common method adopted for all types of inoculants. The seed treatment
is effective and economic.
✓ For small quantity of seeds (up to 5 kgs quantity) the coating can done in a plastic bag.
✓ The bag should be squeezed for 2 minutes or more until all the seed are uniformly wetted. Then bag
is opened, inflated again and shaked gently. Stop shaking after each seeds gets a uniform layer of
culture coating. The bag is opened and the seed is dried under the shade for 20-30 minutes.
✓ For large amount of seeds coating can be done in a bucket and inoculant can be mixed directly with
hand. Seed Treatment with Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, along with PSM can be done.
✓ The seed treatment can be done with any of two or more bacteria. There is no side (antagonistic)
effect. The important things that has to be kept in mind are that the seeds must be coated first
with Rhizobium, Azotobacter or Azospirillum.
✓ When each seed get a layer of above bacteria then PSM inoculant has to be coated as outer layer.
This method will provide maximum number of each bacteria required for better results.
✓ Treatments of seed with any two bacteria will not provide maximum number of bacteria on
individual seed.
34.10.2 Root dipping

✓ For application of Azospirillum/ /PSM on paddy transplating/ vegetable crops this method is used.
✓ The required quantity of Azospirillum/ /PSM has to be mixed with 5-10 litres of water at one corner
of the field and the roots of seedlings has to be dipped for a minimum of half-an-hour before
transplantation.
34.10.3 Soil application

✓ Use 200ml of PSM per acre. Mix PSM with 400 to 600 kgs of Cow dung FYM along with ½ bag of rock
phosphate if available.
✓ The mixture of PSM, cow dung and rock phosphate have to be kept under any tree or under shade
for over night and maintain 50% moisture. Use the mixture as soil application in rows or during
leveling of soil.
34.11 Dosage of liquid Bio-fertilizers in different crops

Recommended Liquid Bio-fertilizers and its application method, quantity to be used for different crops
are as follows:

Recommended Bio- Application Quantity to
Crop
fertilizer method be used
Field crops
Pulses
Chickpea, pea, Groundnut, soybean, beans, Lentil, Rhizobium Seed treatment 200ml/acre
lucern, Berseem, Green gram, Black gram, Cowpea
and pigeon pea
Cereals
Azotobacter/Azospirillum Seed treatment 200ml/acre
Wheat, oat, barley
Rice Azospirillum Seed treatment 200ml/acre
Oil seeds
Azotobacter Seed treatment 200ml/acre
Mustard, seasum, Linseeds, Sunflower, castor
Millets
Azotobacter Seed treatment 200ml/acre
Pearl millets, Finger millets, kodo millet
Maize and Sorghum Azospirillum Seed treatment 200ml/acre
Forage crops and Grasses
Bermuda grass, Sudan grass, Napier Grass , Azotobacter Seed treatment 200ml/acre
ParaGrass, StarGrass etc.
Other Misc. Plantation Crops Seedling
Azotobacter 500ml/acre
Tobacco treatment
Tea, Coffee Azotobacter Soil treatment 400ml/acre
Rubber, Coconuts Azotobacter Soil treatment 2-3 ml/plant
Agro-ForestRY/Fruit Plants
All fruit/agro-forestry (herb,shrubs, annuals and
2-3 ml/plant
perennial) plants for fuel wood fodder, Azotobacter Soil treatment
at nursery
fruits,gum,spice,leaves,flowers,nuts and seeds
puppose
Leguminous plants/ trees Rhizobium Soil treatment 1-2 ml/plant
35 Vermicompost
✓ Earthworms have been on the Earth for over 20 million years. In this time they have faithfully done
their part to keep the cycle of life continuously moving.
✓ Their purpose is simple but very important. They are nature’s way of recycling organic nutrients
from dead tissues back to living organisms.
✓ Earthworms live in the soil and feed on decaying organic material. After digestion, the undigested
material moves through the alimentary canal of the earthworm, a thin layer of oil is deposited on
the castings. This layer erodes over a period of 2 months.
✓ So although the plant nutrients are immediately available, they are slowly released to last longer.

✓ The process in the alimentary canal of the earthworm transforms organic waste to natural fertilizer.
The chemical changes that organic wastes undergo include deodorizing and neutralizing. This means
that the pH of the castings is 7 (neutral) and the castings are odorless.
✓ Vermicomposting is the process of turning organic debris into worm castings. The worm castings
are very important to the fertility of the soil. The castings contain high amounts of nitrogen,
potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. Castings contain: 5 times the available nitrogen,
7 times the available potash, and 1 ½ times more calcium than found in good topsoil.
✓ Worm castings can hold close to nine times their weight in water. “Vermiconversion,” or using
earthworms to convert waste into soil additives, is an effective way to deal with farm waste also.
✓ A recommended rate of vermicompost application is 15-20 percent.
Let us now have a look at how vermicomposting is done
35.1 Materials for preparation of Vermicompost

Any types of biodegradable wastes
✓ Crop residues
✓ Weed biomass
✓ Vegetable waste
✓ Leaf litter
✓ Hotel refuse
✓ Waste from agro-industries
✓ Biodegradable portion of urban and rural wastes
35.2 Phase of vermicomposting

Phase 1 Processing involving collection of wastes, shredding, mechanical separation of the metal,
glass and ceramics and storage of organic wastes.
Phase 2 Pre digestion of organic waste for twenty days by heaping the material along with cattle
dung slurry. This process partially digests the material and fit for earthworm
consumption. Cattle dung and biogas slurry may be used after drying. Wet dung should
not be used for vermicompost production.
Phase 3 Preparation of earthworm bed. A concrete base is required to put the waste for
vermicompost preparation. Loose soil will allow the worms to go into soil and also while
watering, all the dissolvable nutrients go into the soil along with water.
Phase 4 Collection of earthworms after vermicompost collection. Sieving the composted material
to separate fully composted material. The partially composted material will be again put
into vermicompost bed.
Phase 5 Storing the vermicompost in proper place to maintain moisture and allow the beneficial
microorganisms to grow.

35.3 What Worms are Needed?
The Five Essentials
Compost worms need five basic things:
1. An hospitable living environment, usually called “bedding”
2. A food source
3. Adequate moisture (greater than 50% water content by weight)
4. Adequate aeration
5. Protection from temperature extremes
35.3.1 Bedding
Bedding is any material that provides the worms with a relatively stable habitat. This habitat must
have the following characteristics:
35.3.1.1 High absorbency

Worms breathe through their skins and therefore must have a moist environment in which to live. If a
worm’s skin dries out, it dies. The bedding must be able to absorb and retain water fairly well if the
worms are to thrive.
35.3.1.2 Good bulking potential

✓ If the material is too dense to begin with, or packs too tightly, then the flow of air is reduced or
eliminated. Worms require oxygen to live, just as we do.
✓ Different materials affect the overall porosity of the bedding through a variety of factors, including
the range of particle size and shape, the texture, and the strength and rigidity of its structure. The
overall effect is referred to in this document as the material’s bulking potential.
35.3.1.3 Low protein and/or nitrogen content (high Carbon: Nitrogen ratio)
✓ Although the worms do consume their bedding as it breaks down, it is very important that this be a
slow process.
✓ High protein/nitrogen levels can result in rapid degradation and its associated heating, creating
inhospitable, often fatal, conditions. Heating can occur safely in the food layers of the vermiculture
or vermicomposting system, but not in the bedding.
35.3.2 Housing
Sheltered culturing of worms is recommended to protect the worms from excessive sunlight and rain.
Cement tanks to be constructed. These are to be separated in half by a dividing wall. Another set of
tanks were also constructed for preliminary decomposition.
35.3.3 Bedding and feeding materials

During the beginning cowdung can be used in order to breed sufficient numbers of earthworms. Once
they have large populations, they can start using all kinds of organic waste.

36 Vermicompost Production Methodology
36.1 Selection of suitable earthworm
✓ For vermicompost production, the surface dwelling earthworm alone should be used.
✓ The earthworm, which lives below the soil, is not suitable for vermicompost production.
✓ The African earthworm (Eudrillus engenial), Red worms (Eisenia foetida) and composting worm
(Peronyx excavatus) are promising worms used for vermicompost production.
✓ All the three worms can be mixed together for vermicompost production. The African worm
(Eudrillus eugenial) is preferred over other two types, because it produces higher production of
vermicompost in short period of time and more young ones in the composting period.
African earthworm (Eudrillus Tiger worm or Red wrinkle Asian worms (perinonyx
euginiae) (Eisenia foetida) ecavatus)
36.2 Selection of site for vermicompost production
Vermicompost can be produced in any place with shade, high humidity and cool. A thatched roof may
be provided to protect the process from direct sunlight and rain. The waste heaped for vermicompost
production should be covered with moist gunny bags.
36.3 Containers for vermicompost production

✓ A cement tub may be constructed to a height of 2½ feet and a breadth of 3 feet. The length may be
fixed to any level depending upon the size of the room. The bottom of the tub is made to slope like
structure to drain the excess water from vermicompost unit. A small sump is necessary to collect the
drain water.
✓ In another option over the hand floor, hollow blocks / bricks may be arranged in compartment to a
height of one feet, breadth of 3 feet and length to a desired level to have quick harvest. In this
method, moisture assessment will be very easy. No excess water will be drained.
✓ Vermicompost can also be prepared in wooden boxes, plastic buckets or in any containers with a
drain hole at the bottom.
36.4 Vermiculture bed

✓ Vermiculture bed or worm bed (3 cm) can be prepared by placing after saw dust or husk or coir
waste or sugarcane trash in the bottom of tub / container.

✓ A layer of fine sand (3 cm) should be spread over the culture bed followed by a layer of garden soil
(3 cm). All layers must be moistened with water.
36.5 Worm Food

Compost worms are big eaters. Under ideal conditions, they are able to consume in excess of their body
weight each day, although the general rule-of-thumb is ½ of their body weight per day.
They will eat almost anything organic (that is, of plant or animal origin), but they definitely prefer some
foods to others. Manures are the most commonly used worm feedstock, with dairy and beef manures
generally considered the best natural food for Eisenia, with the possible exception of rabbit manure.
36.6 Selection for vermicompost production

✓ Cattle dung (except pig, poultry and goat), farm wastes, crop residues, vegetable market waste,
flower market waste, agro industrial waste, fruit market waste and all other bio degradable waste
are suitable for vermicompost production.
✓ The cattle dung should be dried in open sunlight before used for vermicompost production. All
other waste should be predigested with cow dung for twenty days before put into vermibed for
composting.
36.7 Putting the waste in the container

✓ The predigested waste material should be mud with 30% cattle dung either by weight or volume.
The mixed waste is placed into the tub / container upto brim.
✓ The moisture level should be maintained at 60%.
✓ Over this material, the selected earthworm is placed uniformly.
✓ For one-meter length, one-meter breadth and 0.5-meter height, 1 kg of worm (1000 Nos.) is
required.
✓ There is no necessity that earthworm should be put inside the waste. Earthworm will move inside on
its own.
36.8 Watering the vermibed

✓ Daily watering is not required for vermibed. But 60% moisture should be maintained throughout the
period.
✓ If necessity arises, water should be sprinkled over the bed rather than pouring the water. Watering
should be stopped before the harvest of vermicompost.
36.9 Harvesting vermicompost

✓ In the tub method of composting, the castings formed on the top layer are collected periodically.
The collection may be carried out once in a week.
✓ With hand the casting will be scooped out and put in a shady place as heap like structure. The
harvesting of casting should be limited up to earthworm presence on top layer.
✓ This periodical harvesting is necessary for free flow and retain the compost quality. Other wise the
finished compost get compacted when watering is done.

✓ In small bed type of vermicomposting method, periodical harvesting is not required. Since the
height of the waste material heaped is around 1 foot, the produced vermicompost will be harvested
after the process is over.
36.10 Harvesting earthworm

✓ After the vermicompost production, the earthworm present in the tub / small bed may be harvested
by trapping method.
✓ In the vermibed, before harvesting the compost, small, fresh cow dung ball is made and inserted
inside the bed in five or six places. After 24 hours, the cow dung ball is removed. All the worms will
be adhered into the ball. Putting the cow dung ball in a bucket of water will separate this adhered
worm. The collected worms will be used for next batch of composting.
37 Nutritive value of vermicompost

✓ The nutrients content in vermicompost vary depending on the waste materials that is being used for
compost preparation.
✓ If the waste materials are heterogeneous one, there will be wide range of nutrients available in the
compost.
✓ If the waste materials are homogenous one, there will be only certain nutrients are available.
✓ The common available nutrients in vermicompost is as follows
Organic carbon 9.5 – 17.98%

Nitrogen 0.5 – 1.50%
Phosphorous 0.1 – 0.30%
Potassium 0.15 – 0.56%
Sodium 0.06 – 0.30%
Calcium and Magnesium 22.67 to 47.60 meq*/100g
Copper 2 – 9.50 mg kg-1
Iron 2 – 9.30 mg kg-1
Zinc 5.70 – 11.50 mg kg-1
Sulphur 128 – 548 mg kg-1
* Milliequivalent (Meq)
Compost worms are not subject to diseases caused by micro-organisms, but they are subject to
predation by certain animals and insects (red mites are the worst) and to a disease known as
“sour crop” caused by environmental conditions.

Till now, we have studied about soils, its structure, soil fertility and its related concepts. Now let us study
about Water conservation and various methods of water conservation.
38 Water conservation
Water conservation refers to the preservation, control, and development of water resources, both surface
and groundwater, and prevention of pollution.
1. Watershed
2. Rainwater harvesting
38.1 What is a watershed?

✓ A watershed is an area of land that feeds all the water running under it and draining off from a
single outlet into a water body.
✓ It combines with other watersheds to form a network of rivers and streams that progressively drain
into larger water areas.
✓ Topography determines where and how water flows.
✓ Ridge tops surrounding a body of water determine the boundary of a watershed.
Let us understand this with the help of an example:
✓ Imagine turning an open umbrella upside down in the rain.

✓ Rain that hits anywhere within the umbrella's surface area would go to the bottom at the center of
the umbrella.
✓ Any rain that didn't hit the umbrella would fall to the ground. The umbrella is like a watershed; it
collects everything that falls into it.
✓ Waterways within the watershed all feed into that main body of water, which could be a river, lake,
or stream. The beginnings of a water source are called headwaters.
✓ The spot where headwaters progressively join other water sources is called the confluence, and the
endpoint of the waterways that open into the main body of water is called the mouth.
38.2 Basin and catchments

✓ To return to the umbrella example, imagine now that there are three groups of umbrellas.

✓ One group of large umbrellas (the basin) sits on the ground, while another group of smaller
umbrellas (watersheds) floats above them, with a hole in the bottom of each.
✓ Yet another group of even smaller umbrellas (catchments) floats above those, also with a hole in
the bottom of each.
✓ If the rain was caught in the top level of umbrellas, it would drain into the larger umbrellas below,
which would drain into the largest umbrellas below them.
✓ We need to also keep in mind that water does not simply hit the land and roll of into a stream.
✓ Rainwater (and everything else) is lost through absorption by plants, evaporation and consumption
by humans.
✓ Not only does water run into the streams and rivers from the surface of a watershed, but water also
filters through the soil, and some of this water eventually drains into the same streams and rivers.
✓ So, essentially there are two processes that are taking place: Surface run-off and Infiltration.
Infiltration
✓ It is the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.
✓ Infiltration rate in soil science is a measure of the rate at which soil is able to absorb rainfall or irrigation.
✓ It is most often measured in millimetres per hour or inches per hour.
Surface runoff
✓ It is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other
sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
38.3 Types of Watershed

Watersheds is classified depending upon the size, drainage, shape and land use pattern.
1. Macro watershed (> 50,000 Hect) 2. Sub-watershed (10,000 to 50,000 Hect) 3. Milli-watershed (1000
to10000 Hect) 4. Micro watershed (100 to 1000 Hect) 5. Mini watershed (1-100 Hect)
38.4 What is watershed management?

Watershed management is a term used to describe the process of implementing land use practices and
water management practices to protect and improve the quality of the water and other natural
resources within a watershed by managing the use of those land and water resources in a comprehensive
manner.

38.5 Why is watershed management important?
✓ Runoff from rainwater or snowmelt can contribute significant amounts of pollution into the lake or
river. Watershed management helps to control pollution of the water and other natural resources
in the watershed by identifying the different kinds of pollution present in the watershed and how
those pollutants are transported and recommending ways to reduce or eliminate those pollution
sources.
✓ All activities that occur within a watershed will somehow affect that watershed’s natural resources
and water quality.
✓ New land development, runoff from already-developed areas, agricultural activities, and household
activities such as gardening/lawn care, septic system use/maintenance, water diversion and car
maintenance all can affect the quality of the resources within a watershed.
✓ Watershed management planning comprehensively identifies those activities that affect the health of
the watershed and makes recommendations to properly address them so that adverse impacts from
pollution are reduced.
✓ Watershed management is also important because the planning process results in a partnership
among all affected parties in the watershed.
✓ That partnership is essential to the successful management of the land and water resources in the
watershed since all partners have a stake in the health of the watershed.
✓ It is also an efficient way to prioritize the implementation of watershed management plans in times
when resources may be limited.
38.6 Objectives of watershed management

✓ To control damaging runoff and degradation and thereby conservation of soil and water.
✓ To manage and utilize the runoff water for useful purpose.
✓ To protect, conserve and improve the land of watershed for more efficient and
sustained production.
✓ To protect and enhance the water resource originating in the watershed.
✓ To check soil erosion and to reduce the effect of sediment yield on the watershed.
✓ To rehabilitate the deteriorating lands.
✓ To moderate the floods peaks at down stream areas.
✓ To increase infiltration of rainwater.
✓ To improve and increase the production of timbers, fodder and wild life resource.
✓ To enhance the ground water recharge, wherever applicable.
38.7 Steps in watershed management

✓ Watershed management involves determination of alternative land treatment measures for, which
information about problems of land, soil, water and vegetation in the watershed is essential.
Four phases of the programme are: Recognition phase, Restoration phase, Protection phase,
Improvement phase

38.7.1 Recognition Phase:
It involves following steps
✓ Recognition of the problem
✓ Analysis of the cause of the problem and its effect
✓ Development of alternative solutions of problem
Necessary information is obtained from different surveys like soil survey, land capability survey,
agronomic survey, forest, engineering and socio-economic survey, etc. This information serves as a basis
for fixing and determining the watershed problems, priorities in land treatment measures, and causes and
effects of problems on land and people.
38.7.2 Restoration Phase

It includes two main steps:
✓ Selection of best solution to problems identified
✓ Application of the solution to the problems of the land
As per the priorities, treatment applied initially to critical areas. After this proper measures like biological
and engineering measures are applied to all types of lands.
38.7.3 Protection Phase

This phase takes care of the general health of the watershed and ensures normal functioning. The
protection is against all factors which may cause determined in watershed condition.
38.7.4 Improvement Phase

This phase deals with overall improvement in the watershed and all land is covered. Attention is paid to
agriculture and forest management and production, forage production and pasture management, socio
economic conditions to achieve the objectives of watershed management. Health, family planning,
improving cattle, poultry, etc. are taken depending upon intensity.
38.8 Factors affecting watershed management

38.8.1 Watershed characters
✓ Size and shape
✓ Topography
✓ Soils
✓ Relief
38.8.2 Climatic characteristics

✓ Precipitation
✓ Amount and intensity of rainfall
38.8.3 Land use pattern

✓ Vegetative cover and Density

38.8.4 Others
✓ Social status of inhability
✓ Water resource and their capabilities
✓ Watershed operation
39 Rainwater harvesting and Ground Water recharge

Rainwater harvesting is done for 2 purposes. One is for storing water for agricultural and other domestic
purposes and for ground water recharge.
39.1 What is Rainwater harvesting?

✓ The principle of collecting and using precipitation from a catchments surface. An old technology is
gaining popularity in a new way.
✓ Rainwater harvesting is enjoying a renaissance of sorts in the world, but it traces its history to
biblical times.
✓ As early as the third millennium BC, farming communities in Baluchistan and Kutch impounded
rainwater and used it for irrigation dams.
39.2 Artificial Recharge to Ground Water

✓ Artificial recharge to ground water is a process by which the ground water reservoir is augmented
at a rate exceeding that obtaining under natural conditions or replenishment.
✓ Any man-made scheme or facility that adds water to an aquifer may be considered to be an artificial
recharge system.
39.3 Why Rainwater Harvesting?

1. Rainwater harvesting is essential because - Surface water is inadequate to meet our demand and we
have to depend on ground water and due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of rain water into the sub-
soil has decreased drastically and recharging of ground water has diminished. There are two main
techniques of rainwater harvestings. Storage of rainwater on surface for future use and Recharge to
ground water.
39.3.1 Storage of rainwater on surface for future use

The storage of rainwater on surface is a traditional techniques and structures used were underground
tanks, ponds, check dams, weirs etc., of which we shall look into Weir and Check dams in brief.
39.3.1.1 Weir
✓ A weir is a small dam built across a river to

control the upstream water level. Weirs have
been used for ages to control the flow of water
in streams, rivers, and other water bodies.
✓ Unlike large dams which create reservoirs, the
goal of building a weir across a river isn’t to
create storage, but only to gain some control
over the water level.
39.3.1.2 Check dams
✓ A check dam is a small dam constructed across a drainage

ditch, swale, or channel to lower the velocity of flow.
✓ Reduced runoff velocity reduces erosion and gullying in the
channel and allows sediments to settle out.
✓ A check dam may be built from stone, sandbags filled with
pea gravel, or logs.
✓ This practice should be used with drainage areas of 2 acres
or less.
✓ The adjacent picture is the longitudinal section of
arrangement of check dams on a slope
39.3.2 Recharge to ground water

Recharge to ground water is a new concept of rainwater harvesting and the structures generally used are:
39.3.2.1 Pits
✓ Recharge pits are constructed for recharging the shallow aquifer.
✓ These are constructed 1 to 2 m, wide and to 3 m. deep which are back filled with boulders, gravels,
coarse sand.
39.3.2.2 Trenches
✓ These are constructed when the permeable

stram is available at shallow depth. Trench
may be 0.5 to 1 m. wide, 1 to 1.5m. deep and
10 to 20 m. long depending up availability of
water.
✓ These are back filled with filter materials.
39.3.2.3 Dug wells

Existing dug wells may be utilised as recharge structure and water should pass through filter media before
putting into dug well.

39.3.2.4 Hand pumps
✓ The existing hand pumps may be used for recharging the shallow/deep aquifers, if the availability of
water is limited.
✓ Water should pass through filter media before diverting it into hand pumps
39.3.2.5 Recharge wells

Recharge wells of 100 to 300 mm. diameter are generally constructed for recharging the deeper aquifers
and water is passed through filter media to avoid choking of recharge wells.
39.3.2.6 Recharge Shafts

For recharging the shallow aquifer which are
located below clayey surface, recharge
shafts of 0.5 to 3 m. diameter and 10 to 15
m. deep are constructed and back filled with
boulders, gravels & coarse sand.
These are very much similar to recharge pits

but the size is small.
39.3.2.7 Lateral shafts with bore wells
For recharging the upper as well as deeper

aquifers lateral shafts of 1.5 to 2 m. wide &
10 to 30 m. long depending upon availability
of water with one or two bore wells are
constructed. The lateral shafts is back filled
with boulders, gravels & coarse sand.
Spreading techniques
When permeable strata starts from top then this technique is used. Spread the water in streams/Nalas by
making check dams, nala bunds, cement plugs, gabion structures or a percolation pond may be constructed.
39.3.3 Benefits of Artificial Recharge

✓ Improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off.
✓ Improvement in groundwater levels and yields.
✓ Improvement in groundwater quality
✓ Estimated quantity of additional recharge from 100 sq. m. roof top area is 55.000 liters.

For
Water resources and Irrigation Management

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Distribution of water resources on the planet Earth ............................................................................ 7
2 Hydrologic Cycle .................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Precipitation .................................................................................................................................. 8
2.2 Runoff............................................................................................................................................ 8
2.2.1 Types of Runoff ..................................................................................................................... 8
2.3 Storage .......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.4 Evapotranspiration........................................................................................................................ 9
3 Classification of Water Resources......................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Surface Water Resources .............................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Sub-surface water resources ........................................................................................................ 9
3.3 What is Aquifer? ......................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.1 Unconfined Aquifers ........................................................................................................... 10
3.3.2 Confined Aquifers ............................................................................................................... 10
4 Functions of water in plants ............................................................................................................... 10
5 What is Irrigation ................................................................................................................................ 11
5.1 What is Irrigation Management? ................................................................................................ 11
5.2 Importance of Irrigation Management ....................................................................................... 11
5.3 Necessity of Irrigation ................................................................................................................. 12
5.3.1 Uncertainty of monsoon rainfall ......................................................................................... 12
5.3.2 Uneven distribution of rainfall ............................................................................................ 12
5.3.3 Cultivation of high yielding crops........................................................................................ 12
5.3.4 Difference in water holding capacity of the soil ................................................................. 12
5.4 Seasons of rainfall in India .......................................................................................................... 12
5.5 What is Water Budget? ............................................................................................................... 12
5.5.1 India’s Water Budget .......................................................................................................... 13
6 Important Irrigation Terminologies .................................................................................................... 13
6.1 Seepage ....................................................................................................................................... 13
6.2 Infiltration ................................................................................................................................... 13
6.3 Percolation .................................................................................................................................. 14
6.4 Leaching ...................................................................................................................................... 14

6.5 Saturation capacity ..................................................................................................................... 14
6.6 Field capacity (FC) ....................................................................................................................... 14
6.7 Permanent Wilting Point (PWP).................................................................................................. 14
6.8 Wilting coefficient ....................................................................................................................... 14
6.9 Available water ........................................................................................................................... 15
6.10 Ultimate Wilting Point (UWP) ..................................................................................................... 15
6.11 Soil Moisture Tension ................................................................................................................. 15
6.12 Soil Water Potential .................................................................................................................... 15
6.12.1 Methods of expressing suctions ......................................................................................... 16
6.12.2 Soil condition and the corresponding pF value and Pressure............................................. 16
6.13 Moisture Equivalent .................................................................................................................... 17
6.14 Duty of water .............................................................................................................................. 17
6.15 Base period ................................................................................................................................. 17
6.16 Delta ............................................................................................................................................ 17
6.17 Kor watering ................................................................................................................................ 17
6.18 Rostering/ water regulation ........................................................................................................ 17
6.19 Palco ............................................................................................................................................ 17
6.20 Moisture Regime ......................................................................................................................... 17
6.21 Total Cultivable Area (TCA) ......................................................................................................... 18
6.22 Net Sown Area (NSA) .................................................................................................................. 18
6.23 Gross Sown Area (GSA) ............................................................................................................... 18
6.24 Cropping Intensity ....................................................................................................................... 18
6.25 Net Irrigated Area (NIA) .............................................................................................................. 18
6.26 Gross Irrigated Area (GIA) ........................................................................................................... 18
6.27 Irrigation Intensity....................................................................................................................... 18
6.28 Irrigation Potential Created (IPC) ................................................................................................ 18
6.29 Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU) ................................................................................................ 18
6.30 Ultimate Irrigation Potential (UIP) .............................................................................................. 18
7 Irrigation Project ................................................................................................................................. 19
7.1 Classification of Irrigation Projects / Works................................................................................ 19
7.2 Terminology related to Irrigation projects.................................................................................. 19

7.2.1 Command Area ................................................................................................................... 19
7.2.2 Cultural Command Area...................................................................................................... 19
7.2.3 Gross command area (or GCA) ........................................................................................... 19
7.2.4 Command Area Development............................................................................................. 19
8 Types of Irrigation ............................................................................................................................... 19
8.1 Surface Irrigation......................................................................................................................... 20
8.1.1 Flood Irrigation.................................................................................................................... 20
8.1.2 Basin Irrigation .................................................................................................................... 20
8.1.3 Border Irrigation.................................................................................................................. 20
8.1.4 Furrow Irrigation ................................................................................................................. 21
8.1.5 Surge Irrigation.................................................................................................................... 21
8.2 Sub-Surface Irrigation ................................................................................................................. 22
8.2.1 Natural Sub-Surface Irrigation method............................................................................... 22
8.2.2 Artificial sub-surface irrigation method .............................................................................. 22
8.3 Pressurized Irrigation System/Micro-Irrigation .......................................................................... 23
8.3.1 Sprinkler Irrigation .............................................................................................................. 23
8.3.2 Drip Irrigation ...................................................................................................................... 23
8.3.3 Comparative study between sprinkler and drip irrigation.................................................. 25
8.3.4 Irrigation Methods Suitable for Different Crops ................................................................. 25
9 Water requirement of a crop .............................................................................................................. 25
9.1 Water Requirements of Agricultural Crops in Surface Irrigation Methods (5cm depth at each
irrigation) ................................................................................................................................................ 26
9.2 Critical stages of crops for irrigation ........................................................................................... 26
9.3 Important Irrigation Terminologies ............................................................................................ 27
9.3.1 Water Use Efficiency (WUE)................................................................................................ 27
9.3.2 Consumptive Water Use Efficiency ..................................................................................... 27
9.3.3 Irrigation Efficiency ............................................................................................................. 28
9.3.4 Water Storage Efficiency ..................................................................................................... 28
9.3.5 Water Conveyance Efficiency.............................................................................................. 28
10 Irrigation water quality ................................................................................................................... 29
10.1 Classification of Irrigation water quality ..................................................................................... 29
10.1.1 Total salt concentration ...................................................................................................... 29

10.1.2 Sodium Adsorption ratio ..................................................................................................... 30
10.1.3 Boron content ..................................................................................................................... 30

1 Distribution of water resources on the planet Earth

The below given figure explains for itself about how water is distributed on earth. The figures given below
are approximate values
Credit: Timothy Bralower
Moisture circulates from the earth into the atmosphere through evaporation and then back into the
earth as precipitation. In going through this entire process, which is known as the Hydrologic Cycle, water
is conserved – that is, it is neither created nor destroyed.
2 Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle consists of 4 key components
✓ Precipitation
✓ Runoff
✓ Storage
✓ Evapotranspiration
First, we shall quickly summarize the process and then see the four components
✓ The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean.
✓ As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds. Moisture is transported
around the globe until it returns to the surface as precipitation.
Once the water reaches the ground, one of two processes may occur;
1) Some of the water may evaporate back into the atmosphere or 2) The water may penetrate the
surface and become groundwater. Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and
streams, or is released back into the atmosphere through transpiration.

✓ The balance of water that remains on the earth's surface is runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers
and streams and is carried back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again.
The 4 stages of Hydrologic cycle:
2.1 Precipitation
✓ Precipitation occurs when atmospheric moisture becomes too great to remain suspended in clouds.
✓ It denotes all forms of water that reach the earth from the atmosphere, the usual forms being
rainfall, snowfall, hail, frost and dew.
2.2 Runoff
✓ Runoff is the water that flows across the land surface after a storm event.
✓ As the flow bears down, it notches out rills and gullies which combine to form channels. These
combine further to form streams and rivers.
2.2.1 Types of Runoff

There are 3 types of Runoff. They are
1. Surface runoff
2. Sub – surface runoff
3. Base flow
2.2.1.1 Surface Runoff

✓ It is that portion of rainfall which enters the stream immediately after the rainfall.
✓ It occurs when all losses are satisfied and if rain is still continued, with the rate greater than in
filtration rate; at this stage the excess water makes a head over the ground surface which tends to
move from one place to another, known as overland flow.
✓ As soon as the overland flow joins to the streams, channels or oceans, termed as surface runoff.
2.2.1.2 Sub – surface Runoff

✓ That part of rainfall, which first leaches into the soil and moves laterally without joining the water
– table to the Streams Rivers or oceans is known as sub – surface runoff.
✓ Sometimes sub – surface runoff is also called as service runoff due to reason that it takes very title
time to reach the river or channel in comparison to ground water.
✓ The sub – surface runoff is usually referred as interflow.
2.2.1.3 Base flow

✓ It is delayed flow, defined as that part of rainfall which after falling on the ground surface and
infiltrated into the soil and meets the water table and flow to the streams, oceans etc.
✓ The movement of water in this type of runoff is very slow that is why it is also referred as delayed
runoff.
✓ It takes a long time to join the rivers or oceans. Some times base flow is also known as ground water
flow.

Thus, Total Runoff = Surface runoff + Base flow (Including sub – surface runoff)
Total surface run-off has been estimated by Irrigation Commission of India in 1972 as follows:
Rain fall contribution 115
Contribution from outside the country through streams and rivers 20
Contribution from regeneration from ground water in Stream and rivers 45
Total Surface Run-off 180
2.3 Storage
✓ Portion of the precipitation falling on land surface which does not flow out as runoff gets stored as
either as surface water bodies like Lakes, Reservoirs and Wetlands or as sub-surface water body,
usually called Ground water.
✓ We need to note a point here that the groundwater also is in a state of continuous movement -
flowing from regions of higher potential to lower.
✓ The rate of movement, however, is exceptionally small compared to the surface water movement.
2.4 Evapotranspiration
✓ Evapotranspiration is actually the combination of two terms – evaporation and transpiration.
✓ The first of these, that is, evaporation is the process of liquid converting into vapour, through wind
action and solar radiation and returning to the atmosphere.
✓ Evaporation is the cause of loss of water from open bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, the oceans
and the land surface.
✓ Transpiration is the process by which water molecules leaves the body of a living plant and escapes
to the atmosphere.
Now, elaborating further on water resources, let us have a look at the classification of water resources
3 Classification of Water Resources

The water resources can be divided into two equal parts: Surface Water Resources and Sub Surface Water
Resources.
3.1 Surface Water Resources

✓ Surface water is water on the surface of the planet such as in a river, lake, stream, reservoirs,
wetland, or ocean.
3.2 Sub-surface water resources

It includes groundwater. Groundwater is an important part of the water cycle.
✓ Groundwater comes from rain and snowmelt that seeps into the ground.
✓ Gravity pulls the water down through the spaces between particles of soil or through cracks in rocks.
✓ Eventually the water reaches a depth where all openings in soil or rock are filled with water; this is
called the saturated zone.

✓ The water in the saturated zone is called groundwater.
✓ The top of the saturated zone is called the water table. The water table rises and falls according to
the season and the amount of rain and snowmelt that has occurred during a particular year.
✓ Some layers of rock are so solid that they don't let water move through; this is called an
impermeable layer. Others are very crumbly or have lots of big cracks. If the cracks are connected to
each other, then water can move through the rock, termed as Permeable layer.
Talking about groundwater, let us have a look at a term, ‘Aquifer’ which is very often used when we
talk about groundwater and we have dealt with basic definition of this already in Soil and Water
conservation chapter. Let us now have a detailed study of the same.
3.3 What is Aquifer?

✓ A saturated soil or rock layer with spaces that allow water to move through is called an aquifer.
Aquifers may be separate by layers of rock or clay that do not allow water to move through it.
✓ Water moves through the pores of the rock. The pores act as a natural filtration system, removing
even viruses and bacteria from the water.
3.3.1 Unconfined Aquifers

✓ Where groundwater is in direct contact with the atmosphere through the open pore spaces of the
overlying soil or rock, then the aquifer is said to be unconfined.
✓ The upper groundwater surface in an unconfined aquifer is called the water table.
✓ An unconfined aquifer's bottom is a layer of nonporous rock, which restricts water flow, creating a
barrier to the aquifer.
✓ Since the water table is the top layer of the unconfined aquifer, it is because of this reason that it can
be also called as water table aquifers.
3.3.2 Confined Aquifers

✓ Confined aquifers are permeable rock units that are usually deeper under the ground than
unconfined aquifers.
✓ They are overlain by relatively impermeable rock or clay that limits groundwater movement into, or
out of, the confined aquifer. Thus, a confined aquifer sits below an unconfined aquifer and layer of
nonporous rock. Groundwater in a confined aquifer is under pressure and will rise up inside a borehole
drilled into the aquifer.
Water Resources are very important for agriculture.
In the section below, let us have a look at the Role of Water for Growth and Development of Crops
4 Functions of water in plants

✓ Water is essential for the germination of seeds and growth of plants.
✓ Water forms over 90% of the plant body by green or fresh weight basis.
✓ During the process of photosynthesis, plants synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and
water. Therefore, water is one of the essential components for the plant.
✓ Water acts as a solvent for fertilizers and other minerals, which are taken up by the plant roots in the
form of solution. Thus, water serves as the medium in which plants absorb soluble nutrients from the
soil. Water serves as medium for transport of chemicals to and from cells.
✓ Water pressure in plant cells provides the firmness to the plants.
✓ Aquatic life is possible in water only.
✓ Water helps in the transpiration, which is very essential for maintaining the absorption of nutrient
from the soil. Water regulates the temperature and cools the plant.
5 What is Irrigation
✓ Irrigation is defined as the artificial application of water to the soil for the purpose of crop growth
or crop production in supplement to rainfall and ground water contribution.
✓ Simply, irrigation can be stated as application of water to the soil for crop growth and development.
The application of water to plants is made naturally through rainfall and artificially through
irrigation.
5.1 What is Irrigation Management?

✓ Irrigation water management is the act of timing and regulating irrigation water applications in a
way that will satisfy the water requirement of the crop without the waste of water, soil, plant
nutrients, or energy.
✓ It means applying water according to crop needs in amounts that can be held in the soil available to
crops and at rates consistent with the intake characteristics of the soil and the erosion hazard of the
site.
In order to carry out the Irrigation Management effectively, we have to have an idea regarding the
following:
• The soil physical and chemical properties
• Biology of crop plants
• Quantity of water available
• Time of application of water
• Method of application of water
• Climatological or meteorological influence on irrigation and
• Environment and its changes due to irrigation
✓ Management of all the above said factors constitute Irrigation Agronomy

✓ Management of irrigation structures, conveyances, reservoirs constitute Irrigation Engineering
✓ Social setup, activities, standard of living, irrigation policies, irrigation association and farmer’s
participation, cost of irrigation etc., constitute Socio-economic study.
5.2 Importance of Irrigation Management

✓ To store the regulate the water resources for further use or non-season use
✓ To allocate the water with proper proportion based on area and crop under cultivation. (Balanced
equity in distribution)
✓ To convey the water without much loss through percolation and seepage (Efficiency in use)
✓ To apply sufficient quantity to field crops. (Optimization of use)
✓ To utilize the water considering cost-benefit (Economically viable management)
✓ To distribute the available water without any social problem (Judicial distribution)
✓ To meet the future requirement for other purposes like domestic use of individual and to protect
against famine (Resource conservation).
✓ To protect the environment from overuse or misuse of water (Environment safe use).
5.3 Necessity of Irrigation
5.3.1 Uncertainty of monsoon rainfall

✓ 80% of rainfall in India is received during monsoon period. There is a lot of spatial and temporal
variation when it comes to the pattern of rainfall in India.
✓ This unpredictability and variation have increased in the recent years due to the rampant climate
change due to global warming. This has made dependence on rainfall for the growth of crops
difficult. So irrigation is very important to supply water to plants also and when needed.
5.3.2 Uneven distribution of rainfall

To compensate the uneven distribution in an area, supplemental irrigation is needed.
5.3.3 Cultivation of high yielding crops

High yielding crops produce heavy biomass and economic yield. Higher biomass need more water for its
production. Hence supplementation of water as irrigation is essential.
5.3.4 Difference in water holding capacity of the soil

Sandy soil - low WHC – frequent irrigation. Clay soil - high WHC - frequency is less.
The following tabular column lists the seasons of rainfall in India. It clearly gives us an idea regarding
the erratic nature of rainfall in India
5.4 Seasons of rainfall in India

Winter (Cold dry period) January – February
Summer (Hot weather period) March – May
Kharif (South-West monsoon) *70% of the rainfall June – September
Rabi (North-East monsoon) *Tamil October – December
Nadu receives its 60% of rainfall from NEM
5.5 What is Water Budget?

✓ Water budget can be defined as the relationship between the inflow and outflow of water through
a specified region or a country.
✓ It gives a comparison between the supply and demand of water, making it possible to identify periods
of excess and deficit precipitation.
5.5.1 India’s Water Budget
Total geographical area 328M.ha.
Average annual rainfall 1190 mm

In million-hectare meters 1190 x 328 390 M ha m
Contribution from snowfall 8M ha m
TOTAL 398 (400 M ha m approx.)
✓ The rainfall below 2.5 mm is not considered for water budgeting, Since it will immediately evaporate
from surface soil without any contribution to surface water or ground water.
✓ There are on an average 130 rainy days in a year in the country out of which the rain during 75 days
considered as effective rain. The remaining 55 days are very light and shallow which evaporates
immediately without any contribution to surface or ground water recharge.
✓ Considering all these factors it is estimated that out of 400 million hectare meter of annual rainfall,
70 million hectare meter is lost to atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration, about 115
million hectare meter flows as surface run-off and remaining 215 million hectare meter soaks or
infiltrates into the soil profile.
Here basically as we can see there are two components: Input and Output. So Input is approximately 400
M ha m. So, Total Rainfall Input = Surface water flows (Surface Run-off) + Groundwater recharge +
Evapotranspiration.
Based on India’s Water Budget, substituting the values in the above equation
400 = 115 + 215 + 70 (In Million-hectare meter)
6 Important Irrigation Terminologies
6.1 Seepage
✓ It is the horizontal flow of water channel.
✓ Water loss from the irrigation channel or canal is mainly due to seepage.
✓ Seepage is not only a waste of water, but also may lead to other problems such as waterlogging and
salinization of agricultural land.
6.2 Infiltration
✓ Entry of water from the upper layer of the soil is called infiltration.
✓ It occurs in unsaturated soil.
✓ The infiltration characteristics of the soil are one of the dominant variables influencing irrigation.
✓ Infiltration rate is the soil characteristic determining the maximum rate at which water can enter the
soil under specific conditions, including the presence of excess water.
✓ The actual rate at which water is entering the soil at any given time is termed the Infiltration velocity.
✓ The infiltration rate decreases during irrigation. The rate of decrease is rapid initially and the
infiltration rate tends to approach a constant value. The nearly constant rate that develops after some
time has elapsed from the start of irrigation is called the basic infiltration rate.
✓ Infiltration rates on grassland is substantially higher than bare uncultivated land. Cultivation
influences the infiltration rate by increasing the porosity of the surface soil and breaking up the
surface seals.
✓ Additions of organic matter increase infiltration rate substantially.
6.3 Percolation
✓ Downward movement of water through saturated or nearly saturated soil in response to the gravity
or we can put it as the descending motion of infiltered water through soil and rock layers. Thus, the
Percolation process represents the flow of water from unsaturated zone to the saturated zone.
Difference between Infiltration and Percolation
Infiltration occurs closer to the surface of the soil. Infiltration delivers water from the surface into the soil
and plant rooting zone while Percolation moves it through the soil profile to replenish ground water
supplies or become part of sub-surface run-off process.
6.4 Leaching
Downward movement of nutrients and salts from the root zone with the water is called leaching.
6.5 Saturation capacity

This is the maximum water holding capacity of the soil where all the soil pores (Macropores and
Micropores) are completely filled with water.
6.6 Field capacity (FC)

✓ The soil moisture content after 2-3 days of irrigation and after drainage of gravitational water has
become very slow and soil moisture content has become relatively stable.
✓ At the field capacity, the large pores are filled with air and the micro pores are filled with water.
✓ It is considered as the upper limit of water availability to plants.
6.7 Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)

✓ The concept of PWP was proposed by Briggs and Shantz in 1912. They utilized dwarf sunflower as
an indicator plant.
✓ It is the lower limit of available water to the plant.
6.8 Wilting coefficient

The percentage of moisture in root zone at the permanent wilting of plants is called wilting coefficient or
critical moisture point.
6.9 Available water
✓ This concept was given by Veihmayer and Hendrickson in 1981. It is the moisture available for
maximum plant use.
✓ It is arrived at by subtracting the water at Field Capacity and water at the Permanent Wilting Point
(PWP).
6.10 Ultimate Wilting Point (UWP)

✓ The moisture content at which the wilting is complete, and the plants die is called UWP.
✓ At UWP, the soil moisture tension is as high as -60 bars.
6.11 Soil Moisture Tension

Soil moisture tension is a measure of the tenacity with which water is retained in the soil and shows the
force per unit area that must be exerted to remove water from a soil.
6.12 Soil Water Potential

✓ Most of the issues about soil water relate to its energy state and its movement (e.g.
Evapotranspiration and Deep Drainage).
✓ Classical physics recognizes kinetic (i.e. movement) and potential (i.e. position) energy. In soil, water
does not move rapidly so kinetic energy is negligible.
✓ Therefore, water moves constantly in direction of potential energy (i.e. wet to dry soil), where the
gradient of potential energy with distance is the moving force causing flow.
✓ An indication of the tendency of soil water to move is expressed by the soil water potential (Ψ).
✓ Ψ is defined as the work water can do as it moves from its present state to the reference state.
The reference state is the energy of a pool of pure water at an elevation defined to be zero.
✓ In soil, the reference state is the energy level of water in the soil at saturation. That is, when all
pores are filled with water. At this point soil water potential (Ψ) is nominally zero (~0).
✓ In most cases, however, soil water potential (Ψ) is less than zero. This is indicated by giving soil
water potential (Ψ) a negative sign (-ve).
✓ In practical terms, and as the soil dries out soil water potential (Ψ)decreases and becomes
increasingly more -ve.
✓ So that when soil water potential (Ψ) is “high” it means Ψ is less –ve and is therefore very close to 0.
When soil water potential (Ψ)is high it means soil water is held loosely, highly available and ready to
move somewhere else.
There are three important factors affecting total soil water potential
This includes soil water potentials of

Ψg Gravitational
Ψo Osmotic
Ψm Matric.
The general relationship between total soil water potential (Ψt) and the various factors is expressed as
Ψt = Ψg + Ψo + Ψm
✓ The force of gravity acts on soil water as it does on all other bodies. In a soil profile the gravitational
potential (Ψg) of water near the soil surface is always higher than Ψg in the subsoil. As a result of
heavy precipitation or irrigation, therefore, the difference in Ψg causes downward flow of water
deeper into the soil profile.
✓ The osmotic potential (Ψm) is attributable to the attraction between a water molecule and various
ions (e.g. cations) and solutes (e.g. soluble salts) in the soil solution. The presence of large amounts
of soluble salts results in osmotic potentials (Ψm) that reduce soil water potential. This makes it
difficult for plants to remove soil water even though water may be present. This is known as
physiological drought and is why plants wilt and appear stunted in saline soil profiles.
✓ Finally, adhesion (attraction) of water to the soil matrix, provides a matric force (i.e. adsorption
and capillarity) which reduces energy of water particles near surfaces. Effects of surface adsorption
on ability of water to do work.
✓ For example, water adsorbed to soil or held in capillary pores by H bonding. In saturated soil, water
free to flow,Ψmis not a factor and value is 0.
Note: Matric and Osmotic potentials are negative and reduce the free energy level of the soil water.
These negative potentials are referred as suction or tension. The force of gravity is always positive.
6.12.1 Methods of expressing suctions

There are two units to express differences in energy levels of water.
6.12.1.1 pF Scale
The concept of the pF curve for expressing the relation between the amount of water in a soil and the
force with which it is held there was introduced by Schofield.
✓ The free energy is measured in terms of the height of a column of water required to produce
necessary suction or pressure difference at a particular soil moisture level.
✓ The pF, therefore, represents the logarithm of the height of water column (cm) to give the necessary
suction.
6.12.1.2 Atmospheric pressure or Bars

✓ It is another common mean of expressing suction.
✓ Atmosphere is the average air pressure at sea level.
✓ If the suction is very low as occurs in the case of a wet soil containing the maximum amount of water
that it can hold, the pressure difference is of the order of about 0.01 atmospheres or 1 PF equivalent
to a column of water 10 cm in height.
6.12.2 Soil condition and the corresponding pF value and Pressure

The tabular column below gives the list of soil condition and the corresponding pF values and Pressure
(atm/bars)
Soil Condition pF values Pressure (atm/bars)
Saturated Soil (filled with water completely) 0 0.001
Field Capacity 2.53 -1/3
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) 4.18 15
Hygroscopic point 4.50 31
Oven Dry Soil 7.0 10000
6.13 Moisture Equivalent

Moisture equivalent is defined as the amount of water retained by a sample of initially saturated soil
material after being subjected to a centrifugal force of 1000 times that of gravity for a definite period of
time, usually half an hour.
6.14 Duty of water

Volume or quantity of water required for irrigation to bring a crop to maturity.
Duty of water= 8.64 * Base period/Delta
Gross Duty of Water: Area commanded by the flow of water as measured at the source of supply; It includes
wastage in channel in addition to what is used for measuring crops.
Net Duty of Water: Area commanded by water delivered at field. It includes the losses of water in the field.
The difference between gross and net duty of water gives efficiency of distributaries.
6.15 Base period

The period (days) during which irrigation water is supplied to the crop.
6.16 Delta
Delta is the total depth of water (cm) required by a crop during its duration in the field.
6.17 Kor watering

Crop water requirement is nor uniform all through base period. The first watering is known as Kor
watering.
6.18 Rostering/ water regulation

The process of distribution of irrigation water.
6.19 Palco
Palco is the first irrigation before sowing the crop for seed germination and seedling establishment.
6.20 Moisture Regime

The percentage of moisture in the soil at atmospheric pressure is known as moisture regime.
6.21 Total Cultivable Area (TCA)
It is total area where cultivation is possible. This consists of net sown area, current fallows, fallow lands
other than current fallows, Culturable waste land and land under miscellaneous tree crops.
6.22 Net Sown Area (NSA)

This represents the total area sown with crops and orchards. Area sown more than once in the same
year is counted only once.
6.23 Gross Sown Area (GSA)

This is the sum total of the areas under all crops over the various seasons in an agriculture year (i.e. from
the 01st July to 30th June next year). Under GSA, area sown twice/thrice in the same year is counted as
two/three times.
6.24 Cropping Intensity

It is the ratio of gross sown (total) area to the net sown area expressed as a percentage.
6.25 Net Irrigated Area (NIA)

It is the area irrigated through any source once in a year for a particular crop. Area irrigated more than
once in the same year is counted only once.
6.26 Gross Irrigated Area (GIA)

This is the sum total of the areas irrigated under all crops over the various seasons in agriculture year
(i.e. from the 01st July to 30th June next year). Under GIA, area irrigated twice/thrice in the same year is
counted as two/three times.
6.27 Irrigation Intensity

It is the ratio of gross irrigated (total) area to the net irrigated area expressed as a percentage.
6.28 Irrigation Potential Created (IPC)

It is the area that can be irrigated from a project in a design agriculture year (i.e. from the 01st July to
30th June next year) for the projected cropping pattern and accepted water allowance on its full
development.
6.29 Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU)

The Irrigation potential utilised is the total gross area actually irrigated by a project/scheme during the
agricultural year under consideration.
6.30 Ultimate Irrigation Potential (UIP)

The ultimate irrigation potential is the gross area that can be irrigated from a project in a design agriculture
year (i.e. from the 01st July to 30th June next year) for the projected cropping pattern and assumed water
allowance on its full development.
7 Irrigation Project
An irrigation project is an agricultural establishment which can supply controlled amounts of water to
lands for growing crops. Irrigation projects mainly consist of hydraulic structures which collect (from a
source), convey and deliver (to farm fields) water for irrigation.
7.1 Classification of Irrigation Projects / Works

Major more than 50 million Rupees: It covers cultural command area of more than 10,000 hectares
Medium 2.5 million to 50 million Rupees: It covers cultural command area of 2000 – 10,000 hectares
Minor less than 2.5 million Rupees: It covers cultural command area of 2,000 hectares.
7.2 Terminology related to Irrigation projects
7.2.1 Command Area

The command area is the area around the dam/ project, where the area gets benefits from the dam, such
as irrigation water, electricity, etc. In other words, it is the area around a dam which is under
its command as an irrigation source.
7.2.2 Cultural Command Area

The area which can be irrigated from a scheme and is fit for cultivation.
7.2.3 Gross command area (or GCA)

It is the total area which can be economically irrigated from irrigation system without considering the
limitation on the quantity of available water.
7.2.4 Command Area Development

Command area development plan was in 1974-75 to narrow the gap between irrigation potential created
and actually utilised in major and medium irrigation schemes. It played a major role in increasing
agricultural productivity
8 Types of Irrigation
8.1 Surface Irrigation
The following methods are used under Surface Irrigation
8.1.1 Flood Irrigation

✓ Used for lowland rice and other crops.
✓ Water is allowed from the channel into the field without much control on either side of the flow.
✓ It covers the entire field and move almost unguided. The height of bunds around the field should be
15 cm for effective use of rainfall.
✓ It is a minimum labour-intensive method. Useful in uniform surface soils with good water holding
capacity.
8.1.2 Basin Irrigation

✓ Basins are flat areas of land surrounded by low bunds. The bunds prevent the water from flowing to
the adjacent fields.
✓ The basins are filled to desired depth and the water is retained until it infiltrates into the soil. Water
may be maintained for considerable periods of time.
Basin method may be divided into two types: Check Basin method and Ring Basin method.
8.1.2.1 Check Basin method

✓ The check basin method is the most common method of irrigation used in India. In this method, the
land to be irrigated is divided into small plots or basins surrounded by checks, levees (low bunds).
✓ Each plot or basin has a nearly level surface. The irrigation water is applied by filling the plots with
water up to the desired depth without overtopping the levees and the water retained there is allowed
to infiltrate into the soil.
✓ Water is conveyed to the cluster of check basins by a system of supply channels and lateral field
channels or ditches. The supply channel is aligned on the upper side (at a higher elevation) of the field
for every two rows of plot.
✓ Basin irrigation is suitable for many field crops. Paddy rice grows best when its roots are submerged
in water and so basin irrigation is the best method for use with the crop. Also it is suitable for closely
spaced crops like maize, pearl millet, groundnut etc.
✓ Check basins are useful when leaching is required to remove salts from the soil profile.
✓ Not suitable for crops which are sensitive to wet soil conditions around the stem.
8.1.2.2 Ring Basin method of Irrigation

✓ The other form of basin irrigation is the ring basin method which is used for growing trees in orchards.
✓ In this method, generally for each tree, a separate basin is made which is usually circular in shape.
8.1.3 Border Irrigation

✓ The land is divided into number of long parallel strips called borders. These borders are separated
by low ridges. The border strip has a uniform gentle slope in the direction of irrigation.
Suitability: To soils having moderately low to moderately high infiltration rates. It is not used in coarse
sandy soils that have very high infiltration rates and also in heavy soils having very low infiltration rate.
✓ Suitable to irrigate all close growing crops like wheat, barley, fodder crops and legumes and not
suitable for rice.
Width of border strip: It varies from 3-15 m. Border length varies according to topography i.e Slope
8.1.4 Furrow Irrigation

✓ Furrows are small channels, which carry water down the land slope between the crop rows.
✓ Water infiltrates into the soil as it moves along the slope.
✓ The crop is usually grown on ridges between the furrows.
✓ This method is suitable for all row crops and for crops that cannot stand water for long periods, like
12 to 24 hours, as is generally encountered in the border or basin methods of irrigation.
✓ The length of time the water is to flow in the furrows depends on the amount of water required to
replenish the root zone and the infiltration rate of the soil and the rate of lateral spread of water in
the soil.
✓ Furrow irrigation is suitable to most soils except sandy soils that have very high infiltration water
and provide poor lateral distribution water between furrows.
✓ Water in the furrows contacts only one half to one-fifth of the land surface, thus reducing puddling
and clustering of soils and excessive evaporation of water.
8.1.4.1 Types of furrow irrigation

A. Based on alignment of furrows
1. Straight furrows
2. Contour furrows
B. Based on size and spacing

1. Deep furrows
2. Corrugations: Small and shallow furrow are known as corrugation, suitable for close growing crops
like wheat, ground nut etc.
8.1.5 Surge Irrigation

✓ Intermittent application of water to the field surface under gravity flow which results in a series of
‘’ON and OFF’’ modes of constant or variable time spans.
✓ In simpler terms, the term “Surge irrigation” refers to the delivering irrigation flows into individual
long furrows (more than 25m upto 200m) in an intermittent fashion of predetermined ON-OFF time
cycles (5 minutes to 10 minute) with the design duration of irrigation.
✓ During the ON time waterfront advances into the furrow over a certain length and during the
subsequent OFF time the water applied partially saturates the soil and infiltration rate gets reduced
on the advanced length.
✓ When water is delivered in the succeeding ON time, the water front advance gets accelerated due
to the reduced intake rate and eventually it reaches the tail end of long furrow with in 30 -50% of
the design duration of irrigation.
✓ This process of ON OFF water supply and cutoff results in highly minimized deep percolation and
runoff losses (hardly exceeding 20%).
✓ Hence, high uniformity of soil moisture distribution within the effective root zone is achieved over the
entire furrow length resulting in enhanced irrigation efficiencies of more than 85% to 95%.
✓ In addition, due to the series of long furrows emanating from a single head channel, the criss -cross
ridges and feeder channel of division are eliminated thereby limiting the land loss within 5% only.
8.2 Sub-Surface Irrigation

✓ The application of water to fields in this type of irrigation system is below the ground surface so that
it is supplied directly to the root zone of the plants.
✓ In sub-surface or sub-irrigation water is applied beneath the ground by creating and maintaining an
artificial water table at some depth, usually 30 to 75 cm, below the ground surface.
There may be two ways by which irrigation water may be applied below ground and these are termed
as:
1. Natural sub-surface irrigation method

2. Artificial sub-surface irrigation method
8.2.1 Natural Sub-Surface Irrigation method

Under favorable conditions of topography and soil conditions, the water table may be close enough to the
root zone of the field of crops which gets its moisture due to the upward capillary movement of water
from the water table.
✓ The soil in the root zone should be quite permeable

✓ There should be an impermeable substratum below the water table to prevent deep percolation of
water. There must be abundant supply of quality water that is one which is salt free, otherwise there
are chances of upward movement of these salts along with the moisture likely to lead the conditions
of salt incrustation on the surface.
8.2.2 Artificial sub-surface irrigation method

✓ The concept of maintaining a suitable water table just below the root zone is obtained by providing
perforated pipes laid in a network pattern below the soil surface at a desired depth.
✓ This method of irrigation will function only if the soil in the root zone has high horizontal permeability
to permit free lateral movement of water and low vertical permeability to prevent deep percolation
of water.
✓ This method of irrigation is not very popular because of the high expenses involved, unsuitable
distribution of subsurface moisture in many cases, and possibility of clogging of the perforation of the
pipes.
8.3 Pressurized Irrigation System/Micro-Irrigation

In pressurized irrigation systems water is pressurized and precisely applied to the plants under pressure
through a system of pipes.
8.3.1 Sprinkler Irrigation

✓ Water is applied with pressure to the surface of any crop or soil in the form of a thin spray, somewhat
resembling rainfall.
✓ The rate of spray of water can be regulated and natural rainfall can be simulated.
✓ Sprinkler irrigation can be used for all crops, (except rice and jute) and on most soils (except heavy
clay soils).
✓ It is especially suited for field with steep slopes or irregular topography.
The following tabular column shows various parts of a sprinkler system
Pumping A high speed centrifugal or turbine pump can be installed for operating the system for individual farm
Unit holdings.
Pipeline Pipelines are generally of two types. They are main and lateral. Main pipelines carry water from the
pumping plant to many parts of the field. The lateral pipelines carry the water from the main or sub main
pipe to the sprinklers.
Couplers A coupler provides connection between two tubing and between tubing and fittings.
Sprinklers Sprinklers may rotate or remain fixed. The rotating sprinklers can be adapted for a wide range of application
rates and spacing. They are effective with pressure of about 10 to 70 m head at the sprinkler. Pressures
ranging from 16-40 m head are considered the most practical for most farms. Perforated Pipe system is
usually designed for relatively low pressure (1 kg/cm2). The application rate ranges from 1.25 to 5 cm per
hour for various pressure and spacing.
Advantages of sprinkler irrigation
✓ Suitable for undulating topography and sandy soils. Saving of water from 25-50% for different crops.
✓ Discharge rate is more than 1000 lit/hr. Sprinkler pressure 2.5-4.5 kg/cm2
✓ Water use efficiency can be as high as 60% much higher to surface method of irrigation. Increase 40%
in irrigated area with same amount of water as compared with surface method of irrigation
✓ About 40-60% saving in labour compared with surface. It can be used to protect crops against frost
and high temperatures.
8.3.2 Drip Irrigation

✓ Introduced from Israel. Usage of a plastic emitter in drip irrigation was developed in Israel by Simcha
Blass and his son Yeshayahu.
✓ Drip or trickle irrigation is one of the latest methods of irrigation which is becoming increasingly
popular in areas with water scarcity and salt problems.
✓ The first place goes to Karnataka (8.16 lakh ha) followed by Andhra Pradesh (7.17 lakh ha) and
Gujarat (7 lakh ha). At the all-India level, 43.71 lakh ha of lands were brought under micro irrigation
in the last five years.
✓ This irrigation is defined as the precise but slow application of water as discrete drops or continuous
drops through mechanical devices, called emitters located at selected points along water delivering
lines.
✓ This system involves the slow application of water, drop by drop to the root zone of a crop.
✓ In this method water is used very economically, since losses due to deep percolation and surface
evaporation are reducing to the minimum.
✓ Drip irrigation is best suited in water scarcity area where water quality is marginal, topography is
undulating or steep, soil depth is restricted, labour is expensive and crop value is high.
The following tabular column shows various parts of a drip system
Pump The pump creates the pressure necessary to force water through the components of
the system including the fertilizer tank, filter unit, mainline, lateral and the emitters
and drippers. The laterals may be designed to operate under pressures as low as 0.15
to 0.2 kg/ cm2 and as large as 1 to 1.75 kg/cm2
Chemical A tank may be provided at the head of the drip irrigation systems for applying fertilizers,
Tank herbicides and other chemicals in solution directly to the field along with irrigation
water.
Emitters The discharge rate of emitters usually ranges from 2 to 10 litres per hour.
Filters It is an essential part of drip irrigation system. It prevents the blockage of pipes and
drippers/emitters.
Advantages of drip irrigation

✓ Suitable for water scarcity area water saving 50-70% as compare to surface.
✓ Fertilizer or other chemical amendment can be efficiently applied to individual or separate plants.
✓ Discharge rate of water per dripper is generally 1-8 lit/hr. at 1.5-2.5 kg/cm2 pressure.
✓ Most suitable for widely spaced crops, orchard trees and in green houses (protected cultivation of
vegetables & flowers).
Fertigation
Fertigation is a method of fertilizer application in which fertilizer is incorporated within the irrigation water
by the drip system. In this system fertilizer solution is distributed evenly in irrigation. The availability of
nutrients is very high therefore the efficiency is more. In this method liquid fertilizer as well as water soluble
fertilizers are used. By this method, fertilizer use efficiency is increased from 80 to 90 per cent.
Name N – P2O5 – K2O Solubility

content (g/l) at 20 C
Ammonium nitrate 34-0-0 1830
Ammonium sulphate 21-0-0 760
Urea 46-0-0 1100
Monoammonium phosphate 12-61-0 282
Diammonium phosphate 18-46-0 575
Potassium chloride 0-0-60 347
Potassium nitrate 13-0-44 316
Potassium sulphate 0-0-50 110
Monopotassium phosphate 0-52-34 230
Phosphoric acid 0-52-0 457
8.3.3 Comparative study between sprinkler and drip irrigation

Particulars Sprinkler irrigation Drip irrigation
Form of water Spray or rain Drop
Rate of delivery >1000 litre/hr 1-4 litre/hr
Water saving 25-50 per cent 60-70 per cent
Land saving 10-16 per cent -
Uniformity Uniform application of water (up to 10m) Root zone application
Suitable for Undulating land, sandy soils, areas where Wider spaced crop, orchard and
water and labour scarcity is common, vegetable garden, areas where
saline soil acute water shortage
8.3.4 Irrigation Methods Suitable for Different Crops

S. No Irrigation Method Crops
1 Flooding Rice and jute
2 Check basin Groundnut, pulses, finger millet
3 Border strip Close growing crops
4 Furrow Cotton, maize, tobacco, potato, sorghum, sugarcane, vegetables
5 Surge Maize, sorghum
6 Corrugation (shallow and Wheat, groundnut, setaria sp.
small furrow)
7 Drip Sugarcane
8 Sprinkler Vegetable and fruit crop
9 Water requirement of a crop

✓ Water requirements of a crop is the quantity of water needed for normal crop growth and yield in a
period of time to a place and may be supplied by precipitation or by irrigation or by both.
✓ Water is needed mainly to meet the demand of evaporation (E), transpiration (T) and metabolic
activity of plant together known as Consumptive Use (C.U). So, water requirement = IW + ER + S
IW - Irrigation Water in cm
ER - Effective Rainfall in cm
S - Soil profile contribution
9.1 Water Requirements of Agricultural Crops in Surface Irrigation Methods (5cm
depth at each irrigation)
Crop Duration Total Water Requirement (mm)
Rice 110 1250
Sugarcane 360 2200
Groundnut 105 510
Sorghum 105 500
Maize 100 500
Ragi 95 310
Cotton 165 600
Blackgram 65 280
Soybean 85 320
Sesame 85 150
Sunflower 110 450
9.2 Critical stages of crops for irrigation

S.No Cereals Critical stages of crops for irrigation
1 Rice Tillering, panicle, initiation, heading and flowering

2 Wheat CRI, Tillering, Late joining, flowering, milking and dough
3 Maize Tasseling and silking to dough stage
4 Sorghum Booting, blooming, milking and dough stage
5 Pearl millet Heading and flowering
6 Finger millet Primordial initiation and flowering
Pulses
1 Chickpea Late vegetative phase and pod development
2 Pea Flowering and early pod formation
3 Blackgram Flowering and pod setting
4 Greengram Flowering and pod setting
5 Lucern After cutting and flowering
6 Beans Flowering and pod settings
Oilseed
1 Groundnut Flowering, peg formation and pod development
2 Soybean Blooming and seed formation
3 Sunflower Buttoning, knee high, flowering and early seed formation
4 Sesamum Blooming to maturity
Now in the section below we shall have a look at the important irrigation terminologies
9.3 Important Irrigation Terminologies
1. Water Use Efficiency
2. Consumptive Water Use Efficiency
3. Water Storage Efficiency
4. Field Water Use Efficiency
5. Crop Water Use Efficiency
6. Water Conveyance Efficiency
7. Irrigation Efficiency
9.3.1 Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

It is the yield of a marketable crop produced per unit of water used in evapo-transpiration or it is the dry
matter produced per unit of water used and it is expressed as kg/ha-mm(cm).
Water Use Efficiency is of two types
9.3.1.1 Field Water Use Efficiency

It is the ratio of crop yield to the total amount of water used in the field.
Field WUE = Crop Yield (kg/ha)/ (ET + S + D)
Where ET: Evapotranspiration loss of water; S: Ground water contribution; D: Deep Percolation losses
9.3.1.2 Crop Water Use Efficiency

It is the ratio of crop yield to the amount of water depleted by the crop in the process of
evapotranspiration.
Crop WUE = Crop Yield (kg/ha)/ (E + T + G)
E: Evaporation loss; T: Transpiration loss; G: Metabolic use of plant
9.3.1.3 Water use efficiency of major field crops

S.No Crop WUE (kg/ha mm)
1 Finger Millet 13.4
2 Wheat 12.6
3 Groundnut 9.2
4 Sorghum 9.0
5 Pearl millet, maize 8.0
6 Rice 3.7 (lowest)
9.3.2 Consumptive Water Use Efficiency

It is defined as the ratio of consumptive water use by the crop of irrigated farm or project and the irrigation
water stored in the root zone of the soil on the farm or the project area.
9.3.2.1 What is Consumptive Use of Water?
It is used to designate the losses due to evapotranspiration and the water used by the plant for its
metabolic activities. Since water used in the actual metabolic process is less than 1% of
Evapotranspiration, it is insignificant and thus the term Consumptive Use = Evapotranspiration.
CU = ET + water used in metabolic activities
9.3.3 Irrigation Efficiency

It is defined as the ratio of water output to the water input, i.e., the ratio or percentage of the irrigation
water consumed by the crop of an irrigated farm, field or project to the water delivered from the source.
Wc
Ei = --------- x 100
Wr
where, Ei = irrigation efficiency (%); Wc = irrigation water consumed by crop during its growth period in
an irrigation project; Wr = water delivered from canals during the growth period of crops.
In most irrigation projects, the irrigation efficiency ranges between 12 to 34 %.
9.3.4 Water Storage Efficiency

It is defined as the ratio of the water stored in the root depth by irrigation to the water needed in the root
depth to bring it to the field capacity. Also termed as water storage factor.
Ws
Es = ---------- x 100
Ww
where,
Es = water storage efficiency, per cent; Ws = water stored in the root zone during the irrigation; Ww =
water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation, i.e., field capacity available
9.3.5 Water Conveyance Efficiency

It is a measure of efficiency of water conveyance system from canal network to watercourses and field
channels. It is the ratio of water delivered infields at the outlet head to that diverted into the canal
system from the river or reservoir. Water losses occur in conveyance from the point of diversion till it
reaches the farmer's fields which can be evaluated by water conveyance efficiency, as under:
Wt
Ec = ------- x 100
Wf
where,
Ec = water conveyance efficiency, per cent; Wf = water delivered to the farm by conveyance system (at
field supply channel); Wt = water introduced into the conveyance system from the point of diversion
Water conveyance efficiency is generally low; about 21% losses occur in earthen watercourses only.
10 Irrigation water quality

✓ Irrigation water quality refers to the kind and amount of salts present in the water and their effects
on crop growth and development.
✓ High salt concentrations influence osmotic pressure of the soil solution and affect the ability of plants
to absorb water through their roots.
✓ The suitability of water for irrigation is determined in several ways including the degree of acidity
or alkalinity (pH), EC (Electrical Conductivity), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Sodium Adsorption
Ratio (SAR), Permeability Index (PI) and Total Hardness (TH) along with the effects of specific ions.
10.1 Classification of Irrigation water quality

Let us have a look at the various standards for determining the Irrigation water quality
Quality of irrigation is judged with three parameters
✓ Total salt concentration

✓ Sodium Adsorption ratio water
✓ Boron content
10.1.1 Total salt concentration

✓ Salt concentration of irrigation water is measured as electrical conductivity (EC).
✓ Conventionally, water containing total dissolved salts to the extent of more than 1.5 m mhos/cm has
been classified as saline. Saline waters are those which have sodium chloride as the predominant
salt.
Classification of irrigation water based on total salt content
Class EC Quality characterisation Soils for which suitable

(ds/m)
C1 <1.5 Normal waters All soils
C2 1.5 – 3 Low salinity waters Light and medium textured soils
C3 3–5 Medium salinity waters Light and medium textured soils for semi – tolerant
crops
C4 5 – 10 Saline waters Light and medium textured soils for tolerant crops
C5 > 10 High salinity waters Not suitable
10.1.2 Sodium Adsorption ratio

Sodium Adsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) are also the main criterion to
determine the quality of irrigation water.
10.1.3 Boron content

Irrigation water which contains more than 3 ppm boron is harmful to crops, especially on light soils.
Classification of irrigation water based on boron content
Class Boron Characterisation Soils suitable

(ppm)
B1 3 Normal waters All soils
B2 3–4 Low boron waters Clay soils and medium textured soils
B3 4–5 Medium boron waters Heavy textured soils
B4 5 – 10 Boron waters Heavy textured soils
B5 > 10 High boron waters Not suitable
Kindly go through the following tabular column for summary of various indicators
For
Agricultural Engineering

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 What is Agricultural engineering? ............................................................................................8
1.1 Mobile Power ................................................................................................................................ 8
1.1.1 Human Power .....................................................................................................................8
1.1.2 Animal Power .....................................................................................................................8
1.1.3 Mechanical Power ...............................................................................................................8
1.2 Stationary power........................................................................................................................... 9
1.3 Electrical Power............................................................................................................................. 9
1.4 Renewable energy ........................................................................................................................ 9
2 Important Terminologies.........................................................................................................9
2.1 Horsepower (HP) ........................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Indicated horse power (IHP) ....................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Brake horse power (BHP) ............................................................................................................ 10
2.4 Frictional horse power (FHP) ...................................................................................................... 10
2.5 Power take-off horse power (PTO HP) ........................................................................................ 10
3 Farm Mechanization ............................................................................................................. 10
3.1 Various stages/categories in which mechanization is involved .................................................. 10
4 Land Levelling ....................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Why is Land Levelling important? ............................................................................................... 10
4.2 Equipments used for land levelling ............................................................................................. 11
4.2.1 Land Leveling using Draft Animals...................................................................................... 11
4.2.2 Land Leveling using Machinery .......................................................................................... 11
5 Seed bed preparation/Tillage operations ............................................................................... 12
5.1 Why is a good seedbed necessary? ............................................................................................ 12
5.2 Tillage .......................................................................................................................................... 12
5.3 Primary Tillage Implements ........................................................................................................ 13
5.3.1 Indigenous Plough ............................................................................................................. 13
5.3.2 Mould board Plough .......................................................................................................... 14
5.3.3 Disc Plough ....................................................................................................................... 14
5.3.4 Chisel plough .................................................................................................................... 15
5.3.5 Subsoiler ........................................................................................................................... 15

5.3.6 Rotary Plough ................................................................................................................... 15
5.4 Secondary Tillage Implements .................................................................................................... 15
5.4.1 Harrow ............................................................................................................................. 15
5.4.2 Types of harrows used in India .......................................................................................... 16
5.4.3 Few other Secondary tillage implements............................................................................ 19
5.5 Tillage Implements for Rice Cultivation ...................................................................................... 19
5.5.1 Cage Wheels ..................................................................................................................... 19
5.5.2 Puddler ............................................................................................................................. 19
5.6 Implements used for both primary and secondary tillage.......................................................... 19
5.6.1 Rotavator.......................................................................................................................... 19
6 Sowing ................................................................................................................................. 20
6.1 Seed Cum Fertilizer drill .............................................................................................................. 20
6.2 Seed Drill ..................................................................................................................................... 20
6.2.1 Seed metering mechanism ................................................................................................ 20
6.3 Planter ......................................................................................................................................... 21
6.3.1 Potato Planter (Automatic Seed Dropping)......................................................................... 21
6.3.2 Potato Planter (semi-automatic) ........................................................................................ 21
7 Equipments used in Weeding and interculture operations ..................................................... 21
7.1 Khurpi .......................................................................................................................................... 22
7.2 Hand Hoe .................................................................................................................................... 22
7.3 Long Handle Weeders ................................................................................................................. 22
7.4 Cultivators ................................................................................................................................... 23
7.4.1 Types of tractor drawn cultivators ..................................................................................... 23
7.4.2 Duck foot type or Sweep cultivator .................................................................................... 24
8 Fertilizer application ............................................................................................................. 24
9 Plant Protection Equipment .................................................................................................. 24
9.1 Sprayers....................................................................................................................................... 24
9.2 Types of Sprayers ........................................................................................................................ 25
9.2.1 Manually operated sprayers .............................................................................................. 25
9.2.2 Engine operated sprayer is classified as follows.................................................................. 25
9.3 Duster.......................................................................................................................................... 26

9.4 Types of dusters .......................................................................................................................... 27
9.4.1 Plunger type Duster........................................................................................................... 27
9.4.2 Knapsack type duster ........................................................................................................ 27
9.4.3 Rotary duster .................................................................................................................... 27
9.4.4 Power dusters ................................................................................................................... 27
10 Harvesting and Threshing ...................................................................................................... 27
10.1 What is Harvesting? .................................................................................................................... 27
11 Tractors ................................................................................................................................ 29
11.1 History of tractor development .................................................................................................. 29
11.2 Types of tractors ......................................................................................................................... 29
11.3 Classification based on the type of construction ........................................................................ 30
11.4 Classification based on the type of drives .................................................................................. 30
11.4.1 Track type tractors: (Also called Chain Type or Crawlers Type) ............................................ 30
11.4.2 Wheel Type Tractors ......................................................................................................... 30
11.5 Classification based on the purpose for which they are used .................................................... 30
11.5.1 Utility Tractor .................................................................................................................... 30
11.5.2 Row crop Tractor ............................................................................................................... 30
11.5.3 Orchard type Tractors........................................................................................................ 31
11.5.4 Industrial type tractor ....................................................................................................... 31
11.5.5 Rotary tillers ..................................................................................................................... 31
11.5.6 Garden type Tractors ......................................................................................................... 31
11.5.7 Earth moving tractors ........................................................................................................ 31
11.6 Tractor components.................................................................................................................... 31
11.7 Selection of Tractor ..................................................................................................................... 32
12 Power Tiller .......................................................................................................................... 32
12.1 What is a Power Tiller? ............................................................................................................... 32
12.2 Components of power tiller ........................................................................................................ 33
13 Farm Processing Equipments ................................................................................................. 33
13.1 What is farm product processing? .............................................................................................. 33
13.2 Seed Processing .......................................................................................................................... 34
13.2.1 Phase of seed processing ................................................................................................... 34

13.3 Rice Processing............................................................................................................................ 35
13.3.1 Hulling .............................................................................................................................. 35
13.3.2 Huller................................................................................................................................ 35
13.3.3 Paddy separator ................................................................................................................ 35
13.3.4 Brown rice ........................................................................................................................ 35
13.3.5 Paddy cleaner ................................................................................................................... 35
13.3.6 Drying ............................................................................................................................... 36
14 Pumps for Irrigation .............................................................................................................. 36
15 Miscellaneous ....................................................................................................................... 38
15.1 Post-Hole Digger ......................................................................................................................... 38
15.2 Dibber.......................................................................................................................................... 38
15.3 Tractor operated turmeric harvester .......................................................................................... 39
15.4 The tractor-drawn canopy shake system- citrus harvester ........................................................ 39
15.5 Self-propelled harvesting units- citrus harvester........................................................................ 39
15.6 Power tiller operated potato digger ........................................................................................... 39
15.7 Paddy transplanter...................................................................................................................... 39
15.7.1 Manual rice planter ........................................................................................................... 39
15.7.2 Self-propelled paddy transplanter ..................................................................................... 39
16 Storage ................................................................................................................................. 40
16.1 How to store?.............................................................................................................................. 40
16.1.1 Refrigeration ..................................................................................................................... 40
16.1.2 Cartons ............................................................................................................................. 40
16.1.3 Cold Storage...................................................................................................................... 40
16.1.4 Warehouse ....................................................................................................................... 40
16.2 Traditional Storage Structures .................................................................................................... 40
16.3 Improved Storage Structures ...................................................................................................... 42
16.4 Modern Storage Structures ........................................................................................................ 43
16.4.1 Silo type of storage structures ........................................................................................... 43
16.4.2 Shed ................................................................................................................................. 43
16.4.3 Farm Silos ......................................................................................................................... 44
17 Storage of Perishable Products .............................................................................................. 45

17.1 Modified Storage Systems .......................................................................................................... 45
17.1.1 Beneficial effects of proper Controlled Atmospheric storage .............................................. 47
17.1.2 Detrimental effects of Controlled Atmospheric storage (above or below optimum
composition for the commodity) ...................................................................................................... 47
17.1.3 Disadvantages of Controlled Atmosphere storage .............................................................. 47
17.1.4 MAP - modified atmosphere packaging .............................................................................. 47

We have discussed the process of seedbed preparation as part of the tillage system under Crop
Production.
1 What is Agricultural engineering?

It means application of engineering in agriculture.
✓ When we talk about agricultural engineering, we are talking about the various fields of agriculture in
which engineering is applied.
1.1 Mobile Power

The various sources of Mobile power are: Human Power, Animal Power and Mechanical Power
1.1.1 Human Power

✓ Human power is the main source for operating small implements and tools at the farm. Stationary
work like chaff cutting, lifting, water, threshing, winnowing etc are also done by manual labour.
✓ A strong man can develop maximum power of about 75 watts (0.1 hp) for doing farm work.
✓ The average human power availability in sustained working is as follows:
• Male: 60 watts (0.06 kW); Female: 48 watts (0.048 kW); Children: 30 watts (0.030 kW)
1.1.2 Animal Power

✓ Draught animals: A working animal or draught animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept
by humans and trained to perform tasks.
✓ The average force a draft animal can exert is nearly one-tenth of its body weight.
✓ Example: In case of agriculture, draught animal is a strong working animal used to draw a load(cart),
a plough etc., like Cattle
The power available from draught animals is The classification of draught animals based on
related to its body weight the body weight is as follows
✓ Buffaloes: About 12% of the body weight ✓ Small – 200 to 300 kg
✓ Bullocks: About 10% of the body weight ✓ Medium – 301 to 400 kg
✓ Camels: About 18% of the body weight ✓ Large – 401 to 500 kg
✓ Donkeys: About 32% of the body weight ✓ Heavy – Above 500 kg
1.1.3 Mechanical Power

✓ Mechanical power means the power coming from machines and is the third important source of
farm power that is available through the following.
✓ In modern days, almost all the tractors and power tillers are operated by diesel engines. Diesel
engines are used for operating irrigation pumps, flour mills, oil ghanis, cotton gins, chaff cutter,
sugarcane crusher, threshers, winnowers etc.
Tractors and Power tillers are the machines that use mechanical power for work
Self-propelled machines like Combines, Transplanters, Reapers, Sprayers

1.1.3.1 I.C (Internal Combustion Engine)
I.C (Internal Combustion Engine) is a good device for converting fuel into useful work. The I.C engines are
of two types
✓ Spark ignition engines (Petrol or Kerosene engine) - A spark-ignition engine (SI engine) is an internal
combustion engine, generally a petrol engine, where the combustion process of the air-fuel mixture
is ignited by a spark from a spark plug.
✓ Compression ignition engines (Diesel engines) - The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an
internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the
air in the cylinder due to the mechanical compression.
✓ In modern days, almost all tractors and power tillers are fitted with diesel engines. Thermal
efficiency of diesel engine varies from 32 to 38 percent, whereas that of petrol engine varies form 25
to 32 percent.
The thermal efficiency of a heat engine is the percentage of heat energy that is transformed into
work. Thermal efficiency is defined as. The efficiency of even the best heat engines is low; usually
below 50% and often far below.c
1.2 Stationary power

✓ This kind of power can be provided by either the Stationary engines or the electric motors.
✓ Stationary oil engines can be used for pumping water, flour mill, cotton gins, sugarcane crusher,
Thresher, Winnower etc.
1.3 Electrical Power

✓ Electrical power is used mostly in the form of electrical motors on the farms.
✓ Electrical power is used for water pumping, dairy industry, cold storage, farm product processing, fruit
industry, poultry industry etc.
1.4 Renewable energy

✓ It is the energy obtained from biomass, sun and wind.
✓ The availability of wind power for farm work is quite limited. Where the wind velocity is more than
32 kmph, wind mills can be used for lifting water.
✓ Solar energy- Solar dryers, lantern, cooker, solar still, solar refrigeration, solar lighting etc
✓ Wind energy- Water pumping, electricity generation etc.
✓ Biomass energy- Gasifiers to produce producer gas, pyrolysis to produce liquid fuels, Biogas etc
✓ Tidal energy – electricity generation
✓ Geothermal energy- Heat and electricity production
2 Important Terminologies
2.1 Horsepower (HP)

It is the rate of doing work. It is usually expressed in horsepower. Mathematically speaking, horsepower is
the force needed to move 550 pounds one foot in a second, or 33,000 pounds one foot in a
minute. Conversion factors from work to power

4500 kg m of work /minute = 1.0 hp; 75 kg m of work /second = 1.0 hp; Roughly, 1.0 hp = 746 watts
2.2 Indicated horse power (IHP)

It is the power generated in the engine cylinder and received by the piston. It is the power developed in
a cylinder without accounting frictional losses.
2.3 Brake horse power (BHP)

It is the power delivered by the engine at the end of the crankshaft. It is measured by a dynamometer.
The difference between both is the power wasted due to heat and friction. Indicated horse power less
frictional horse power is Brake horse power. IHP = BHP + FHP
2.4 Frictional horse power (FHP)

✓ It is the power required to run the engine at a given speed without producing any useful work. It
represents the friction and pumping losses of an engine.
2.5 Power take-off horse power (PTO HP)

✓ The PTO horsepower is the amount of horsepower available for running implements with the tractor,
like for example a bush hog. The PTO hp is around 80-85% of tractor engine power.
3 Farm Mechanization
✓ Farm mechanization is the application of engineering and technology in agricultural operation to do
a job in a better way to improve productivity.
3.1 Various stages/categories in which mechanization is involved

Mechanization in farming operations is classified under following heads
Land levelling, Seed bed preparation/Tillage operations, Sowing, Weeding and intercultural operations,
Fertilizer application and Harvesting and threshing
4 Land Levelling
Land levelling is a measure used in surface irrigation, such as basin and furrow irrigation. It consists of:
✓ Preparing the irrigation plot in a way that no high and/or low spots disturb the uniform distribution
of irrigation water on the field, and
✓ Ensuring the optimal slope for water movement across a field when irrigated.
4.1 Why is Land Levelling important? Procedure in Land Leveling
✓ Plough the field twice

✓ Measure the levelness of the field by
conducting a topographic survey.
✓ Draw a topographic map of the field
✓ Mark the high and low areas in the field
✓ Move soil from the high areas to the low
areas in the most cost-effective manner
✓ Repair levees/bunds
4.2 Equipments used for land levelling
The equipments can be either animal drawn or power drawn
4.2.1 Land Leveling using Draft Animals

To level a field using a draft animal and a leveling board the following equipment are needed
1. Animal or pair of animals (oxen, caribou) ; 2. Plough (moldboard); 3. Harrows or leveling board; 4. Water
source and Water pump (if fields are not flooded)
✓ A ratio of 40kg weight/meter width of leveling board gives the best results.
Leveling board - bullock drawn: It is a wooden board of length 2.0m, width 0.4m and thickness 0.3m
provided with side wings, hitching braces and handle. Similar to a Leveller.
Along with the above, for land development, some other/new types and most commonly used bullock
drawn implements, have been developed and are commercially available such as
Soil Scoop: Soil scoops are used for excavating ditches, clearing drains and doing cut and fill jobs in
land leveling. The angle of the cutting blade varies from 12° to 15° angle.
Buck Scraper
✓ Animal drawn buck scraper is used for land grading and leveling fields of smaller and medium sizes.
Buck scraper is a simple implement for land grading. The operator can control the depth of cut
depends upon the load on scraper.
Leveller: This can be either animal drawn/tractor drawn that helps in levelling the land.
4.2.2 Land Leveling using Machinery
Leveler - tractor, power tiller and bullock drawn types are

available. Heavy duty machinery. Meant for initial cutting and
filling of land undulations
Precision land leveler- to provide desired grade either level or

gently sloping. 8, 10, 12 13, 15- and 15-feet width of cut, 8 to 18
yards. Tractor HP 120 meant for farm use. Laser leveling systems
are commonly used in agricultural applications in Australia,
Japan and the United States.
Using laser leveling results in a much more level field because
accuracy can be improved by as much as 50% compared with the
other systems.
A laser transmitter transmits a laser beam, which is intercepted
by the laser receiver mounted on the leveling bucket.
The control panel mounted on the tractor interprets the signal
from the receiver and raises or lowers the bucket. This way the
soil gets shifted to the right places to make the entire field
level.
Leveler with ripper attachment - rippers loosen the soil prior to

moving the soil.
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smooth leveling. Used after Initial leveling is completed using
a leveler. It is also used to fill the pits by bringing soil/sand
from another place. The scraper too is attached behind to any
tractor. When the bucket of scraper is filled with soil/sand pull
the chain by to empty the bucket. The rear part has a vertically
moveable hopper (also known as the bowl) with a sharp
5 Seed bed preparation/Tillage operations
Seed bed preparation is done to provide a suitable environment for the seeds to germinate.
5.1 Why is a good seedbed necessary?

✓ The characteristics of a good seedbed are: uniformly firm soil to depth of 5 inches (12.7
centimeters), adequate soil moisture, and weed free.
✓ So, in order to prepare the seedbed, tillage operations are carried out.
5.2 Tillage
Tillage is the use of implements to prepare land for planting. Tillage has 5 main purposes:
✓ To break up clods and loosen the topsoil to encourage seed germination, seedling emergence, and
root growth. Most tractor- and animal-drawn planters require a tilled seedbed for successful
operation.
✓ To chop up and/or bury the previous crop's residues so they won't interfere with the new crop.
✓ To control weeds. An ideal seedbed is completely free of visible weeds at planting time.
✓ To incorporate (mix into the soil) fertilizers or liming materials.
✓ To shape the type of seedbed best suited to the specific soil, crop, and rainfall conditions (e.g. raised
beds, ridges, flat beds, sunken beds, etc)
It is done in 2 steps, Primary Tillage and Secondary tillage.
5.3 Primary Tillage Implements
✓ The implements used for primary tillage are called as primary tillage implements. They include many
animal drawn and tractor drawn implements.
✓ Animal drawn implements mostly include indigenous ploughs and mould-board ploughs.
✓ Tractor drawn implements include mould-board ploughs, disc ploughs, heavy duty disk harrows,
subsoil ploughs, chisel ploughs and other similar implements.
The main implement used for primary tillage is a plough. Ploughing essentially consists of opening the
upper crust of the soil, breaking the clods and making the soil suitable for sowing seeds.
There are 2 major types of ploughs based on the power used. They are Bullock drawn and Tractor drawn.
In both the types basic structure of plough would be the same.
5.3.1 Indigenous Plough

✓ It is an animal drawn plough. It penetrates into the soil and breaks it open.
✓ It forms V shaped furrows with 15-20 cm top width and 12-15 cm depth.
✓ It can be used for ploughing in dry land, garden land and wetlands.
✓ The size of the plough is represented by the width of the body and the field capacity is around 0.4 ha
per day of 8 hours.
✓ Except share all other parts are made up of wood.
✓ Share - It is the working part of the plough attached to the shoe with which it penetrates into the soil
and breaks it open.
✓ Shoe - It supports and stabilizes the plough at the required depth.
✓ Body - It is the main part of the plough to which the shoe, beam and handle are attached. In country
ploughs both body and shoe are made in a single piece of wood.
✓ Beam - It is a long wooden piece, which connects the main body of the plough to the yoke.
✓ Handle - A wooden piece vertically attached to the body to enable the operator to control the plough
while it is working In each state farmers use indigenous ploughs of their own make.
5.3.2 Mould board Plough
✓ Ploughing accounts for more traction energy than any other field operation.
✓ Mouldboard ploughs are available for animals, power tiller and tractor operation.
✓ While working, a mouldboard plough does four jobs namely a) cutting the furrow slice b) lifting the
furrow slice c) inverting the furrow slice and d) pulverizing the furrow slice
The components of MB Plough are:

✓ Mouldboard: It is the curved part which lifts and turns the furrow slice.
✓ Land side: It is the flat plate which bears against and transmits the rear side lateral thrust of the plough
bottom to the furrow wall.
✓ Frog: It is the part to which other components of the plough bottom are attached.
✓ Tail piece: It is an adjustable extension, which can be fastened to the rear of a mould board to help in
turning a furrow slice.
Mould board and its types.
5.3.2.1 Mouldboard
It is that part of the plough which receives the furrow slice from the share. If lifts, turns and breaks the
furrow slice. To suit different soil conditions and crop requirements, mouldboard has been designed in
different shapes.
a) General purpose: It is a mouldboard having medium curvature lying between stubble and sod types.
The mouldboard is fairly long with a gradual twist, the surface being slightly convex. The sloping of the
surface is gradual. It turns a well defined furrow slice and pulverizes the soil thoroughly.
b) Stubble type: It is short but broader mouldboard with a relatively abrupt curvature which lifts, breaks
and turns the furrow slice. This is best suited to work in stubble soil that is under cultivation for years
together. Stubble soil is that soil in which stubble of the plants from the previous crop is still left on the
land at the time of ploughing. This type of mouldboard is not suitable for lands with full of grasses.
c) Sod or Breaker type: It is a long mould board with gentle curvature which lifts and inverts the unbroken
furrow slice. It turns over thickly covered soil. This is very useful where complete inversion of soil is
required by the farmer. This type has been designed for used in sod soils (soil with much of grass).
d) Slat type: It is a mouldboard whose surface is made of slats placed along the length of the mouldboard,
so that there are gaps between the slats. This type of mouldboard is often used, where the soil is sticky,
because the solid mouldboard does not scour well in sticky soils.
5.3.3 Disc Plough

✓ It is a plough which cuts, turns and in some cases breaks furrow slices by means of separately mounted
large steel discs. A disc plough is designed with a view to reduce friction by making a rolling plough
bottom instead of sliding plough bottom.
✓ Disc plough is used for primary tillage and it is specially used where M.B. Plough is not useful such as
hard and dry soil.
Types of Disc Ploughs - It is of two types: Standard Disc plough and Vertical Disc plough
5.3.3.1 Standard Disc Plough
This is a general disc plough. Some important terms connected with disc plough is as follows
✓ Disc: It is a circular, concave revolving steel plate used for cutting and inverting the soil.
✓ Disc angle: It is the angle at which the plane of the cutting edge of the disc is inclined to the direction
of travel. Usually the disc angle of good plough varies between 42 to 45◦.
✓ Tilt angle: It is the angle at which the plane of the cutting edge of the disc is inclined to a vertical line.
The tilt angle varies from 15◦ to 25◦ for a good plough.
✓ Scraper: It is device to remove the soil that tend to stick to the working surface of disc.
5.3.3.2 Vertical disc plough

✓ It is a plough which combines the principle of the regular disc plough and the disc harrow (one of the
secondary tillage implement) and is used for shallow working in the soil.
✓ This type of plough is also called Harrow plough or One way disc plough. The size of the disc varies
from 50 to 65cm and the disc angle varies from 40◦ to 45◦.
Other Kinds of Ploughs
5.3.4 Chisel plough

✓ It is used to cut through hard soils by means of a number of narrow tynes. It is used before using the
regular plough. It is useful for breaking hard layers of soil just below the regular ploughing depth. This
layer of soil which is called Hard Pan or Plough sole is very tough and hard.
5.3.5 Subsoiler
✓ It is a plough designed to penetrate the soil to depths more than those achieved during normal
ploughing operation. The plough depth maybe 40 cm or more up to 100 cm.
✓ It helps in breaking up of hard pan helping to drain heavy soil, simulating deep rooted growth to help
crops withstand in drought conditions and aeration of soil.
5.3.6 Rotary Plough

✓ It is a plough used to cut and pulverize soil by impact forces by means of a number of rotary tynes or
knives which are mounted on a horizontal rotor.
✓ It is also known as Rotary tiller. It is suitable for shallow cultivation and weed control.
5.4 Secondary Tillage Implements

✓ Tillage operations performed after primary tillage to create proper soil tilth for seeding and planting
are called secondary tillage. These operations are lighter and finer operations performed on the soil
after primary tillage operations.
5.4.1 Harrow
✓ A harrow is an implement that cuts the soil to a shallow depth for smoothening and pulverizing the
soil as well as to cut the weeds and to mix materials with soil.
✓ It is an implement used to break the clods after ploughing, to collect trash from the ploughed land
and to level the seed bed.Harrow is used for harrowing, which is a secondary tillage operation, which
pulverizes, smoothens and packs the soil in seed bed preparation and to control weeds.
5.4.2 Types of harrows used in India
5.4.2.1 Disc Harrow

✓ Disc harrow is found very suitable for hard ground with full of stalks and grasses.
✓ It cuts the lumps of soil, clods and roots.
Types of disc harrows: Depending upon the source of power, disc harrows are of two types
1. Tractor drawn and 2. Animal drawn
1. Tractor drawn disc harrows: These are drawn using tractors
A. Single action disc harrow

Harrow with two gangs placed end to end which throws the soil in opposite directions.
B. Double action disc harrow

✓ A disc harrow containing two or more gangs, in which a set of one or two gangs follow behind the set
of the other one or two, arranged in such a way that the front and back gangs throw the soil in
opposite directions.
✓ Thus the entire field is worked twice in each strip. It maybe of two types: Tandem and off-set.
a. Tandem Disc Harrow: The double action disc harrow is often called a tandem harrow because a set of
two gangs follows behind the front gangs and is arranged in such a way that the discs on the front gangs
throw the soil in one direction ( usually outward) , and the discs on the rear gangs throw the soil in the
opposite direction (outward) Thus the entire field is worked twice in each trip.
b. Off-Set Disc Harrow: Offset disk harrow has one right-hand gang (throwing the soil to the right) and
one left – hand gang (throwing the soil to the left), operating in tandem. The harrow is given this name
because the harrow can be operated in offset position in relation to the tractor. A change in hitch can
cause the harrow to run either to the left or right of the tractor. It is possible to operate the harrow under
limbs , near trees in an orchard.
2. Animal Drawn Disc Harrow: These are drawn with the help of animals
✓ The weight of the disc harrow varies between 80 to 100 kg only.
✓ The disc is usually made of steel with carbon content ranging from 0.80 to 0.90%.
Parts of Disc Harrow

✓ Disc: Concave disc 35-70 cm diameter
✓ Gang: It is an assembly of concave discs mounted on a common shaft with spools in between.
✓ Spool or Spacer: The flanged tube, mounted on the gang axle between every two discs to retain them
at fixed position laterally on the shaft is called Spool or Spacer.
✓ The other parts are: Gang bolt, Gang angle, Gang control lever, Spools or Spacer, Bearings, Transport
wheels, Scraper and Weight Box.
5.4.2.2 Spike Tooth Harrow
✓ Spike tooth harrow has teeth resembling long spikes that stir the soil.
✓ These harrows are also known as peg tooth harrow, drag harrow, section harrow, or smoothing
harrow.
✓ Its principal use is to smoothen and level the soil directly after ploughing. It will stir the soil to a
depth of about 5 cm, if weighted.
Types of Spike tooth harrows

A. Rigid Type: The animal drawn spike tooth harrow are usually of rigid type. There may or may not be
provision for changing the angles of spikes in operating conditions.
B. Flexible type: Tractor drawn implements are usually of flexible type. It has got advantage of being
rolled up for transporting purpose.
5.4.2.3 Spring Tooth Harrow

✓ Spring tooth harrows are made in sections somewhat like spike tooth harrows.
✓ The sections vary in width from 0.9 to 1.7m. Spring tooth harrows are adapted for use in rough and
stony ground.
✓ They are also used extensively to loosen previously ploughed soil ahead of grain drill seeding rice or
small grains.
✓ Spring tooth harrow is also called as quack grass, and Bermuda grass eradicator, since the teeth
penetrate deeply, tear out and bring the roots to the surface.
5.4.2.4 Acme Harrow

It is a special type of animal drawn harrow having a transverse horizontal frame with stiff curved blades.
Also known as curved knife-tooth harrow.
5.4.2.5 Patela
✓ It is a wooden plank used for smoothening the soil and crushing the clods. It is also used for removing
the weeds. The size of the Patela varies in the range of 1200 to 3000 mm.
✓ The weight of Patela varies between 45 to 55 kg only. The main components of Patela are: Plank and
Weeding hooks.
5.4.2.6 Triangular Harrows

✓ It is a spike tooth harrow with triangular frame. The teeth of the spikes are fixed and not adjustable.
✓ It is used for breaking the clods and smoothening the soil surface.
5.4.2.7 Blade harrows

✓ It is used to prepare seedbeds mostly in clayey soils.
✓ It works like a sweep, which moves into top surface of the soil without inverting the soil.
A. Bakhar: It is an implement which consists of one or more blades attached to the beam or frame,
used for shallow working of the soil with minimum of soil inversion. It is used to prepare seed beds
mostly in clayey soils. It works like a sweep which moves into the top surface of the soil without
inverting the soil.
B. Guntaka: It is an improved type of blade harrow. The functions of Guntaka are same as that of
Bakhar. It is an implement, which consists of one or more blades attached to a frame or beam. It is
used for shallow working of the soil with minimum soil inversion. It is mainly used to prepare the seed
bed mostly in clay soils.
5.4.2.8 Bodela
It is twin blade harrow used in the Southern region of India.
5.4.2.9 Power harrow – tractor drawn

✓ A power harrow tills the soil maintaining the same profile of the field.
✓ It pulverizes the upper and lower layer of soil without turning them upside down and thus it forms a
good seed bed as well as good soil mulch.
✓ It consists of two horizontal cross bars fitted with rigid pegs which reciprocate taking power from the
PTO of a tractor.
✓ The pegs are spaced 200 mm wide and are staggered with respect to each cross bar.
✓ The two bars move in opposite directions and hence the implement is dynamically balanced.
✓ The oscillating pegs break the clods and pulverizes the soil to a fine tilth.
✓ The width of the operation is 2000 mm and the field capacity is around 1.5 ha/day.
5.4.2.10 Rotary Tiller

✓ The rotary tiller or rotary cultivator is widely considered as the most important implement as it
provides fine degree of soil pulverization. It is directly mounted to the tractor and operated.
The benefits of the rotary tiller are a) effective pulverization of soil ensures good plant growth b)
cutting and mixing of stubbles and roots and mixing with soil and c) leveling of the field
✓ A leveling board is attached to the rear side of the unit for leveling the tilled soil. Two numbers of
adjustable brackets are provided one each on either side of the unit for controlling the depth of
operation. The rotor is operated at 180- 200 rpm
✓ Types of blades used in rotary tillers.
i. 'L' type blade - Works well in trashy conditions. More effective in cutting weeds and but do not
pulverize the soil much.
ii. Twisted blade - Suitable for deep tillage in relatively clean grounds but clogging and wrapping of
trashes on the tynes and shafts needs frequent cleaning.
iii. Straight blade - Employed on mulchers designed mainly for secondary tillage.
5.4.2.11 Land packer or Culti-packer

✓ The implement consists of number of cast iron V- shaped rollers mounted on three axles. The
implement can be operated either with one or three gangs. Sometimes it can be attached behind
disc harrow (trailing type) to affect compaction for moisture conservation.
✓ It is trailed type implement used for breaking the clods and compaction of soil and thereby conserving
the moisture.
5.4.3 Few other Secondary tillage implements
5.4.3.1 Land rollers or pulverisers

Land rollers or pulverisers are tools used for further preparation of seed bed.
5.4.3.2 Clod crusher

It is used to finish preparing the seed bed by thoroughly pulverizing and firming the loose soil so that there
will not be any large air space or pockets.
Now, let us have a look at the secondary tillage implements for Rice Cultivation
5.5 Tillage Implements for Rice Cultivation

Tillage for rice cultivation is called as Puddling and the below mentioned implements are used for
carrying out the same.
5.5.1 Cage Wheels

✓ This is an iron wheel, lugged with L angles. The tractor will not work satisfactorily in ploughing /
puddling of rice fields due to slippage of rubber wheels.
✓ To overcome this difficulty iron wheels are introduced which are called cage wheel.
✓ The width of full cage wheel is 1 m and that of the half cage wheel is 0.5 m.
5.5.2 Puddler
✓ Puddler is used for churning the soil with standing water while preparing fields for paddy
transplantation. It is used after completing an initial ploughing with iron plough or country plough.
✓ It breaks up the clods and churns the soil. The main purpose of puddling is to reduce percolation and
leaching losses of water, to kill weeds by decomposition and to facilitate transplantation of paddy
seedlings by making the soil softer.
✓ Puddling is done in standing water of 5-10 cm depth.
5.6 Implements used for both primary and secondary tillage
5.6.1 Rotavator
✓ Rotavator is nothing but Rotary tiller only with minor changes.
✓ It consists of a steel frame, 3-point hitch system, a rotary shaft on which blades are mounted, power
transmission system and a gearbox.
✓ The blades are of L-shape, made from medium carbon steel or alloy steel, hardened and tempered to
suitable hardness It uses the power from tractor PTO.
✓ Rotavator is used as both primary and secondary tillage operations. A good seedbed and
pulverization of the soil is achieved in a single pass of the rotavator.
✓ It is used in both dry land and wet land conditions. It is also suitable for incorporating straw and
manure in the field. The power requirement will vary depending upon the width of the rotavator.
6 Sowing
The most used equipment in modern day farming or conservation tillage is the seed cum fertilizer drill.
Let us have a look at that before we proceed any further.
6.1 Seed Cum Fertilizer drill

✓ Seed cum fertilizer drills (bullock drawn, or tractor drawn) facilitate line sowing and proper
application of seed and fertilizer in the field.
✓ Thus, there is saving of 10-15% inputs. About 30% loss of fertilizer is estimated if not properly applied.
✓ The animal drawn Dufan (Two row), Tifan (Three row) Enatigour and FESPO plough (all local sowing
devices) have been adopted as these cover more area and cost less, these however require skilled
operator to regulate the seed rate.
✓ For precise application of seed and fertilizer, mechanically metered seed drill and seed-cum fertilizer
drill, operated by animal and tractor have been developed and are being manufactured to suit specific
crops and regions for sowing/planting of wheat paddy, coarse cereals, pulse, oil seeds, maize and
potato.
✓ Tractor drawn seed-cum-fertilizer drill equipped with inverted ‘T’ type furrow openers are suitable
for sowing of seeds without seed bed preparation directly after paddy harvest under zero tillage
programme.
6.2 Seed Drill

✓ Seed drill is a machine used for placing the seeds in a continuous stream in furrows at uniform rate
and at controlled depth with an arrangement of covering the seeds with soil.
✓ In manually metered seed drills a person drops the seeds in the furrows, in mechanically metered
seed drills a mechanical device called seed metering mechanism is used to meter the seeds.
6.2.1 Seed metering mechanism

✓ The mechanism which picks up seeds from the seed box and delivers them in to the seed tube is called
seed metering mechanism.
✓ Seed metering mechanism may be of several types: (a) Fluted feed type (b) Internal double run type
(c) Cup feed type (d) Cell feed type (e) Brush feed type (f) Auger feed type (g) Picker wheel type and
(h) Star wheel type.
✓ Usually seed metering mechanism is provided at the bottom of the box.
The furrow openers are provided in a seed drill for opening a furrow. The seed tube conducts the seed
from the feed mechanism into the boot from where they fall into the furrows. Different type of furrow
openers are
Shovel type Shovel type openers are best suited for stony and root infested fields
Shoe Type Suited for Black soil
Hoe Type Suited for loose soil
Disc Type Single disc type: Works better in sticky soil; Double Disc: trashy soil
6.3 Planter
✓ Planter is a sowing equipment used for sowing those seeds which are larger in size and cannot be
handled by seed drills. Row to row and plant to plant spacing is maintained in a planter.
✓ Potato planter, maize planter, cotton planter are the commonly used equipment.
6.3.1 Potato Planter (Automatic Seed Dropping)

It can plant in 2-4 rows. Capacity is 6000- 14000 potatoes /hr.
6.3.2 Potato Planter (semi-automatic)

It may plant in 2-4 rows. Field capacity is 0.15-0.35 ha/hr.
Calibration of Seed Drill

Laboratory testing of a seed drill to determine the rate of seed delivery is called calibration of a seed drill.
Selected equipment for sowing and planting

S.no Name of the implement Work capacity
Ha/h hr/ha
A Manually operated
1. Mustard seed rill 0.1 10-12
B Animal operated
1 CIAE 2-3 row seed-cum-fertilizer drill 0.1 10-12
0.125 8-8.5
2 CRIDA drill plough 0.04 20-25
3 CIAE mustard drill 0.125 8-8.5
4 CIAE 2-3 row planter 0.155 6-7
5 IISR sugarcane planter 0-125 8
6 Potato planter 0-125 8
C Power tiller operated
1 Seed-cum-fertilizer drill 0.164 6-6.5
0-21 5-5.5
D Tractor operated
1 Seed-cum-fertilizer drill 0.75 1.25-1.5
2 No till drill 0.75 1.25-1.5
3 Strip-till-drip 0.25 4-5
4 Sugarcane cutter planter 0.25 4
5 Potato planter 0.25 4
7 Equipments used in Weeding and interculture operations

Before starting with the equipments, let us see, what are After cultivation or Interculture operations?
✓ The tillage operations that are carried out in the standing crop are called after tillage.
✓ Collectively, the cultivation practices taken up after sowing of crop is called inter-cultivation.
✓ It is otherwise called as after operation or inter-culturing.
7.1 Khurpi
✓ Khurpi is the most versatile hand hoe for removal of weeds.
✓ It takes 300-700 man-hours to cover one hectare, depending upon crop, soil and weed infestation.
✓ The yield is affected to the extent of 20-60% if weeds are not controlled.
✓ Use of long handle weeders, (wheel hoe and peg type weeders) reduce this weeding time to 25-110
hours per hectare.
Table: List of weeding and interculture equipments
S.no Name of the implement Work capacity
A Manually operated ha/h h/ha
1 Gruber 0.012 80
2 Dryland peg weeder 0.025 40
3 CIAE twin wheel hoe 0.025 40
4 PAU wheel hoe 0.035 30
B Animal operated
1 Dora 0.1 10
2 Three tyned sweep/cultivator 0.2 5
C Power tiller operated
1 3 tyned cultivator/sweep 0.2 5
D Tractor operated
1 9-11 tyned tiller 0.45 2-2.5
2 5 tyned sweep 0.45 2-2.5
E Self-propelled weeder
1 CIAE/TNAU power weeder 0.125 8
7.2 Hand Hoe

✓ Hand hoe is the most popular manually operated weeding tool used in the farm.
✓ It consists of an iron blade and a wooden handle. The operator holds the handle and cuts the soil
with the blade to a shallow depth of 2-3 cm thereby weeds are cut and soil is stirred.
✓ The handle is short (30-40cm long) and hence the operator uses the tool in bending posture.
✓ The coverage is 5-7 cents per day.
7.3 Long Handle Weeders

✓ Hand hoes exert greater strain on the operator because of the short handle which necessitates the
operator to do weeding job in bent posture.
✓ To avoid this nowadays long handles are used in hoes and hence they are called as long handle
weeders. The popular long handle weeders available are a) star type weeder b) peg type weeder.
✓ These weeders are also called as dry land weeders since they are used in dry lands.
a) Star type weeder: It is suitable for weeding in dry lands. It can be used in garden lands also when
the soil moisture is low (10-15%). Star wheel is designed for loamy soils. The operating width of
the blade is 120 mm. The coverage is 0.05 ha/day.
b) Peg type weeder: It is suitable for weeding in dry lands. It can be used in garden lands also when
the soil moisture is low (10-15%). Peg type wheel is designed for clayey soils. The operating width
of the blade is 120 mm. The coverage is 0.05 ha/day.
7.4 Cultivators
✓ It is an implement used for inter cultivation with laterally adjustable tines or discs to work between
crop rows. This can be used for seed bed preparation and for sowing with seeding attachment.
Types of cultivators
1. Disc cultivator (It is a cultivator fitted with disc)
2. Rotary cultivator (It is a cultivator with tines or blades mounted on a power-driven horizontal shaft)
3. Tine cultivator (It is a cultivator fitted with tines having shovels)
What are the functions of a cultivator?

✓ It stirs the soil and breaks the clods.
✓ The tines fitted on the frame of the cultivator comb the soil deeply in the field.
✓ Destruction of weeds is the primary function of a cultivator.
Depending upon the type of power available for the implements, the cultivator can be classified as:
Tractor drawn and Animal drawn
7.4.1 Types of tractor drawn cultivators

The tractor drawn implement maybe Trailed or Mounted.
7.4.1.1 Trailed cultivator

✓ It consists of a main frame which carries a number of cross members to which tines are fitted. At the
forward end of the cultivator, there is a hitch arrangement for hitching purpose.
✓ A pair of wheels are provided in the cultivator. The life is operated by both wheels simultaneously so
that draft remains even and uniform.
7.4.1.2 Mounted Cultivator

✓ Tractors fitted with hydraulic lift operate the mounted type cultivators. A rectangular frame of angle
iron is mounted on three point hydraulic linkage of the tractor. The cross members carry the tines in
two staggered lines.
For actual cutting of the soil, different types of shovels and sweeps are used.Some of the important
shovels and sweeps are: Single point shovel; Double point shovel; Spear head shovel; Sweep; Half sweep;
Furrower
Depending upon the flexibility or the rigidity of the tines, the tractor drawn cultivators are of two types:
Cultivator with spring loaded tines and Cultivator with rigid tines
7.4.2 Duck foot type or Sweep cultivator
✓ It is a type of rigid cultivator which is used mostly for shallow ploughing, destruction of weeds and
retention of moisture. It consists of steel frame and rigid tines to which sweeps are attached.
✓ The sweep cultivator is popular in black cotton soils. This cultivator is mostly used in hard soils for
shallow ploughing.
8 Fertilizer application
✓ Fertilizer is generally applied in the field by broad casting.
✓ If it is not placed in soil properly, it evaporates, and only partial quantity is available to the plants.
✓ Potassic and phosphatic fertilizer have low mobility and unless applied near root zones, plants are
not able to use it. Line sowing facilitates better use of fertilizer.
✓ Seed – cum -fertilizer drills and planters allow placement of seeds and fertilizer simultaneously
either in the same row in separate bands or in different furrows. In paddy fields, use of super granule
fertilizer through super granule applicator allows slow release of nutrient and thus lower losses
through evaporation and leaching.
✓ Drip irrigation system allows controlled mixing of fertilizer and other chemicals through irrigation
water directly to the plant.
✓ Biogas slurry which contains more nutrient compared to compost/manure can be effectively applied
through irrigation systems or mixed in soil after drying.
9 Plant Protection Equipment

Why the need for Plant protection equipment?
✓ These days more fields remain covered under crops for longer duration of time due to multiple
cropping and various methods employed for increasing the efficiency of crop production.
✓ Because of these reasons, it has become necessary to use pesticides and fungicides for controlling
pests and diseases.
✓ These chemicals are applied in the form of spray and dust.
✓ There are many types of dusters and sprayers that are available for plant’s protection.
9.1 Sprayers
✓ It is a machine to apply fluids/liquids in the form of droplets.
✓ Now, the sprayers are used for multiple purposes.
Purposes of sprayers:
✓ Application of fungicides to avoid/minimize fungal diseases

✓ Application of herbicides to remove weeds
✓ Application of insecticides to control insect pests
✓ Application of micro-nutrients on the plants
9.2 Types of Sprayers
A. Based up on the volume of liquid handled, sprayers may be classified into:
1. High volume spray (more than 400 liters /ha)

2. Low volume spray (5 to 400 liters/ hectare)
3. Ultra-low volume sprayer (ULV) spray (less than 5 liters /ha) - One hectare of crop can be treated in
around 2.5 hour. ULV spraying can be defined as plant protection in which total volume of liquid
applied amount to a few milli litre per acre. It is mainly used in aircraft spraying.
Commercial Sprayers B. Sprayers are of three types
9.2.1 Manually operated sprayers

Hand atomizer type; Stirrup pump type; Knapsack type; Bucket type; Hand compression sprayer; Rocket
sprayer; Foot sprayer
9.2.2 Engine operated sprayer is classified as follows

Knapsack mist sprayer duster; Power sprayer
9.2.2.1 Hand Atomizer

This sprayer is also ideally suited for home gardens and small fields. The application rate ranges from 45
to 100 liters /ha. This sprayer is also ideally suited for home gardens and small fields. It consists of a
container of 0.5 to 3.51it capacity, a built in air pump, pressure gauge, nozzle and flow cut off lever. The
tank is to be filled with 3⁄4 th volume. The pump is operated to build pressure in the tank of 0.15-0.3
kg/cm2.
9.2.2.2 Hand compression sprayer

✓ It is suitable for applying chemicals for field crops and lawns.
✓ The pump is operated to pump air in to the tank to build pressure up to 2.0 – 3.5 kg/cm2.
✓ The application rate ranges from 45 to 100 liters /ha.
9.2.2.3 Knapsack sprayer (hand operated)

✓ This sprayer is suitable for applying chemicals to several field crops. It has a flat or bean-shaped tank
of 10-15 liters capacity.
✓ A hydraulic pump fitted inside the tank, a handle to operate the pump, agitator, filter, delivery hose,
and spray gun with nozzle and flow control lever.
✓ The pressure developed in these sprayers depends on the pump and varies from 3 to 12 kg/cm2 the
application rate is 500 lit/ha. The coverage is 0.5-1.0 ha/day.
9.2.2.4 Rocker sprayer

✓ Rocker sprayer is mainly used for spraying fruit trees in orchards, coconut and areca nut trees, flower
gardens, and cotton and tapioca fields, the pump builds up a pressure up to 14-18 kg/cm2 which
facilitates the use of the sprayer for tree spraying.
✓ The output of the sprayer is 70-90 lit/hr with one nozzle.
✓ Coverage is about 1.5 ha/day.
9.2.2.5 Foot or pedal operated sprayer
✓ The foot or pedal sprayers, as they are commonly called, consist of a plunger assembly, stand, suction
hose, delivery hose, spray gun with a nozzle etc.
✓ Constant pedaling is required for continuous spray. It develops a pressure of 17-21 kg/cm2.
✓ The discharge rate with one nozzle is 110-135 l/hr and coverage is 1.0 ha/day
9.2.2.6 Power Sprayer

✓ Power sprayers are operated usually with Internal combustion engines.
✓ It can be powered by a 3 HP engine or electric motor. The pressure pump is operated by a small power
unit ensuring a constant steady pressure.
✓ They are operated at pressure from 20 to 55 kg/cm2. These machines are usually portable type.
Pumps for Spraying:
There are three types of pumps that are used for spraying:
✓ Piston or plunger pump (well suited for high pressure spraying. The volumetric efficiency of this pump
is as high as 90%)
✓ Rotary pump (used for low pressure sprayers)
✓ Centrifugal pump (pump working on high speed having high volume discharge)
There is another type of sprayer that has been in use by the farmers in these modern times.
9.2.2.7 Battery or ULV sprayer

ULV sprayer was invented as a result of the desire to reduce the quantum of chemical carried by the
man for application and to eliminate the water as a medium to carry the chemicals.
The basic requirements of ULV spraying are
✓ The narrow and controllable droplet spectrum (100-250 µm for fine sprayers, 50-100 µm for mist
sprayers and 0.1 to 50 µm for aerosols)
✓ The accurately controllable emission rate and the non-volatile pesticide formulation of suitable
viscosity and density.
✓ The reduction in volume of the spray fluid decreases the time spent in travelling to recharge
sprayer, in fetching water, in mixing the pesticide and filling the tank. In a day of 8 hour about 8
ha can be covered in ULV spraying against 3 ha with power sprayer.
✓ A battery operated ULV sprayer has a long handle at the horse power D.C. motor is fitted with a
spinning disc and a cover. Centrifugal energy imparted fluid comes out of the nozzle and atomizes.
9.3 Duster
✓ Duster is a machine to apply chemical in dust form. Dusters make use of air streams to carry pesticides
in finely divided dry form on the plants.
9.4 Types of dusters
The following are the various types. Plunger type; Knapsack type; Rotary type; Power operated duster
9.4.1 Plunger type Duster

It is a simple duster with a small piston. The piston drives a current of air over the dust in the hopper.
The dust is carried away through a delivery spout. Small hand pump dusters of this type are available
and are suitable only where the area to be dusted is small like vegetable gardens.
9.4.2 Knapsack type duster

It is a duster with the powder container carried on the back of the operator. Knapsack dusters have a
hopper through which a current of air is blown to pick up the dust. The air current is produced by a
lever operated leather bellows. Shoulder straps are used to carry in the field. These dusters are suitable
for small areas.
9.4.3 Rotary duster

✓ Hand rotary dusters are useful to apply chemicals which are in powder form. It consists of a hopper,
a fan, gear box, handle, delivery hose and a deflector plate. When the handle is rotated, the fan
rotates at high speed and draws air from outside.
✓ The chemical from hopper is fed in to the air stream in the suction side of the fan. The chemical
mixes with the air, passes through the delivery line and is applied on the plants. The rate of
delivery can be regulated It is used to apply powdery chemicals to vegetables, sorghum etc. crops.
9.4.4 Power dusters

✓ The resemble the rotary duster is construction, except that the power to drive the blower through
the gear box is tapped from an external power source which may be an engine or P.T.O. shaft of
the tractor or flywheel of the power tiller.
10 Harvesting and Threshing
10.1 What is Harvesting?

It is the operation of cutting, picking, plucking, digging or a combination of these operations for
removing the crop from under the ground or above the ground or removing the useful part or fruits from
plants.
What are the harvesting actions that can be performed?
✓ Slicing action with a sharp tool
✓ Tearing action with a rough serrated edge
✓ High velocity single element impact with sharp or dull edge
✓ Two elements scissors type action
Harvesting can be done by - Manually operated tool; Animal drawn machine; Mechanically operated
machine
Certain terms in connection with harvesting
Tools/Implements Function/Operation
Mower A machine to cut herbage crops (herbaceous plants eg. grass) and leave them in
swath
Reaper A machine to cut grain crops.
Reaper can be animal drawn or machine operated.
Vertical conveyer reaper (Tractor mounted):

• The reaper is front mounted at the tractor which can be lowered and
raised by the hydraulic control.
• The capacity may be 0.4 – 0.6 ha/hr.
Vertical conveyer reaper (Power Tiller operated):

• The reaper is front mounted on the power tiller.
• The capacity maybe 0.25 – 0.35 ha/hr.
The vertical conveyer reapers are used for harvesting mostly paddy and wheat.
Reaper binder • A reaper which cuts the crops and ties them into neat and uniform
sheaves.
• It cuts and binds the crop simultaneously.
• It cuts the crop at the height of about 10 cm from the ground level.
• The harvesting capacity is 0.25-0.35 ha/hr.
Swath It is the material as left by the harvesting machine
Sickle A curved steel blade having a hand grip used for harvesting by manual power
Windrow A row of material formed by combining two or more swaths
Windrower A machine to cut crops and deliver them in a uniform manner in a row
✓ Harvesting and threshing consume about 10-35% of the total energy for farming. These are arduous
operation for the farmers. Delayed harvesting during kharif crops hampers seed bed preparation and
sowing of Rabi crops to a great extent.
Major tools for harvesting and digging manually are: (i) Sickle, (ii) Spade and (iii) Khurpi
Major tools for harvesting mechanically/electrically are:

✓ Reapers operated by engine, power tiller and tractor have been developed and introduced for
harvesting wheat, paddy, soyabean and mustard.
✓ Harvesting by combine harvester for the crops like wheat paddy, soyabean is getting popular day by
day in the regions where labour shortage is there.
✓ COMBINE is a machine, which performs the functions of a reaper, thresher and winnower. The power
requirement of the combine may be taken on 8 HP/m width of cut for pulled type machine and 12
HP/m width of cut for self-propelled machines.
This helps in: Overcoming labour shortage; Timely harvesting for sowing next crop; More suitable for
custom hiring services
11 Tractors
✓ Tractor is a self-propelled power unit having wheels or tracks for operating agricultural implements
and machines including trailers.
✓ Tractor engine is used as a prime mover for active tools and stationary farm machinery through
power take-off shaft (pto) or belt pulley.
11.1 History of tractor development

The present tractor is the result of gradual development of machine in different stages.
✓ 1890: The word tractor appeared first on record in a patent issued on a tractor or traction engine
invented by George H. Harris of Chicago
✓ 1906: Successful gasoline tractor was introduced by Charles w. Hart and Charles H. Parr of Charles
City, Iowa
✓ 1908: First Winnipeg tractor trails were held
✓ 1911: First tractor demonstration was held at Omaha (Nebraska)
✓ 1915-1919: Power take off was introduced.
✓ 1920-1924: All purpose was developed
✓ 1936- 1937: Diesel engine was used in tractor and pneumatic tires were introduced
✓ 1950-1960: Manufacturing of diesel tractors on extensive basis throughout the world was taken up
✓ 1960-1961: Tractor manufacturing was started in India by first manufacturer M/s Eicher Good Earth.
✓ 1962-1970: Manufacturers like Tractor and Farm Equipment, Madras, Hindustan tractors at Baroda,
Escorts Tractors at Faridabad and International Harvester in Bombay started work during this period
✓ 1971: Escorts Tractor Ltd. Started producing Ford Tractors 1973- Manufacture of HMT Tractor was
started
✓ 1974: Manufacture of Pitti and Kirlosker Tractor was started 1975- Harsha Tractors was established
✓ 1981: Auto tractors were started
✓ 1982: Universal Tractors was established
✓ 1983-2003: GTCL tractors, M.M Tractors, Sonalika, VST, L&T, Bajaj Tractors were produced
11.2 Types of tractors

The tractors can be classified based on the following:
✓ Type of Construction
✓ Type of Drive
✓ The purpose for which the usage is done
11.3 Classification based on the type of construction
✓ It is divided into two types: First type is the one in which the driver can easily sit and drive the
machine;
✓ The second type is the tractor in which the operator walks along side and it is also known as Walking
type tractor. One of the very important walking type tractors is: Power tiller
11.4 Classification based on the type of drives

It is divided into Track type and Wheel Type
11.4.1 Track type tractors: (Also called Chain Type or Crawlers Type)
✓ In these types of Tractors, instead of wheels, one track is fitted on either side. This track gets drive
from the sprocket run by real axle shaft. To steer the Tractor, there is no steering gear fitted.
✓ Here, the machine is steered by applying brakes to one side of the track while the other track is in
motion.
The Track Type Tractors are further classified into Half Track and Full Track types of tractors.
11.4.1.1 Half Track Type

In these types of Tractors, a small track chain is fitted at the rear end only, while tyres are fitted at the
front axle.
✓ Track Type Tractors are generally used for reclaiming barren lands and are not much used for
agricultural tasks.
✓ These machines are fitted with tracks in such a way that the contact area with ground is larger and
facilitates in increased traction power. These machines are very useful in dams and in areas where
earth moving tasks are required.
11.4.2 Wheel Type Tractors

✓ Tractors, having three of four pneumatic wheels are called wheel tractors.
✓ Four-wheel tractors are most popular everywhere.
11.5 Classification based on the purpose for which they are used
11.5.1 Utility Tractor

It is a general-purpose machine and is designed for ploughing and driving any other equipment through
its drive and is considered good for such farms where farmer cannot afford more machines to perform
specific jobs.
11.5.2 Row crop Tractor

✓ This is an all-round machine and is designated in such a way that it meets all the agricultural demands
like ploughing, harrowing, levelling, pulling seed drills, weed control, running different machines like
water pumps, threshers using belt pulley.
✓ Row-crop tractor is tailored specifically to the growing of crops grown in rows, and most especially
to cultivating these crops.
11.5.3 Orchard type Tractors
✓ These special type Farm machines are only used in Orchards.
✓ There is no part of this machine outside the surface and this allows easy passage in between the
trees.
11.5.4 Industrial type tractor

✓ These types of machines are also known as Tuggers.
✓ They are useful in pulling loads and are fitted with crane boom for easy lifting of loads.
11.5.5 Rotary tillers

✓ They fall under the category of Walking Type tractors and are used in small fields or on hills where
fields are smaller in size and are at different height levels. Here, ordinary equipment cannot work
efficiently.
✓ Blades are fitted to the tillers for the purpose of preparing seed beds efficiently by pulverizing the
content of soil.
11.5.6 Garden type Tractors

✓ These machines fall in the power range of 1 to 10 HP (Horse Power) and have very small construction
size. They are mostly used for grass cutting or for making flower beds in the garden.
✓ The wheels fitted to such machines are having the size of a scooter and have a thicker depth.
11.5.7 Earth moving tractors

✓ These farm machines are heavy in weight and quite strong. They are available in both track and tyre
type varieties.
✓ Their primary usage is for doing earth moving work on dams, quarries and different types of
constructional works.
11.6 Tractor components

A tractor is made of the following main units
✓ I.C. engine
✓ Clutch
✓ Transmission gears
✓ Differential unit
✓ Final drive
✓ Rear wheels
✓ Front wheels
✓ Steering mechanism
✓ Hydraulic control and hitch system
✓ Brakes
✓ Power take off unit
✓ Tractor pulley
✓ Control panel
11.7 Selection of Tractor
Selection of tractors depend up on following factors
1. Land holding: Under a single cropping pattern, it is normally recommended to consider 1 hp for every
2 hectares of land. In other words, one tractor 20-25 hp is suitable for 40-hectare farm
2. Cropping pattern: Generally, 1.5 hectare/hp has been recommended where adequate irrigation facility
are available and more than one crop is taken. So, a 30-35 hp tractor is suitable for 40 hectares of land.
3. Soil condition: A tractor with less wheel base, higher ground clearance and low overall weight may
work successfully in lighter soils buy will not be able to give sufficient depth in black cotton soils
4. Climatic condition: For very hot zone and desert area, air cooled engines are preferred over water
cooled engines. Similarly, for higher altitude air cooled engines are preferred because water cooled
engines are liable to be frozen at high altitudes
5. Repair facilities: It should be ensured that the tractor to be purchased has a dealer at nearby place with
all the technical skills for repair and maintenance of the machine.
6. Running cost: Tractors with less specific fuel consumption should be preferred over others so that the
running cost may be less.
7. Initial cost and resale value: While keeping the resale value in mind, the initial cost should not be very
high, otherwise higher amount of interest have to be paid
In India, four-wheel tractors for agricultural operations are fitted with 25-80 hp. Walking type tractors
are fitted with 8-12 hp engines.
12 Power Tiller
Let us understand the background of Power Tiller
✓ It is a prime mover in which the direction of travel and its control for field operation is performed by
the operator walking behind it.
✓ It is also known as Hand tractor or walking type tractor. The concept of power tiller came in the
world in the year 1920.
✓ Japan is the first country to use power tiller on large scale. In Japan, the first successful model of
power tiller was designed in the year 1947.
✓ In India power tiller was introduced in the year 1963.
✓ Manufacturing of several makes of power tillers like Iseki, Sato, Krishi, Kubota, Yanmar and Mitsubishi
were started in India after 1962.
12.1 What is a Power Tiller?

✓ It is a walking type tractor. The operator walks behind the power tiller, holding the two handles of
the power tiller in his own hands.
✓ Power tiller maybe called a single axle walking type tractor, though a riding seat is provided in certain
designs.
✓ All the power tillers are fitted with an I.C engine. At present, most of the power tillers are fitted with
diesel engine.
✓ Only Iseki made have used kerosene engine.
✓ The other makers like Kubota, Mitsubishi, Krishi, Yanmar and Satoh have used diesel engines in India.
✓ Usually 2 to 4 ply pneumatic tyres are used in power tillers. The pressure of the tyre ranges from 1.1
to 1.4 kg/cm2.
12.2 Components of power tiller

Power tiller consists of the following main parts: Engine; Transmission gears; Clutch; Brakes; Rotary Unit
13 Farm Processing Equipments
13.1 What is farm product processing?

✓ Any method or treatment used to prepare farm products for use or preservation is called Farm
product processing.
✓ It includes operations like chaff cutting, grain grinding, grain drying, cane crushing, milk processing,
rice processing, seed processing, processing of tea, coffee, rubber, oil palm.
Let us have a look at some of the processing equipments
S.No Farm Processing Uses
Equipment
1 Chaff Cutter Machine used for cutting fodder
2 Feed Grinders Farm products are reduced in sizes by cutting or crushing operations.
Two types of grinders are used for the grinding of materials:
Hammer Mill; Burr Grinder
Hammer Mill It is used to break the product by means of revolving beaters. They are
usually operated at the speed of 1500 to 4000 rev/min.
Burr Grinder Grinders using burrs are called Burr Grinder.
It operates between 650 to 750 rev/min.
3 Processing of
Different Crops
(there are many,
but we will have
a look at Ginning
of cotton)
Ginning of cotton • Ginning is the process of separation of cotton seed from the lint.
• After the cotton has been picked, it is ginned in order to separate
the fibres or lint from the seeds and short fibres.
• The equipment for cotton ginning is called Gin.
The gins are usually of two types:
✓ Roller Gin;
✓ Saw Gin;
4 Rice Processing Let us discuss this in a separate section below
5 Seed Processing Let us discuss this in a separate section below
6 Grain Driers • Grain drying is the process of conditioning the grains for safe
storage.
• Important point to be noted is: Grain is a living organism and
during the drying process, its life must be fully safeguarded.
Grain Drying is based on two principles:

• Thin layer drying (It refers to the drying of grains which are entirely
exposed to the air, moving through the grains; Grain depth is not
more than 20 cm)
• Deep bed drying (It includes bin or batch type driers)
• In this process, the drying air has to pass through a layer of more
than 20 cm thickness of grain.
• In this process, grain does not move.
• It is contained in a bin.
• The natural or heated air is forced through the bottom of the bin
upward through the wet grain).
7 Dairy Important machineries used in dairy industry are:
Equipments ✓ Milking machine;
✓ Heater;
✓ Pasteuriser;
✓ Bottle filling unit;
✓ Bottle capping unit;
✓ Bottle and can washing unit;
✓ Cream separator;
✓ Refrigerator
Pasteurization This is discussed in the section below
13.2 Seed Processing

✓ Seed processing aims at upgrading the quality of seed by removing foreign materials and undesirable
seeds. Seed should be of uniform size, free of damage and disease.
✓ It should be free of inert materials, weed seed and other crop seed to obtain maximum production.
Overall, seed processing consists of Cleaning the seeds; Grading; Treating; Testing; Packaging
13.2.1 Phase of seed processing

There are three phases of seed processing.
1. First phase of processing consists of
✓ Scalping
✓ Debearding (Debearder is used)
✓ Hulling
13.2.1.1 Scalping
Scalping refers to the process in which the particles which are larger than the seed size are screened out
and the seeds are separated in a vessel. The grading of seeds means arranging of the seeds according to
the size and quality.
13.2.1.2 Debearder
Oats, barleys, some vegetables and flower seeds have appendages, hairs that make them difficult to be
processed. These can be removed by a vigorous rubbing or abrading action. The mechanical device
‘Debearder’ is used to rub the seeds.
13.2.1.3 Hulling
Sesame seeds have an exterior coat that can be removed. This coat is also known as the hull or the
husk. Hulled sesame seeds are seeds with the hulls removed. Removal of hulls of the seeds is called
Hulling. Hullers are used for this purpose. Example: Sesame huller
2. Second phase consists of removal of inert materials, weed seed, other crop seed and broken seed.
Air-screen cleaner is used for this purpose.
3. Third phase includes: Drying; Treating; Bagging
13.3 Rice Processing

Now, let us have a look at certain terms related to Rice Processing
13.3.1 Hulling
Process of removing husk and bran of the paddy in one operation.
13.3.2 Huller
✓ Machine used for hulling operation. Some hullers are hand operated and some are machine operated.
✓ In machine operated hullers, we have Disc type huller and Roller Type hullers.
13.3.3 Paddy separator

A machine which separates shelled paddy (brown rice) from unshelled paddy and husk. It is usually of
gravity type.
13.3.4 Brown rice

When paddy is shelled, brown colour rice is obtained. This is called brown rice.
13.3.5 Paddy cleaner

It is a machine for removing foreign seeds, immature grains, foreign materials, such as nails, dirt, stones,
dust from paddy. This is done prior to the process of shelling.
13.3.6 Drying
The process of removal of moisture from the grain.
Pasteurization
It is defined as heating the milk up to specified temperature for a predetermined duration of time for
removing bacteria and harmful organism from the milk.
Pasteurization is mainly done in one of the following ways:

✓ Heating the milk upto 61◦C and holding it at that temperature for 30 minutes;
✓ Heating the milk upto atleast 71◦C and holding it at that temperature for at least 15 seconds;
Main types of pasteurizers:

✓ Batch Type (Heating the milk upto 61◦C and holding it at that temperature for 30 minutes)
✓ High Temperature Short Time (HTST) pasteurizer (Heating the milk upto atleast 71◦C and holding it
at that temperature for at least 15 seconds; There is a similar pasteurizer called Ultra high
temperature short time is also used at some places in which milk is heated to 135◦C temperature and
kept at that temperature for only 2 seconds)
✓ Vacreators - a machine by means of which dairy fats are pasteurized by a vacuum process
14 Pumps for Irrigation

Pump is the most effective means for lifting water from open wells, tube wells, ponds, rivers and streams.
Comparative study of the various types of pumps:
Type of pump Pumping Remarks Advantage Disadvantage

depth (m)
Centrifugal 3 to 4.6 m It is a rotary 1) Smooth even 1) Looses
pump machine in which flow primed
there is an 2) It may pump water easily
impeller rotating water 2) Special care
inside the casing. containing sand to maintain
It draws in the or silt designed
liquid at its centre 3) Low starting head and
and throws out the torque speed
liquid through an 4) Reliable and
opening at the side good service
of the casing due 5) Free from
to centrifugal shocks and
force. vibrations.
Vertical turbine More than 1) Smooth even 1) Special care
pump 7.5 m flow needed to
maintain
designed
head and
speed
2) Low starting 3) Requires a
torque sufficiently
straight well.
Requires
special care
for making
the shaft
vertical in
the well and
alignment is
difficult.
4) Reliable and Not suitable for
good service water containing
sand or silt.
5) Free from Liable to abrasion
shocks and from sand.
vibrations
Submersible More than The pump and 1) Short pump Repair of unit
pump 7.5 m motor remain fully shaft to motor requires complete
submerged in 2) Plumbness and removal from well
water alignment of repair or
well not replacement of
difficult. motor and pump is
3) Less costly.
maintenance
problem.
4) Lower
installation
cost.
5) Lower noise
Propeller pump 1 to 2.5 m These types of 1) High discharge Its use is very limited
pumps are used at low heads due to less pumping
where high depth.
discharge of water
is needed at low
heads
Jet pump 12 to It is a pump which 1) Suitable for low Efficiency is low
18 consists of a capacity deep
m centrifugal pump well pumping.
and a jet 2) It can be used
mechanism (or for high suction
ejector). lift where
The main ordinary
component are: centrifugal
Nozzle; pump cannot
Venturi be used.
3) Simple in
construction
and easy in
maintenance.
Reciprocating Upto 45 m It consists of a 1) Useful for home 1) Capacity is
pump cylinder and a water supply low
piston (or a 2) It is positive 2) Not suitable
plunger). displacement for irrigation.
The piston moves pump.
in the air tight 3) Develops high
cylinder. head at low
Water is capacity
discharged due to
reciprocating
action of the
piston.
15 Miscellaneous
Implements for horticultural crops:
15.1 Post-Hole Digger

✓ It consists of a frame, three-point hitch system and an auger. For operation of auger, it gets drive
from tractor PTO shaft. The diameter and the depth of hole can be changed by changing auger
assembly. Single and double pits post- hole diggers are also available.
✓ The double pit post hole diggers are being used for planting sugarcane setts in the pits and studies
have shown that sugarcane shown by pit method gives higher yield.
15.2 Dibber
Dibbers are used to make holes in seed bed to plant seeds, seedlings and bulbs. They are ergonomically
designed consisting of a stainless-steel sharp dibber and a hard wood handle joined together using a
ferrule. The sharp dibber glides effortlessly into all soils. Overall length 27cm, weight 290g.
15.3 Tractor operated turmeric harvester
The field capacity of the unit is 1.6 ha per day.
15.4 The tractor-drawn canopy shake system- citrus harvester

The harvester can travel between one-half and one mile per hour and have the capacity to harvest
between 100 and 200 trees per hour.
15.5 Self-propelled harvesting units- citrus harvester

200 to 400 trees per hour to be harvested.
15.6 Power tiller operated potato digger

The field capacity is 0.4 ha/day
15.7 Paddy transplanter

It is an equipment used for transplanting mat type paddy seedlings in the main field. It is suitable for all
types of paddy varieties grown by transplanting
15.7.1 Manual rice planter

✓ The machine consists of a seedling tray, six numbers of forks, handle and skids. By pressing the handle,
the forks pick-up the seedlings and plant them in 6 rows.
✓ The row to row spacing is 200 mm. Plant to plant spacing can be set as per space recommendation by
pulling the unit manually to the required distance. It can cover 0.25 ha/ day.
15.7.2 Self-propelled paddy transplanter

The machine maintains a row to row spacing of 28 cm to 30 cm and plant to plant spacing of 14 to 16 cm.
The planting capacity of the machine is about 0.05 to 0.1 hectare per hour Power requirement is about
1.2 to 1.8 HP petrol engine.
✓ Plough the filed 20-25 cm deep for paddy transplantation
✓ Apply Nitrogenous fertilizer 10-15 cm deep to prevent its loss
✓ To plant 1 ha (with 2 seedlings/hill at 20 X 20 cm spacing), use 18-25 kg good quality seeds for modified
mat nursery establishment
✓ A modified mat nursery establishes seedlings in a layer of soil mix, arranged on a firm surface.
Seedlings are ready for planting within 15-20 days after seeding (DAS).
Classification of crops as per difficulty level in Transplantation
In the section below, let us have a look at an important component of agriculture activities, Storage.
16 Storage
✓ Grain is generally stored either in bags or in bulk. A combined system of bag-cum-bulk storage is
also practiced in some parts of the country.
✓ In villages the bulk storage system is more common than the storage in bags which is considered to
be a practicable method· of storing grain in the government godowns as well as in trade.
16.1 How to store?
16.1.1 Refrigeration
✓ Refrigeration can substantially reduce the rate at which food will deteriorate. Low temperatures slow
down the growth of microorganisms and the rate of chemical (including enzymatic) changes in food.
These are two of the main causes of food spoilage.
16.1.2 Cartons
✓ When sending perishable goods, small Thermochron data loggers can be put into strategically chosen
boxes clearly marked with Alert Tape. The Thermochrons are easy to return to shipper if they are put
in fobs tied to tags with return address. And they are not so expensive that it would be a disaster to
lose one.
16.1.3 Cold Storage

✓ Availability of proper cold storages are important for preserving perishable commodities like milk,
meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, ornamental flowers and other floricultural goods.
16.1.4 Warehouse
Three public sector agencies are involved in building large-scale storage and warehousing capacities in
the country. These are as follows
16.1.4.1 Food Corporation of India (FCI)

The FCI has the largest agricultural warehousing systems with over 30.52 million tonnes+ of storage
capacity in over 1820+ godowns located all over India. This includes owned as well as hired warehouses.
16.1.4.2 Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC)

The CWC was founded in 1957 to provide logistics support to the agricultural sector. Currently, it operates
around 465 warehouses across the country with a huge storage capacity.
16.1.4.3 State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs)

✓ State Warehousing Corporations exist in 17 States to provide storage facilities and pest control
services for various agricultural commodities belonging to farmers of that State.
✓ While the FCI uses its warehouses mainly for storing food grains, the storage capacities with CWC and
SWCs are used for the storage of food grains as well as other items.
16.2 Traditional Storage Structures

✓ In this type of storage structures, the grain is generally stored in bulk. This type of storage structures
have generally capacities between 1 to 50 tonnes.
Morai type storage structures is used for the
storage of paddy, maize and sorghum (jowar)
in the rural areas of eastern and southern
regions of India. Its capacity varies from 3·5 to
18 tonnes. These structures are very similar to
the shape of an inverted cone. They are placed
on a raised platform supported on wooden or
masonry pillars.
Bukhari type storage structures are cylindrical

in shape and are used for storage of sorghum,
wheat, paddy, Bengalgram, maize etc. Bukhari
structures generally have capacities between
3.5 to 18 tonnes, however, smaller capacity
structures also exist. This may be made by
mud alone or by mud and bamboo.
Kothar type storage structures -These are used

to store paddy, maize, sorghum, wheat etc.
Their capacity varies between 9 to 35 tonnes.
The storage structure is box like made of wood
and raised on pillars. Both the floor and walls
are made of wooden planks whereas the
thatched or tiled roof is placed over it to
protect the grains from the sun or rain.
Mud Kothi (Mud bin) - These storage

structures are quite common in rural areas for
storage of grains and other seeds. The capacity
of such storage structures varies from 1 to 50
tonnes. These are made from mud mixed with
dung and straw. These Kothies are generally
rectangular in shape but cylindrical Kothi is
also common in some region.
Muda type of storage Structure - These are in use for storing grains in the rural areas of Bihar. The capacity
of muda varies between 1 to 3 tonnes. It is being made of "Narai" ropes. The shape of muda is cylindrical
and being made in various sizes.
Kanaj type of Storage Structure - These storage structures are very common in the rural areas of Karnataka
and Maharashtra for storage of grains. The capacity of Kanaj varies between 1 to 20 tonnes. It is being made
by bamboo splits. The shape of storage structure is cylindrical.
Kuthla - These storage structures are very much common in rural areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. These
structures are kept inside and made of burnt mud.
Bag Storage Structure - These structures are
generally used for the storage of 25 to 500
tonnes of grain. The length of the structure is
about twice the width or greater than that. A
typical floor plan of such a structure large
enough to store about 6000 bags (500 tonnes)
of grain. Bags of different capacities (35, 50, 75
and 100 kg) with or without inside plastic
lining are used. The standard size of a 100 kg
bag is 100 cm x 60 cm x 30 cm i.e. length of bag
is 100 cm, width of bag is 60 cm and height of
filled bag is 30 cm. This bag can store 93 Kg of
Wheat and 75 Kg of Paddy.
Metal Bin - Bins made of steel, Aluminium

hello@edutap.co.in 41 | P
R.C.C are used for storage of grains inside age
and http://www.edutap.co.in
outside the house. These bins are fire and
moisture proof. The bins have long durability
and produced on commercial scale. The
capacity ranges from 50 kg to 10 tonnes.
16.3 Improved Storage Structures
✓ Improved type of storage structures having capacities is generally 1.5 to 150 tonnes.
Pusa bin is just like other traditional storage

structure and is made of mud. To make this
storage structure moisture proof, a plastic film
is used on inner side of the bin. A platform of
mud bricks is made, first. On this platform, a
sheet of 700 gauge plastic is spread in such a
way that it overlaps the platform on all sides by
atleast 6 cm. For unloading of grains, an
inclined wooden or steel pipe is fixed in such a
way that grains may come out of structure by
gravity.
Brick and cement bins -These storage structures are very strong and therefore, the effect of season
on them is negligible. The bin is made on a platform raised at 60 cm above the ground. A ladder is
provided on one side of the bin for loading of the grains. A hole of about 60 cm diameter is
provided on the roof for the purpose of loading the material i.e. grains. The walls of bin are about
23 cm thick with cement plastered on both the sides. Roof is made of R.C.C. The base of bin is
made inclined and an outlet is provided for unloading of grains. The capacity of such bin is usually
between 1.5 to 60 tonnes.
Bunker storage structure is used for long term

storage of a larger volume of grains. The
structure is successful as a means of storing
grains safely, securely and economically. By
controlling insects and the moisture, the
losses in stored grains can be reduced upto
0.5%. In this type of storage structure, the grain
is stored on a plastic sheet which is spread over 1. Trench for burrying cover 2. plastic ground sheet
ground and top covered with plastic sheet 3. Top cover 4. Drain
CAP' Storage structures - The 'CAP' is used for

cover and plinth storage. The word plinth is
means plinth from the bottom and cover
means cover from the top. This type of open
storage is considered as intermediate storage
and serves the purpose of storage of food
grains in bags for short period. This type of
storage facility is cheaper as compared to
conventional bag storage godowns. The cover
is rectangular in shape having five sides and
made from polyethylene film of 1000 gauge,
leaving the bottom side open. Sometimes
smaller covers are used for covering the stacks
in covered varandah of conventional godowns.
Such covers are called "Varandah covers". For
storage of food grains under varandah covers,
the stacks are built to a height up to 7 bags
having an average capacity of 24 tonnes.
16.4 Modern Storage Structures
✓ In India, for larger volume of food grains are to be stored in bulk is 'silo' and conventional godowns
(Shed) designed for bagged storage.
✓ The godowns side walls are of brick or stone masonry and sloped roofing in asbestos or Corrugated
Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets over steel trusses.
✓ Silos are constructed from steel or reinforced concrete.
✓ There are a cluster of adjoining silos in any modern large/ capacity processing plant.
There are following types of modern storage structures
16.4.1 Silo type of storage structures

✓ The modern facilities for storing grains in bulk are 'silo'. Silos are constructed from steel or reinforced
concrete.
✓ There are a cluster of adjoining silos in any modern large capacity processing plant. These silos are
generally circular with conical bottom.
✓ The advantages of modem storage bins are, (1) less expensive and easier handling and quality control,
(2) lesser space requirement, (3) savings of cost of bags, (4) provision of automation and
mechanization for quicker handling and maintaining quality of stored product, (5) protection from
losses due to birds and rodents.
Silos/bins are classified into two groups depending upon the relative dimensions of the container. These
are classified as, (1) deep bins and (2) shallow bins.
16.4.1.1 Shallow bins

✓ A grain bin referred to as a shallow bin when the depth of grain is less or equal to the equivalent
diameter. The equivalent diameter is taken as four times the hydraulic radius of the bin. Hd < 4R ,
Where Hd is depth of grain.
✓ Squat silos come under shallow bins. A squat silo has a wall height to diameter ratio 0.5 or even less.
Squat silo can compete with sheds for low-cost quality storage.
16.4.1.2 Deep bins

✓ A grain bin referred to as a deep bin when the depth of grain is greater than the equivalent diameter.
The equivalent diameter is taken as four times the hydraulic radius of the bin. Hd >= 4R , Where Hd
is depth of grain.
✓ Vertical Silos are comes under this type of storage structures. There are two types of vertical silos a)
Flat bottom vertical silo and b) Hopper bottom vertical silo.
16.4.2 Shed
✓ A horizontal shed has been used to provide low- cost, large volume storage.
✓ Very large volume sheds have also been constructed by Food Corporation of India (FCI) for storing
grains and other products.
✓ Sheds are usually made of steel or corrugated sheet construction with flat concrete floors.
16.4.3 Farm Silos
✓ Farm silos is a farm structure used to store and protect the animal fodder so that it is preserved in an
ideal condition for farm animals.
✓ Animal fodder is cut and packed in the air tight silo to allow a partial fermentation to occur. The
storage fodder is known as silage.
✓ The green fodder is filled in the silo either as such or after chopping and it is well packed to reduce
air. Better packing may be obtained by trampling with tractor or bullocks.
✓ The top must be covered with dry straw and then sealed with mud plaster or covered by polythene
or alkathene sheets.
✓ The silage will be ready after 4-6 weeks. A pit size of 20 x 20 x 20 feet is sufficient for 50-55 t of
green fodder. One cubic foot of settled silage will weigh about 15 kg.
✓ The rate of utilization of the ensiled material also has a bearing on the size of the silo. Once is opened
for feeding, then every day at least half a foot of the material have to be removed to avoid spoilage if
the silage.
✓ Pit, trench, bunker and tower silos are used for ensiling the green fodder. Various types and sizes
are used depending upon the availability of green fodder and the convenience of the farmer.
16.4.3.1 Tower silos

✓ Cylindrical Shape and made of masonary, wood or metal
✓ Cost of construction is comparatively much higher than that of horizontal type.
✓ Loading of animal fodder is difficult.
✓ Mechanical loader or a large capacity of blower is essential.
✓ This type of storage structures are not recommended under Indian conditions.
16.4.3.2 Horizontal silos

✓ In horizontal silos pit type, bunker type and trench or stake type of storage structures used for storage
of animal fodder.
✓ There are surface as well as below ground (underground) types of storage structures used on most of
dairy farms as temporary and permanent storage structures for silage.
✓ The spoilage of silage and dry matter losses of these silos ranges between 20 to 30 percent.
A. Pit Silos
✓ Permanent pit silo is a circular deep well which is lined all around the side, and sealed from bottom,
so that water may not rise in to it.
✓ Made in areas where the soil is deep and the water table is very low.
✓ Made of bricks, stones or concrete, and either cement or lime can be used as a binding material.
✓ A 22.5 cm thick wall will be used satisfactory up to 15 meter depth.
✓ The entire surface which is coming in contact with the silage should be plastered to make it smooth,
air tight and water tight.
✓ Simple roof is made over the silo to protect the silage from sun and rain.
✓ Corrugated metal sheet dome or half pitch roof with ample overhang on all the sides are most
economical and provide more space for filling.
✓ Stairs may be built along with wall for removing silage from the silo.
✓ The diameter of a silo is usually limited to 6 m and its depth is kept 2 to 3 times that of diameter.
✓ When the silo is opened for removing the silage, nobody should enter till the gases are removed.
Trench Silos
✓ A trench often dug into a bank or slope, sometimes lined with concrete, and used mostly in regions
of low rainfall for making and storing silage.
✓ Unlined trench silo can be made easily without involving any investment on building materials such
as brick, cement and sand.
✓ Unlined silos give more spoilage and are likely to have caved side walls due to excessive rain and tend
to become muddy at the bottom. So, lined trench silos are therefore become popular.
✓ Drains should be made around trench to intercept surface water.
✓ To facilitate drainage, it is desirable to locate the trench silo on slopping ground.
✓ Capacity is depending on size of herd and number of day the silage is fed in a year.
✓ It is always economical to construct only one trench silo, even if it is quite larger.
✓ Sidewalls are given generally 33 per cent slope.
17 Storage of Perishable Products

Perishable food includes fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, foods purchased from chill cabinets, freshly
cooked food stored to be used later. It is usually stored in a refrigerator. Some fresh fruits and vegetables,
however, will store quite well out of the refrigerator as long as they are stored in a cool place.
17.1 Modified Storage Systems

✓ Controlled Atmospheric Storage is done for the preservation/storage of grains as well as fruits and
vegetables for a long time under controlled conditions.
✓ After doing so we do not have any control over the process and the gas composition changes
inevitably in the container due to activities such as product respiration.
✓ As the desired gas composition (i.e. high carbon dioxide level and low oxygen level) changes due to
metabolic activity of fruits and vegetables, it is possible to add fresh air or nitrogen to achieve pre-
determined (desired) gaseous composition.
✓ The normal composition of air is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with the balance made up of carbon
dioxide (0.035%), other gases and water vapour.
✓ An increase in the proportion of carbon dioxide and/or a reduction in the proportion of oxygen
within specified limits maintains the original product quality and extends the product shelf life.
This is achieved by:
• Inhibiting bacterial and mould growth

• Protecting against insect infestation
• Reducing moisture loss
• Reducing oxidative changes
• Controlling biochemical and enzymes activity to slow down senescence and ripening.
✓ In CAS, the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and sometimes ethylene (ethene) are monitored
and regulated.
✓ Oxygen concentrations as low as 0%, and carbon dioxide concentrations of 20% or higher can be
produced in for example grain storage, where these conditions destroy insects and inhibit mould
growth.
✓ Scrubbers are used in controlled atmosphere storage to absorb the extra amount gases present inside
the packaging material.
Higher the respiration rate, shorter is

the shelf life for agriculture produce
especially fruits and Vegetables. So,
decreasing O2 and increasing CO2
increases the shelf life of the same.
Controlled atmospheric conditions for some fruit crops
Controlled atmospheric conditions for some Vegetable crops
17.1.1 Beneficial effects of proper Controlled Atmospheric storage
✓ Delayed softening and mealiness (apples, pears, tomatoes)
✓ Delayed toughening (asparagus)
✓ Chlorophyll retention (apples, pears, leaf vegetables)
✓ Insect control- O2(< 1%) and/or elevated CO2(40 to 60%)
✓ Inhibition of the browning of cut surface(cut fruits and vegetables)
✓ Better flavour retention (pineapple, cabbage)
✓ Reduction of disorders and decay (berries)
✓ Higher nutritional value after storage (vitamin C).
17.1.2 Detrimental effects of Controlled Atmospheric storage (above or below optimum composition
for the commodity)
✓ May cause irregular ripening of fruits (banana, mango, pear, and tomato, at O2 below 2%, CO2 above
5% for > 1 month).
✓ May cause certain physiological disorders.
✓ May enhance anaerobic respiration and development of off-flavors.
✓ May cause susceptibility to decay.
Effects of Controlled Atmosphere injury on some fruits and Vegetables
17.1.3 Disadvantages of Controlled Atmosphere storage

✓ It is quite expensive.
✓ Temp. control required.
✓ Different gas composition for each type of product.
✓ Special operation and operator training required.
✓ Once pack opens or leaks the benefits are lost.
17.1.4 MAP - modified atmosphere packaging

✓ This is the process or method in which we can change the composition of gas in a container with a
fixed gas mixture.
✓ Controlled Atmosphere Packaging (CAP) (or CAS) we have control over the storage atmosphere
(which is in fact air tight).
✓ In MAS, the store is made airtight, and respiratory activity of fresh foods is allowed to change the
atmosphere as oxygen is used up and CO2 is produced.
✓ The greatest use of MAP is for fresh-cut products (to maintain 2-5% O2 and 8-12% CO2).
✓ It is possible to improve gas control in MAP by adding absorbers of ethylene, carbon dioxide and
oxygen.
Oxygen absorber: Iron powder is used commercially as the active ingredient. Ex. FeO2, Fe2O , Fe3 O4
Carbon dioxide absorber: Lime(freshly hydrated high calcium lime (Ca(OH)2),activated charcoal,
magnesium oxide)
Ethylene absorber: Potassium permanganate, builder clay powder, hydrocarbons, silicones
17.1.4.1 Two types of modification done

A. Active modification
✓ The atmosphere is modified by pulling a slight vacuum and replacing the packaging atmophere within
the desired gas mixture.
✓ Displace or remove gases in package
✓ Replace with mix of desired gases and seal
✓ Better shelf life is achieved with Active Modification
B. Passive modification
✓ Modification is achieved by respiration of commodity within the package and depends on the
characteristics of the commodity and the packaging film.
✓ Product packaged with selected film.
✓ Desired atmosphere develops naturally over time
✓ Takes longer to achieve desired atmosphere in package
For
Plantation and Horticulture crops

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 What is Horticulture?....................................................................................................................... 9
1.1 What are spices? ...................................................................................................................... 9
2 Classification of Fruits .................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Classification of fruits based on Climatic adaptability ............................................................. 10
2.1.1 Characteristics of different zones.................................................................................... 11
2.1.2 Fruit growing regions in India ......................................................................................... 12
2.2 Classification of fruits based on fruit morphology ................................................................... 12
2.2.1 Simple fruits ................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.2 Aggregate fruits .............................................................................................................. 15
2.2.3 Composite or multiple fruits ........................................................................................... 15
2.3 Classification of fruits based on fruit ripening ......................................................................... 16
2.3.1 Classification of fruits based on ethylene production ...................................................... 16
2.4 Classification of fruits based on rate of respiration ................................................................. 17
2.4.1 Classification based on the respiration rate .................................................................... 17
2.5 Classification of fruits based on Photoperiod response ........................................................... 17
2.6 Classification of fruits based on relative salt tolerance ........................................................... 17
2.7 Classification of fruits based on acids present......................................................................... 17
3 Classification of Vegetables............................................................................................................ 17
3.1 Classification of Vegetables based on the economic product/edible part................................ 18
3.2 Classification of Vegetables based on the type of culture ....................................................... 18
3.3 Classification of Vegetables based on lifecycle........................................................................ 19
3.3.1 Annual ............................................................................................................................ 19
3.3.2 Biennial .......................................................................................................................... 19
3.3.3 Perennial ........................................................................................................................ 19
3.4 Classification of Vegetables based on thermal adaptation ...................................................... 19
3.5 Classification of Vegetables based on Photoperiod ................................................................. 20
3.6 Classification of Vegetables based on season ......................................................................... 20
3.7 Classification of Vegetables based on methods of raising ....................................................... 21
3.8 Classification of Vegetables based on hardiness ..................................................................... 21
3.9 Classification of Vegetables based on rate of respiration ........................................................ 22

3.10 Classification of Vegetables based on soil reaction (pH).......................................................... 22
3.11 Classification of Vegetables based on rooting depth ............................................................... 22
3.12 Classification of Vegetables based on water requirement....................................................... 23
3.13 Classification of Vegetables based on soil salinity ................................................................... 23
4 Planting system of horticulture crops............................................................................................. 23
5 Propagation technology of various plantation and Horticulture crops ............................................ 24
5.1 Sexual Propagation ................................................................................................................ 24
5.2 Asexual propagation .............................................................................................................. 25
5.2.1 Cuttings .......................................................................................................................... 26
5.2.2 Layering.......................................................................................................................... 26
5.2.3 Grafting .......................................................................................................................... 28
5.2.4 Budding .......................................................................................................................... 31
5.2.5 Propagation through modified organs ............................................................................ 33
5.2.6 Micropropagation........................................................................................................... 33
6 Training ......................................................................................................................................... 34
6.1 What is the principle behind Training? ................................................................................... 34
6.2 Types of Training Systems ...................................................................................................... 35
6.2.1 Central Leader System .................................................................................................... 35
6.2.2 Open Centre System ....................................................................................................... 35
6.2.3 Modified Leader System ................................................................................................. 36
6.2.4 Spindle Bush system ....................................................................................................... 36
6.2.5 Over head trellis or Bower system .................................................................................. 36
6.2.6 Modified bower or Telephone system ............................................................................ 36
6.2.7 Kniffin system of training ................................................................................................ 37
6.3 Systems of training dwarf trees .............................................................................................. 37
6.3.1 Dwarf Pyramids .............................................................................................................. 37
6.3.2 Cordons .......................................................................................................................... 37
6.3.3 Palmettes ....................................................................................................................... 37
7 Special horticultural practices for inducing fruiting ........................................................................ 38
7.1 Pruning .................................................................................................................................. 38
7.1.1 Methods of Pruning ........................................................................................................ 38

7.1.2 Thinning Out................................................................................................................... 38
7.1.3 Heading Back .................................................................................................................. 38
7.1.4 Disbudding or Rubbing off .............................................................................................. 38
7.1.5 Pinching and Topping ..................................................................................................... 39
7.2 Types of pruning based on season .......................................................................................... 39
7.2.1 Dormant Pruning ............................................................................................................ 39
7.2.2 Summer Pruning............................................................................................................. 39
7.3 Pruning based on height......................................................................................................... 39
7.4 Technique of pruning and their timings .................................................................................. 39
7.5 Top working ........................................................................................................................... 40
7.6 Ringing and Girdling ............................................................................................................... 40
7.7 Notching ................................................................................................................................ 41
7.8 Bending.................................................................................................................................. 41
7.9 Smudging ............................................................................................................................... 41
7.10 Root pruning .......................................................................................................................... 42
7.11 Bahar treatment..................................................................................................................... 42
8 Plant growth hormones ................................................................................................................. 43
8.1 Hormone................................................................................................................................ 43
8.2 Plant growth regulators.......................................................................................................... 43
8.2.1 Auxins ............................................................................................................................ 44
8.2.2 Cytokinins....................................................................................................................... 44
8.2.3 Gibberellins .................................................................................................................... 44
8.2.4 Abscisic Acid ................................................................................................................... 45
8.2.5 Ethylene ......................................................................................................................... 45
8.2.6 Polyamines ..................................................................................................................... 45
8.3 Growth retardants ................................................................................................................. 46
9 Use of Hormones as Plant Growth Regulators in Horticultural Crops .............................................. 46
9.1 Use of hormones .................................................................................................................... 46
9.1.1 Rooting of cutting ........................................................................................................... 46
9.1.2 Blossom thinning ............................................................................................................ 46
9.1.3 Preventing fruit drop ...................................................................................................... 47

9.1.4 Increasing fruit setting by seedless fruit production ........................................................ 47
9.1.5 Controlling flowering ...................................................................................................... 47
10 Maturity .................................................................................................................................... 47
10.1 Horticultural maturity ............................................................................................................ 47
10.2 Physiological maturity ............................................................................................................ 47
10.3 Commercial maturity ............................................................................................................. 47
10.4 Harvest Maturity .................................................................................................................... 48
10.5 Maturity Indices of Fruits ....................................................................................................... 48
10.6 Maturity in Vegetables ........................................................................................................... 48
10.6.1 Skin colour...................................................................................................................... 49
10.6.2 Shape, size and flavour ................................................................................................... 49
10.6.3 Abscission and firmness.................................................................................................. 49
10.6.4 Maturity indices of Vegetabes ........................................................................................ 49
10.7 Factors affecting maturity ...................................................................................................... 49
10.7.1 Temperature .................................................................................................................. 49
10.7.2 Soil ................................................................................................................................. 50
10.7.3 Size of planting material ................................................................................................. 50
10.7.4 Closer spacing................................................................................................................. 50
10.7.5 Pruning intensity ............................................................................................................ 50
10.7.6 Girdling........................................................................................................................... 50
11 Post Harvest losses .................................................................................................................... 50
12 Technologies for minimizing the losses ...................................................................................... 51
12.1 Waxing ................................................................................................................................... 51
12.2 Curing .................................................................................................................................... 51
12.3 Evaporative cool storage ........................................................................................................ 51
12.4 Pre-packaging ........................................................................................................................ 51
12.5 Cold storage ........................................................................................................................... 51
12.6 Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).................................................................................. 51
12.7 Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage ...................................................................................... 52
12.8 Cold chain .............................................................................................................................. 52
12.9 Irradiation .............................................................................................................................. 52

12.10 Edible coatings ................................................................................................................... 52
12.11 Dehydration ....................................................................................................................... 52
12.11.1 Shade drying............................................................................................................... 53
12.11.2 Osmotic dehydration .................................................................................................. 53
12.11.3 Blanching.................................................................................................................... 53
12.12 Others ................................................................................................................................ 53
12.13 Use of chemicals for increasing shelf life of fruits and vegetable......................................... 53
12.13.1 Ethylene absorbent..................................................................................................... 54
12.13.2 Antifungal Agents ....................................................................................................... 54
12.13.3 Use of Inhibitors ......................................................................................................... 54
12.13.4 Use of Auxins .............................................................................................................. 54
13 Pre cooling ................................................................................................................................. 54
13.1 Methods for Precooling Produce ............................................................................................ 54
13.1.1 Room cooling ................................................................................................................. 55
13.1.2 Forced air cooling ........................................................................................................... 55
13.1.3 Hydrocooling .................................................................................................................. 56
13.1.4 Ice cooling ...................................................................................................................... 56
13.1.5 Vacuum cooling .............................................................................................................. 57
13.1.6 Cryogenic cooling ........................................................................................................... 57
13.1.7 Evaporative Cooling ........................................................................................................ 57
14 Fruit and vegetable preservation ............................................................................................... 58
14.1 Principles of food preservation by heat .................................................................................. 58
14.1.1 Pasteurization–below 100oC .......................................................................................... 59
14.1.2 Heating at about 100oC .................................................................................................. 59
14.1.3 Sterilization-above 100oC ............................................................................................... 59
14.1.4 Difference between pasteurization and sterilization ....................................................... 59
14.1.5 Aseptic canning .............................................................................................................. 60
14.1.6 Hot Pack (or) Hot fill ....................................................................................................... 60
14.2 Preservation by low temperature ........................................................................................... 60
14.2.1 Cellar storage (about 15oC) ............................................................................................ 60
14.2.2 Refrigerated (or) chilling (0 to 5oC) ................................................................................. 60

14.3 Preservation by chemicals ...................................................................................................... 60
14.3.1 Sulphur dioxide............................................................................................................... 60
14.3.2 Benzoic acid.................................................................................................................... 61
14.4 Preservation by fermentation................................................................................................. 61
14.5 Preservation through canning ................................................................................................ 61
14.5.1 Selection of fruits and vegetables ................................................................................... 61
14.5.2 Grading .......................................................................................................................... 62
14.5.3 Washing ......................................................................................................................... 62
14.5.4 Peeling ........................................................................................................................... 62
14.5.5 Cutting ........................................................................................................................... 62
14.5.6 Blanching........................................................................................................................ 63
14.5.7 Cooling ........................................................................................................................... 63
14.5.8 Filling.............................................................................................................................. 63
14.5.9 Exhausting ...................................................................................................................... 63
14.5.10 Sealing ........................................................................................................................ 64
14.5.11 Processing .................................................................................................................. 64
14.5.12 Cooling ....................................................................................................................... 64
14.5.13 Storage ....................................................................................................................... 64
14.6 Preservation by freezing......................................................................................................... 65
14.6.1 Methods of freezing ....................................................................................................... 65
14.6.2 Cryogenic freezing .......................................................................................................... 66
14.6.3 Dehydro-freezing............................................................................................................ 66
14.6.4 Freeze drying .................................................................................................................. 66
14.6.5 Problems in frozen storage ............................................................................................. 66
14.7 Preservation by drying ........................................................................................................... 67
14.7.1 Sundrying of fruits .......................................................................................................... 67
14.8 Preservatives.......................................................................................................................... 68
14.8.1 Classification of preservatives......................................................................................... 68
14.9 Colours................................................................................................................................... 68

1 What is Horticulture?
The term Horticulture is derived from the Latin words: “hortus” meaning garden and “cultura” meaning
cultivation. Horticulture may be defined as the science and technique of production, processing and
merchandizing of fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants.
Nutritive value of fruits and vegetables
Nutrients Fruit Vegetable
Vitamin A/ Retinol Mango 4800 IU/100 g Bathua leaves 11,300

Papaya 2020 IU/100g IU/100g
Vitamin- B1/Thymine Cashew nut Chilies 0.55 mg/100g
Vitamin B2/Riboflavin Bael>papaya Fenugreek leaves
Vitamin C/ascorbic acid Barbados cherry 2000mgAonla Coriander leaves 135 mg/100 g
600 mg/100g
Carbohydrates Raisins (dehydrated grape) Tapioca (38.1 %)
Protein Cashew nut 21.2% Peas (7.2/100g)
Fat Walnut 64.5% Potato 11.8g/100g
Fiber Fig Potato
Calcium Litchi 0.21% Agathi 1130 mg/100 g
Phosphorus Almond > cashew nut Amaranthus 800 mg/100g
Iron Dry karonda 39.1% Date Palm Amaranthus 22.9%
(pind) 10.6%
Calorific value Walnut 687calorie/100g Tapioca 338 calorie/100g
IU: International Units
1.1 What are spices?

✓ The term ‘spice’ derives originally from the Latin “species aromatase,” which means fruits of
the earth.
✓ In the culinary arts, the word spice refers to any dried part of a plant, other than the leaves,
used for seasoning and flavoring a recipe, but not used as the main ingredient.
✓ The leaves are not considered to be spices because the green leafy parts of plants used in this
way are considered herbs.
✓ Examples:
• Cinnamon is the bark of a tree.
• Cardamom is a seed pod.
• Allspice (Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento) is a dried berry.
• Cloves are dried flower buds.

Condiments Spices
Condiments are mainly used at the dining Food ingredients mainly used to season a
table to enhance the dish food dish during its preparation
Preparation
Involve its preparation before using Particularly a single unprepared ingredient
Contains
Salt, mustard, or pickle Fruit, leaves, seed, root, bark, berry, bud,
flower or vegetable
Market
Its trade is the second biggest market in India contributes 75% of spice production
specialty foods after that of cheese throughout the world
Examples
Compound butter, barbecue sauce, Cinnamon, mace, mustard, black pepper,
teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, marmite, cloves, saffron, fennel, turmeric, ginger,
ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard curry powder, chili powder, salt, galingale
2 Classification of Fruits
There are various classification of fruits based on various factors which can be seen listed below.
2.1 Classification of fruits based on Climatic adaptability
✓ Fruits are broadly classified on the basis of their temperature requirement such as, temperate,
subtropical and tropical. However, tropical zone can be further classified into Central tropical,
Southern tropical and Coastal tropical zones.
✓ However, some fruits may be grown under more than one climate. For example, mango is grown
under both tropical and subtropical climates. Grape and peach can be grown in both temperate and
subtropical regions.
2.1.1 Characteristics of different zones
2.1.1.1 Temperate zone

✓ Vegetative and flower buds of most of the temperate zone fruits enter into dormancy in late summer
or autumn and require a substantial amount of winter cold before they can resume growth in the
following spring.
✓ These fruit plants are frost - hardy and even tolerant to snowfall and ice.The soil is mainly shallow and
acidic in nature.Rainfall is adequate.
✓ In India, temperate zone climatic environment occurs at sufficiently high elevations.
✓ Examples: apple, almond, peach, pear, plum, strawberry, apricot, persimmon, cherimoya, pecan nut,
walnut, hassle nut, cherry, pistachios and kiwifruits etc.
2.1.1.2 Subtropical zone

✓ Temperature is of intermediate in nature
✓ Chilling temperature, if occurs, is for a brief spell and beneficial for many fruits
✓ The fruits grown have no distinct rest period. Light frost may occur in this zone
✓ Rainfall varies widely from low to high. Soil reaction is generally neutral
✓ Soil fertility status is not satisfactory. The majority areas have sandy loam and alluvial soil
✓ The fruits have no marked photoperiodic requirement.
✓ Examples: grape, citrus, durian, jackfruit, etc.
2.1.1.3 Tropical zone

✓ Chilling temperature is practically absent. High temperature occurs during most part of the year
✓ Day and night temperature variation is narrow. Photoperiodic requirement in very insignificant
✓ Rainfall varies widely. Soil type varies greatly (clay loam, alluvial, saline, sandy, laterite etc.,)
✓ Examples: mango, banana, papaya, sapota, etc.,
Besides, the arid region of India which occupies nearly 12 percent of the total land area is of immense
importance for fruit growing because of the development of highly efficient irrigation management
methods.
In India, the hot, arid zone covers over 3.2 lakh.Sq.km.in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana,
Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
There is about 70,300 sq. km area under the cold arid zone of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir.
2.1.2 Fruit growing regions in India
1. Temperate zone: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, part of Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,
part of Nagaland, Nilgiris and Pulney hills in Tamil Nadu.
2. North western subtropical zone: Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, part of UP, part of Mathaya Pradesh.
3. North Eastern subtropical zone: Bihar, Assam, Megalalya, Tripura, part of Arunachal Pradesh and part
of west Bengal
4. Central tropical zone: Part of Madhya Pradesh, part of Mahsrashtra, Gujarat, part of Orissa, part of
West Bengal, part of Andhra Pradesh & part of Karnataka.
5. Southern tropical zone: Part of Karnataka, part of AP, part of TN & part of Kerala.
6. Coastal tropical humid zone: Coast of Maharastra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, TN, Orissa, West Bengal,
Tripura and Mozorm, part of Gujarat along sea and the Indian Islands
2.2 Classification of fruits based on fruit morphology

Before getting into the classification of the fruits based on fruit morphology, let us first have a look at how
most of the flowers are developed in the following way
✓ The process of fertilization initiates both seed and fruit development. While seeds develop from the
ovules, the ovary tissue undergoes a series of complex changes which result in the development of
the fruit.
✓ Other, non-fleshy, fruits use other mechanisms for seed dispersal. In some plants, fruits can develop
without fertilization. This is called parthenocarpy, and such fruits are seedless.
✓ As the ovary develops into a fruit, its wall often thickens and becomes differentiated into three, more
or less distinct, layers. The three layers together form the pericarp, which surrounds the developing
seed or seeds. A fruit consists of pericarp and seeds.
Carpels have three main parts: The ovary containing the ovules, the style through which the pollen tubes grow,
and the stigma on which the pollen grains germinate, although some flowers have carpels without a distinct style.
The term pistil is sometimes used to refer to a single carpel or to several carpels fused together.
The ovule becomes the seed; the ovary part of the carpel becomes the fruit.
Fruits, based on their morphology can be classified into 3 types.
2.2.1 Simple fruits

When a single fruit develops from a single ovary of a single flower, it is called a simple fruit. Examples:
Banana, Papaya, Grapes, Avacado etc., Simple fruits are of two types
2.2.1.1 Dry fruits

These fruits are not fleshy, and their pericarp (fruit wall) is not distinguished into three layers. Dry fruits
can be again classified into 3 types
2.2.1.1.1 Dehiscent fruits (capsular fruits)

✓ Characteristic of these fruits is that their pericarp rupture after ripening and the seeds are
disseminated.
✓ A fruit developed from a single carpel may split from only one side at maturity to discharge its seeds.
Such a fruit is called a follicle. Examples are columbine (Aquilegia spp.), milkweed (Asclepias spp.),
larkspur (Delphinium spp.), and magnolia (Magnolia spp.).
✓ Sometimes, the splitting of the ovary occurs along two seams, with seeds borne on only one of the
halves of the spilt ovary. Such a fruit is called a legume, example being pea (Pisum
sativum), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and peanut (Arachis hypogaea).
✓ In a third type of dehiscent fruit, called silique or silicle, seeds are attached to central structure, as
occurs in radish (Raphanus sativus) and mustard (Brassica campestris).
✓ The most common dehiscent simple seeds are discharged when the capsule splits longitudinally. On
the basis of dehiscence capsules are of the following types:
✓ (i) Porocidal: The dehiscence occurs through pores as in Poppy (Papaver)
✓ (ii) Pyxis: This is a special name given to a capsule when the dehiscence is transverse so that the top
comes off as a lid as if exposing a box of seeds, e.g., Celosia (Cock’s comb), Amaranth us, Chalfweed.
✓ (iii) Loculicidal: The dehiscence occurs by longitudinal slits which open into the loculi, e.g., 1 dy’s finger
(Abelmoschus).
✓ (iv)Septicidal: The dehiscence line appears along the septa, e.g.. Linseed, Cotton (Fig. 7.3D) to the
central axis ,eg. Datura.
✓ (v) Sentifragai: Tin- broken parts separate exposing the seeds attached to the central axis, e.g Datum
2.2.1.1.2 Indehiscent fruits (Achenial fruits)

As their name indicates, pericarp of such fruits does not rupture on ripening and the seeds remain inside.
Some indehiscent fruits may have a hard pericarp (exocarp + mesocarp + endocarp). This stony fruit wall
is cracked in order to reach the seed. Such fruits are called nuts, as found in chestnut (Castanea spp.) and
hazelnut (Corylus spp.).
2.2.1.1.3 Schizocarpic fruits (splitting fruits)

✓ These fruits fall in between the above-mentioned two categories. Here, the fruit on ripening divides
into one-seeded segments or mericarp (mericarp - a carpel with one seed); but the mericarps remain
un-ruptured.
✓ Nuts develop from a compound ovary. Sometimes the pericarp of the fruit is thin and the ovaries
occur in pairs, as found in dill (Anethum graveolens) and carrot (Daucus carota). This fruit type is
called a schizocarp.
✓ In maple (Acer spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), and other species, the pericarp has a
wing and is called a samara.
✓ Where the pericarp is not winged but the single seed is attached to the pericarp only at its base, the
fruit is called an achene.
✓ Achenes are the most common indehiscent fruits. Examples are the buttercup family (Ranuculaceae)
and sunflower. In cereal grains (Poaceae or grass family), the seed, unlike in an achene, is fully fused
to the pericarp. This fruit type is called a caryopsis or grain.
2.2.1.2 Succulent fruits (fleshy fruits)

In these fruits pericarp is distinguished into epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. Mesocarp is fleshy or
fibrous. These fruits are indehiscent, and seeds are liberated after the decay of the flesh. These are simple
fruits with fleshy pericarp. They are of three types:
2.2.1.2.1 Drupe
✓ The pericarp or fruit wall is differentiated into thin epicarp (skin), fleshy mesocarp and stony
endocarp.
✓ Hence it is also called as stone fruit, e.g., Mango, Coconut, Peach, Almond, Trapa etc.
✓ In mango, mesocarp is juicy and edible. In coconut mesocarp is fibrous and edible part is endocarp.
✓ In almond, epicarp and mesocarp get peeled off and only hard endocarp can be seen in marketed
fruits.
2.2.1.2.2 Pome
✓ It is a simple, fleshy but false fruit as it is surrounded by a fleshy thalamus which is edible while actual
fruit lies within.
✓ A pome is a pitted fruit with a stony interior. The pit usually contains one seed chamber and one seed.
This very specialized fruit type develops from the ovary, with most of the fleshy part formed from the
receptacle tissue (the enlarged base of the perianth).
✓ Pomes are characteristic of one subfamily of the family Rosaceae (rose family). Examples of pomes
are apple (Pyrus malus), pear (Pyrus communis), and quince (Cydonia oblonga).
2.2.1.2.3 Berry
✓ Berry is a fleshy fruit in which there is no hard part except the seeds.
✓ A berry is a fruit characterized by an inner pulp that contains a few to several seeds but not pits. It is
formed from one or several carpels.
✓ Examples are tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), grape (Vitis spp.), and pepper (Capsicum anuum).
✓ If the exocarp (skin) is leathery and contains oils, as in the citrus fruits (e.g., orange (Citrus
sinensis), lemon (Citrus lemon), and grapefruit [Citrus paradisi]), the berry is called a hesperidium.
✓ Some berries have a rind, as in watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), and
pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo). This type of a berry is called a pepo. Examples are: Banana, cucurbits,
Papaya, Grape, Arecanut, Date Palm and Guava.
✓ The following are some fruits which show variations from the normal Berry:
o Amphisarca (Any hard-rinded fruit having a succulent interior and a crustaceous or woody
exterior) – Example: Bael, Wood apple
o Balusta (The epicarp is rough and leathery, mesocarp is papery and thin and endocarp is hard
and it forms chambers to enclose seeds irregularly.) – Example: Pomegranate
2.2.2 Aggregate fruits

They develop from the apocarpous ovaries of a single flower. Thus, from one flower, many fruits develop.
Example: Eteario of berries, Custard apple, Raspberry
2.2.3 Composite or multiple fruits

A fruit developing from a complete inflorescence is called a multiple or a composite fruit. i.e many flowers
– single fruit. Examples: Fig, jackfruit, pineapple, mulberry etc
If a gynoecium has a single carpel, it is called monocarpous. If a gynoecium has multiple, distinct (free, unfused)
carpels, it is apocarpous. If a gynoecium has multiple carpels "fused" into a single structure, it is syncarpous.
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately
develop into the fruit and seeds.
2.3 Classification of fruits based on fruit ripening
Based on this, the fruits can be classified as Climacteric fruits and Non-climacteric fruits.
✓ The climacteric fruits can ripe after removing them from the plants on the other hand non-climacteric
fruits are those which don’t ripe after picking.
✓ Now, the ripening process is related to the production of ethylene in plants.
✓ Climacteric species produce ethylene as they ripen, and the harvested produce is capable of ripening
during the postharvest period. These commodities, such as bananas, apples, and peaches, tend to get
sweeter and softer after harvest.
✓ Non-climacteric plants, such as leafy vegetables, do not continue to ripen after harvest; they will
soften and rot, but this is due to moisture loss, decay, and tissue deterioration.
✓ Thus Climacteric fruits produce much larger amount of ethylene than non-climacteric fruits.
Climacteric Non-climacteric
Mango, Banana, Sapota, Guava, Papaya, Apple, Fig, Citrus, Grape, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Litchi, Ber,
Peach, Pear, Plum and Annona Jamun, Cashew, Cherry and Strawberry
2.3.1 Examples of fruits based on the perishability nature

Very perishable (0-4 weeks) Perishable ( 4-8 weeks)
Apricot Avocado
Banana ( Ripe) Grape
Banana( Green) Mandarin
Berry Fruit Nectarine
Cherry Passion Fruit
Fig Peach
Loquat Pineapple ( Ripe)
Mango Pineapple( Green)
Strawberry Plum
Watermelon
Non-perishable ( >12 weeks)
Apple
Semi – perishable ( 6-12 weeks) Grape Fruit
Coconut Lemon
Orange Pear
2.3.2 Classification of fruits based on ethylene production

Class µL C2H4 /kg/hr Crops
Very Low < 0.1 Grape, citrus
Low 0.1 – 1.0 Pineapple, watermelon
Medium 1 – 10 Banana, Mango, Guava, Fig tomato
High 10 – 100 Apple, Papaya, Avocado, Plum
Very high >100 Passion fruit, sapota, apple
* Highest ethylene production seen in Passion fruit (466-530 µL/L); Apple (25 – 2500 µL/L).
2.4 Classification of fruits based on rate of respiration
✓ Despite having been detached from the plant, fruits and vegetables remain as living organs after
harvest.
✓ Harvested fruits and vegetables of different plants have different rates of respiration; some respire
at a faster rate (and thus are more perishable vegetables), while some respire at a relatively slow rate
(less perishable vegetables) (see table below).
✓ In addition, storage conditions affect respiration, with higher temperatures leading to a faster rate of
respiration; for every 10°C (18°F) rise in temperature, the respiration rate will double or even triple.
✓ Because of the significant effect of temperature on respiration, the amount of time a harvested
product is exposed to heat should be minimized; the fruit or vegetable should be quickly brought to
its optimal storage temperature.
2.4.1 Classification based on the respiration rate

Respirate rate Examples Release of CO2
Very Low Nut, Dried fruits <5 mg
Low Apple, Citrus, Grape 5-10 mg
Medium Mango, Banana, Peach, Pear 10-20 mg
High Strawberry, Avocado 20-40 mg
Very High Snap melon 40-60 mg
Note:
✓ In the case of Climacteric fruits, there is a sharp rise in respiration after harvesting
✓ In the case of Non-climacteric fruits, there is steady respiration at the time of harvesting
2.5 Classification of fruits based on Photoperiod response

Long Day plant Short Day plant Day neutral plant
Passion fruit, banana, apple Strawberry, Pineapple, coffee Papaya, Guava, Banana
2.6 Classification of fruits based on relative salt tolerance

Highly tolerant Medium tolerant Highly sensitive
Date palm, Ber, Amla, Guava, Pomegranate, Cashew, Fig, Jamun and Mango, Apple, Citrus, Pear,
Coconut, Khirni Phalsa Strawberry
2.7 Classification of fruits based on acids present

Citric acid Malic acid
Berries, Citrus, Guava, Pear, Pineapple Apple, Banana, Cherry, Plum, Melon
3 Classification of Vegetables
Similar to Fruits, there are various classification of vegetables based on various factors which can be seen
listed below.
3.1 Classification of Vegetables based on the economic product/edible part
1. TUBERS: A much thickened underground part of a stem or rhizome, e.g. in the potato, serving as a food
reserve and bearing buds from which new plants arise. Examples: Jerusalem Artichoke, Potatoes, Yam,
Ginger, Roots Artichoke
Potato is considered as a stem vegetable because it grows in underground stems, known as

stolons. Potato tubers are considered to be thick stems that have the buds sprouting stems and
leaves. Roots do not possess the above mentioned attributes and hence, potato is considered as
a stem and not a root.
2. BULBS: A rounded underground storage organ present in some plants, notably those of the lily family,
consisting of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scale leaves or leaf bases, lying dormant over winter.
Examples: Chives, Leeks, Shallot, Onions, Garlic
3. STEMS Asparagus, Anise (fennel), Celery, Bamboo Shoot, Fiddlehead Fern
4. ROOTS: Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of
carbohydrates. Examples: Carrots, Beet root, Turnips, Celeriac Radish
5. LEAVES Watercress, Lettuce, Cabbage, Mustard, Green Parsley, Spinach, Sage, Coriander
6. FLOWERS: The category “flower vegetables” includes plants of which the flowers are used as food.
Examples: Cauliflower, Artichoke, Broccoli
7. FRUITS: A vegetable with a pulpy, seed-rich body which grows on a shrub/vine. They are
technically fruits but are used as vegetables. Examples: Eggplant, Cucumber, Tomato, Squash, Avocado
8. SEEDS: Green Peas, Broad Beans, Corn, Lentils Seeds, Beans
3.2 Classification of Vegetables based on the type of culture

By this method it is possible to generalize the cultivation practices based on their culture and climatic
requirements.
Group Vegetables
Perennial Asparagus, Artichoke, Chow chow, Moringa, Ivy guard, Pointed gourd, Spine
vegetables gourd
Greens Spinach, New Zealand spinach, Kale, Chard, Mustard, Collards, Amaranthus
Salad crops Celery, Lettuce, Cress, Parsley
Cole crops Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel’s sprout Chinese cabbage, Knol-khol
Root crops Beet root, Carrot, Parsnip, Turnip, Raddish
Bulb crops Onion, Leek, Garlic, Shallot, Welsh Onion, Chive
Tuber crops Potato, Sweet potato, Cassava, Elephant foot yam
Peas and beans Pea, Bean, Broad bean, Lima bean, Winged bean, Cowpea
Solanaceous crops Tomato, Brinjal, Chilli, Pepper
Cucurbits Cucumber, Watermelon, Pumpkin, Gourds
Fibre crop Okra
Pot herbs green Spinach, Kale
Other root crops Colocasia, Dioscorea, Arrow root
3.3 Classification of Vegetables based on lifecycle
3.3.1 Annual
Most vegetable garden crops are true annuals, such as corn (Zea mays), or are cultivated as annuals,
such as tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). These plants are selected for either fall or summer
cultivation. They require a few weeks to several months to maturity, depending on the cultivar.
3.3.2 Biennial
Few popular vegetable garden crops are biennials, and, even then, they are frequently cultivated as
annuals and replanted each season. Examples are sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and carrot (Daucus carota).
3.3.3 Perennial
Whenever perennial vegetable garden crops are cultivated, they must be strategically located so as not
to interfere with seasonal land preparation activities needed for planting annual crops. These plants may
be pruned to control growth or to remove dead tissue. Examples are asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
and horseradish (Rorippa armoracia).
3.4 Classification of Vegetables based on thermal adaptation

✓ On the basis of temperature, vegetable crops may be grouped into cool and warm season crops.
✓ In cool season crops, the edible parts are mainly root, stem, leaf and immature flower parts. In warm
season crops edible part is mainly fruit with exception of pea and broad bean which are cool season
crops.
✓ The cool season crops grow well when the monthly mean temperature does not exceed 21 degree
Centigrade. They thrive best if the monthly mean temperature is 15-18°C (60-65°F).
✓ The warm season crops on the other hand grow best when the monthly mean and average maximum
temperature are 5 to 6 degree centigrade higher than for the cool season crops. The average monthly
minimum temperature should be 18-27 degree centigrade for the warm season crops.
Examples of Cool season crops are sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and cabbage (Brassica oleraceae).
Examples of Warm season crops are okra (Hibiscus esculentus), eggplant (Solanum melongena), corn (Zea
mays), and shallot (Allium cepa).
3.5 Classification of Vegetables based on Photoperiod

✓ A plant that requires a long period of darkness, is termed a "short day" (long night) plant. Short-day
plants form flowers only when day length is less than about 12 hours.
✓ “Long day" plants bloom only when they receive more than 12 hours of light. Many of our summer
blooming flowers and garden vegetables are long day plants.
✓ Some plants form flowers regardless of day length. Botanists call these "day neutral" plants.
Long Day plant Short Day plant Day neutral crop

Potato Sweet Potato Tomato
Cabbage Dolichos bean Brinjal
Cauliflower Cluster bean Chilli
Raddish Winged bean Okra
Lettuce Indian Spinach Amarnathus
Spinach French bean
Palak Cowpea
Turnip Sweet pepper
Carrot Cucurbits
Beetroot
3.6 Classification of Vegetables based on season

✓ This is one of the most important classifications from the grower’s point of view since majority of
vegetables are season bound and specific to particular seasons.
✓ Vegetables are classified into summer season crops, rainy season crops and winter season crops
based on growth and production during particular seasons.
✓ Spring / summer season prevails from February to June / July under North Indian plains and from
January to May / June in South Indian plains.
✓ October to January is winter season, experiencing chilling temperature, in most parts of the country.
✓ However, in high rain warm humid climatic condition of Kerala, a distinct winter season is lacking
and rainy season starts from June and extents up to September. Here vegetable crops can be grouped
as rainy season, mild winter season, and summer season crops.
✓ A few typical vegetables suited to each group are
Winter season crops - Cruciferous vegetables, carrot, radish, beetroot, onion, garlic, peas etc.
Mild winter crops - Hyacinth bean, winged bean, tomato
Summer season crops - All gourds, amaranthus
Rainy season crops - Bhendi, chilli, brinjal, cluster been, cowpea etc.
3.7 Classification of Vegetables based on methods of raising

✓ Direct sown crops: They are grown/seed is sown directly Examples: Okra, Carrot, Radish, Beans, Peas,
Garlic.
✓ Transplanted crops: They are first raised in nurseries and the seedlings are transplanted later in the
main field. Examples: Tomato, Brinjal, Chillies, Cabbage, Cauliflower.
✓ Vines and cuttings: stem cuttings/Vine cuttings are used for sowing. Examples: Sweet potato,
Cassava, Pointed gourd, Coccinia.
✓ Bits of tubers and corms: A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground
plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse
conditions such as summer drought and heat. This part is used for planting. Examples: Potato, Yams.
3.8 Classification of Vegetables based on hardiness

Vegetables which can tolerate frost are known as hardy and vice versa are known as tender. The degree
of frost tolerance makes the crop hardy, semi hardy and tender.
Hardy vegetable crops Semi hardy vegetable crops Tender vegetable crops
Asparagus Beet root Amaranthus
Broccoli Carrot Okra
Brussels sprout Cauliflower Chilli
Cabbage Celery Tomato
Garlic Globe artichoke Cluster bean
Knol khol Lettuce Cowpea
Leek Palak Cucurbits
Onion Potato Snap bean
Peas Sweet potato
Radish Tapioca
Spinach Yams
Turnip
3.9 Classification of Vegetables based on rate of respiration
After harvest, the rate of respiration of the parts harvested enhanced depending on the climatic
conditions. The vegetable having the lowest rate of respiration possess the longest storage ability.
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
Asparagus Bean Beet Cabbage Onion
Broccoli Lettuce Carrot Sweet potato Potato
Pea Lima bean Celery Turnip Pumpkin
Spinach Cucumber Ashgourd
3.10 Classification of Vegetables based on soil reaction (pH)

Slightly tolerant Moderately tolerant Highly tolerant
(6-6.8 pH) (5.5 to 6.0pH) (5.0-5.5 pH)
Asparagus Carrot Potato
Onion, Cauliflower Cucumber Sweet potato
Broccoli, Leek Brinjal, Garlic Water melon
Cabbage, Pea, Chilli, Radish Chicory
Lettuce, Muskmelon Pumpkin, Tomato Rhubarb
Celery Turnip, Parsely
3.11 Classification of Vegetables based on rooting depth

Shallow rooted Moderately deep rooted Deep rooted
(30-40 cm) (50-60 cm) (80-100 cm and above)
Broccoli Beet Artichoke
Brussels sprout Carrot Asparagus
Cabbage Cucumber Cluster bean
Cauliflower Brinjal Cow pea
Garlic, Leek, Lettuce Muskmelon French bean
Onion,Potato,Radish Pea, Pepper Lima bean
Spinach Summer squash, Turnip Pumpkin, Sweet
potato, Tomato, Water melon
3.12 Classification of Vegetables based on water requirement

High Moderate Low Very Low
Raddish Brinjal Beans Water Melon
Leafy Vegetables Chilli Musk Melon
Tomato Pumpkin
Potato
3.13 Classification of Vegetables based on soil salinity

Less tolerant Moderate Highly tolerant
Potato Chilli Bitter gourd
Sweet Potato Tomato Ash gourd
Raddish Onion Palak
Brinjal Turnip
Peas Lettuce
Beetroot
French bean
4 Planting system of horticulture crops

As part of the classification of vegetable crops, we have already seen that they can be either seeded
directly or transplanted from a nursery, in laid out main field.
The marking of position of the plant in the field is called “layout”.
Rectangular In this system, the plot is divided into

rectangles instead of squares and trees are
planted at the four corners of the
rectangle in straight rows running at right
angles.
Like square system, this system also
facilitates the interculture in two
directions.
Square It is the most commonly used method and
easy to lay out in the field.
In this system, plant to plant and row to
row distance is the same.
The plants are at the right angle to each
other, every unit of four plants forming a
square.
Hexagonal In hexagonal system, the trees are planted
in the corners of equilateral triangles.
Six trees thus form a hexagon with another
tree at its center accommodates 15
percent more plants.
Contour This system is usually followed in the hilly

areas with high slopes but it is very much
similar to the square/rectangular system.
Bench terraces are used where the slope is
greater than 10 per cent.
Quincunx The number of plants per acre by this

system is almost doubled than the square
system. Fruit trees like papaya, kinnow,
phalsa, guava, peach, plum etc. can be
planted as fillers
Triangular In this system, trees are planted as in the

square system but the plants in the 2nd,
4th, 6th and such other alternate rows are
planted midway between the 1st, 3rd, 5th
and such other alternative rows. This
system provides more open space for the
trees and for intercrop.
5 Propagation technology of various plantation and Horticulture crops

Propagation means multiplication of plants with the aim to achieve an increase in the number of plants
and at the same time, preserve the essential characteristics of the mother plant. This is generally of two
types:
I. Sexual Propagation II. Asexual Propagation
5.1 Sexual Propagation

Sexual reproduction may be referred to as the multiplication of plants by seeds, which are formed after
successful pollination and fertilization by the union of male (Pollen grains are produced by organs called
anthers) and female gametes (Ovules produced by ovaries by organs carpel/Pistil).
✓ Meiosis division takes place during fusion and the chromosome numbers are reduced to half, which
after fertilization becomes normal. The plants raised through seed are called seedling plants
(Heterozygous nature).
✓ Seedling plants are long lived, productive and tolerant to hostile soil and climatic conditions and
diseases and Seeds can be kept for longer duration /period for future use, if stored properly. Seed is
the source for production of rootstocks.
✓ Seed propagation is the only possible way to propagate plants like Coconut and Papaya, where
asexual means of propagation is not practicable. Moreover, Hybrids can only be developed by sexual
means.
✓ Sexual propagation also offers opportunities of Polyembryony* (For example: Mango, Citrus, Jamun
etc.,.) and Apomixis** (Sikkim crabapple, Chinese crab apple, Sargent crabapple), which produces
“True - to - Type” plants (For those plants, where Asexual propagation is not practicable)
✓ Seedling plants are not true to type to the mother plants and have long juvenile phase (6-10 years)
and hence flowering and fruiting commences late in them, which leads to difficulty for commercial
cultivation.
✓ These plants are normally tall and spreading type and thus are unmanageable and pose difficulty in
carrying out various management practices like pruning, spraying etc.
✓ Seeds of many fruits are to be sown immediately after extraction from the fruits as they lose their
viability very soon. For example: Papaya, Mango, Citrus, Jack fruit etc.,
✓ Seed propagation is practiced in acid limes and to produce rootstocks for budding purposes.
✓ Seedling plants usually produce fruits inferior quality.
* Polyembryony may be defined as the production of two or more than two embryos from a single
seed. In plants, this phenomenon is caused either due to the fertilization of one or more than one
embryonic sac or due to the origination of embryos outside of the embryonic sac.
** Apomixis (Greek -"away from" + "mixing") is the asexual formation of a seed from the maternal
tissues of the ovule, avoiding the processes of meiosis & fertilization, leading to embryo development.
5.2 Asexual propagation

It may be referred to as a type of propagation of plants that is independent of sexual propagation process
as there is no involvement of sex organs. Also referred to as Vegetative propagation.
✓ It takes place due to mitotic division, wherein chromosomes divide longitudinally to form two
daughter cells, which forms the basis of asexual propagation (Homogenous in nature).
✓ Asexually propagated plants are true to type to their mother plants, with desirable characters of a
mother plant that can be perpetuated easily and have short juvenile phase and bear flowers and fruits
in the early age (3-4 years) with shorter Lifespan and no diversity.
✓ Plants where seed setting does not happen (For example: Banana, Potato, Ginger, Pineapple), asexual
propagation serves as a substitute.
✓ The benefits of rootstocks and scion can be exploited through asexual propagation.
✓ Repairing of damaged portion of plant is possible through asexual propagation. Eg: bridge grafting.
✓ It is possible to grow several varieties on one plant or change variety of existing plant by top working.
Technical skill is a requisite. Occasionally it can also disseminate diseases. For example: Tristeza virus
in citrus
Asexual methods of propagation are carried out usually by Cuttings, Grafting, Budding, Layering,
Planting of modified organs
5.2.1 Cuttings
✓ Propagation through cuttings is comfortable and less expensive method of vegetative propagation.
✓ A cutting is usually a division of the stem, or root or leaf of a plant which is extracted from a plant part
and planted in the soil. The extracted cuttings are then processed and planted in the soil either
horizontally or vertically depending on the type of plant and the need.
✓ Based on the requirement, the cuttings are extracted from a mother plant of a definite age.
✓ Among all the type of cuttings, stem cuttings are most widely used.
✓ A root cutting is a portion of plant root cut that is used for plant propagation. Here, the portion of
root is cut from a parent plant (often called a mother plant), placed in a growing medium, and then
left to grow its own system of roots and stems. Examples: Mulberry, Loquat etc.,
✓ A leaf cutting is very much like stem cuttings. It is cut carefully from a plant, planted in compost, and
watered thoroughly. With leaf cuttings a leaf and its stem or even just a piece of the leaf are used for
propagating. Examples: Ornamental plants
Stem cuttings generally categorized into 3 types

I. Hardwood cuttings II. Semi hardwood cuttings III. Softwood stem
cuttings
Cuttings taken branches of the current year's tender shoots and branches of soft tender shoots that
from the growth of a plant are the current year's growth and are still green are
considered as Hardwood show brown blotches on the considered softwood
cuttings green stem are considered as cuttings
Semi hardwood cuttings
These cuttings pencil thickness measuring 25- about 20 cm with a pair of 8-10 cm with a growing
typically/generally 30 cm with 4-5 nodes (with leaves present at the tip. tip and leaves at the tip
are uniform internodal growth).
Plants that are Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Adhatoda vasica (Adusa), Herbs - Bacopa monnieri
generally (Shoeblack plant), Punica Tinospora cordifolia (Gaduchi), (Brahmi), Gymnema
propagated by granatum (Pomegranate), Eclipta alba (Bhringraj), Piper sylvestre (Gurmar).
cuttings are Lawsonia inermis (Henna) spp.
5.2.2 Layering
✓ In this process, a vegetative branch is made to root while it is still attached to the mother plant, which
will be later excised and planted as a new seedling.
Selection During the Examples of
Step 1 Step 2 Time taken
of Shoot course plants
This branch is
left undisturbed
The exposed
on the mother Goose berry
portion is further The rooted
On the selected plant for about (Amla),
Pencil size wrapped with branch will be
shoot, preferably 2-8 weeks Tamarind (Imli)
I. Air layering It shoot of the moist inert rooting later cut below
on the basal depending on and Ficus spp.
is an ancient method current medium like the covered
portion, a ring of the species. Litchi, Guava,
of layering, originally years bark is removed
Sphagnum moss,
several
portion and
Mango, persian
introduced from China growth is to and the exposed
moist coir etc.
adventitious
planted as a
lime (Citrus
be selected and covered with separate
wood is scraped. roots emerge aurantifolia),
a polythene sheet seedling
from the base Croton etc.
hello@edutap.co.in making it air tight
26 | P a g ofe the exposed http://www.edutap.co.in
bark
Bending, twisting,
usually done Selected cutting, or girdling
II. Simple in the early shoots are at the bottom of
several
Layering spring using bent and the “U” stimulates
adventitious
flexible, “pegged rooting at that 2-6 weeks
Most roots emerge Climbing rose,
dormant, down” at a location. The depending on
easiest and one-year-old location 15 to base of the layer the species
from the base Rhododendron
common shoot- and shoot from
20 cm from is covered with
method branches of top
the tip forming soil or other
the plant a “U”shape. media, leaving the
tip exposed.

III. Mound After sufficient

layering/ The term emergence of
Apple, Pear,
Stooling The stooling was the roots the
Ring of bark is Quince,
first coined A long and A season or less branch will be
term stooling removed at the Currants,
by Lynch in supple branch depending on separated from
was first coined 1942 for is selected
base and buried in
the species the mother plant
Gooseberry and
by Lynch in 1942 the soil other fruit
mound and planted as
for mound crops
layering. an independent
layering plant
Step 1 Time taken
IV.
Continuous/Trench it is
important to Vigorous
Layering common parent plant is Shoots arise
establish a 2-4 weeks rootstocks of
method of bent to the from buried
permanent depending on the Apple like M-16,
propagation for woody ground and buds and roots
row of species and M-25 and
plants, which produce covered form under soil
plants to be Walnut
long vines and are propagated.
difficult to propagate

V. Serpentine Bend the stem

Layering Similar to Each section heart-leaf
Long, to the soil or
should have at Shoots arise philodendron,
trench layering but the drooping and rooting medium, 2-4 weeks
least one bud from buried buds pothos,
branch is alternatively Tender but alternately
exposed and one
depending on
and roots form wisteria,
covered with soil and branch is cover nodes and the species
bud covered with under soil clematis, and
exposed over their selected expose sections
soil. grapes.
of the stem.
entire length.
5.2.3 Grafting
✓ Grafting is generally engaged to improve the quality of the nursery stock, by bringing together two
vegetative parts from 2 different plants of a same species and fusing them together to grow as a
single plant. Usually the stem branches are used for the purpose of grafting
✓ The plant part that receives another plant part is called the stock, while the plant part that serves
as the graft is called the scion
✓ The scion always carries the positive qualities of the mother plant while the stock serves as the root
system for the seedling.
5.2.3.1 Process of Grafting

✓ The selected scion is brought either as a whole plant or as a part and inserted on to the stock plant
so that the cut portion of the stock and the scion remain in contact.
✓ The stock and scion are tied together with the help of a tape to ensure the union and the graft is
maintained in that condition for a specified time period.
✓ After the graft union is ensured, the remaining portion of the stock plant above the graft union is
removed and the scion is encouraged to grow After which, the graft is ready for planting.
Type of Example
Important Characteristics Images
Grafting of plants
The method involves causing the graft

Approach union between the two selected branches
grafting of Stock and Scion while the branches are
still growing on the parent plants
Roses,
Peaches
It is a kind of approach grafting. One-year-
old twigs of the scion tree about 60 cm in
length and nearly of the same thickness as
that of the stock is chosen for grafting. A
thin slice of bark and wood (flat, clean,
boat shaped, even and smooth), is
removed from the stem of the stock as
well as from the scion branch.The cut
surfaces of both, i.e., stock and scion are
made to coincide facing each other so that
there remains no hollow space between
Inarch
the two. After about one month of
Grafting
operation, the scion below the graft union
and stock above the graft union should be
given light "V" shape cuts at weekly
interval in such a way that the grafts can
finally be detached while giving the fourth
cut. In the last stage, the top of the stock
above graft union should also be removed
completely.The end of the monsoon in
heavy rainfall areas and early monsoons in
the light rainfall areas is the best period Mango,
for inarching. Guava
Simple process for mass scale commercial
propagation and can be adopted with
success. For conducting this grafting
operation, a downward and inward 30-40
mm long cut is made in the smooth area of
the stock at a height of about 20 cm. The
scion stick is given a long slanting cut on
one side and a small short cut on the other
Veneer
to match the cuts of the stock. The scion is
Grafting
inserted in the stock so that the cambium
layers comes on the longer side and then
tied with polythene strip as recommended
for inarching. After the scion remains green
for more than 10 days, the rootstock should
be clipped in stages. The scion wood to be Mango,
used for veneer grafting requires proper Fir, Maple,
preparation. Pine
The method involves causing the graft
union by inserting the scion, which is in the
form of a wedge, on to an incision on the Avocado,
Wedge
stock plant. The scion is usually a branch Passion
grafting
excised from the mother plant fruit, in
some
Citrus Spp
is a simple, cheap, and quick method of
mango propagation with a success rate of
75-80%. For this purpose, stones should be
sown in June-July as it is the most suitable
month. After germination, seedlings with
tender stems having coppery leaves are
lifted with stones still attached.
A 4-6 cm longitudinal cut is made running
Epicotyl/Stone down through the middle of the stem. A
grafting wedge shaped cut starting on both sides is
made on the lower part of scion stick.The
scion stick is then inserted in the cleft of
the seedlings and tied with polythene
strips. The grafts are then planted in
polyethylene bags containing potting
mixture.
The scion stars sprouting 15-20 days after Mango,
grafting. Walnuts
This method of grafting is done when the
rootstock is overgrown wherein seedlings
of 8-10 months old are selected. newly Mango,
emerged flush. The scion wood to be used Saporta,
Softwood
is defoliated 10 days prior to the grafting Jackfruit,
grafting
and has same thickness as that of terminal Cashew
shoot. The method of grafting is similar to Tamarind
stone grafting. July and August are the Brinjal
best months for soft-wood grafting. Hibiscus
is a grafting technique which allows the
union of a rootstock limb that is much
larger in size than the scion piece. Cleft
grafting is conducted in late winter when
Cleft grafting
both the rootstock and the scion are in a
dormant condition.
Apple
Whip graft works best for scions and
stocks of the same size, but it can be
modified to accommodate stock that is
slightly larger than the scion. Tongue graft
is a modification of the relatively simple
Tongue and (but not as strong) whip graft. In a whip
Whip Grafting graft, the scion and stock are simply cut at
an angle, and taped together. We can
make this more stable, and much stronger,
by cutting a slit in each piece, and wedging
the "Tongues" into the corresponding
slits. Apple
is used to repair trees that have been
girdled by mice, rabbits, other rodents or
by mechanical injury. Bridge-grafting
consists of connecting the cambium layers
Bridge- above and below the girdled area. This
grafting process restores the flow of carbohydrates
apples,
from the leaves down to the roots, thereby
pears,
allowing the tree to continue its normal life
walnuts
processes. The connection or bridge is
and
usually made with scions.
cherries.
5.2.4 Budding
✓ The selected vegetative bud, which acts as a scion, is excised from a mother plant along with a patch
of bark and insert it on to the stock plant.
✓ The graft is further tied to keep the bud in place and maintained till the union takes place.
✓ After the union is ensured, the portion of the stock above the bud union is removed and the sprout
from the scion bud is encouraged to grow further.
Type of Example of
Process Images
Budding plants
Here, incisions are made in the bark of the
rootstock to form the shape of a letter “T” Peaches,
with one horizontal cut and another Apple, Pears,
downward cut that originates from the Dogwood,
center of the first cut. A bud piece or shield Citrus, Roses,
piece containing a bud is prepared with an Plums,
upward cut that includes a thin layer of Apricots,
T- or Shield wood, which is then inserted into the T-cut almonds,
Budding from the horizontal cut down. Pistachio
Similar to T-budding in that both methods
of budding follows the same incisions on Apples,
the rootstock and budstick except that in Peaches,
inverted T the horizontal cut is made at Pears,
the bottom of the vertical cut. This method Mangoes,
of budding is used to prevent the possible Roses, Plums,
entry of water from the top of the T-cut Apricots,
Inverted T- which may cause rotting of the shield almonds,
Budding piece. Pistachio
The method involves the complete
removal of a rectangle-shaped patch of
bark with the longer sides parallel to the
axis of the stem of the rootstock. It is then
replaced with a bud patch of the same size
from a budstick. The I-, Forkert, Flute, and
Ring methods of budding have similarities
and are considered modified forms of
patch budding. Guava,
Patch Pecans,
Budding Walnuts
It involves the removal of a chip of bark
with a small piece of wood attached from
a portion between nodes of a young stem
of the rootstock (the cut does not
penetrate the pith). This chip is replaced by
another of the same size and shape which
contains a bud from a budstick. Grapes and
Chip Alternatively, the sequencing of the first mostly fruit
Budding and second cuts may be swapped. trees
Incisions in the shape of an “I” (capital of
letter “i”) is made in the bark of the
rootstock by a single vertical cut and a
horizontal crosscut at both ends. A
rectangular bud patch similar to that in Forest and
I-Budding patch budding is then inserted. Fruit Trees
The patch of bark in the rootstock is
retained. Incisions are made on the bark of
the rootstock in the shape of “Π” and
pulled downward as a flap which is then
used to cover the inserted bud patch. This
flap is later removed to expose the bud.
Both Patch and Forkert methods of
Forkert budding follows the same procedure in Forest and
Budding the preparation of a bud patch. Fruit Trees
The patch of bark that is removed from
the stem of a rootstock almost completely
encircles it except that there remains a
narrow strip of bark (~1/8 the rootstock
circumference) that connects the upper
and the lower parts of the rootstock. The
two cuts are then connected by a vertical
cut and the patch of bark is separated
intact from the wood. Budstick with a bud
is patched then. The circumference of the
Flute bud patch may be shortened by a vertical Forest and
Budding cut to fit into the rootstock. Fruit Trees
It involves the removal of a complete ring
of bark from the rootstock without leaving
a strip of bark that connects the upper and
lower parts of the rootstock. It is then
replaced with a complete ring of bark with
Ring the same size from the budstick. ber, peach and
Budding mulberry
5.2.5 Propagation through modified organs

Several species of plants ensure their propagation with the help of modified organs that serve as the
propagules. Following are some such special organs
Sucker
✓ A sucker is a small plantlet that appears around a mother

plant from its base. These plantlets remain attached to the
mother plant and continue to grow.
✓ They assume to grow as independent plants when they are
separated from the mother plant and planted else where.
✓ Examples: Aloe vera, Aegle mormelos (, Holorrahena
antidysenterica, Banana, Pineapple etc.
Tuber
✓ Tuber is the swollen and fleshy underground stem or root.
These are found attached at the base of the stem.
✓ On separation, tubers or pieces of a tuber will grow into
independent plants.
✓ Examples: Asparagus racemosus, Dioscoria spp., Adenia
hondala, Gloriosa superba, Ipomoea spp. etc.
✓ For Potato, Vegetative seed can be either a whole tuber or
a cut tuber with eyes/sprouts.
Rhizome
✓ Rhizome is the swollen and compressed underground

stem with short scaly leaves and vegetative buds.
✓ A piece of rhizome with a bud, if planted, will grow into an
5.2.6 Micropropagation
independent plant
✓ Micropropagation is the aseptic
✓ Rhizome is the propagating materialculture of cells,plants
of medicinal pieces of tissue, or organs.
✓such
Theasprocess
Ginger,of micropropagation
Turmeric, is done Banana
Costus speciosus, in 4 stages
etc.
(1) Initiation stage: A piece of plant tissue (called an explant) is (2) cut from the plant, (3) disinfested
(removal of surface contaminants), and (4) placed on a medium.
Examples: oil palm, plantain, pine, date, eggplant, jojoba, pineapple, rubber tree, cassava, yam, sweet
potato, tomato etc., Banana - Varieties like Shrimanti, Gross Michael and Grand Naine are commonly
produced using tissue culture technique.
Till now, we have seen propagation methods of horticulture crops. Let us now have a look at various
agricultural practices that are carried out on horticultural crops.
6 Training
✓ Training is a practice in which tree growth is directed into a desired shape and form. The goal of tree
training is to direct tree growth and minimize cutting.
6.1 What is the principle behind Training?

✓ The principle object in training a young tree is to develop strong framework of scaffold branches.
✓ All methods of training must stand or fall by their ability to achieve a tree capable of bearing high
yielding fruits without undue breakage.
Before getting into various types of training systems, let us have a look at certain terms which would help
us understand the different types of training systems
Trunk: Main stem of the plant
Head: Point on the trunk from which first branch arise
Scaffold branches: Main branches arising from the head are known as scaffold branches.
Low headed tree:

✓ Trees in which scaffold branches arise within 0.7-0.9 m height from ground level.
✓ Low headed trees come into bearing comparatively much earlier, are able to resist stormy winds
more effectively and their spraying and harvesting expenses are less.
High headed tree:

✓ Trees in which scaffold branches come out from the trunk above 1.2 m.
✓ In the tropical climate, high headed trees are unsuitable as their exposed trunks are subjected to
sunscald in summer.
Crotch: The angle made by scaffold limb to the trunk or the secondary branch to scaffold limb is called
crotch. The crotch should be broad and not narrow.
Leader: The main growing branch from ground level upto the tip dominating all other branches.
Spur: Numerous shoot growth which are abundant over the fruit trees and upon which most of the fruit
is borne.
Water shoots: These are extraordinary vigorous vegetative shoots which grow from the high points on
the main branches in upright direction at the expense of main branches.
Suckers: Arise from adventitious buds on the roots or underground parts of the stem of the tree.
6.2 Types of Training Systems

There are various Training systems that exist. They are:
1. Central Leader
2. Open-Centre
3. Modified Leader
6.2.1 Central Leader System

✓ Main trunk extends from the soil surface to the total height of the tree.
✓ In this system the central leader branches are allowed to grow indefinitely so that it will grow more
rapidly and vigorously than the side branches and tree became tall.
✓ Such a tree bears fruit more near the top. The lower branches are less vigorous and less fruitful.
✓ This system of training is adopted such types of trees which have a pronounced apical dominance.
✓ Since the plants would be very tall, the spraying and harvesting operation becomes difficult and costly
e.g. pear and soma varieties of apple (in these now the open centre system is being used).
Advantages:
✓ Such trees are structurally best suited to bear crop load and to resist the damage from strong winds.
Disadvantages:
✓ Trees under this system grow too tall and are less spreading.
✓ Tree management (spraying, pruning, thinning and harvesting) is difficult.
✓ Shading effect on interior canopy (the lower branches of such trees may be so much in shade that the
fruit may not be able to develop proper colour).
6.2.2 Open Centre System

✓ In this system, the main trunk (main stem) is allowed to grow only up to a certain height (upto 1 m)
by cutting within a year of planting and all the subsequent vegetative growth promoted by lateral
branches. This results in a low head and as such the bulk of crop is borne closer to the ground.
Advantages:
✓ The trees so trained allow maximum sunshine to reach their branches.

✓ Better coloration of fruits on the interior side of the tree.
✓ Trees are more fruitful and low spreading tree greatly facilitate operations like spraying, pruning,
thinning and harvesting.
Disadvantages:
✓ Such trees are structurally weak, and their limbs are more likely to break with crop load and strong
winds.
✓ This system does not only need severe pruning to start with but also constant effort to maintain its
form through drastic pruning treatment.
6.2.3 Modified Leader System

✓ This system stands intermediate between the central leader and the open center, combining the
advantages of both the system.
✓ It is developed first by training the tree to the leader type allowing the central stem to grow
unsharpened for first four to five years.
✓ The main branches are allowed to arise on the main stem at reasonable intervals. After the required
number of branches has arisen the main stem is cut off.
✓ The top laterals will take the place of the main stem. The result in a fairly strong and moderately
spreading type of tress. E.g. Pear, Apple, Walnuts, etc.
Advantages:
✓ The branches are well distributed, allowing plenty of sunshine to reach the interior of the tree.
✓ The trees are structurally strong and not prone to limb breakage.
✓ Owing to limited height of trees, spraying, pruning and harvesting may be done easily.
6.2.4 Spindle Bush system

An unpruned tree multi stem and dwarf growing habit. This is generally followed in Apples and Pears.
6.2.5 Over head trellis or Bower system

When vines are trained on mandap. It is highly suited for vigorous varieties like Anab-e-Shahi, Bangalore
Blue and Gulabi of Grapes.
6.2.6 Modified bower or Telephone system

Similar to bower system except that after every two meter as space is kept to walk and carry out cultural
operations. T-trellis is used in this system of training. With three top wires and ‘T’ shaped supports, the
trellis looks like a telephone pole and wires This system is followed for moderately vigorous varieties like
Thompson Seedless and other seedless cultivars of Grapes.
6.2.7 Kniffin system of training
✓ Here, 2 trellies of wires are strung supported by vertical posts. The vine is trained so that it bears 4
canes one along each wire and bearing shoots can hang freely.
✓ In this system, 2 wires are stretched horizontally at the height of 0.90 m and 0.60 m height. Vines are
planted at 2-4 m distance between 2 poles supported by sticks to allow single stem to grow with one
arm horizontally to either side so that each arm having with the results into 4 arms.
✓ Followed generally in Grapes
6.3 Systems of training dwarf trees
6.3.1 Dwarf Pyramids

✓ It consists of a tree with a central stem about 2.5 m tall from which short branches radiate in
successive tiers so that a pyramidal shape is build up.
✓ Fruiting spurs are developed on the short branches.
6.3.2 Cordons
✓ These are single stemmed trees. This form is seldom found in commercial fruit production and has
been replaced by dwarf pyramids. Cordons are vertical, oblique or horizontal.
6.3.2.1 Vertical cordons

Trees are trained erect and grown to a height of 10-12 feet with the first fruiting wood developed at
about 30 cm from the ground.
6.3.2.2 Oblique cordons

They are trained at 45◦ angle.
6.3.3 Palmettes
✓ It refers to the shape of the palm leaf, an open fan or an open hand with spread fingers.
✓ Formed by developing lateral scaffold branches from the trunk beginning at 30 cm from the surface
of the ground. These laterals are in pairs and are equally balanced in opposite directions.
✓ Other scaffolds are in turn vigorously developed but are kept about 30 cm apart. There are four
groups: Horizontal, Oblique, Candelabra, Fan Palmette
There are other systems as well like Espaliers (similar to Kniffin system of training in Grapes), Hedgerow
Plantation, Meadow or Bed orchards, Tatura Trellis system in Peaches etc.
7 Special horticultural practices for inducing fruiting

✓ Regulation of fruiting can be effected by influencing fruit bud differentiation or by influencing fruit
set and development.
✓ Pruning, root pruning, ringing, girdling, notching, bending, smudging are some of the specialized
horticultural practices followed for regulation of fruiting.
7.1 Pruning
✓ Removal of any excess or undesirable/ unproductive branches, shoots or any other parts of plants
so as to allow the remaining part to grow normally or according to desire of prunner is called pruning.
✓ It improves the shape of plant, influences the growth behavior, flowering time and fruitfulness,
besides improving the quality of fruit.
7.1.1 Methods of Pruning

There are several methods of pruning done in various crops as per the requirement.
7.1.2 Thinning Out

This refers to the removal of the branches entirely from its base leaving no stubs.
7.1.3 Heading Back

This refers to pruning or cutting of main stem or all or few of the branches leaving a basal portion. This
method is often followed for hedges, ornamental shrubs, first dormant pruning and October pruning in
grapes.
7.1.4 Disbudding or Rubbing off

✓ Here the young buds are nipped without giving then the chance to sprout. The buds may be either
Vegetative or reproductive.
✓ This is practiced regularly in flowering plants to make the terminal bud to give a bigger flower.
7.1.5 Pinching and Topping
This refers to the removal of the tip of the shoot alone with a view to stimulate mildly the lateral growth;
this is practiced regularly in coffee to remove the apical dominance and to allow the side branches to
grow vigorously. e. g Desi cotton.
7.2 Types of pruning based on season

Pruning can be divided into two based on the seasons in which it is done
✓ Dormant Pruning
✓ Summer Pruning
7.2.1 Dormant Pruning

✓ Most often done during the winter- commonly referred to as dormant pruning.
✓ Dormant pruning is an invigorating process. Heavy dormant pruning also promotes excessive
vegetative vigor. Pruning should begin as late in the winter as possible to avoid winter injury.
7.2.2 Summer Pruning

✓ Done during summers- referred to as summer pruning. Its severity is much less, less common, more
specific and selective.
✓ Eliminates an energy or food producing portion of the tree and results in reduced tree growth.
✓ For most purposes, summer pruning should be limited to removing the upright and vigorous current
season's growth; only thinning cuts should be used.
✓ To minimize the potential for winter injury, summer pruning should not be done after the end of July.
7.3 Pruning based on height

Low Head Pruning 0.7m-0.9m
Medium head Pruning 0.9m-1.2m
High Head Pruning More than 1.2m
7.4 Technique of pruning and their timings

Given below is a list of crops and Pruning timings:
7.5 Top working
✓ It is a technique or method of rejuvenation where in the objective is to upgrade seedling plantations
of inferior varieties with superior commercial cultivars or hybrids suitable for domestic or export
market or the desired variety of the grower. Eg Cashew tree.
✓ The technique involves grafting with procured scions of desired variety on shoots emerged on
pruned branches by adopting softwood grafting during monsoon season (Season of top working
slightly varies from species as it also depends on availability of good shoot and scions).
✓ The scion shoots and the emerged shoots should be of same thickness.
7.6 Ringing and Girdling

✓ Ringing consists of removing a ring of bark about 1 to 2 cm wide around the trunk or branches, while
Girdling is a milder treatment to draw a knife around the branch so as to cut through the bark but not
the wood. A wire tied very firmly round the stem also serves the same purpose.
✓ Ringing or girdling will increase the concentration of carbohydrates above the wing.
✓ It will also reduce the nitrogen supply because subsequent to the stopping of food to the roots, the
root growth will be stopped and hence the supply of nitrogen to the tree will slowly decrease and
became limited. No more root growth, no nitrogen supplies.
✓ The result will be a wide C: N ratio and then flowering increased. Ringing is a drastic operation done
when fruit trees fail set fruit. It is likely to check vegetative growth and to some extent the growth of
roots. Ringing is done in vigorous mango tree.
7.7 Notching
✓ It is similar to ringing except that in notching only soil slip bark about 0.2 to 0.5 cm thick and 1.5 to
2.5 cm in length is removed just above or close to a dormant bud in slantwise so that the latex does
not coagulate in the bud itself. Generally 3 to 4 buds in the middle portion of the selected shoot.
✓ Fig has responded to notching and it is practiced in fig cultivation. The season for notching the fig is
August-September.
7.8 Bending
✓ Bending a branch downward, sometimes checks growth and causes accumulation of starch in the
branch with greater flowering. This tends to increase carbohydrate concentration.
✓ The bending of branches is usual as a substitute for severe pruning in shaping the young trees and
more fruit is borne because more branches are left to bear and more leaves are left to synthesize
food material.
✓ In case of bending the effect of apical dominance of the growing shoot is removed and auxins during
translocation activate the dormant buds. This is usually practiced with local guava variety in the
Maharashtra state (Deccan area).
7.9 Smudging
✓ Smudging is a practice of smoking the tree by burning brush wood on the ground and allowing smoke
to pass through the centre of the crown of the tree. The smoking is discontinued as soon as the
terminal buds begin to swell. Not commonly followed in India.
✓ Practice of smoking to the trees like mango, commonly employed in the Philippines to produce off-
season crop. Smoking containing ethylene gas, which is responsible for initiation of flowering.
7.10 Root pruning
✓ Root pruning results in less carbohydrate utilization of the top growth through there is a little more
utilization of carbohydrate for root functions.
✓ There is an accumulation of carbohydrates due to check of top growth, which results in fruit bud
differentiation. As the effect of root pruning is to check the vegetative growth. The plant became
dwarf.
✓ Root pruning is a method of inducing fruitfulness or determining the time of flowering. The root
pruning is done two months before the bloom required. The main roots are exposed to the sun and
the fibrous roots are cut, so water is withheld.
✓ The trees are allowed to go dry until their leaves wither and fall down. The time taken for leaf fall is
from 3-4 weeks. After that exposed roots are covered with a mixture of soil and manure.
✓ The trees are then immediately irrigated. First irrigation may be given with very less water. The trees
burst into flowering in about 2-3 weeks.
✓ Practice very widely adopted by citrus growers in western and central India (in santra).
✓ The trees on which root pruning is practiced quite frequently are short lived and are liable to be week
and unhealthy. Hence root pruning is usually restored to when other method such as ringing etc. do
not work.
✓ Root pruning is generally included in bahar treatments given to fruit trees like mosambi, santra, guava,
pomegranate, lime etc.
✓ It is also practiced while manuring large trees like mango, by trench method where smaller roots
coming in the trench are usually cut away.
7.11 Bahar treatment

✓ This practice is followed with fruit trees like mosambi, santra, grape fruit, guava, pomegranate ber,
lime etc. in the state of Maharashtra, M.P. and Gujarat etc.
✓ As there is no distinct winter (very cold winter) these fruit trees are usually continuous vegetative
growth resulting in indistinct flowering season.
✓ This practice is useful in encouraging flowering as well as regulating the time. About 1 to 1 ½ months
prior to the expected flowering irrigation is withheld.
✓ There are three flowering season namely Mrig bahar, Hasta bahar and Ambe bahar.
Mrig bahar: Flowering in June-July
Hasta bahar: Flowering in October-November
Ambe bahar: flowering in December-February
✓ The orchard is ploughed up to 20 cm depth both ways and the roots are exposed by removing the
upper 10-15 cm of soil within a radius of 60-90 cm around the trunk.
✓ The dead and decayed fibrous roots are removed in the area exposed. The leaves start turning yellow,
shrivel and fall. These are the indication to know that the trees have rested long enough and
accumulated food reserves.
✓ The exposed roots are then recovered with original soil and necessary manures are added. Trees are
irrigated lightly.
✓ The second watering is given on the 3rd or 5th day and first two watering stimulate blossoming and
if heavy irrigations are given at the beginning, this may tend to vegetative growth only.
✓ Root exposure is not necessary in case of sandy, sandy loam and other types of light soils. The choice
of bahar depends upon availability of water and time of year the fruit is required in the market. Where
irrigation water is available, the grower prefers Hasta or Ambe bahar.
8 Plant growth hormones

✓ Plant growth regulators or phytohormones are organic substances produced naturally in higher
plants, controlling growth or other physiological functions at a site remote from its place of
production and active in minute amounts.
✓ Thimmann (1948) proposed the term Phyto hormone as these hormones are synthesized in plants.
✓ Plant growth regulators include auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, growth retardants and
growth inhibitors.
✓ Auxins are the hormones first discovered in plants and later gibberellins and cytokinins were also
discovered.
8.1 Hormone
✓ An endogenous compound, which is synthesized at one site and transported to another site where it
exerts a physiological effect in very low concentration.
✓ But ethylene (gaseous nature), exert a physiological effect only at a near a site where it is synthesized.
Classified definition of a hormone does not apply to ethylene.
8.2 Plant growth regulators

✓ Defined as organic compounds other than nutrients, that affects the physiological processes of growth
and development in plants when applied in low concentrations.
When correctly used, is restricted to naturally occurring plant substances, there fall into five classes.
Auxin, Gibberellins, Cytokinin, ABA and ethylene.
Auxin - Substances generally resembles IAA and has the ability to stimulate the elongation of coleoptiles.
Gibberellins - are diterpenoids, which have the ability to elongate the stem of green seedlings especially
certain dwarf and rosette types.
Cytokinin - Usually substituted Adenines, which resembles zeatin (Naturally occurring cytokinin in Zea
mays) and have the ability to stimulate cytokinensis in cultures of tobacco cells.
Ethylene - Gaseous regulator that stimulate is diametric growth in the apices of dicot seedlings.
Inhibitors - are regulators of growth, which originally depress the growth.
8.2.1 Auxins
✓ Auxin is the active ingredient in most rooting mixtures.
✓ These products help the vegetative propagation of plants.
✓ On a cellular level auxins influence cell elongation, cell division and the formation of adventitious
roots. Some auxins are active at extremely low concentrations.
✓ Typical auxin concentration range from 0.01 to 10 mg/L.
✓ The synthetic auxins include, IBA : Indole Butyric Acid; NAA : Naphthalene Acetic acid; MENA: Methyl
ester of Naphthalene acetic acid; MCPA: 2 Methyl 4 chloro phenoxy acetic acid; TIBA : 2, 3, 5 Tri iodo
benzoic acid; 2, 4-D : 2, 4 dichloro phenoxy acetic acid; 2, 4, 5-T: 2, 4, 5 – Trichloro phenoxy acetic
acid.
✓ Natural auxins may occur in the form of either free auxins- which freely move or diffuse out of the
plant tissues readily or bound auxins- which are released from plant tissues only after hydrolysis,
autolysis or enzymolysis.
✓ In many plants, if the terminal bud is intact and growing, the growth of lateral buds just below it
remains suppressed. Removal of the apical bud results in the rapid growth of lateral buds. This
phenomenon in which the apical bud dominates over the lateral buds and does not allow the lateral
buds to grow is known as apical dominance.
8.2.2 Cytokinins
✓ Kinetin was discovered by Skoog and Miller (1950) from the tobacco pith callus and the chemical
substance was identified as 6-furfuryl aminopurine.
✓ Because of its specific effect on cytokinesis (cell division), it was called as cytokinins or kinetin. The
term, cytokinin was proposed by Letham (1963).
✓ Fairley and Kingour (1966) used the term, phytokinins for cytokinins because of their plant origin.
✓ Cytokinins promote cell division, stimulate shoot proliferation, activate gene expression and
metabolic activity in general.
✓ At the same time, cytokinins inhibit root formation. This makes cytokinins useful in culturing plant
cell tissue where strong growth without root formation is desirable.
✓ Natural cytokinin hormone levels are high during maximum growth periods of mature plants.
✓ In addition, cytokinins slow the aging process in plants.
✓ Concentrations of cytokinin used for horticulture vary between 0.1 to 10 mg/L.
✓ External application of cytokinin promotes the growth of lateral buds and hence counteracts the
effect of apical dominance.
✓ Cytokinins can be employed successfully to induce flowering in short day plants.
8.2.3 Gibberellins
✓ A Japanese scientist Kurosawa found that the rice seedlings infected by the fungus Gibberella
fujikuroi grow taller and turned very thin and pale. An active substance was isolated from the infected
seedlings and named as Gibberellin.
✓ Gibberellins are derivatives of gibberellic acid. They are natural plant hormones and promote
flowering, stem elongation and break dormancy of seeds.
✓ There are about 100 different gibberellins, but gibberellic acid (GA3) is the most commonly used form.
✓ Gibberellins are fundamental to plant development especially with respect to the growth of stems.
✓ Low levels of gibberellins will prevent plants from reaching their natural height.
✓ Gibberellin synthesis inhibitors are extensively used in grain production to keep stems artificially
short: shorter and thicker stems provide better support and resist weather conditions better too.
✓ Gibberellins are particularly effective at breaking seed dormancy and at speeding up germination.
✓ Seeds that are difficult to germinate are frequently treated with gibberillic acid solutions.
✓ Germination of the pollen grains is stimulated by gibberellins; likewise, the growth of the fruit and the
formation of parthenocarpic fruits can be induced by gibberellin treatment.
✓ In many cases, eg. pome and stone fruits where auxins have failed to induce parthenocarpy, the
gibberellins have proven to be successful.
✓ Seedless and fleshly tomatoes and large sized seedless grapes are produced by gibberellin
treatments on commercial scale.
8.2.4 Abscisic Acid

✓ Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant growth inhibitor and an antagonist of gibberellins: it induces dormancy,
prevents seeds from germinating and causes abscission of leaves, fruits, and flowers.
✓ Addicott (1963) isolated a substance strongly antagonistic to growth from young cotton fruits and
named Abscissin II. Later on this name was changed to Abscisic acid.
✓ This substance also induces dormancy of buds therefore it also named as Dormin.
✓ High concentrations of abscisic acid can be induced by environmental stress such as drought.
✓ Elevated levels of abscisic acid will eventually induce dormancy, when all non-essential processes
are shut down and only the essential metabolism is maintained in guard cells
8.2.5 Ethylene
✓ Ethylene is unique in that it is found only in gaseous form.
✓ It induces ripening, causes leaves to abscess and promotes senescence.
✓ Plants often increase ethylene production in response to stress and before death.
✓ Ethylene concentrations fluctuate with the seasons while playing a role in inducing foliage and
ripening of fruit.
✓ The main role of ethylene is it hastens the ripening of fleshy fruits eg. Banana, apples, pears,
tomatoes, citrus etc.
✓ It stimulates senescence and abscission of leaves
✓ It is effective in inducing flowering in pine apple
✓ It causes inhibition of root growth
✓ It stimulates the formation of adventitious roots
✓ It stimulates fading of flowers
✓ It stimulates epinasty of leaves.
8.2.6 Polyamines
✓ Polyamines are unique as they are effective (and are applied) in relatively high concentrations.
✓ Typical concentrations range from 5 to 500 mg/L.
✓ Polyamines influence flowering and promote plant regeneration
8.3 Growth retardants
There is no. of synthesis compounds which prevent the gibberellins from exhibiting their usual responses
in plants such as cell enlargement or stem elongation. So, they are called as anti gibberellins or growth
retardants. They are
1. Cycocel (2- chloroethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CCC)
2. Phosphon D – (2, 4 – dichlorobenzyl – tributyl phosphonium chloride)
3. AMO – 1618 4. Morphactins
5. Maleic hydrazide
9 Use of Hormones as Plant Growth Regulators in Horticultural Crops

✓ Since plants make them they are organic in nature, however, they can also be prepared synthetically
and such synthetic hormones are also as effective as the organic hormones produced naturally by
plants.
✓ Effectiveness of hormones: Different hormones have regulatory effects on different activities.
Further, two derivates of a compound can also have different effects.
✓ Carriers: The medium in which the hormones are mixed is called carrier. This may be water, alcohol,
oil, charcoal powder, talc or flour etc.
✓ Spreaders: Certain plants have waxy coatings on their bodies. In such cases spreader like soap are
mixed with hormones. Spreaders reduce the surface tension and even ensure spreading of the liquid
applied.
9.1 Use of hormones

It is done in following activities
9.1.1 Rooting of cutting

✓ Various chemicals compounds are known to be useful in rooting of cutting e.g. sugars, potassium
permanganate, manganese, iron, phosphate etc.
✓ Carbon monoxide can also be useful in root formation but the most successful are indolebutyrie acid
(IBA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA).
✓ Some new promising hormones are trichlorophenoxyacetic and trichlorophenoxypropionic acid.
✓ These hormones are effective only when used in low concentrations. In high concentration they
inhibit growth. Mixture of hormones is more effective than single hormone.
9.1.2 Blossom thinning

✓ Thinning of fruits is the term commonly used for reducing the number of fruits.
✓ Thinning does reduce the number of fruits but the remaining fruits become bigger and gain more
weight.
✓ In excessive bearing, thinning becomes a necessity. In papaya NAA has been reported to be effective
for thinning of fruits.
✓ Naphthaleneacetic acid, naphthalenacetymide sodium salts of NAA is most effective.
✓ Proper concentration and the stage of flowers are important.
✓ Only fully opened but unpollinated flowers will be killed. Any mistake in concentration might loss
the entire crop.
9.1.3 Preventing fruit drop

✓ Abscission layer is the cause of fruit drop. This is a corky layer of cells at the base of petiole of the
junction of fruit and stalk. Hormones can prevent the formation of abscission layer.
✓ Quality of fruit is not affected. It is not harmful.
✓ Naphtaleneacetic acid and its derivatives are the best. If fruits are not picked in time, they may
become overripe.
✓ More work is done on use of hormones for preventing pre harvest drop in apples.
9.1.4 Increasing fruit setting by seedless fruit production

✓ As early as 1909 it was found that water extract of pollen grains when applied to pistil of flowers
induced parthenocarpy, N.A.A. are useful.
✓ At present the use is limited to glass house crops particularly tomato.
9.1.5 Controlling flowering

✓ Ethylene and acetylene are used in Hawali and Australia for early flowering in pineapples.
✓ Application of NAA (0.006 % spray) is found to reduce maturity period by 2 months in pineapples.
✓ In tomato tridobenzoic acid changes leaf buds into flower buds.
10 Maturity
✓ It is the stage of fully development of tissue of fruit and vegetables only after which it will ripen
normally. During the process of maturation, the fruit receives a regular supply of food material from
the plant.
✓ It is necessary or essential to pick up the fruits or vegetables at correct stage of maturity to
facilitate proper ripening, distant transportation and maximum storage life.
10.1 Horticultural maturity

It is a developmental stage of the fruit on the tree, which will result in a satisfactory product after
harvest.
10.2 Physiological maturity

It refers to the stage in the development of the fruits and vegetables when maximum growth and
maturation has occurred. It is usually associated with full ripening in the fruits. The Physiological
mature stage is followed by senescence.
10.3 Commercial maturity

It is the state of plant organ required by a market. It commonly bears little relation to Physiological
maturity and may occur at any stage during development stage.
10.4 Harvest Maturity
It may be defined in terms of Physiological maturity and horticultural maturity, it is a stage, which will
allow fruits / vegetables at its peak condition when it reaches to the consumers and develop
acceptable flavour or appearance and having adequate shelf life.
10.5 Maturity Indices of Fruits

Symptoms which indicate that fruits are ready to harvest
Mango ✓ Specific gravity of fruits ranges between 1.01 to 1.02.

✓ TSS reaches 11-15 Degree Brix. (Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is the sugar content of an aqueous
solution. One-degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution and represents the
strength of the solution as percentage by mass)
Banana ✓ Pulp peel ratio reaches 1.2 - 1.6.
✓ Days taken from shooting, i.e., 3.0-3.5 months.
Grape ✓ Grape is harvested when they reach a TSS of 16 to 24% depending on variety.
Papaya ✓ For long distance transport: When the skin colour changes from green to yellow to the extent
of 6%.
Pineapple ✓ For local market: When 25% of surface changes to yellow colour.
✓ For long distance: When all the eyes are still green and have no trace of yellow colour (75 -
80% maturity).
Jackfruit ✓ A dull, hollow sound is produced when the fruit is tapped by the finger, aromatic odour
Pomogranate ✓ The fruits are ready for harvest between 135-170 days after anthesis.
Citrus ✓ The International Standards Organization has set in minimum juice content of citrus as
follows:
o Washington navel oranges 30%
o Other orange varieties 35%
o Grape fruit 35%
o Mandarin orange 33%
o Lemons and limes 25%
10.6 Maturity in Vegetables

Vegetables are harvested at harvest maturity stage, which will allow it to be at its peak condition when
it reaches the consumer, it should be at a maturity that allows the produce to develop an acceptable
flavour or appearance, it should be at a size required by the market, and should have an adequate shelf
life.
Time taken from pollination to horticultural maturity under warm condition, skin colour, shape, size
and flavour and abscission and firmness are used to assess the maturity of the produce.
Time taken from pollination to horticultural maturity
10.6.1 Skin colour
Loss of green colour in citrus and red colour in tomato.
10.6.2 Shape, size and flavour

✓ Sweet corn is harvested at immature stage, smaller cobs marketed as baby corn.
✓ Okra and cow pea are harvested at mature stage (pre fiber stage).
✓ In chilli, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, cluster beans maturity is related to their size.
✓ Cabbage head and cauliflower curd are harvested before un pleasant flavour.
10.6.3 Abscission and firmness

✓ Musk melon should be harvested at the formation of abscission layer.
✓ In cabbage and lettuce should be harvested at firmness stage.
10.6.4 Maturity indices of Vegetabes

Symptoms which indicate that vegetables are ready to harvest
10.7 Factors affecting maturity
10.7.1 Temperature
✓ Higher temperature gives early maturity.
✓ Example: Gulabi (Pink) grapes mature in 100 days in Western India but only 82 days are enough in
the warmer Northern India. Lemon and guava takes less time to mature in summer than in winter.
✓ Sun-scorched portions of fruits are characterized by chlorophyll loss, yellowing, disappearance of
starch and other alcohol insoluble material, increase in TSS content, decrease in acidity and
softening.
10.7.2 Soil
✓ Soil on which the fruit tree is grown affects the time of maturity.
✓ Example: Grapes are harvested earlier on light sandy soils than on heavy clays.
10.7.3 Size of planting material

✓ This factor in propagated fruits affects fruit maturity.
✓ Example: In pineapple, the number of days taken from flowering to fruit maturity was more by
planting large suckers and slips than by smaller ones.
10.7.4 Closer spacing

Close spacing of hill bananas hastened maturity.
10.7.5 Pruning intensity

It enhanced the maturity of Flordasun and sharbati Peaches.
10.7.6 Girdling
Process of constricting the periphery of a stem which blocks the downward translocation of CHO,
hormones, etc. Beyond the constriction which rather accumulates above it. In Grape vines it hastens
maturity, reduces the green berries in unevenly maturity cultivar and lowers the number of short
berries. It is ineffective when done close to harvest. CPA has an additive effect with girdling.
11 Post Harvest losses

A considerable amount of fruits and vegetables produced in India is lost due to improper post-harvest
operations; as a result there is a considerable gap between the gross production and net availability.
Furthermore, only a small fraction of fruits and vegetables are utilized for processing (less than 1%) and
exported (Fruits – 0.5% and Vegetables – 1.7%) compared to other countries.
India witnesses nearly 4.58 – 15.88% wastage in fruits and vegetables annually, due to lack of modern
harvesting practices and inadequate cold chain infrastructure. Further the processing levels in F&V
currently stand at a low of 2%. About 10-15% fresh fruits and vegetables shrivel and decay, lowering their
market value and consumer acceptability. Minimizing these losses can increase their supply without
bringing additional land under cultivation.
Improper handling and storage cause physical damage due to tissue breakdown. Mechanical losses
include bruising, cracking, cuts, microbial spoilage by fungi and bacteria, whereas physiological losses
include changes in respiration, transpiration, pigments, organic acids and flavour.
12 Technologies for minimizing the losses
✓ Fruits and vegetables are perishable in nature. Scientific harvesting and handling are the practical
way to reduce the losses due to physical damage, spoilages, due to insect damages and microbial
growth.
12.1 Waxing
✓ It is used as protective coating for fruits and vegetables and help in reduction in loss in moisture and
rate of respiration and ultimately results in prolonged storage life.
✓ Waxing generally reduces the respiration and transpiration rates, but other chemicals such as
fungicides, growth regulators, preservative can also be incorporated specially for reducing microbial
spoilage, sprout inhibition etc.
✓ However, it should be remembered that waxing does not improve the quality of any inferior
horticulture product but it can be a beneficial adjunct to good handling.
12.2 Curing
✓ Curing is an effective operation to reduce the water loss during storage from hardy vegetables viz,
onion, garlic, sweet potato, and other tropical root vegetables.
✓ The curing methods employed for root crops are entirely different than that from the bulbous crops
(onions and garlic).
✓ The curing of root and tuber crops develops periderms over cut, broken or skinned surfaces
wound restoration. It helps in the healing of harvest injuries, reduces loss of water and prevents the
infection by decay pathogens.
✓ Onions and garlic are cured to dry the necks and outer scales. For the curing of onion and garlic, the
bulbs are left in the field after harvesting under shade for a few days until the green tops, outer
skins and roots are fully dried.
12.3 Evaporative cool storage

It is the best short-term storage of fruits and vegetables at farm level. It helps the farmers to get better
returns for their produce. In this structure, horticultural crops reduce shriveling and extend their storage
life.
12.4 Pre-packaging
This technology controls the rate of transpiration and respiration and hence keeps the commodity in fresh
condition both at ambient and low temperature. It can able to bring revolutionary progress in our trade
practice and also benefit the consumer and the producer because of its low cost and ready availability.
12.5 Cold storage

These structures are extensively used to store fruits and vegetables for a long period and employ the
principle of maintaining a low temperature, which reduces the rate of respiration and thus delays ripening.
12.6 Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)

✓ These packaging modify the atmosphere composition inside the package by respiration.
✓ This technology is successful to extend the shelf life of (Cavendish banana, carrots capsicum, green
chilli and tomatoes by 15, 14, 13, 8 and 15 clays as against 5, 7, 8, 4 and 7 days in control respectively,
under ambient conditions.
✓ Storage of Papaya can be extended 4 weeks when stored at 10 -12 °C under modified atmosphere
(MA) conditions by wrapping them in low density polyethylene (LDPE) bag.
✓ Using this technique, the fruit can be transported to different markets in refrigerated sea containers
with Temperature Sea at 10-12 °C.
✓ Fruits ripen within 3-4 days after arrival when placed at ambient temperature. While using optimum
low temperature, storage life of Cavendish banana, capsicum, green chili and tomato can be extended
to 42,21,28 and 30 days in comparison to 21, 10,21 and 15 days respectively.
12.7 Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage

✓ It is based, on the principle of maintaining an artificial atmosphere in storage room, which has higher
concentration of CO2 and lower concentration of 02 than normal atmosphere.
✓ This reduces the rate of respiration and thus delays aging. This method of storage is very effective
when combined with low temperature storage.
Note: We have studied MAP and CA storage in detail in one of our previous chapters
12.8 Cold chain

Following cold chain handling system for fresh horticultural crops from farm to consumer. It helps in
reducing wastages and retention of quality of commodities.
12.9 Irradiation
✓ It is the newer technologies that can be gainfully employed during storage to reduce post-harvest
losses and extend storage life of fruits and vegetable.
✓ When fruits and vegetables expose to ionizing radiation (such as gamma-rays) at optimum dosage
delays ripening minimizes insect infestation, retards microbial spoilages, control sprouting, and
rotting of onion, garlic and potato during storage.
✓ It is also used as a disinfection treatment and controls fruit fly on citrus, mango seed weevil and
papaya fruit fly.
12.10 Edible coatings

✓ These are continuous matrices prepared from edible materials such as proteins, polysaccharides and
lipids.
✓ They can be used as film wraps and when consumed with the food, become an ingredient of the food.
They not only minimize the post harvest losses but also need for energy intensive operations and
controlled atmosphere storage.
12.11 Dehydration
✓ Dehydration means the process of removal of moisture by the application of artificial heat under
controlled conditions of temperature, humidity and air low.
✓ In this process a single layer of fruits or vegetables, whole or cut into pieces or slices are spread on
trays which are placed inside the dehydrator.
✓ The initial temperature of the dehydrator is usually 43°C which is gradually increased to 60-66°C in
the case of vegetables and 66-71°C for fruits.
12.11.1 Shade drying

Shade drying is carried out for products which can lose their colour and / or turn brown if put in direct
sunlight. Therefore, shade drying is carried out under a roof or thatch which has open sides.
12.11.2 Osmotic dehydration

In osmotic dehydration the prepared fresh material is soaked in a heavy sugar solution and / or a strong
salt solution and then the material is sun or solar dried.
12.11.3 Blanching
✓ Exposing vegetable to hot or boiling water as a pre-treatment before drying.
✓ It helps clean the material and reduce the amount of microorganisms present on the surface;
✓ It preserves the natural colour in the dried products; for example, the carotenoid (orange and
yellow) pigments dissolve in small intracellular oil drops during blanching and in this way they are
protected from oxidative breakdown during drying;
✓ It shortens the soaking and/or cooking time during reconstitution.
✓ During hot water blanching, some soluble constituents are leached out; water-soluble flavours;
vitamins (vitamin C) and sugars.
12.11.3.1 Rehydration ratio

If the weight of the dehydrated sample (a) used for the test is 5 g and the drained weight of the
rehydrated sample (b) 30g, then
12.12 Others
✓ Facilities/ services like grading, washing, cleaning, scientific harvesting, and the like, in respect of
perishables at the farm level.
✓ Cold storage facilities should be extended to tropical fruits and vegetables. Handling protocols should
be established for crops other than mango, citrus, grapes and capsicum to improve the shelf life and
export.
12.13 Use of chemicals for increasing shelf life of fruits and vegetable
In order to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, there are various other chemicals that can be
used other than physical measures that we have already discussed above. They are
12.13.1 Ethylene absorbent
Ethylene is responsible for decreasing shelf life. Putting KMNO4 @ 100 ppm soaked filter paper can
minimized ripening and increase shelf life. In Banana this method is very useful.
12.13.2 Antifungal Agents

SOPP: Sodium orthophenylphenate
Diphenyl wraps protection against moulds, stem-end rot.
Dibromoletrachloroethane and esters give better flavour.
12.13.3 Use of Inhibitors
12.13.4 Use of Auxins

Also helpful to advance in ripening and may increase shelf life.
✓ Vegetables can be preserved by lactic acid and may increase the shelf life.
✓ Post harvest dipping of papaya fruits either in l00 ppm GA3 or CaCl2 al 2% extended shelf life up to 9
days without any decline in quality.
13 Pre cooling
✓ Pre-cooling is the key component in the preservation of quality for perishable fresh produce in post-
harvest systems. It is likely the most important of all the operations used in the maintenance of
desirable, fresh and salable produce.
✓ Precooling is defined as the removal of field heat from freshly harvested produce in order to slow
down metabolism and reduce deterioration prior to transport or storage.
✓ One of the most important factors affecting the postharvest life and quality of fruits and vegetables
is temperature.
✓ Pre-cooling rapidly lowers the temperature of freshly harvested produce and is done immediately
following harvest to minimize spoilage. It is the first operation in the cold chain and is essential for
produce (fruits and vegetables) as they are perishable in nature.
13.1 Methods for Precooling Produce

There are seven principal methods of pre-cooling fresh produce. They are
1. Room cooling
2. Forced-air cooling
3. Hydro-cooling
4. Ice cooling
5. Vacuum cooling
6. Cryogenic cooling
7. Evaporative cooling
Considerable loss in quality and shelf life can occur as a result of holding harvested produce in the field
before pre-cooling.
All methods require sufficient refrigeration capacity to reduce the temperature of the produce within
the required time plus the ability to remove the normal heat gain in the facility.
13.1.1 Room cooling

✓ Precooling produce in a cold-storage room or precooling room is an old well-established practice.
This widely used method involves the placing of produce in boxes (wooden, fiberboard or plastic),
bulk containers or various other packages into a cold room, where they are exposed to cold air.
✓ It is used for produce sensitive to free moisture or surface moisture. Because this type of cooling is
slow, room cooling is only appropriate for very small amounts of produce or produce that does not
deteriorate rapidly.
✓ Typically the cold air is discharged into the room near the ceiling, and sweeps past the produce
containers to return to the heat exchangers.
✓ Room cooling has become increasingly difficult as more commodities are being handled in larger
quantities and are packaged immediately after harvest due to better mechanization.
✓ These difficulties (maintenance of relative humidity, temperature etc.,) coupled with its slow and
variable cooling extend the cold chain and therefore reduce the product life in subsequent storage.
13.1.2 Forced air cooling

✓ Forced air cooling was developed to accommodate products requiring relatively rapid removal of
field heat immediately after harvest.
✓ Forced air or pressure cooling is a modification of room cooling and is accomplished by exposing
packages of produce to higher air pressure on one side than on the other.
✓ Produce can be cooled by a variety of different forced air cooling arrangements. These include (a)
air circulated at high velocity in refrigerated rooms, (b) by forcing air through the voids in bulk
products as it moves through a cooling tunnel on continuous conveyors, and (c) by encouraging
forced airflow through packed produce by the pressure differential technique.
✓ The air can be channeled to flow either horizontally or vertically. In a horizontal flow system, the air
is forced to flow horizontally from one side of the pallet load to the other through holes in the sides
of the pallet bin or containers.
✓ In a vertical flow system, the air is forced to flow vertically from the bottom to the top of the pallet
through holes in the bottom of the pallet, and containers if used, then out the top. In this system,
the sides must be sealed to prevent the air from bypassing the produce.
✓ The key to forced-air cooling is moving the cold air through the container and its contents.
13.1.2.1 Cold wall
✓ A permanent false wall or air plenum contains an exhaust fan that draws air from the room and
directs it over the cooling surface.
✓ The wall is at the same end of the cold room as the cooling surface. The wall is built with a damper
system that only opens when containers with openings are placed in front of it. The fan pulls cold
room air through the container and contents, cooling the produce.
13.1.2.2 Forced air tunnel

✓ An exhaust fan is placed at the end of the aisle of two rows of containers or bins on pallets. The aisle
top and ends are covered with plastic or canvas, creating a tunnel.
✓ An exhaust fan draws cool room air through the container vents and top . The exhaust fan may be
portable, creating a single forced-air tunnel where needed, or it may be part of a stationary wall
adjacent to the cooling surface, with several fans that create several tunnels.
13.1.2.3 Serpentine cooling

✓ A serpentine system is designed for bulk bin cooling. It is a modification of the cold-wall method.
Bulk bins have vented bottoms with or without side ventilation.
✓ Bins are stacked several high and several deep with the fork lift openings against the cold wall.
Every other forklift opening—sealed with canvas—in the stack matches a cold wall opening.
✓ The alternate unsealed forklift opening allows cold air to circulate through the produce. Cold room
air is drawn through the produce via the alternate unsealed openings in the stack and the top of the
bin.
13.1.3 Hydrocooling
✓ Cooling by the forced air method was usually 4 to 10 times faster than room cooling but that
hydrocooling and vacuum cooling was 2 to 23 times faster than forced air cooling.
✓ Hydrocooling essentially is the utilization of chilled or cold water for lowering the temperature of a
product in bulk or smaller containers before further packing.
✓ Hydrocooling is achieved by flooding, spraying, or immersing the product in/with chilled water.
✓ A risk associated with most hydrocoolers is the decay hazard associated with recirculated water,
which leads to the possibility of decay producing organisms accumulating in the system, resulting in
the contamination of the cooled produce.
✓ To prevent this from occurring, mild disinfectant such as chlorine at concentrations of 100 ppm
(measured as hypochlorus acid) or approved phenol compounds are used and therefore produce
cooled by this technique must not be affected by the use of these chemicals.
13.1.4 Ice cooling

✓ In ice cooling, crushed or fine granular ice is used to cool the produce. The ice is either packed
around produce in cartons or sacks, or it is made into a slurry with water and injected into waxed
cartons packed with produce. The ice then fills the voids around the produce.
✓ Before the advent of comparatively modern precooling techniques, contact or package icing was
used extensively for precooling produce and maintaining temperature during transit.
13.1.5 Vacuum cooling
✓ Rapid cooling of horticultural produce can be carried out with vacuum cooling. Vacuum cooling is
achieved by the evaporation of moisture from the produce.
✓ The evaporation is encouraged and made more efficient by reducing the pressure to the point
where boiling of water takes place at a low temperature.
✓ The basic principles of the vacuum cooling process are described as follows:
1. At atmospheric pressure (1013 mbar), the boiling temperature of water is 1000C. This boiling
point changes as a function of saturation pressure therefore at 23.37 mbar the water boiling
temperature will be 200C and at 6.09 mbar, it will be 00C.
2. To change from the liquid to vapour state, the latent heat of vaporization must be provided by the
surrounding medium, so that the sensible heat of the product is reduced.
3. The water vapour given off by the product must be removed.
13.1.6 Cryogenic cooling

✓ The use of the latent heat of evaporation of liquid nitrogen or solid CO2 (dry ice) can produce
`boiling' temperatures of -196 and -780C, respectively. This is the basis of cryogenic precooling.
✓ In cryogenic cooling, the produce is cooled by conveying it through a tunnel in which the liquid
nitrogen or solid CO2 evaporates. However, at the above temperatures the produce will freeze and
thus be ruined as a fresh market product. This problem is prevented by careful control of the
evaporation rate and conveyor speed.
✓ Cryogenic cooling is relatively cheap to install but expensive to run. Its main application is in cooling
crops such as soft fruits, which have a seasonal production period. Hence, by using cryogenic
cooling the grower would not incur the high capital costs associated with alternative cooling
techniques over such period of use.
13.1.7 Evaporative Cooling

✓ Evaporative cooling is an inexpensive and effective method of lowering produce temperature. It is
most effective in areas where humidity is low.
✓ Dry air is drawn through moist padding or a fine mist of water, then through vented containers of
produce. As water changes from liquid to vapor, it absorbs heat from the air, thereby lowering the
produce temperature.
✓ The incoming air should be less than 65 percent relative humidity for effective evaporative
cooling. It will only reduce temperature, 10-15°F.
✓ This method would be suitable for warm-season crops requiring warmer storage temperatures
(45-55°F), such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers or eggplant.
14 Fruit and vegetable preservation
✓ India witnesses nearly 4.58 – 15.88% wastage in fruits and vegetables annually, due to lack of
modern harvesting practices and inadequate cold chain infrastructure. Further the processing levels
in F&V currently stand at a low of 2%.
✓ The share of India's high value and value added ago produce in its agriculture export basket is less
than 15% compared to 25% in US and 49% in China.
✓ The production of fruit and vegetable products in India are canned, bottled fruits and vegetables,
jams, jellies, marmalades, fruit juices, fruit pulps, squashes, crashes, cordials, fruit syrups, fruit
nectars, RTS fruit beverages, fruit juice concentrates, chutneys, pickles, mango slices in brine
preserves, candied and crystallized fruits and peels, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, frozen fruits
and vegetables, tomato products, sauces, soups etc.
14.1 Principles of food preservation by heat

✓ Application of heat to the foods leads to the destruction of microorganisms. The specific
treatment varies with:
i) The organisms that has to be killed.
ii) The nature of the food to be preserved and
iii) Other means of preservation that may be used in addition to high temperature.
✓ High temperatures used for preservation are usually (1) Pasteurization temperature – below
100oC (2) Heating at about 100oC and (3) Sterilization temperature above 100oC.
14.1.1 Pasteurization–below 100oC

✓ Pasteurization is a heat treatment that kills part but not all the microorganisms present and the
temperature applied is below 100oC.
✓ The heating may be by means of steam, hot H2O, dry heat or electric currents and the products are
cooled promptly after the heat treatments.
✓ The surviving microorganisms are inhibited by low temperature (or) some other preservative
method if spoilage is to be prevented.
✓ Preservative methods used to supplement pasteurization include
(1) refrigeration e.g. of milk (2) keeping out microorganisms usually by packaging the product in a sealed
container (3) maintenance of anaerobic conditions as in evacuated, sealed containers (4) addition of
high concentration of sugar, as in sweetened condensed milk and (5) presence (or) addition of chemical
preservatives e.g. the organic acids on pickles.
14.1.1.1 Methods of pasteurization

✓ HTST method - High temperature and short time (above 70oC)
✓ LTH method - Low temperature and higher time (or) Holding method (60-70oC)
14.1.2 Heating at about 100oC

✓ A temperature of approximately 100oC is obtained by boiling a liquid food, by immersion of the
container of food in boiling water or by exposure to flowing steam.
✓ Some very acid foods, e.g., sauerkraut may be preheated to a temperature somewhat below
100oC, packaged hot, and not further heat processed.
✓ Blanching fresh vegetables before freezing or drying involves heating briefly at about 100oC.
14.1.3 Sterilization-above 100oC

✓ By this method all microorganisms are completely destroyed due to high temperature. The time and
temperature, necessary for sterilization vary with the type of food.
✓ Temperatures above 100oC can only be obtained by using steam pressure sterilizers such as
pressure cookers and autoclaves.
✓ Fruits and tomato products should be noted at 100oC for 30 min. so that the spore forming bacteria
which are sensitive to high acidity may be completely killed.
✓ Vegetables like green peas, okra, beans, etc. being non-acidic and containing more starch than
sugar, require higher temperature to kill the spore forming organisms.
✓ Continuous heating for 30-90 min. at 116oC is essential for their sterilization. Before using, empty
cans and bottles should also be sterilized for about 30 min. by placing them in boiling water.
14.1.4 Difference between pasteurization and sterilization
14.1.5 Aseptic canning
It is a technique in which food is sterilized outside the can and then aseptically placed in previously
sterilized cans which are subsequently sealed in an aseptic environment.
14.1.6 Hot Pack (or) Hot fill

Filling of previously pasteurized or sterilized foods, while still hot, into clean but not necessarily sterile
containers, under clean but not necessarily aseptic conditions.
14.2 Preservation by low temperature

Microbial growth and enzyme reactions are retarded in foods stored at low temperature. The lower the
temperature, the greater the retardation. Low temperature can be produced by
14.2.1 Cellar storage (about 15oC)

✓ The temperature in cellar (underground rooms) where surplus food is stored in many villages is
usually not much below that of the outside air and is seldom lower than 15oC.
✓ It is not enough to prevent the action of many spoilage organisms or of plant enzymes. Root crops,
potatoes, cabbage, apples, onions and similar foods can be stored for limited periods during the
winter months.
14.2.2 Refrigerated (or) chilling (0 to 5oC)

✓ Chilling temperature are obtained and maintained by means of ice or mechanical refrigeration.
✓ It may be used as the main preservative method for foods or for temporary preservation until
some other preservative process is applied.
✓ Most perishable foods, including eggs, dairy products, meats, sea foods, vegetables and fruits, may
be held in chilling storage for a limited time with little change from their original condition.
✓ Enzymatic and microbial changes in the foods are not prevented but are slowed considerably.
14.3 Preservation by chemicals

✓ A preservative is defined as only substance which is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the
growth of microorganisms.
✓ Microbial spoilage of food products is also controlled by using chemical preservatives. The inhibitory
action of preservatives is due to their interfering with the mechanism of cell division, permeability
of cell membrane and activity of enzymes.
✓ Two important chemical preservatives are permitted to beverages according to the FPO (Fruit
Products Order) (1955). 1. Sulphur dioxide and 2. Benzoic acid
14.3.1 Sulphur dioxide

✓ It is widely used throughout the world in the preservation of juice, pulp, nectar, squash, crush,
cordial and other products.
✓ It has good preserving action against bacteria and moulds and inhibits enzymes, etc. In addition, it
acts as an antioxidant and bleaching agent.
✓ These properties help in the retention of ascorbic acid, carotene and other oxidizable compounds. It
also retards the development of nonenzymatic browning or discolouration of the product.
✓ It is generally used in the form of its salts such as sulphite, bisulphate and metabisulphite.
14.3.2 Benzoic acid

✓ It is only partially soluble in H2O hence its salt, sodium benzoate is used. One part of sodium
benzoate is soluble in 1.8 parts of water at ordinary temperature, whereas only 0.34 parts of
benzoic acid is soluble in 100 parts of water. Sodium benzoate is thus nearly 170 times as soluble as
benzoic acid, pure sodium benzoate is tasteless and odourless.
✓ The antibacterial action of benzoic acid is increased in the presence of Co2 and acid e.g. Bacillus
subtilis cannot survive in benzoic acid solution in the presence of Co2. Benzoic acid is more
effective against yeasts than against moulds. It does not stop lactic acid and acetic acid
fermentation.
14.4 Preservation by fermentation

✓ Decomposition of carbohydrates of microorganisms or enzymes is called fermentation. This is one of
the oldest methods of preservation.
✓ The keeping quality of alcoholic beverages, vinegars, and fermented pickles depends upon the
presence of alcohol, acetic acid and lactic acid respectively. Wines, beers, vinegar, fermented
drinks, fermented pickles etc., are prepared by these processes.
✓ Fourteen per cent alcohol acts as a preservative in wines because yeasts, etc., cannot grow at that
concentration. About 2% acetic acid prevents spoilage in many products.
14.5 Preservation through canning

✓ The process of sealing food stuffs hermetically in containers and sterilizing them by heat for long
storage is known as canning.
✓ In 1804, Appert in France invented a process of sealing foods hermetically in containers and
sterilizing them by heat. In honour of the inventor, canning is also known as appertizing.
✓ Saddington in England was the first to describe a method of canning of foods in 1807. In 1810,
Peter Durand, another Englishman, obtained the first British Patent on canning of foods in tin
containers. In 1817, William Underwood introduced canning of fruits on a commercial scale in U.S.A.
✓ Fruits and vegetables are canned in the season when the raw material is available in plenty. The
canned products are sold in the off-season and give better returns to the grower.
✓ Principles and Process of Canning
Principle - Destruction of spoilage organisms within the sealed container by means of heat.
Process - Selection of fruits/vegetables – Grading – Washing – Cooling – Blanching - Cutting – Peeling -

Filling and Syruping or Brining – Exhausting – Storage - Cooling – Processing – Sealing.
14.5.1 Selection of fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables should be absolutely fresh, firm, ripe, free from blemishes and dirt/ insect damage
or mechanical injury
14.5.2 Grading
✓ The selected fruits and vegetables are graded according to size and colour to obtain uniform quality.
This is done by hand or by machines such as screw grader and roller grader.
✓ Fruits like berries, plums and cherries are graded whole, while peaches, pears, apricots, mangoes,
pineapple, etc., are generally graded after cutting into pieces or slices.
14.5.3 Washing
✓ It is important to remove pesticide spray residue and dust from fruits and vegetables.
✓ One gram of soil contains 10 spores of microorganisms. Therefore, removal of microorganisms by
washing with water is essential. Fruits and vegetables can be washed in different ways.
✓ Root crops that loosen in soil are washed by soaking in water containing 25 to 50 ppm chlorine (as
detergent). Other methods of washing are spray washing, steam washing, etc.
14.5.4 Peeling
The objective of peeling is to remove the outer layer. Peeling may be done in various ways.
14.5.4.1 Hand peeling

It is done mostly in case of fruits of irregular shape, e.g., mango and papaya, where mechanical peeling
is not possible.
14.5.4.2 Steam peeling

Free-stone and clingstone peaches are steam peeled in different ways. The former are cut and steam
washed. Potatoes and tomatoes are peeled by steam or boiling water.
14.5.4.3 Mechanical peeling

This is done in case of apples, peaches, pineapples and cherries and also for root vegetables like carrots,
turnips and potatoes.
14.5.4.4 Lye peeling

✓ Fruits like peaches, apricots, sweet oranges, mandarin oranges and vegetables like carrots and
sweet potatoes are peeled by dipping them in 1 to 2 per cent boiling caustic soda solution (lye) for
30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on their nature and maturity.
✓ Hot lye loosens the skin from the flesh by dissolving the pectin. The peel is then removed easily by
hand.
✓ Any trace of alkali is removed by washing the fruit or vegetable thoroughly in running cold water or
dipping it for a few seconds in 0.5 per cent citric acid solution. This is a quick method where by cost
and wastage in peeling is reduced.
14.5.4.5 Flame peeling

It is used only for garlic and onion which have a papery outer covering. This is just burnt off. Vegetables
like peas are shelled, carrots are scarped, and beans are snipped or trimmed.
14.5.5 Cutting
Pieces of the size required for canning are cut. Seed, stone and core are removed. Some fruits like plum
from which the seeds cannot be taken out easily are canned whole.
14.5.6 Blanching
✓ It is also known as scalding, parboiling or precooking. It is usually done in case of vegetables by
exposing them to boiling water or steam for 2 to 5 minutes, followed by cooling.
✓ The extent of blanching varies with the food. Generally fruits are not blanched. Enhances the green
colour of vegetables such as peas, broccoli, and spinach. Removes saponin in peas.
✓ Removes the skin of vegetable such as beetroot and tomatoes which helps in their peeling.
14.5.7 Cooling
After blanching, the vegetables are dipped in cold water for better handling and keeping them in good
condition.
14.5.8 Filling
✓ Before filling, cans are washed with hot water and sterilized but in developing countries these are
subjected to a jet of steam to remove dust and foreign material.
✓ Automatic, large canfilling machines are used in advanced countries but choice grades of fruits are
normally filled by hand to prevent bruising. In India, hand filling is the common practice.
✓ After filling, covering with syrup or brine is done and this process is called syruping or brining.
14.5.8.1 Syruping
✓ A solution of sugar in water is called a syrup. Normally sucrose syrup is used in canning.
✓ Syrup is added to improve the flavour and to serve as a heat transfer medium for facilitating
processing. Syruping is done only for fruits.
✓ Strained, hot syrup of concentration 20 to 55o Brix is poured on the fruit.
✓ Fruits rich in acid require a more concentrated syrup than less acid ones. The syrup should be
filled at about 79 to 82oC, leaving a head space of 0.3 to 0.5 cm. Sometimes citric acid and ascorbic
acid are also mixed with the syrup to improve flavour and nutritional value, respectively.
14.5.8.2 Brining
✓ A solution of salt in water is called brine. The objective of brining is similar to that of syruping. Only
vegetables are brined. Common salt of good quality free from iron should be used.
✓ Hot brine of 1 to 3 per cent concentration is used for covering vegetables and is filled at 79 to
82oC, leaving a head space of 0.3 to 0.5 cm. The brine should be filtered through a thick cloth
before filling.
✓ After syruping or brining the cans are loosely covered with lids and exhausted. Lidding has certain
disadvantages such as spilling of the contents and toppling of the lids. Hence lidding has now been
modernized by ‘clinching’ process in which the lid is partially seamed. The lid remains sufficiently
loose to permit the escape of dissolved as well as free air from the can and also the vapour formed
during the exhausting process.
14.5.9 Exhausting
✓ The process of removal of air from cans is known as exhausting. After filling and lidding or clinching,
exhausting is essential.
✓ Containers are exhausted either by heating or mechanically. The heat treatment method is
generally used. The cans are passed through a tank of hot water at 82 to 87oC or move on a belt
through a covered steam box.
✓ The time of exhausting varies from 6 to 10 minutes, depending on the nature of the product.
✓ In the case of glass jars or bottles, vacuum closing machines are generally used. The bottles or jars
are placed in a closed chamber in which a high vacuum is maintained.
14.5.10 Sealing
Immediately after exhausting the cans are sealed airtight by means of a can sealer. In case of glass jars a
rubber ring should be placed between the mouth of the jar and the lid, so that it can be sealed airtight.
During sealing the temperature should not fall below 74oC.
14.5.11 Processing
✓ Heating of foods for preserving is known as processing, however, in canning technology
processing means heating or cooling of canned foods to inactivate bacteria.
✓ Almost all fruits and acid vegetables can be processed satisfactorily at a temperature of 100oC, i.e.,
in boiling water. The presence of acid retards the growth of bacteria and their spores.
✓ The lower the pH the greater is the ease with which a product can be processed or sterilized. Fruits
and vegetables can be classified into the following four groups according to their pH value.
The temperature and time of processing vary with the size of the can and the nature of the food: the
larger the can, the greater is the processing time.
In India, small vertical stationary retorts (frontispiece) are generally used for canned vegetable
processing.
14.5.12 Cooling
After processing, the cans are cooled rapidly to about 39oC to stop the cooking process and to prevent
stack-burning. Cooling is done by the following methods.
(i) Dipping or immersing the hot cans in tanks containing cold water.
(ii) Letting cold water into the pressure cooker specially in case of vegetables.
(iii) Spraying cans with jets of cold water; and
(iv) Exposing the cans to air.
Generally the first method, i.e. dipping the cans in cold water, is used. If canned products are not cooled
immediately after processing, peaches and pears becomes dark in colour, tomatoes turn brownish and
bitter in taste, peas become pulpy with cooked taste and many vegetables develop flat sour (become
sour).
14.5.13 Storage
✓ After labelling the cans, they should be packed in strong wooden cases or corrugated cardboard
cartons and stored in a cool and dry place.
✓ Storage of cans at high temperature should be avoided, as it shortens the shelf-life of the product
and often leads to the formation of hydrogen swell.
✓ The marketable life of canned products varies according to the type of raw materials used. Canned
peach, grapefruit, pineapple, beans, spinach, pea, celery, etc. can be stored for about two years,
while pear, apricot, carrot, beetroot, tomato, etc. can be stored for a comparatively long period.
14.6 Preservation by freezing

✓ At temperature below the freezing point of H2O, growth of microorganisms and enzyme activity are
reduced to minimum. Most perishable foods can be preserved for several months.
✓ Fruits, vegetables, juices and fleshy foods (meat poultry fish and sea foods) can be preserved in this
method.
✓ Cold storage we generally means storage at temperature above freezing, and this covers a range
of about 16oC (60oF) down to –2.2 oC (28oF).
✓ Frozen storage (Freezing) as the name implies refers to storage at temperatures where the food is
maintained in frozen condition. Good frozen storage generally means – 18oC (0oF) or below.
✓ Frozen storage will preserve perishable foods for months or even years. Further distinctions
between refrigeration and freezing temperatures are related to microorganisms activity. Most food
spoilage microorganisms grow rapidly at temperatures above 10oC (50oF) .
14.6.1 Methods of freezing

There are various methods of freezing
14.6.1.1 Sharp Freezing (Slow freezing)

✓ This technique, first used in 1861, involves freezing by circulation of air, either naturally or with
the aid of fans. The temperature may vary from –15 to –29oC and freezing may take from 3 to 72
hours.
✓ The ice crystals formed one large and rupture the cells. The thawed tissue cannot regain its original
water content. The first products to be sharp frozen were meat and butter.
14.6.1.2 Quick freezing

✓ In this process the food attains the temperature of maximum ice crystal formation (0 to – 4oC) in
30 min or less. Such a speed results in formation of very small ice crystals and hence minimum
disturbance of cell structure. Most foods are quick frozen by one of the following three methods:
A. By direct immersion
✓ Since liquids are good heat conductors food can be frozen rapidly by direct immersion in a liquid
such as brine or sugar solution at low temperature. Berries in sugar solution packed fruit juices and
concentrates are frozen in this manner.
✓ The refrigeration medium must be edible and capable of remaining unfrozen at –18oC and slightly
below.
B. By indirect contact with refrigerant
✓ Indirect freeing may be defined as freezing by contact of the product with a metal surface which is
itself cooled by freezing brine or other refrigerating media.
✓ This is an old method of freezing in which the food or package is kept in contact with the passage
through the refrigerant at –18 to -46oC flows.
C. By air blast
In this method, refrigerated air at –18 to –34oC is blown across the material to be frozen.
14.6.2 Cryogenic freezing

✓ Although most foods retain their quality when quick frozen by the above methods, a few require
ultrafast freezing.
✓ Such materials are subjected to cryogenic freezing which is defined as freezing at very low
temperature (below –60oC). The refrigerant used at present in cryogenic freeing are liquid nitrogen
and liquid CO2.
14.6.3 Dehydro-freezing
✓ This is a process where freezing is proceded by partial dehydration. In case of some fruits and
vegetables about 50% of the moisture is removed by dehydration prior to freezing.
✓ This has been found to improve the quality of the food. Dehydration does not cause deterioration
and dehydro frozen foods are relatively more stable.
14.6.4 Freeze drying

✓ In this process food is first frozen at –18oC on trays in the lower chamber of a freeze drier and the
frozen material dried (initially at 30oC for 24 hrs and then at 20oC), under high vacuum (0.1 mm Hg)
in the upper chamber.
✓ Direct sublimation of the ice takes place without passing through the intermediate liquid stage. The
product is highly hygroscopic, excellent in taste and flavour and can be reconstituted readily.
✓ Mango pulp, orange juice concentrate, passion fruit juice and guava pulp are dehydrated by this
method.
14.6.5 Problems in frozen storage

✓ During storage of food in the oncentratedfrozen condition, chemical and enzymatic reactions
proceed slowly. Unfrozen c solutof sugars, salts etc. may ooze out from fruits or concentrates
during storage as a viscous material called ‘metacryotic liquid’.
✓ Fluctuation in storage temperature results in an increase in the size of ice crystals resulting in
physical damage to the food.
✓ Desiccation of the food at its surface is likely to take place during storage. When ice crystals
evaporate from the surface of fruit, “freezer burn” is produced which usually appears as dry,
grainy and brownish spots where the chemical changes mentioned above takes place and the
tissues become dry and tough.
Freezing – 18 to –40oC
Freezing process of fruits, vegetables and juices
Suitable vegetables: Beans, cauliflower, peas, carrot etc.
Suitable fruits: Pineapple slices, mango slices or pulp, guava slices and orange. segments etc.
14.7 Preservation by drying
14.7.1 Sundrying of fruits

1. Banana: Dried ripe banana is known as ‘banana fig’. The fruit is peeled, sliced lengthwise, sulphured*
and dried in the sun. Unripe bananas are peeled after blanching in boiling water and cut into discs for
drying. The dried slices are either cooked or fried. They can also be converted into banana flour which
can be used as such or in combination with cereal flours.
* Sulphuring is done only for fruits and not vegetables. The whole fruits, slices (or) pieces are exposed to
the fumes of burning sulphur inside a closed chamber known as sulphur box for 30-60 min. or in small
airtight rooms.
2. Date: In the hard dried dates, sucrose sugar predominates, whereas in the soft dried dates, invert
sugars predominates. Dates are picked in the dung stage, that is when the tip of the fruit has turned a
translucent brown. They are spread on mats for 5 to 8 days for curing.
✓ This is rather expensive as several pickings have to be made as the date attain other proper stage of
ripening.
✓ Scientists have found that dates could be picked 3 to 4 days before the “dung” stage and then
dipped for ½ to 2 min in 0.5-2.5 % caustic soda solution before placing them for drying in order to
get a good dried product.
3. Fig: The fruits are allowed to ripen on the tree and gathered when they drop. They are then spread
thinly on the drying yard for 3 to 4 days for drying. After drying they are sorted and packed.
✓ Figs are treated with salt and lime (1 kg of each per 1000 litrs of water) to remove the hair from
the skin and also to soften the flesh. They are then dried without sulphuring, till there is exudation
of juice on pressing the dried fig between the fingers.
4. Grapes: Large quantities of seedless grapes known as kishmish grapes are imported into India from
Afghanistan. Ripe bunches of grapes are hung inside dark rooms known as kishmish khanas till the
berries acquire a greenish or light amber tint. These shade dried grapes are considered to be a far
superior to the ordinary sundried (or) dehydrated grapes.
✓ The other important dried grape called ‘Monucca’ (or) Rasisin is prepared from the large seeded
Haitha grapes which are lye dipped prior to the sun drying.
✓ For efficient drying, grapes should have a high sugar content of 20 to 24 degree brix.
✓ The higher sugar content grapes are dried without any sulphuring till there is no exudation of juice
on pressing dried grape between the fingers. The yield and quality of the final dried product depend
on the brix of the fresh grape taken for drying.
5. Jack fruit: Jack fruit bulbs of ripe fruit are sliced and the seeds removed. The slices are dried with
(or) without sulphuring. The bulbs can also be made into a fine pulp, which can be dried in the form of
sheets or slabs.
6. Mango: Unripe, green mangoes are peeled, sliced and dried in the sun. The dried product is used for
the preparation of mango powder which is added as a relish in various food preparations.
✓ Ripe mangoes are taken and the juicy pulp squeezed by hand. The pulp is spread on Bamboo mats
and a small quantity of sugar sprinkled over it. Whet the first layer has dried, another layer of pulp is
spread over it for drying.
✓ This process is repeated until the dried slab is 1.2 to 2.5 cm thick. The dried product has a light
yellow amber colour and possess a delicious taste.
7. Other fruits: Pomegranate seeds are dried, and the dried product known as anardana is sued as a
savoury and acidulant like tamarind in cooking.
✓ Apple rings are threaded and dried by hanging them out to dry in the sun.
✓ The cereals, pulses and oilseeds are usually sundried in most of the areas after harvesting from the
crop.
✓ Sundried vegetables results poor quality in physical and chemical characteristics during storage.
14.8 Preservatives
Any substance which is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the growth of microorganisms is
known as a preservative. It may be a chemical or a natural substance (sugar, salt, acid). The term
preservative includes fumigants, e.g., ethylene oxide and ethyl formate, used to control microorganisms
on spices, nut and dried fruits.
14.8.1 Classification of preservatives

Class I preservatives - Common salt, Sugar ,Dextrose, Glucose ,Wood smoke, Spices, Vinegar, Honey
Class II preservatives - Benzoic acid, sulphurous acid, Nitrates / nitrites of sodium/ potassium in respect
of foods like ham, pickled meat; Sorbic acid- sodium, potassium & calcium salts; Nisin; Sodium and
calcium propionate.
14.9 Colours
Permitted Natural Food Colours (FPO-1995). These are isolated from the natural sources/synthesized.
✓ Cochineal ✓ Lactoflavin ✓ Ratanjot

✓ Carotene ✓ Caramel ✓ Saffron
✓ Chlorophyll ✓ Annatto ✓ Curcumin
Synthetic colours. Permitted synthetic food colours (FPO-1995)
✓ Dye should be pure & free from all harmful impurities.

✓ Should be in high solubility.
✓ Acid dyes generally more stable than alkaline ones.
✓ Sunlight, oxidation, reduction by metals & microorganisms affect dyes.
✓ Degrade by thermal processing.
✓ Colour should not contain more than
• Copper - 10 ppm
• Chromium - 20 ppm
• Arsenic - 1 ppm
• Lead - 10 ppm
✓ Available in the form of powder / ready-to-use solutions.
✓ Prevent sedimentation – glycerine is added to the solution to increase density.
✓ Permitted level in fruit products – 0.2 /kg
✓ Synthetic colour preserved by addition of
• Alcohol - 10%
• Glyerine - 25%
• Citric acid - 12.1%
• Tartaric acid - 15.6 %
Terminology related to Animal Husbandry and Poultry
Part 3

Contents
1 Terminology of Animal Husbandry and Poultry .................................................................................... 6
1.1 Breed ............................................................................................................................................. 6
1.2 Species .......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Sire ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.4 Dam ............................................................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Calf ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.6 Heifer............................................................................................................................................. 6
1.7 Cow ............................................................................................................................................... 6
1.8 Bull ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.9 Bullock ........................................................................................................................................... 6
1.10 Service ........................................................................................................................................... 6
1.11 Service period ............................................................................................................................... 6
1.12 Conception .................................................................................................................................... 7
1.13 Gestation ....................................................................................................................................... 7
1.14 Gestation period ........................................................................................................................... 7
1.15 Parturition ..................................................................................................................................... 7
1.16 Lactation period ............................................................................................................................ 7
1.17 Dry period ..................................................................................................................................... 7
1.18 Calving interval.............................................................................................................................. 7
1.19 Average ......................................................................................................................................... 7
1.20 West average ................................................................................................................................ 7
1.21 Herd Average ................................................................................................................................ 7
1.22 Overall average ............................................................................................................................. 7
1.23 Environment.................................................................................................................................. 8
1.24 Genotype....................................................................................................................................... 8
1.25 Phenotype ..................................................................................................................................... 8
1.26 Prepotency .................................................................................................................................... 8
1.27 Fertility .......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.28 Fecundity....................................................................................................................................... 8
1.29 Sterility .......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.30 Free martin.................................................................................................................................... 8
1.31 Cryptorchids .................................................................................................................................. 8
1.32 Atavism ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.33 Buller ............................................................................................................................................. 8
1.34 Teaser ............................................................................................................................................ 8
1.35 Herd............................................................................................................................................... 9
1.36 Flock .............................................................................................................................................. 9
1.37 Steer .............................................................................................................................................. 9
1.38 Dressing percentage ..................................................................................................................... 9
1.39 Veal ............................................................................................................................................... 9
1.40 Beef ............................................................................................................................................... 9
1.41 Pork ............................................................................................................................................... 9
1.42 Mutton .......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.43 Chevon .......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.44 Wedder ......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.45 Prolificacy ...................................................................................................................................... 9
1.46 Variation........................................................................................................................................ 9
1.47 Puberty ........................................................................................................................................ 10
1.48 Inheritance .................................................................................................................................. 10
1.49 Germplasm .................................................................................................................................. 10
1.50 Foetus.......................................................................................................................................... 10
1.51 Dehorning or Disbudding ............................................................................................................ 10
1.52 Bantam ........................................................................................................................................ 10
1.53 Biddy ........................................................................................................................................... 10
1.54 Broiler.......................................................................................................................................... 10
1.55 Brooder box ................................................................................................................................ 10
1.56 Broody hen .................................................................................................................................. 10
1.57 Brooding period .......................................................................................................................... 10
1.58 Buttercup comb .......................................................................................................................... 11
1.59 Candling ...................................................................................................................................... 11
1.60 Capon .......................................................................................................................................... 11
1.61 Chick ............................................................................................................................................ 11
1.62 Chick tooth .................................................................................................................................. 11
1.63 Cloaca .......................................................................................................................................... 11
1.64 Clutch .......................................................................................................................................... 11
1.65 Coccidiosis ................................................................................................................................... 11
1.66 Cock ............................................................................................................................................. 11
1.67 Cockerel ...................................................................................................................................... 11
1.68 Comb ........................................................................................................................................... 11
1.69 Coop ............................................................................................................................................ 11
1.70 CRD .............................................................................................................................................. 11
1.71 Crop ............................................................................................................................................. 12
1.72 Cushion comb.............................................................................................................................. 12
1.73 Down ........................................................................................................................................... 12
1.74 Dusting or dust bath ................................................................................................................... 12
1.75 Feather picking............................................................................................................................ 12
1.76 Fledge .......................................................................................................................................... 12
1.77 Fount ........................................................................................................................................... 12
1.78 Gallus domesticus ....................................................................................................................... 12
1.79 Gizzard......................................................................................................................................... 12
1.80 Culling.......................................................................................................................................... 12
1.81 Grit .............................................................................................................................................. 12
1.82 Grower feed ................................................................................................................................ 13
1.83 Hackles ........................................................................................................................................ 13
1.84 Dubbing ....................................................................................................................................... 13
1.85 Hen .............................................................................................................................................. 13
1.86 Incubation ................................................................................................................................... 13
1.87 Layers .......................................................................................................................................... 13
1.88 Laying feed .................................................................................................................................. 13
1.89 Litter ............................................................................................................................................ 13
1.90 Marek’s disease........................................................................................................................... 13
1.91 Molt ............................................................................................................................................. 13
1.92 Nest box ...................................................................................................................................... 13
1.93 Newcastle disease ....................................................................................................................... 13
1.94 Non-setter ................................................................................................................................... 13
1.95 Ornamental breed....................................................................................................................... 14
1.96 Pea comb..................................................................................................................................... 14
1.97 Photoperiod ................................................................................................................................ 14
1.98 Pipping ........................................................................................................................................ 14
1.99 Primaries ..................................................................................................................................... 14
1.100 Production breed .................................................................................................................... 14
1.101 Pullet ....................................................................................................................................... 14
1.102 Rooster .................................................................................................................................... 14
1.103 Roost ....................................................................................................................................... 14
1.104 Rose comb ............................................................................................................................... 14
1.105 Run .......................................................................................................................................... 14
1.106 Scratch..................................................................................................................................... 14
1.107 Sexing ...................................................................................................................................... 14
1.108 Shanks ..................................................................................................................................... 14
1.109 Single comb ............................................................................................................................. 15
1.110 Spur ......................................................................................................................................... 15
1.111 Starter feed ............................................................................................................................. 15
1.112 Straight run ............................................................................................................................. 15
1.113 Strawberry comb..................................................................................................................... 15
1.114 Turn ......................................................................................................................................... 15
1.115 Unthrifty .................................................................................................................................. 15
1.116 V-shaped comb ....................................................................................................................... 15
1.117 Vent ......................................................................................................................................... 15
1.118 Wattle ..................................................................................................................................... 15
1.119 Alektorophobia ....................................................................................................................... 15
1.120 Egg bound ............................................................................................................................... 15
1.121 Lash eggs ................................................................................................................................. 16
1.122 Cock eggs................................................................................................................................. 16
1.123 Lockdown ................................................................................................................................ 16
1.124 Pipping .................................................................................................................................... 16
1.125 Biosecurity............................................................................................................................... 16
1.126 Spent hens............................................................................................................................... 17
1.127 Roost ....................................................................................................................................... 17
1.128 Pasty butt ................................................................................................................................ 17
1.129 Rumpless ................................................................................................................................. 17
1.130 Rales ........................................................................................................................................ 17
1.131 Ratite ....................................................................................................................................... 17
1.132 Osteomyelitis .......................................................................................................................... 17
1.133 Osteoporosis ........................................................................................................................... 17

1 Terminology of Animal Husbandry and Poultry
1.1 Breed
A group of animals related by decent & which are similar in most of the characters like general
appearance, size, colors, horns it is called breed.
1.2 Species
A group of individuals which have certain common characteristics that distinguish them from other
group of individuals with in species the individuals are fertile when in different species they are not.
1.3 Sire
The male parent of the calf.
1.4 Dam
Female parent of the calf.
1.5 Calf
Young one of cattle or buffalo below the age of six months is called calf.
1.6 Heifer
The younger female of cattle above age of six months to first calving.
1.7 Cow
The adult female of cattle from the date of first calving is called cow.
1.8 Bull
It is uncastrated male of cattle used for breeding or covering the cows.
1.9 Bullock
It is the castrated male of cattle used for work.
1.10 Service
The process in which mature male covers the female i.e. in heat with the object to deposit spermatozoa
in the female genital tract is called service.
1.11 Service period

✓ Service period is the period between date of calving and date of successful conception.
✓ The optimum service period helps the animal to recover from the stress of calving and also to get
back the reproductive organs back to normal.
✓ For cattle the optimum service period is 60-90 days.
✓ If the service period is too prolonged the calving interval prolonged, less no. of calving will be
obtained in her life time and ultimately less life time production.

✓ If the service period is too short, the animal will become weak and persistency of milk production is
poor due to immediate pregnancy
1.12 Conception
The successful union of male and female gametes & implantation of zygote is known as conception.
1.13 Gestation
It is the condition of female when developing foetus in present in the uterus.
1.14 Gestation period

The period from the date of service (actual conception) to the date of parturition is termed as
parturition period or pregnancy period. This period varies according to species of animals e.g. is cows
279-283 days, in buffalo 310 days, sheep 148-152 days, goat 150- 152 days.
1.15 Parturition
The act of giving birth to young one is called parturition.
1.16 Lactation period

The period after parturition in which the animal produces milk.
1.17 Dry period

The period after lactation in which the animal does not produce milk.
1.18 Calving interval

✓ The period between two successive calving is calving interval.
✓ The age of the animal at first calving is very important for high life time production.
✓ The desirable age at first calving in Indian breeds is 3 years, 2 years in cross breed cattle and 3 1/2
years in Buffaloes.
✓ Prolonged age at first calving will have high production in the first lactation) but the life time
production will be decreased due to less no of calving.
✓ If the age at first calving is below optimum, the calves born are weak, difficulty in calving and less
milk production in first lactation.
1.19 Average
It is the sum of production divided by No. of animals.
1.20 West average

It is the average daily milk yield of a cow is lactation.
W.A = Total milk yield. of a lactation (kg or Lt) / Lactation period (days)
1.21 Herd Average

It is average daily milk yield of milling animal in a herd.
H. A. = Total milk yield of a day / No. of milking animals
1.22 Overall average

It is average daily milk yield of the animal in the period of calving interval.

O.A. = Total milk yield of lactation / Calving interval (days)
1.23 Environment
The sum of all external influences to which an individual is exposed.
1.24 Genotype
The complete genetic make-up of an individual- or its combination of genes it possesses which
influences its characters. Not all organisms with the same genotype look or act the same way because
appearance and behavior are modified by environmental and growing conditions. Likewise, not all
organisms that look alike necessarily have the same genotype.
1.25 Phenotype
The external appearance or some other overall or measurable characteristics of an individual or it is the
actual expression of the character as determined by his genes & the environment in which he has lived.
1.26 Prepotency
The ability of certain individuals to stamp or impress their characters upon their offspring or it is the
ability to transmit characteristics to offspring to a marked degree.
1.27 Fertility
Ability of an animal to produce large number of living young.
1.28 Fecundity
It is the potential capacity of the female to produce functional ova regards of what happens to them
after they are produced.
1.29 Sterility
Inability to produce any offspring.
1.30 Free martin

A sterile heifer born twin with the male.
1.31 Cryptorchids
The failure of testes to descend fully into the scrotum. If one testes is in scrotal position the male is
usually fertile but if both are retained in the abdominal cavity sterility usually reported.
1.32 Atavism
The reappearance of a character after it has not appeared for one or more generation.
1.33 Buller
Cow always in estrus condition.
1.34 Teaser
A vasectomized (castrated) bull used to detect the heat or estrus of female (cow).

1.35 Herd
It is a group of cattle or buffalo.
1.36 Flock
It is the group of sheep, goat or poultry birds.
1.37 Steer
The male cattle that is castrated when he is still a calf or before the development of sexual maturity is
called steer.
1.38 Dressing percentage

The percentage of the live animal weight that becomes the carcass weight at slaughter. It is determined
by dividing the carcass weight by the live weight, then multiplying by 100.
1.39 Veal
The meat of calf below the age of 3 months.
1.40 Beef
The meat of- cattle past calf stage.
1.41 Pork
The meat of swine.
1.42 Mutton
The meat of sheep & goat.
1.43 Chevon
The meat of goat
1.44 Wedder
A castrated sheep is called wedder.
1.45 Prolificacy
Ability to produce large number of offsprings. The animal is said to be prolific.
1.46 Variation
The degree to which individuals differ with respect to the extent of development of expression of
characteristics.
1.47 Puberty
It is the period when reproductive tract & secondary sex organs/characteristics start to acquire their
mature form. Before on set of puberty the reproductive tract of heifer grows proportionately to body
growth but beginning at about 6 months age growth rate of these organs is much grater than body
growth. At about 10 months of age the rapid growth phase of the reproductive tract ceases & this
signifies the end of puberty. Heifer reaches puberty earlier than bull.
1.48 Inheritance
Transmission of genetic factors from parent to offspring’s.
1.49 Germplasm
The material on the basis of heredity taken collectively. The sum of gene constitution of an individual.
1.50 Foetus
A term for developing young one during last quarter of pregnancy.
1.51 Dehorning or Disbudding

✓ Dehorning of horned cattle is the process of removal of their horns or the process of preventing
their growth.
✓ The horns are best removed when still buds (buttons) on the animal which is less than one week old.
This is called disbudding.
✓ Disbudding is carried out either by the use of hot iron, caustic sticks and electrical dehorning cone.
Both the buds are destroyed at the early age (within 3 to 10 days).
1.52 Bantam
A small domestic chicken that is often a miniature version of a larger breed.
1.53 Biddy
Another term for chicks or baby chickens.
1.54 Broiler
A meat chicken processed at the age of 7-12 weeks when it reaches 2 ½ to 3 ½ pounds live weight.
Historically Broilers were marketed as birds ranging 1 to 2 ½ lbs.
1.55 Brooder box

A temperature-controlled, heated box used for raising newly hatched poultry.
1.56 Broody hen

A hen that is intent on sitting on and hatching a clutch of eggs on a nest. Broody hens are often used to
hatch eggs of other fowl.
1.57 Brooding period

The period in a young fowl’s life between hatching until they become fully feathered.
1.58 Buttercup comb
A comb that has a single leader near the bear that leads into a comb with evenly spaced points that
looks like a crown on the bird’s head.
1.59 Candling
Procedure of shining light through an egg to determine if it is fertilized or not.
1.60 Capon
They are male chickens that have been castrated at 4-8 months old, weighing 5-9 pounds that produce
more white meat and have higher fat content than other chickens.
1.61 Chick
A newly hatched or very young chicken.
1.62 Chick tooth

A hard tooth-like structure at the end of a chick's beak. Also known as an egg tooth, it is used to assist
hatching chicks in breaking through the eggshell.
1.63 Cloaca
The opening in the rear of chickens through which the intestinal, urinary and reproductive tracts empty.
1.64 Clutch
A group of eggs that are laid together in one nest.
1.65 Coccidiosis
An animal disease caused by infestation of the parasite coccidia within the intestinal tract. Coccidiosis
spreads from one chicken to another by contact with feces or ingestion of infected tissue.
1.66 Cock
A male chicken over one year of age.
1.67 Cockerel
A male chicken less than 1 year old.
1.68 Comb
The fleshy growth or crest on the top of a chicken's head. Combs are usually larger on males than on
females and are typically red.
1.69 Coop
An enclosure or housing structure built for chickens.
1.70 CRD
Chronic respiratory disease, a common disease of chickens that is characterized by sneezing and
difficulty breathing. Commonly controlled with antibiotics usually administered in feed or drinking
water.
1.71 Crop
Part of a chicken’s digestive located at the base of the neck that serves to store ingested food.
1.72 Cushion comb

A small flat and solid comb with no spikes or depressions.
1.73 Down
✓ Soft, fine and fluffy feathers on fowl.
✓ They found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down.
✓ The loose structure of down feathers traps air, which helps to insulate the bird against heat loss and
contributes to the buoyancy of waterbirds.
1.74 Dusting or dust bath

Common chicken behavior of bathing with dust in a shallow depression to help rid themselves of mites
and parasites.
1.75 Feather picking

Detrimental activity of chickens picking or pulling at each other's feathers that is often started from
stress, aggression, or nutritional problems within a flock.
1.76 Fledge
To care for young birds while still in the nest.
1.77 Fount
✓ A water fountain or watering device for animals.
✓ Poultry fountain or fount is the watering device for chicken. Now a days so many automatic devices
are coming in the market for this purpose.
1.78 Gallus domesticus

The scientific name for a domestic chicken.
1.79 Gizzard
Internal chicken organ that crushes food with the help of pebbles or grit.
1.80 Culling
✓ It is the process of killing newly hatched poultry for which the industry has no use. It occurs in all
industrialised egg production whether free range, organic, battery cage.
✓ Because male chickens do not lay eggs and only those on breeding programmes are required to
fertilise eggs, they are considered redundant to the egg-laying industries and are usually killed
shortly after being sexed, which occurs after they hatch.
✓ Culling is advantageous because it helps in saving the feed, in preventing the spread of diseases and
in bringing uniformity of the stock.
✓ It is done at every stage of their life.
1.81 Grit
Bits of rock, oyster shell or sand used by fowl to aid in breaking down ingested food.
1.82 Grower feed
Commercially available feed formulated for adolescent, growing chickens. Usually used from nine to 20
weeks.
1.83 Hackles
The long feathers on a chicken’s neck.
1.84 Dubbing
✓ Dubbing is the procedure of removing the comb and sometimes wattles and earlobes of poultry.
Removing the wattles is sometimes called "dewattling".
✓ Dubbing for some breeds has become a tradition and is required for some birds to meet breed-
specifications.( Comb - the fleshy red outgrowth on the top of a chicken's head)
1.85 Hen
A mature female chicken that is at least one year of age.
1.86 Incubation
The process used to hatch eggs. Incubation can be accomplished naturally under female fowl or
artificially with an mechanical incubator.
1.87 Layers
Mature female chickens kept for egg production. Also known as laying hens.
1.88 Laying feed

Commercially available feed formulated with extra calcium for laying hens.
1.89 Litter
The bedding material spread on the floor of a chicken house (i.e. Wood shavings, straw).
1.90 Marek’s disease

A viral disease common in chickens. Commonly prevented by a vaccination administered immediately
after chicks hatch.
1.91 Molt
Time when the shedding and growth of new feathers takes place.
1.92 Nest box

A box designed for hens to lay their eggs within.
1.93 Newcastle disease

A viral respiratory disease common in chickens. Newcastle disease can spread very quickly within a flock.
Commonly prevented with a series of vaccinations.
1.94 Non-setter
Hens that have little or no desire to incubate eggs.
1.95 Ornamental breed
A breed of chicken used for ornamental purposes and are primarily appreciated for their stunning
appearance as opposed to egg or meat production.
1.96 Pea comb

Medium-size comb that features three ridges running lengthwise from the top of the beak to the top of
the head and resembles an opened pea pod with peas running up the middle.
1.97 Photoperiod
The interval in a 24-hour period in which a plant or animal is exposed to light.
1.98 Pipping
The process by which baby chicks break open a hole in the eggshell and hatch.
1.99 Primaries
The big, stiff feathers on the chicken’s wings that aid in flying.
1.100 Production breed

They are commercial strains of fowl that are used for high production of eggs or meat.
1.101 Pullet
A chicken less than 1 year old.
1.102 Rooster
A male chicken that is at least 1 year old.
1.103 Roost
A perch typically inside a coop upon which fowl rest off of the ground.
1.104 Rose comb

A flat broad comb that is similar in shape to a rose petal.
1.105 Run
An enclosed area outdoors that is connected to a coop and allows chickens to roam freely.
1.106 Scratch
A type of feed that can consist of cracked corn and different types of whole grains. It is often fed as a
treat for backyard chickens and not used as a main food source.
1.107 Sexing
When baby chicks are separated by gender.
1.108 Shanks
Part of the chicken’s legs just above the foot.
1.109 Single comb
A moderately thin and well attached comb that stands up above the skull and has 5-6 distinctive points.
1.110 Spur
The horny projection located on toward the rear of a chicken’s shank and is prominent in males. Spurs
are used for defense and will grow throughout the birds’ life.
1.111 Starter feed

Pre-mixed commercial food for chicks, commonly available at feed or farm stores. These feeds should be
fed to chicks for the first six to eight weeks of life. Typically available in medicated and non-medicated
formulas.
1.112 Straight run

A term used to describe chicks for sale that have not been sexed. Groups of straight run chicks contain
50% of each gender on average, however odds of receiving 50/50 decrease with the fewer chicks you
buy.
1.113 Strawberry comb

It is a very low and compact comb extending no farther than the middle of the skull is named for it’s
appearance similar to that of a strawberry.
1.114 Turn
The act of turning incubated eggs to prevent the embryos from sticking to the shell membranes.
1.115 Unthrifty
This term often used when raising chickens to describe unhealthy birds that are failing to thrive or won't
put on weight.
1.116 V-shaped comb

A comb consisting of two horn-like pieces that are joined at the comb base.
1.117 Vent
The opening in the backside of a chicken where both waste is eliminated and eggs are laid. It is also
known as the cloaca.
1.118 Wattle
Thin growths of flesh that are located on each side of the throat or beak. They are typically red in color
and are larger in most males.
1.119 Alektorophobia
Fear of chickens or similar feathered creatures.
1.120 Egg bound

✓ Egg bound in an afflicted hen is one that is unable to complete the egg formation and laying process
and retains the partially or fully formed egg in the oviduct.
✓ This is often a problem with pullets that are just starting to lay. Since a female chick is born with all
the eggs she will ever lay during her productive years, the eggs may get jammed up and she will not
be able to lay.
✓ Typically a warm bath will help relax as well as allow any discharge to be removed that may be
preventing the natural egg laying ability.
✓ It is possible to have a hen with a chronic issue that will need medical intervention or she may need
to be culled from the flock.
1.121 Lash eggs

✓ Lash eggs result from an infection (bacterial or viral) that causes inflammation of a hen’s oviduct.
✓ That inflammation is referred to as Salpingitis. The hen’s immune system reacts to the inflammation
by trying to wall-off the infection with a waxy, cheese-like pus. This pus mass may or may not
contain yolk, albumen, (egg white) eggshell, egg membrane, blood or pieces of tissue from the
oviduct wall, but it is primarily a yellowish, cheesy, pus ball.
✓ Salpingitis is the most common cause of death in laying hens.
1.122 Cock eggs

✓ Fart eggs (also called fairy eggs, diminutive eggs, cock eggs, wind eggs, witch eggs, dwarf eggs) are
teeny tiny eggs laid by normal-sized hens and is a small usually yolkless.
✓ This term refers to a tiny egg usually laid by a young pullet. The egg will rarely have a yolk. This is
nothing to be concerned about. As the pullet continues to lay, her eggs will develop into normal
sized eggs for her breed. This may also be witnessed in an aging hen that is reaching the end of her
productive years.
1.123 Lockdown
✓ Lockdown is simply the word used to describe the time when an egg incubator has its settings
optimised ready for hatch.
✓ The eggs are not turned or candled again and the incubator is left with its lid closed until after the
chicks have hatched.
1.124 Pipping
✓ The pipping, or first break in the eggshell by the hatching bird, is the initial phase of hatching. It
furnishes the bird with a weakened point at which to begin cutting the shell and complete the
hatching process.
✓ A chick uses it's egg tooth to poke a hole in the egg shell (at approximately the 21st day) through
which it breathes while working its way out of the shell. This is called pipping.
1.125 Biosecurity
✓ Biosecurity, which literally means safety of living things, is a programme designed to prevent the
exposure of birds to disease causing organisms by reducing introduction and spread of pathogens
into and between the farms.
✓ Biosecurity in broader sense encompasses Isolation, traffic control sanitation, vaccination ,
serological monitoring of diseases and air quality etc. which will aid in prevent entry and control the
pathogens in and around farms.
1.126 Spent hens
✓ A breeder or commercial type of egg hen that no longer performs at a desired production level.
✓ In commercial farming, a layer hen is considered no longer commercially viable at around thirteen
months and is called a "spent hen" and phenomena is also called as Henopause or Pause.
1.127 Roost
Roost (Perch) is a resting place of fowl at a height usually wooden slats or GI pipes, 5 cm, round at the
top and flat at the bottom, placed horizontally at length-wise sides of house to satisfy bird’s natural
instinct to sit at higher place. The perch space recommended per bird is 20-25 cm and perches should be
placed at a distance of 35-40 cm apart.
1.128 Pasty butt

✓ Pasting/Pasty Butt are loose droppings that stick to the feathers around the vent area. This must be
cleaned off or the chick or chicken could die. A warm bath will make the process of cleaning easier.
✓ For chickens with a lot of feathering in this area such as Orpingtons, one can trim those feathers to
prevent a repeat episode. This is a common ailment in shipped chicks. The main cause in the case of
shipped chicks is stress. Plain yogurt with live bacteria will help with this, or add Pure Apple cider
vinegar to their water -1 Tablespoon to a gallon of water
✓ Pasting, the condition is common in baby chicks, and not typically seen in adult, although adults can
be affected.
1.129 Rumpless
✓ Rumpless is the trait in some chicken breeds where they have no tail. Araucana is an example of this
trait.
✓ Rumpless bird is a bird without a tailbone.
1.130 Rales
Any abnormal sounds coming from the airways of birds.
1.131 Ratite
A type of domestic bird that does not have a keel bone and includes ostriches, emus and rheas.
1.132 Osteomyelitis
Inflammation of the bone marrow
1.133 Osteoporosis
It is observed mostly in laying hens is a condition that involves the progressive loss of structural bone
during the laying period.
1.134 Scientific names of few important cattle and poultry

Common name Scientific names
Sheep Ovis aries
Goat Capra aegagrus hircus
Cow Bos taurus
Pig Sus domesticus
Water buffalo Bubalus bubalis
Horse Equus caballus
Dromedary Camel Camelus dromedarius
Bactrian camel Camelus bactrianus
Llama and alpaca Lama glama and L. pacos
Donkey or ass Equus asinus
Yak Bos grunniens
Bali cattle Bos javanicus
Mithun Bos frontalis
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus
Duck Anas platyrhynchos
Turkey Meleagris gallapavo
Goose Anser anser
Ostrich Struthio camelus
Emu Dromaius
novaehollandiae
Quail Coturnix coturnix
1.135 List of various terms used in case of domesticated animals

Animal Adult Male Adult Young Castrate Group Meat Mating Parturitio Sound
Female child d Male n producti
on
Sheep Buck/ram Ewe/dam Lamb/ Wedder Flock Mutton Tupping Lambing Bleating
lamkin
Goat Billy/buck Nanny Kid Wether Trip Chevon Serving Kidding Bleat
Pig Boar Sow/gilt Piglet/ Hog, Herd/ Pork Coupling Farrowing -
shoat stage Drove
Horse Stallion/stud Mare/ewe Foal Gelding Herd Foaling
Poultry Rooster/Cock Hen/pullet Chick Capon Flock Chicken Serving Hatching
Duck Drake Duck Duckling Flock Hatching
1.136 Body Temperature, Respiration and Pulse Rate of the domesticated animals
Livestock Body Pulse rate/min Respiration rate/min
Temperature (◦C)
Cow 38.5 12-16 45-55
Buffalo 37.5 12-16 45-55
Goat 39.1 12-20 70-80
Sheep 39 12-20 70-80
Camel 37.5 - -
Pig 39.2 - -
Hen 41.7 15-30 300
Supplementary notes on Milk Production

Contents
1 Clean Milk production ........................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Rural Milk collection ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.1 Transportation ...................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.2 Grading of milk ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.1.3 Milk reception at chilling centre ........................................................................................... 5
1.1.4 Milk reception at dairy plant................................................................................................. 5
1.1.5 Preservation of raw milk ....................................................................................................... 5
2 Adulteration .......................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Detection of adulterants ............................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Detection of water ................................................................................................................ 6
2.1.2 Detection of neutralizer in milk ............................................................................................ 6
2.1.3 Detection of starch................................................................................................................ 6
2.1.4 Detection of gelatin .............................................................................................................. 7
2.1.5 Detection of cane sugar ........................................................................................................ 7
2.1.6 Detection of saccharin .......................................................................................................... 7
2.1.7 Detection of glucose or monosaccharides (Barfoed’s test) .................................................. 7
2.1.8 Detection of sodium chloride ............................................................................................... 7
2.1.9 Detection of urea in milk....................................................................................................... 7
2.1.10 Detection of formalin ............................................................................................................ 7
2.1.11 Detection of hydrogen peroxide ........................................................................................... 7
2.1.12 Detection of buffalo milk in cow milk ................................................................................... 8
2.1.13 Detection of added colour .................................................................................................... 8
2.1.14 Detection of pulverized soap ................................................................................................ 8
2.1.15 Detection of vegetable fat .................................................................................................... 8
2.1.16 Detection of adulteration by using kits ................................................................................. 8
2.1.17 Preservatives ......................................................................................................................... 8
3 Clean milk production ........................................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Advantages.................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Disadvantages ............................................................................................................................... 9
3.3 Principles of milking ...................................................................................................................... 9
3.3.1 Natural Technique................................................................................................................. 9
3.3.2 Hand milking ....................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.3 Frequency of milking ........................................................................................................... 11
3.3.4 Machine milking .................................................................................................................. 12

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
1 Clean Milk production

✓ Both pre-and post-secretory management of milk at the farm level should be focussed upon for
controlling the quality of milk.
✓ The post-secretory changes in milk are of paramount importance.
✓ Some of the vital factors responsible for good milk production that deserve immediate attention
are type of farming, type of milk, impact on environment, farm waste disposal facilities, milking
practices, procurement systems and inconsistent price policy and farmers’ education/training
programmes.
✓ Milk once secreted becomes the target for transformation by a variety of host organisms at the farm
itself. Hence, proper care must be taken regarding preservation of milk, protection of milk
constituents, protection against high temperatures and natural calamity.
✓ Strict protocols are to be observed and implemented both in hand and machine milking. The
microbiological quality deserves special attention for stringent export requirements for milk
products in global market.
✓ The custodian of milk should never compromise on quality. Rural milk collection In India, milk
production is a subsidiary activity to agriculture in contrast with organized dairy in western
countries. Farmers and landless labourers mostly maintain 1-5 milch animals. As a result, small
quantities of milk are produced in a scattered manner.
1.1 Rural Milk collection

✓ A systematic approach to rural milk collection suitable for tropical climatic and technoeconomic
conditions prevailing under in India has been developed based on the indigenous experience gained
over past few decades.
✓ In the first phase, extensive surveys are undertaken in the milk shed areas, where milk plant is to be
established.
✓ The second phase involves “route planning” taking into account availability of quantities of milk,
access to roads for plying vehicles and distance from the site of dairy plant. Then zones are
identified, representing equal costs of collection and transportation.
✓ In the third phase, planning is done for locating the primary collection centres as well as chilling
centres, where, milk can be cooled to 4oC before transporting to the milk plant. Milk may be
collected from individual procedures either by the contractor or by forming village level cooperative
societies.
✓ Care should be exercised to bring the milk for chilling/processing within 3 hours of milking otherwise
serious deterioration of milk takes place, which affects the quality of products.
1.1.1 Transportation
In the Indian context, most of the milk is transported from rural collection centres to the dairy plant
depending upon the volumes of milk handled.
✓ Cans for handling up to 2,000 litre of milk per day.
✓ Tankers for handling between 2,000 and 5,000 litre per day.
✓ Rail tankers for handling 10,000 litre or more for ling distance transportation as in the National milk
grid.
1.1.2 Grading of milk
Grading of milk at collection centres Following criterion, based or organoleptic tests may be used for
grading of milk at the rural milk collection centre.
Flavour: 45
Sediment: 10
Cleanliness of container and closure: 5
Temperature: 5oC
1.1.3 Milk reception at chilling centre

In a distant milk plant, rurally collected milk is first brought to a common chilling centre.
In view of the high ambient temperatures prevailing in the tropical climatic conditions in India, it is
imperative to chill and milk to 4oC and transport it at the same temperature to the milk processing
plant.
The collection of milk from the chilling centre usually takes place once a day.
At the chilling centre, milk is promptly chilled to 4oC and stored in large tanks of 2,000-10,000 litre
capacity.
Chilling centre operation is economical only when about 30,000 litre of milk is handled per day. It is
then transported, though tankers, to dairy processing unit.
1.1.3.1 Following equipment are used for chilling of milk

✓ Surface cooler: (Direct expansion type, ice bank and brine)-for handling up to 5,000 litre of milk.
✓ Plate cooler: This is suitable for handling more than 30,000 litre of milk.
1.1.4 Milk reception at dairy plant

✓ The milk from chilling centre is usually transported in tankers to the dairy.
✓ Milk received by tanker can be measured by weight or by volume.
✓ Generally the milk from the tanker is measured by volume. A flexible line is connected between the
tanker milk delivery pump and flow meter installed at the reception dock.
✓ The milk is pumped through the flow meter into large vertical storage tank (25,000-1,50,000 litre
capacity) called ‘Silo’.
✓ The flow meter continuously indicates the volume of milk received.
1.1.5 Preservation of raw milk

✓ Under tropical conditions, it would be beneficial to have access to methods, other than refrigeration,
for retarding the bacterial growth in raw milk during collection and transportation to the dairy plants.
✓ The main objective of the method should be to maintain food safety and not otherwise.
✓ One of the methods, which has some merit and is worth considering, is LP system
(Lactoperoxidase/thiocynate/hydrogen peroxide system).
✓ The LP system is an indigenous anti bacterial system in milk and human saliva. The enzymes
lactoperoxidase is present in cow and buffalo milk in relatively high concentrations.
✓ The anti bacterial effect of the LP system is mediated by short-lived oxidation products of thiocynate.
✓ To activate the LP system is milk, adequate concentrations of thiocynate and hydrogen peroxide are
added.
✓ It is very important that preservation of raw milk by LP system is controlled at the society level and
the individual farmers do not have direct access to such chemicals.

2 Adulteration
✓ Adulteration is the act of making something impure or altering its original form by adding materials
or elements that aren't usually part of it, especially inferior ones.
✓ Adulterants in milk: Addition or removal of legally prohibited substances from the milk with the view
to increase quantity and reduce the quality to make extra profit.
✓ Common adulterants:
o Addition of water
o Removal of fat
o Addition of starch
o Addition of milk powder
o Addition of carbonate and bicarbonate.
✓ The practice of adulteration of milk is a reality. It is paradoxical that human instinct for greed so far as
to touch the precious food meant to protect the health of vulnerable groups of infants, children and
the elderly.
✓ Some of the known adulterants are water, salt, sugar, wheat, starch, washing soda, formalin, urea,
hydrogen peroxide etc.
✓ Some are used for increasing volume and SNF content of milk while others as preservatives to extend
shelf life.
2.1 Detection of adulterants
2.1.1 Detection of water

✓ Water is a most common adulterant and its presence can be detected by testing the freezing point of
milk. The official method of AOAC assumes a freezing point for normal milk of –0.550oC.
✓ A tolerance of 3% is allowed which is equivalent to specifying a minimum freezing point depression
for authentic milk of 0.5335oC.
✓ The presence of water can also be checked by the use of lactometer.
2.1.2 Detection of neutralizer in milk

✓ Difference in coagulation behaviors of milk in the presence of alcohol. Add 5 ml of distilled alcohol
(95%) to 5 ml of milk sample, mix the contents thoroughly by shaking and observe the coagulation
behaviour of the sample.
✓ Appearance of fine and uniform sized flakes indicates the presence of added neutralizers in milk
whereas appearance of bigger and unevenly sized flakes indicates their absence.
✓ Rosalic acid test: Add 4 drops of freshly prepared alcoholic solution of 1% Rosalic acid to the above
mixture and mix gently. Appearance of pink colour at the junction of mixture and Rosalic acid indicates
the presence of either sodium hydroxide potassium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide added to milk,
and that of rose red colour indicates the presence of sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. The
appearance of brownish colour indicates the absence of any of these neutralizers.
2.1.3 Detection of starch

✓ Place in a test tube about 3ml of well-mixed sample. Boil it by holding the tube over a flame.
✓ Allow cooling to room temperature. Add a drop of 1% iodine solution.
✓ Presence of starch is indicated by the appearance of a blue colour that disappears when the sample
is boiled and reappears on cooling.

2.1.4 Detection of gelatin
✓ Gelatin produces a yellow precipitate with picric acid solution.
✓ While cloudiness shows smaller amount and yellow precipitate a large amount of gelatin in milk.
2.1.5 Detection of cane sugar

✓ To about 15ml of milk in a test – tube add 1 milliliter of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 0.1g of
resorcinol and mix.
✓ Place the tube in boiling water-bath for 5 minutes. In the presence of cane sugar red colour is
produced.
2.1.6 Detection of saccharin

✓ Curdle an aliquot of the diluted sample (about 25ml) with dilute acetic acid. Shake well and filter.
✓ Acidity the clear filtrate with 2ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid and extract with 25ml portion of
ether.
✓ Draw of adequate layers and wash the combined ether extract with 3 successive portions of 5ml of
water. Evaporate the ether extract on water bath and add a drop or two of water, mix well with glass
rod and taste little.
✓ Characteristic sweet taste indicates the presence of the saccharin.
2.1.7 Detection of glucose or monosaccharides (Barfoed’s test)

✓ The reagent is prepared by dissolving 6.5 of crystallized copper acetate in 100 ml of 1% acetic acid
solution.
✓ For the test heat 5ml of Barfoed’s reagent in boiling water for 3 ½ minutes.
✓ Production of red precipitate of cuprous oxide indicates the presence of monosaccharides.
2.1.8 Detection of sodium chloride

✓ Take 2 ml of milk and add 0.1ml of 5% potassium chlorinate and 2ml of 0.1 N silver nitrate.
✓ Appearance of red precipitate indicates the presence of sodium chloride.
2.1.9 Detection of urea in milk

✓ Take 2ml of milk and add 2ml of p-dimethyl amino benzaldehyde reagent (1.6% in ethyl alcohol
containing 10% HCI).
✓ Development of distinct yellow colour denotes the presence of urea.
✓ The pure milk samples show a faint pink colour which should be ignored due to the presence of natural
urea (up to 50mg/100ml.) This test should be carried out with the control sample.
✓ A sample paper strip method has also been developed using the above principle.
2.1.10 Detection of formalin

✓ Take 5 ml of milk sample in test – tube and add 5ml of concentrated sulfuric acid containing traces of
ferric chloride.
✓ Formation of purple ring at the junction indicates presence of formaldehyde in milk.
2.1.11 Detection of hydrogen peroxide

✓ The presence of hydrogen peroxide can be detected by an intense blue colour developed on addition
of 2 drops of paraphenylene diamine hydrochloride to 10ml of milk.

2.1.12 Detection of buffalo milk in cow milk
✓ The presence of buffalo milk in cow milk can be detected by Hansa test, which is based on
immunological assay.
✓ A drop of supected milk after dilution with water (1:4) is treated with a drop of antiserum obtained
by injecting buffalo milk proteins into rabbits.
✓ The characteristic precipitation reaction indicates the presence of buffalo milk.
2.1.13 Detection of added colour

✓ The chief colouring materials which are considered here are some natural colouring material like
annatto, turmeric of coal-tar dyes.
✓ Some of these dyes are permitted only in some products.
✓ While the use of annatto is prohibited in milk, its use in permitted in butter. To detect annotto the
milk fat is shaken with 2% sodium hydroxide and the mixture is poured on filter paper. The filter
paper absorbs the colour, which remains even after washing with water. When the stain is treated
with a drop of 40% SnC12 and dried, a purple colour indicated the presence of annatto.
✓ Turmeric is detected when the colour adequous or alkali, extracted is treated with HCL. The resulting
orange colour is treated with H3BO3 crystals, a red colour indicates the presence of turmeric.
✓ Coal-tar dyes adhere to animal fibres more firmly than natural colour. The curd of pure milk is white
when extracted with ether but one containing coal-tar dyes remains orange or yellow; this when
treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid becomes pink.
2.1.14 Detection of pulverized soap

✓ Soaps are generally defined as sodium and potassium salt of fatty acid. Therefore, to detect the
presence of pulverized soap, iodine value refractive index, fatty acid composition, salt ratio and ash
content are excellent methods.
✓ The presence can be judged by qualitative method. For example, in 10ml milk, 10ml hot water is added
followed by 1-2 drops of phenol-phathlene indicator solution.
✓ Development of pink colour indicates the presence of soap in milk.
2.1.15 Detection of vegetable fat

✓ The adulteration of vegetable fat in milk can easily be detected by the following methods.
✓ In case of synthetic milk, the fat is extracted either by Rose-Gottleib method or fat extracted in butyro-
meter can also be used.
2.1.16 Detection of adulteration by using kits

✓ With the advancement in analytical chemistry, several test kits for testing chemical adulterants
antibiotic residues, aflatoxins, pesticides, etc have been developed.
✓ In India, The National dairy Research Institute, Karnal, and Central Food Technological Research
Institute, Mysore, have developed rapid detection kits for chemical adulterants and environmental
contaminants respectively.
✓ Similarly for detection of mastitis, simple strip test has been developed and is being used under field
conditions.
2.1.17 Preservatives
✓ For testing of samples it is essential milk must be kept sweet (without decomposition) while the
sample is being assembled.
✓ The common preservatives used are
✓ Mercuric chloride or corrosive sublimate. This is very poisonous. It may be added in the form of
tablets, which are coloured (usually bright red) to prevent the milk being mistaken for food.
✓ Formalin. This is a 40 per cent solution of formaldehyde. Being in liquid form, it is very convenient
to handle. However, it interferes with the fat test.
✓ Potassium dichromate. This is not as effective as the above two, but it is easy to handle in dairy
plants because it is avialble in tablet form.
3 Clean milk production

Milk is defined as whole, fresh, clean lacteal secretion – complete milking of healthy milch animals
excluding that obtained 15 days before or 5 days after calving and containing prescribed % of fat and SNF.
3.1 Advantages
✓ Protects the health of calves
✓ Protects the health of consumers especially infants, growing children and aged people.
✓ The cleaner the milk longer in its keeping quality and flavour.
✓ Consumer will demand milk when confidence is developed on its wholesomeness.
✓ 5.Sour and off flavoured milk – not readily marketable
3.2 Disadvantages
1. Keeping quality of milk is poor.
2. Nucleus for spreading of diseases-sore throat, brucellosis.
3. Health of the calves are affected – chances for increased calf mortality.
4. Disposal of poor milk is difficult.
3.3 Principles of milking

✓ Milking is defied as the critical and laborious process which involves hormonal reflex. The art of
milking performed within 5-8 minutes.
✓ Normally milking is done twice a day. The cattle and buffaloes are exclusively maintained for milk
production.
1. Natural Technique (calf suckling)
2. Manual Technique (hand milking)
3. Mechanical Technique (machine milking)
3.3.1 Natural Technique

✓ This method calf is able to draw the milk from the udder. To extract the milk the calf presses the teat
with the tongue and pallet on the other side.
✓ The tongue encircles the teat and vacuum is created in the mouth by separating the jaws and
retracting the tongue nearly 100- 200alternating cycles may be observed per minute.
✓ A calf’s suckling is the best method of eRestive phase
✓ vacuating the milk with least damage to the delicate tissue of mammary gland.
✓ The art of milking is a cycle
1. Active Phase

2. Restive Phase
3.3.1.1 Active phase

✓ Creation of vacuum in the teat canal
✓ Pressure is applied over the teat canal
✓ The base of the teat is apparently occluded with the help of the tip of the tongue with the idea to
prevent the back flow of the milk into the gland cistern when the pressure is applied which is
followed by restive phase
3.3.1.2 Restive phase

✓ At this stage 20mm Hg pressure is created at the teat end in the phase both active and restive phase
are alternated and it has been scientifically proved that the amount of pressure applied over the
teat canal by calf is 535mm Hg pressure whereas in the case of hand milking the pressure is 310mm
of Hg.
✓ In the mechanical milking pressure on the teat is with the range of 350 mm-400mm Hg.
✓ In the case of buffalos 400mm of Hg of pressure is applied but in the case of cattle it can be
restricted to360-380mm of Hg.
✓ It has been proved that cycling rate during nursing is twice as fast as hand or machine milking.
✓ Thus, the difference along with increased cycling rate facilitates and explains the removal of milk
from the udder at a faster rate by a calf when compared to hand or machine milking
3.3.2 Hand milking

✓ It is commonly practiced in the harvesting of milk .In order of milking of various teats also differ.
o Teats crosswise left four and right hind or right four and left hind.
o Fore quarters teat together
o Hind quarters teat together
o Teats appearing more distended should be milked first.
✓ The milk should only be squeezed and not drawn STRIP CUP: It is a device with four circular plates for
each quarter which has the quantity of milk normally first few strip of milk are drawn in the respective
circles to asses the physiological status of the udder.
✓ If there is any change in color, consistency appearance, etc., the milk should be drawn at the end so
as to prevent spreading the disease from one quarter to other.
✓ Prevention of Kicking of the cow can be done by Application of milk man’s rope and Anti cow kicker
3.3.2.1 Methods of manual milking

1. Fisting
2. Knuckling
3. Stripping
1. FISTING
✓ In this method the whole teat is held first with the thumb and the index finger encircling the base of
the teat.
✓ The base of the teat is closed by the ring formed by the finger, so that the milk that is trapped in the
teat canal cannot slip back into the gland cistern.
✓ Simultaneously the teat is squeezed between the hollow of the palm and with the middle, ring and
index finger.
✓ The process is repeated in succession. It is the best method of hand milking though most of the
milkmen follow knuckling method.
2. KNUCKLING METHOD
✓ Many milkers tend to bend their thumb against the teat canal and drag the milk out. This practice
should be avoided as it is injurious to the teat.
3.STRIPPING
This method is followed where the length of the teat is small; it is normally practiced towards the end of
milking in order to evacuate the milk completely.
The last drawn milk is called stripping which is rich in fat content. The process of stripping should be done
in quick succession otherwise the animal will become stripper where the letting down of milk is delayed.
3.3.2.2 Types of hand milking

1. Dry
2. Wet
✓ In most of the place wet milking is practiced. The milkman moistens the hand with certain type of
emollients like castor oil, or few strips of milk or even their own saliva.
✓ This should be avoided for the sake of cleanliness. If wet milking is practiced, the teats will look harsh
and there is every possibility of development of cracks. Both the hands can be used for milking in
continuous milking.
✓ The maximum flow of milk from the udder is usually referred to a letting down and it is a highly
inherited character, cows possessing a teat with a small orifice is very difficult for milking and there is
leaking teat when the teats are pressed.
✓ Both the narrow orifice and leaky teat animals are to be culled.
3.3.3 Frequency of milking

✓ It depends upon quantity of milk yield. Under normal circumstances the quantity of milk is less than
10 litres/day – 2 times milking is followed when more than 10 litres three times milking is followed.
✓ It has been observed and proved that three times milking improves milking 10-15%.
✓ The factors that are to be considered during milking.
o Avoid excitement of the animal during and prior to milking. If the animal is excited then there
is release of adrenaline and it will cause vasoconstriction.
o Prepare and collect all the milking equipments prior to milking.
o Milking operation should be continuous one.
o As far as possible exact time of milking is to be followed.
o Prepare the cow for milking.
o Complete the milking within 5-7 minutes.
o Use both hands for milking.
o Use correct method and type of milking
o Weaned animals should not be milked with the calves nearby.
o Provide concentrate mixture at the time of milking.
o Remove the first few stripping for any possible abnormalities of milk.
o Group the animals 2 hours prior to milking.
3.3.4 Machine milking
✓ A calf and the machine do the harvesting of milk in a similar fashion.
✓ The function of the tongue, dental pallet and jaw movement of the calf is done by the inflation tube,
pulsator and vacuum pump.
✓ Milk removal is largely dependent upon the differential pressure across the teat canal.
✓ The total differential pressure created by the milking machine is approximately 352 mmHg, in the case
of cattle and 400 mm Hg.in the case of buffaloes. The pressure facilitates the expulsion of milk from
the canal.
3.3.4.1 Advantages
✓ Easy method of extracting milk.
✓ Does not require any skill.
✓ Keeping quality of milk is high.
✓ Chances of spreading of disease of the milk man to udder through milk are negligible.
✓ Time consumed is less. One or two animals can be milked simultaneously and the maximum of eight
animals can be milked at a time.
3.3.4.2 Disadvantages
✓ Cost is high
✓ electricity is essential. One milking machine for – 10 animals yielding 10 litres / day will be economical
to maintain
For
Animal Husbandry and Poultry

Important Points



Contents
1 Animal Husbandry ......................................................................................................................... 10
1.1 What is Livestock?.................................................................................................................. 10
1.2 So what is Livestock farming? ................................................................................................. 10
1.3 What is cattle? ....................................................................................................................... 11
1.3.1 Buffalo............................................................................................................................ 11
1.4 Scientific classification of cattle and Poultry ........................................................................... 11
1.5 Puberty or sexual maturity ..................................................................................................... 12
1.6 Estrous cycle .......................................................................................................................... 12
1.6.1 Phases of the estrous cycle ............................................................................................. 12
1.7 Breeding season ..................................................................................................................... 12
1.7.1 Polyestrous animals ........................................................................................................ 13
1.7.2 Seasonally Polyestrous Animals ...................................................................................... 13
1.7.3 Monoestrous Animals..................................................................................................... 13
1.7.4 List of Reproductive cycle of domestic animals ............................................................... 13
2 Breeds of various animals .............................................................................................................. 13
2.1 What is a breed? .................................................................................................................... 13
2.1.1 Milch breeds/Milk breeds ............................................................................................... 13
2.1.2 Draught purpose breeds ................................................................................................. 13
2.1.3 Dual purpose breeds....................................................................................................... 14
3 Milch Breed (Milk Breed) of India................................................................................................... 14
3.1 Red Sindhi .............................................................................................................................. 14
3.2 Sahiwal .................................................................................................................................. 14
3.3 Gir.......................................................................................................................................... 14
4 Milch and Draught breeds (Dual purpose breeds) of India.............................................................. 14
4.1 Hariana .................................................................................................................................. 14
4.2 Tharparkar ............................................................................................................................. 15
4.3 Kankrej................................................................................................................................... 15
4.4 Ongole ................................................................................................................................... 15
4.5 Deoni ..................................................................................................................................... 15
5 Draught Breeds of India ................................................................................................................. 15
5.1 Kangayam .............................................................................................................................. 15
5.2 Amritmahal ............................................................................................................................ 15
5.3 Hallikar................................................................................................................................... 16
5.4 Umblacherry .......................................................................................................................... 16
5.5 Khillari.................................................................................................................................... 16
5.6 Bargur .................................................................................................................................... 16
5.7 Pulikulam ............................................................................................................................... 16
5.8 Alambadi................................................................................................................................ 16
5.9 Summary of the various breeds of the Indian cattle................................................................ 17
6 Exotic breeds of cattle ................................................................................................................... 18
6.1 Jersey ..................................................................................................................................... 18
6.2 Holstein friesian ..................................................................................................................... 18
6.3 Brown swiss ........................................................................................................................... 18
6.4 Ayrshire ................................................................................................................................. 18
6.5 Guernsney.............................................................................................................................. 18
7 Improved breeds of Indian cattle ................................................................................................... 19
8 Breeds of Buffaloes ........................................................................................................................ 20
8.1 Murrah................................................................................................................................... 20
8.2 Nili Ravi .................................................................................................................................. 20
8.3 Bhadawari .............................................................................................................................. 21
8.4 Jaffarabadi ............................................................................................................................. 21
8.5 Surti ....................................................................................................................................... 21
8.6 Mehsana ................................................................................................................................ 21
8.7 Nagpuri (or) Elitchpuri ............................................................................................................ 22
8.8 Godavari ................................................................................................................................ 22
8.9 Toda....................................................................................................................................... 22
9 Goat Breeds of India ...................................................................................................................... 22
9.1 Jamunapari ............................................................................................................................ 23
9.2 Beetal .................................................................................................................................... 23
9.3 Barbari ................................................................................................................................... 23
9.4 Tellicherry .............................................................................................................................. 23
9.5 Exotic breeds of goat.............................................................................................................. 24
10 Breeds of Sheep ......................................................................................................................... 24
10.1 Chokla .................................................................................................................................... 24
10.2 Nali ........................................................................................................................................ 25
10.3 Marwari ................................................................................................................................. 25
10.4 Magra .................................................................................................................................... 25
10.5 Jaisalmeri ............................................................................................................................... 25
10.6 Exotic breeds of sheep ........................................................................................................... 25
11 Breeds of pig/swine ................................................................................................................... 25
12 Feeding of Live Stock.................................................................................................................. 26
12.1 Livestock Nutrition ................................................................................................................. 26
12.2 Ration .................................................................................................................................... 26
12.2.1 Balanced ration .............................................................................................................. 26
12.2.2 Thumb rule for cattle feeding ......................................................................................... 26
12.2.3 Maintenance Ration ....................................................................................................... 26
12.2.4 Gestation or Pregnancy Ration ....................................................................................... 27
12.2.5 Production ration ........................................................................................................... 27
13 Feeds and Fodders ..................................................................................................................... 27
13.1 Components of feed ............................................................................................................... 27
13.1.1 Protein ........................................................................................................................... 27
13.1.2 Carbohydrate ................................................................................................................. 27
13.1.3 Energy ............................................................................................................................ 28
13.1.4 Fat .................................................................................................................................. 28
13.1.5 Minerals ......................................................................................................................... 28
13.2 Classification of Feeds and Fodders ........................................................................................ 28
13.2.1 Roughages ...................................................................................................................... 28
13.2.2 Concentrates .................................................................................................................. 29
13.2.3 Feed Supplements .......................................................................................................... 30
13.2.4 Feed Additives ................................................................................................................ 30
13.3 Unconventional feed stuff ...................................................................................................... 30
13.3.1 Classification of Unconventional feed stuff ..................................................................... 30
13.4 Processing of Feed Stuffs........................................................................................................ 31
13.4.1 Grinding or Crushing ....................................................................................................... 31
13.4.2 Chaffing .......................................................................................................................... 31
13.4.3 Soaking........................................................................................................................... 31
13.4.4 Heat treatment............................................................................................................... 31
13.4.5 Pelleting ......................................................................................................................... 31
13.4.6 Alkali Treatment ............................................................................................................. 31
13.4.7 Urea treatment .............................................................................................................. 31
13.4.8 Formaldehyde or Tannic acid treatment ......................................................................... 32
13.5 Feeding Schedule of Cattles (As per NABARD Model project) ................................................. 32
13.6 Feeding Schedule for Dairy Animal (in Kg) .............................................................................. 33
13.7 Feeding Schedule for different breeds of Buffaloes (kg).......................................................... 33
13.8 Nutrient requirement of working bullocks .............................................................................. 34
13.9 Composition of milk (% by weight of different species)........................................................... 34
.............................................................................................................................................................. 34
13.9.1 Average composition of milk of some important milch breeds of cows (per cent) ........... 34
13.10 Floor space requirement for various types of animals......................................................... 34
13.11 Feeding and watering space requirements for different categories of livestock .................. 35
13.12 Dimensions of feed mangers .............................................................................................. 35
13.13 Floor space requirements of poultry................................................................................... 35
13.13.1 Feeder and water space requirements of chicken ....................................................... 36
13.13.2 NABARD’S Model Bankable Project Report ................................................................. 36
14 Breeding in Livestock ................................................................................................................. 37
14.1 Systems of Breeding ............................................................................................................... 37
14.2 Inbreeding.............................................................................................................................. 37
14.3 Out breeding .......................................................................................................................... 37
14.3.1 Types of Inbreeding ........................................................................................................ 37
14.3.2 Types of Out breeding .................................................................................................... 37
14.4 Artificial insemination ............................................................................................................ 38
14.4.1 Advantages of Artifical Insemination .............................................................................. 38
14.4.2 Limitations of Artifical Insemination ............................................................................... 38
14.5 Embryo Transfer Technology .................................................................................................. 38
15 Nutrient Deficiencies in Animals................................................................................................. 39
15.1 Protein Deficiency .................................................................................................................. 39
15.2 Phosphorus Deficiency ........................................................................................................... 39
15.3 Grass Tetany .......................................................................................................................... 39
15.4 Milk Fever .............................................................................................................................. 40
15.5 Vitamin A deficiency............................................................................................................... 40
15.6 Secondary Hyperparathyroidism ............................................................................................ 40
15.7 Founder (laminitis) ................................................................................................................. 40
15.8 Other common NDs in India ................................................................................................... 40
15.8.1 Copper ........................................................................................................................... 40
15.8.2 Cobalt............................................................................................................................. 41
15.8.3 Iodine ............................................................................................................................. 41
15.8.4 Zinc ................................................................................................................................ 41
15.8.5 Molybdenum .................................................................................................................. 41
15.8.6 Selenium ........................................................................................................................ 41
15.8.7 Sodium Chloride (Salts) and Potassium Deficiency .......................................................... 41
16 Vaccination programme for Sheep in India................................................................................. 41
17 Vaccination programme for Goats in India ................................................................................. 42
18 Vaccination programme for Dairy cattle in India ........................................................................ 42
19 Vaccination programme for Buffaloes ........................................................................................ 43
20 Poultry ....................................................................................................................................... 45
20.1 Difference between fowl and poultry ..................................................................................... 45
20.2 Breeds of poultry ................................................................................................................... 45
20.3 Based on the origin ................................................................................................................ 45
20.3.1 Asiatic class .................................................................................................................... 45
20.3.2 American class................................................................................................................ 47
20.3.3 English class.................................................................................................................... 49
20.3.4 Mediterranean class ....................................................................................................... 49
20.4 Based on the utility ................................................................................................................ 49
20.4.1 Broilers........................................................................................................................... 49
20.4.2 Layers ............................................................................................................................. 49
20.4.3 Dual purpose breeds....................................................................................................... 49
20.4.4 Difference between Broilers and Layers.......................................................................... 50
20.5 Commercial breeds of chicken in India - Layers ...................................................................... 50
20.6 Commercially available meat-type chicken in India................................................................. 50
20.7 Types of Combs in poultry ...................................................................................................... 51
20.8 Poultry Rearing ...................................................................................................................... 51
20.8.1 General layout of poultry house ..................................................................................... 51
20.9 Poultry Housing for Layers...................................................................................................... 52
20.9.1 Deep litter system: ......................................................................................................... 52
20.9.2 Cage system ................................................................................................................... 52
20.9.3 Elevated Cage system ..................................................................................................... 53
20.10 Poultry Housing for Broilers................................................................................................ 54
20.10.1 Management practices for Broilers ............................................................................. 54
20.10.2 Floor space requirement for poultry - layers ............................................................... 54
20.10.3 Floor space requirement for poultry – broilers............................................................ 54
21 Egg Production Cycle.................................................................................................................. 55
22 Hatching .................................................................................................................................... 55
22.1 Natural incubation and hatching ............................................................................................ 55
22.2 Artificial incubation and hatching ........................................................................................... 56
22.3 Egg Science and Technology ................................................................................................... 57
22.3.1 Nutrient composition: on egg weight .............................................................................. 57
22.3.2 Grading of eggs - By weight ............................................................................................ 57
22.3.3 Agmark grading .............................................................................................................. 58
23 Disease management in Poultry ................................................................................................. 58
23.1 Vitamin deficiency diseases .................................................................................................... 58
23.1.1 Vitamin A........................................................................................................................ 58
23.1.2 Vitamin D3 ..................................................................................................................... 58
23.1.3 Vitamin E ........................................................................................................................ 58
23.1.4 Vitamin K ........................................................................................................................ 59
23.1.5 B Complex ...................................................................................................................... 59
23.1.6 Choline deficiency .......................................................................................................... 59
23.1.7 Manganese Deficiency .................................................................................................... 59
23.2 Viral Diseases ......................................................................................................................... 60
23.2.1 Ranikhet Disease (New Castle disease) ........................................................................... 60
23.2.2 Fowl pox/Chicken pox(Pox virus) .................................................................................... 60
23.2.3 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) ................................................................................................ 60
23.2.4 Mareck’s Disease (Herpes Virus) ..................................................................................... 61
23.2.5 Gumboro Disease ........................................................................................................... 61
23.2.6 Avian Leucosis ................................................................................................................ 61
23.2.7 Infectious Bronchitis ....................................................................................................... 61
23.2.8 Egg Drop Syndrome ........................................................................................................ 62
23.3 Bacterial Diseases .................................................................................................................. 62
23.3.1 Infectious Coryza (Haemophilus gallinarum) ................................................................... 62
23.3.2 Collibacillosis (E. coli)...................................................................................................... 62
23.3.3 Tuberculosis ................................................................................................................... 62
23.3.4 Fowl Cholera .................................................................................................................. 62
23.3.5 Bacillary white diarrhoea ................................................................................................ 62
23.3.6 Bumble foot pododermatitis........................................................................................... 62
23.4 Protozoan Diseases ................................................................................................................ 63
23.4.1 Coccidiosis ...................................................................................................................... 63
23.4.2 Spirochaetosis (Tick fever) .............................................................................................. 63
23.5 Others .................................................................................................................................... 63
23.5.1 Feather Picking ............................................................................................................... 63
23.5.2 Crop Bound .................................................................................................................... 64
23.5.3 Other diseases ................................................................................................................ 64
23.6 Vaccinations in Poultry ........................................................................................................... 64
23.6.1 Types of Vaccines ........................................................................................................... 64
23.6.2 Vaccines classified based on their contents .................................................................... 65
23.6.3 Method of administration of Vaccine ............................................................................. 65
23.7 Vaccination programme for commercial broilers .................................................................... 66
23.8 Vaccination programme for commercial layers....................................................................... 66

“Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden.
1 Animal Husbandry
✓ Animal husbandry refers to livestock raising and selective breeding.
✓ It is the management and care of animals in which the genetic qualities and behavior of animals are
further developed for profit.
✓ Animals provide us with a variety of food products which have high nutritional values. Therefore,
they require a lot of care and attention.
The branch of science that deals with the study of various breeds of domesticated animals and their
management for obtaining better products and services from them, is known as Animal Husbandry.
On the other, Livestock farming or management is the study of proper utilization of economically
important domestic animals.
1.1 What is Livestock?

✓ Livestock are animals that are domesticated and raised in an agricultural setup to produce
commodities such as food, fiber and labor.
✓ Livestock are used for a commercial purpose or being raised for a financial gain.
1.2 So what is Livestock farming?

Overall, livestock farming is the whole enterprise which includes the various tasks such as:
✓ Taking care of infrastructure which includes buildings and fences required to house the animals;
✓ Managing the finances, marketing and sales;
✓ Managing the animals which includes various activities such as breeding and culling, feeding,
veterinary care etc.
The third activity mentioned above which refers to the management of animals constitutes an important
branch of agriculture: Animal Husbandry.
What is the meaning of the term ‘domesticated’? It refers to those animals that are of use at home and
are easily bred and looked after by humans.
✓ Uses of Livestock - First step that bridges livestock and agriculture is the efficient utilization of
agriculture/horticulture waste to feed animals and convert to high quality meat, milk, wool, egg etc.,
Second linkage is through application of organic fertilizers to crops. The third application is the
usage of draught animal power for ploughing of land.
Sl. Species Number (in Ranking in the world

No millions) population
1 Cattle 192.49 Second
2 Buffaloes 109.85 First
Total (including 302.79 First
Mithun and Yak)
3 Sheep 74.26 Third
4 Goats 148.88 Second
5 Pigs 9.06 -
6 Others 0.91 -
Total livestock 535.78
Total poultry 851.81 Seventh
7 Duck -
8 Chicken - Fifth
9 Camel 0.25 Tenth
Before we begin with this chapter in detail, let us have a look at some of the common terms used in
livestock production
1.3 What is cattle?

✓ They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most
widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos taurus.
✓ Cattle are commonly raised as livestock; for meat (beef or veal, see beef cattle), for milk (see dairy
cattle), and for hides, which are used to make leather. They are used as riding animals and draft
animals (oxen or bullocks, which pull carts, ploughs and other implements). Another product of
cattle is dung, which can be used to create manure or fuel.
Let us have a look at yet another bovine species: Buffalo
1.3.1 Buffalo
✓ Buffalo is an important member among the bovines with a black colour cattle-like appearance.
Usually, the term buffalo refers to the domestic buffalo or the water buffalo, despite there are few
other referred species including Cape buffalo and Eurasian buffalo. However, there are different
types of water buffalos raised for milk, meat, and work purposes.
✓ Usually, all types are black in colour and larger in physique compared to other cattle species.
Note: Bovine: A bovine refers to a domestic animal of the species Bos taurus (cattle) or Bubalus
bubalis (water buffalo), and also includes hybrids like Beefalo.
1.4 Scientific classification of cattle and Poultry
Kingdom Animalia Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia Class Aves
Order Artiodactyla Order Galliformes
Family Bovidae Family Phasianidae
Subfamily Bovinae Subfamily Phasianinae
Genus Bos Genus Gallus
Species B.taurus (cow) Species G.gallus (Fowl)
Now, we shall have a look at certain other important data points related to the various domesticated
animals. Before going any further, let us have a look at few important terms used in the reproductive
cycle of animals.
Note: Kindly note, list of all the important terms used in Animal Husbandry and Poultry is being
provided as a separate document.
1.5 Puberty or sexual maturity

✓ Puberty is defined as the age at which reproduction becomes possible.
✓ In the female this is usually considered to be the age of first estrus. Puberty occurs before full
mature body size is attained.
1.6 Estrous cycle

✓ The estrous cycle is the recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones
in the females of most of the animals.
✓ Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phases or by
pregnancies. Typically, estrous cycles continue until death.
1.6.1 Phases of the estrous cycle

The phases are: Proestrus, Estrus, Metestrus, Diestrus
1.6.1.1 Proestrus
The first stage in the estrous cycle immediately before estrus characterized by development of both the
endometrium and ovarian follicles.
1.6.1.2 Estrus
The second stage in the estrous cycle immediately before metestrus characterized by a receptivity to a
male and to mating, often referred to as "heat" or "in heat". Pheromones may also be secreted only at
this stage of her cycle.
1.6.1.3 Metestrus
The third stage in the estrous cycle immediately before diestrus characterized by sexual inactivity and
the formation of the corpus luteum.
1.6.1.4 Diestrus
The last stage in the estrous cycle immediately before the next cycle proestrus characterized by a
functional corpus luteum and an increase in the blood concentration of progesterone.
1.6.1.5 Anestrus
This is not a stage in the estrous cycle, but a prolonged period of sexual rest where the reproductive
system is quiescent.
1.7 Breeding season

The term breeding season refers to the period of time during the year when females of a species come
into estrus.
✓ Most species of wild animals have a definite breeding season which is initiated at a time when
environmental conditions are conducive to the survival, growth, and development of the young one
after birth.
✓ Usually the animals are characterized into the following categories based on the number of
estrous cycle per year. The number of times the females come into estrus varies in various animals.
1.7.1 Polyestrous animals
Estrous cycles throughout the year (cattle, pigs, mice, rats).
1.7.2 Seasonally Polyestrous Animals

Animals that have multiple estrous cycles only during certain periods of the year (horses, sheep, goats,
deer, cats).
1.7.3 Monoestrous Animals

Animals that have one estrous cycle per year (dogs, wolves, foxes, and bear).
1.7.4 List of Reproductive cycle of domestic animals

Animals Onset of Length of Length of heat period Gestation period (in
puberty estrous cycle days)
(months)
Cattle 24-30 21 days 18 hours 282
Buffaloes 28-30 21 days 24 hours 316
Sheep (Ewe) 9-14 15-18 (16.5) 1-3 days 148
days
Goat (Doe) 8-10 20 days 2-3 days 150
Sow (pig) 8-10 21 days 1-5 days 114
Camel 36-48 10 days 3-5 days 391
Now, let us talk about the breeds of various animals
2 Breeds of various animals
2.1 What is a breed?

✓ A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance, homogeneous
behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species
✓ Let us have a look at the Utility Classification of Breeds: First, we shall have a look at the Indian
breeds:
✓ Based on the utility of the breeds, the breeds can be classified into Milch breeds, Draught purpose
breeds and Dual-Purpose breeds.
Let us first see its general characteristics
2.1.1 Milch breeds/Milk breeds

✓ The cows of these breeds are high milk yields and the male animals are slow or poor work animals.
✓ The examples of Indian milch breeds are shahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir and Deoni. The milk production of
milk breeds is on the average more than 1600 litres per lactation.
2.1.2 Draught purpose breeds

✓ The male animals are good for work and Cows are poor milk yielder and their milk yield as an average
is less than 500 litres per lactation. They are usually white in color.
✓ A pair of bullocks can haul 1000 kg. Net with an iron typed cart on a good road at walking speed of 5
to 7 km per hour and cover a distance of 30 - 40 km per day.
✓ Twice as much weight can be pulled on pneumatic rubber tube carts. The example of this group
Kangayam, Umblacherry, Amritmahal, Hallikar.
2.1.3 Dual purpose breeds
✓ The cows in these breeds are average milk yielder and male animals are very useful for work. Their
milk production per lactation is 500 litres to 1500 litres.
✓ The example of this group is Ongole, Hariana, Kankrej, Tharparker, Krishna valley, Rathi and Goalo
Mewathi.
Lactation period: It is the period of milk production between birth of a young one and the next
pregnancy and it usually lasts about 300 days.
3 Milch Breed (Milk Breed) of India
3.1 Red Sindhi

✓ Hailing from the Kohistan, Sindh province in present Pakistan, this breed is one of the most distinctive
cattle breeds of India.
✓ Mainly available in Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa.
✓ Under good management conditions the Red Sindhi averages over 1700 kg of milk (averaging 1250 to
1800 kgs per lactation) after suckling their calves but under optimum conditions there have been milk
yields of over 3400 kg per lactation.
✓ Colour is red with shades varying from dark red to light, strips of white.
3.2 Sahiwal
✓ Originally Belonging to the Montgomery district of Present Pakistan
✓ Mainly found in Punjab, Haryana, U.P, Delhi, Bihar and M.P.
✓ This breed otherwise known as Lola (loose skin), Lambi Bar, Montgomery, Multani, Teli.
✓ Best indigenous dairy breed.
✓ Age at first calving -32-36 months
✓ Calving interval – 15 months
3.3 Gir
✓ This breed is otherwise called as Bhadawari, Desan, Gujarati, Kathiawari, Sorthi, and Surati.
✓ Originated in Gir forests of South Kathiawar in Gujarat also found in Maharashtra and adjacent
Rajasthan.
✓ This breed is known for its hardiness and disease resistance.
✓ Horns are peculiarly curved, giving a ‘half moon’ appearance and pendulous ears
✓ Milk yield ranges from 1200-1800 kgs per lactation.
4 Milch and Draught breeds (Dual purpose breeds) of India
4.1 Hariana
✓ Mainly found in Karnal, Hisar and Gurgaon district of Haryana, Delhi and Western M.P
✓ Horns are small. The bullocks are powerful work animals.
✓ Hariana cows are fair milkers yielding 600 to 800 kg of milk per lactation.
✓ Bullocks are powerful for road transport and rapid ploughing
4.2 Tharparkar
✓ Originated in Tharparkar district (Pakistan) of undivided India and also found in Rajasthan.
✓ Otherwise known as White Sindhi, Gray Sindhi and Thari.
✓ They are medium sized, compact and have lyre-shaped horn.
✓ The bullocks are quite suitable for ploughing and casting and the cows yield 1600 to 2500 kgs of milk
per lactation.
4.3 Kankrej
✓ It is otherwise called as Wadad or Waged, Wadhiar.
✓ Originated from Southeast Rann of Kutch of Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan (Barmer and Jodhpur
district).
✓ The horns are lyre-shaped.
✓ The gait of Kankrej is peculiar called as 1 ¼ paces (sawai chal).
✓ Kankrej is valued for fast, powerful, draught cattle. Useful in ploughing and carting.
✓ The cows are good milkers.
4.4 Ongole
✓ Otherwise known as Nellore.
✓ Home tract is Ongole taluk in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
✓ Large muscular breed with a well developed hump.
✓ Suitable for heavy draught work.
✓ Average milk yield is 1000 kgs per lactation.
4.5 Deoni
✓ This breed otherwise known as Dongerpati, Dongari, Wannera, Waghyd, Balankya, Shevera.
✓ Originated in Western Andhra Pradesh and also found in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state
and adjoining part of Karnataka.
✓ Milk yield ranges from 636 to 1230 kgs per lactation.
✓ Bullocks are suitable for heavy cultivation.
5 Draught Breeds of India
5.1 Kangayam
✓ This breed, in its native area, is also known by other names of Kanganad and Kongu though the
name Kangayam is well-known. These cattle are bred in the southern and southeastern area of the
Erode district of Tamilnadu in India.
✓ Mainly found in Coimbatore, Erode, Namakkal, Karur and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu.
✓ Also known as kongu and konganad.
✓ Bulls are grey with dark colour in hump, fore and hind quarters.
✓ The horns are spread apart, nearly straight with a slight curve backwards.
✓ The eyes are dark and prominent with black rings around them.
✓ Best suited for ploughing and transport. Withstands hardy conditions.
5.2 Amritmahal
✓ Originated in Hassan, Chikmagalur and Chitradurga district of Karnataka.
✓ Amiritmahals are grey cattle but their shade varies from almost white to near black.
✓ The muzzle, feat and tail are usually black.
✓ Horns are long and end in sharp black points
✓ Best suitable for ploughing and transport.
5.3 Hallikar
✓ Mainly found in Tumkur, Hassan and Mysore districts of Karnataka
✓ Originated from the former princely state of Vijayanagarm, presently part of Karnataka.
✓ Compact, muscular and medium size animal with prominent forehead, long horns and strong legs.
✓ The breed is best known for its draught capacity and especially for its trotting ability
✓ Bullocks are strong, well spirited, quick and steady in the field as well as on road.
5.4 Umblacherry
✓ Origin: Tanjore district in Tamilnadu.
✓ It is otherwise called as Jathi madu, Mottai madu, Molai madu, Therkathi madu.
✓ Originated inThanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagappattinam districts of Tamil Nadu.
✓ Suitable for wet ploughing and known for their strength and sturdiness.
✓ Umblachery calves are generally red or brown at birth with all the characteristic white marking on
the face, on limbs and tail.
✓ The legs have white markings below the hocks like socks.
✓ The practice of dehorning of bullocks is peculiar in Umblachery cattle.
5.5 Khillari
✓ Originated from Sholapur and Sitapur districts of Maharashtra.
✓ Closely resembles Hallikar breed.
✓ Long horns turn forwards in a peculiar fashion. The horns are generally black, sometimes pinkish.
✓ Bullocks are fast and powerful.
5.6 Bargur
✓ Found around Bargur hills in Bhavani taluk of Erode district in Tamilnadu.
✓ Developed for work in uneven hilly terrains. Animals are well built, compact and medium in size.
✓ Known for their speed and endurance in trotting.
✓ Cautious in behaviour and tends to remain away from strangers.
5.7 Pulikulam
✓ This breed is commonly seen in cumbum valley of Madurai district in Tamil Nadu.
✓ Also known as Jallikattu madu, kidai madu, sentharai.
✓ Mainly used for penning in the field.
✓ Useful for ploughing. Presence of reddish or brownish spots in muzzle, eyes, switch and back is the
characteristic feature of this breed.
✓ Typical backward curving horns of like Mysore type cattle.
✓ Breeds are active, useful draught animals but not fast trotter.
5.8 Alambadi
✓ Originated from Alambadi of Dharmapuri district in Tamilnadu.
✓ Grey or dark grey in colour.
✓ White markings will be seen in forehead, limb and tail.
✓ Horns are backward curving like Mysore cattle. Resembles Hallikar and also known as Betas.
✓ It is useful in ploughing.
5.9 Summary of the various breeds of the Indian cattle

Let us summarize these into the tabular column below:
Note: Kindly have a look at the Milk Yield (litres)/Lactation. In the above section also we have
mentioned it. In the below given tabular column, kindly make note of the ranges. It is not necessary to
memorize the exact value. The ranges are sufficient.
S.No Breed name Native of Features Milk Yield

(litres or
kg/lactation)
A Dairy breed
1 Sahiwal Montgomery (Pakistan) Highest and sweetest milk producing cow breed in 1100-3100
India. Due to lose skin known as ‘Lola’ or multani.
2 Sindhi or Red Karachi (Pakistan) Red brown in colour and intelligent facial 700-2200
Sindhi expression.
3 Gir Kathiawar (Gujarat) In Rajasthan found Ajmer & Bhilwara districts. 1200-2200
Ears are long and pendulated and fore head is
long and bony.
B Draught breed
1 Malvi Malwa (MP) In Rajasthan found in Jhalawar district and in M.P. 5-6 kg/day
found in Mansour and Bhopal Districts
2 Amritmahal Mysore (Karnataka) Narrow face long horns, grey colored body
3 Nagori Nagaur and Jodhpur Superior among drought breeds. Colour is white
(Rajasthan) or grey
4 Kangayam Tamil Nadu Best suited for ploughing and transport. 665 litres
Withstands hardy conditions
5 Hallikar South India 227-1134
litres
C Dual Purpose
breeds
1 Hariana Hissar/Rohtak Best dual-purpose breed horns are short & 500
(Haryana) stumpy
2 Kankrej Kutchh (Gujarat) Highest body weight in Indian cows, powerful 1400
body, famous for ‘Swaichal’.
3 Rathi Alwar (Rajasthan) Found in Bikaner & Ganganagar districts of Raj
4 Tharparkar Sindh (Pakistan) In Rajasthan found Jaisalmer & Jodhpur dist. Also 700-2200
known as white sindhi.
5 Ongole Guntur (Andhra Pure white in colour 700
Pradesh/KR)
6 Mewati Kosi (Mathura) Alwar and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan. 1100
6 Exotic breeds of cattle
Given below is the exotic breeds of cattle
Name of the breed Milk Yield (litres) / Lactation Origin / Distribution

Holstein Friesian 5500-6100 Netherlands
Ayrshire 4600 Scotland
Brown Swiss 5000-5200 Switzerland
Jersey 4000 Islands of Jersey
Note: Jersey has the highest fat% in exotic breeds
6.1 Jersey
✓ Originated from Jersey Island, U.K.
✓ Smallest of the dairy types of cattle.
✓ In India this breed has accliamatized well and is widely used in cross breeding with indigenous cows.
✓ The typical colour of Jersey cattle is reddish fawn.
✓ Dished forehead; compact and angular body.
✓ Economical producers of milk with 4.5% fat.
6.2 Holstein friesian

✓ Originated from the northern parts of Netherlands, especially in the province of Friesland.
✓ Largest dairy breed and ruggedly built is shape and possess large udder.
✓ Breeds have typical marking of black and white that make them easily distinguishable.
✓ The average milk production of cow is 6000 to 7000 kgs per lactation.
6.3 Brown swiss

✓ The mountainous region of Switzerland is the place of origin of Brown Swiss breed.
✓ Breeds are rugged in nature and good milk production.
✓ The Karan Swiss is the excellent crossbred cattle obtained by crossing this breed with Sahiwal cattle
at NDRI, Karnal.
6.4 Ayrshire
✓ Origin is Ayrshire in Scotland and considered as most beautiful dairy breed. These are very active
animals but hard to manage.
✓ They do not produce as much milk or butter fat (only 4%) as some of the other dairy breeds.
✓ The breed was also known as Dunlop cattle or Cunningham cattle
6.5 Guernsney
✓ Originated from Small island of Guernsey in France.
✓ Cherry red to brown in colour. Mahagony and white is a variation in colour.
✓ The milk has a golden colour due to an exceptionally high content of beta carotene
✓ Guernsey cows produce around 6000 kgs per lactation.
✓ The Guernsey cow has many notable advantages for the dairy farmer over other breeds includes
high efficiency of milk production, low incidence of calving difficulty and longevity.
7 Improved breeds of Indian cattle
✓ Certain improved breeds of cattle have been developed by making a cross between two desired
breeds.
✓ Karan Swiss (cross breed of brown Swiss and Sahiwal), Karan Fries (Crossbreed of Tharparkar and
Holstein-Friesian) and Frieswal (Crossbreed of Holstein-Friesian and Sahiwal).
Average performance of different breeds of cows maintained at NDRI Karnal
Breeds Sahiwal Tharparkar Karan Swiss Karan Fries
Age at maturity (months) 25.5 26 23.7 22.2
Age at first calving (months) 35.4 42.4 34.6 34.2
Total lactation yield (kg.) 2266 2334 3602 3585
Lactation length (days) 297 330 324 320
305 days lactation yield (kg.) 2141 2104 3316 3393
Dry Period (days) 101 114 85 108
Calving Interval (days) 391 410 404 402
Best 305 days lactation yield (kg.) 4560 2894 7096 8338
Service period (days) 107 136 117 123
Number of inseminations/ conception 2.19 1.94 2.11 2.1
Wet average (Kg.) 7.7 7.3 11.3 11.7
Herd Average (kg.) 5.6 5.2 9 9.4
Fat % 5.1 5.3 4.2 4.1
SNF % 9.2 9.1 9.2 8.9
Best Yield in a day (kg) 23 19.5 44 46.5
Now, let us have a look at the breeds of buffalo
8 Breeds of Buffaloes
S.No Name of breed Native of place Features
1 Murrah Punjab, Delhi, Rohtak Best in milk production, av. Fat 7 %. Jet black
colored body coat, short tightly curled horns.
Skin is soft, Smooth with scanty hairs.
2 Bhadawari Agra (UP) Highest Fat % (13%), copper coloured body coat,
wedges shaped body.
3 Nili Ravi (Montgomery & Firozpur) White eyes known as ‘Wall eyes’
Pakistan
4 Zaffrabadi Kathiawar (Gujarat) Heavy and loose body known as mini elephant,
very prominent fore head and heavy horns.
5 Mehsana Baroda (Gujarat) Developed from Murrah & Surti.
6 Godavari Andhra Pradesh -
7 Surati Baroda (Gujarat) Sickle shape horn is characteristic feature.
8 Toda TN Native of tribes of Nilgiri (TN), large sized
animals.
Note: You can also have a look at the section given below. Here some of the points are given in detail
8.1 Murrah
✓ It is the most important breed of buffaloes whose home is Rohtak, Hisar and Jind of Haryana and
Nabha and Patiala districts of Punjab.
✓ Synonyms: Delhi, Kundi, Kali
✓ The colour is usually jet black with white markings on tail and face and extremities sometimes
found.
✓ The tightly curved horn is an important character of this breed.
✓ The body size is massive, neck and head are comparatively long.
✓ Head of females is short, fine and clear cut. Hips are broad and fore and hind quarters are drooping.
✓ The buffalo cows of this breed are one of the most efficient milk and butter fat producers in India.
✓ Butter fat content is 7.8% Average lactation yield varies from 1500-2500 kg the average milk yield is
6.8 kg/day.
✓ While a few individual animals yield much as 19.1 kg/day.
✓ Age at first calving is 45-50 months and inter calving period is 450-500 days.
✓ Also used for the grading up of inferior local buffaloes.
8.2 Nili Ravi

✓ This breed is found in Sutlej valley in Ferozpur district of Punjab and in the Sahiwal district of
Pakistan (bred around Ravi river)
✓ Usually the colour is black with white marking on forehead, face, muzzle, legs and tail.
✓ The most desired character of the female is the possession of white markings.
✓ The head is elongate, bulging at top and depressed between eyes. The muzzle is fine.
✓ The peculiarity of the breed is the wall eyes.
✓ The milk yield is 1500-1850 kg per lactation and the inter calving period is 500-550 days.
8.3 Bhadawari
✓ Agra and Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh and Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh.
✓ The body is medium size and wedge shaped. The head is comparatively small, the legs are short and
stout, and the hooves are black. The hind quarters are uniform and higher than the forequarter.
✓ The body is usually light or copper coloured is a peculiarity of this breed. Eye lids are generally
copper or light brown colour.
✓ Two white lines ‘Chevron’ are present at the lower side of the neck similar to that of surti buffaloes.
✓ Horns are black, curling slightly outward, downward before running backward parallel and close to
neck, and finally turning upward.
✓ The average milk yield is 800 to 1100 kg.
✓ The bullocks are good draught animal with high heat tolerance.
✓ The fat content varies from 6 to 12.5 per cent. This breed is an efficient converter of coarse feed
into butterfat and is known for high butter fat content.
8.4 Jaffarabadi
✓ These are massive animals found in their pure form in Gir forests. The breeding tract of this breed
is Kutch, and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat.
✓ The head and neck are massive. The forehead is very prominent, wide with a slight depression in
the middle.
✓ The horns are heavy, inclined to droop at each side of the neck and then turning up at point, but les
tightly curved than in Murrah (drooping horns).
✓ The colour is usually black.
✓ The average milk yield is 1200 kg. These animals are mostly maintained by traditional breeders
called Maldharis, who are nomads.
✓ The bullocks are heavy and used for ploughing and carting.
✓ These animals are mostly maintained by traditional breeders called Maldharis, who are nomads.
8.5 Surti
✓ Also known as Deccani, Gujarati, Talabda, Charator and Nadiadi.
✓ The breeding tract of this breed is Kaira and Baroda district of Gujarat.
✓ Coat colour varies from rusty brown to silver-grey.
✓ The horns are sickle shaped, moderately long and flat.
✓ The peculiarity of the breed is two white collars, one round the jaw and the other at the brisket
region
✓ The milk yield ranges from 1000 to 1300 kgs per lactation.
✓ The peculiarity of this breed is very high fat percentage in milk (8-12per cent).
8.6 Mehsana
✓ Mehsana is a dairy breed of buffalo found in Mehsana, Sabarkanda and Banaskanta districts in Gujarat
and adjoining Maharashtra state.
✓ The breed is evolved out of crossbreeding between the Surti and the Murrah. Body is longer than
Murrah but limbs are lighter. The horns are less curved than in Murrah and are irregular.
✓ Bullocks are good for heavy work.
✓ The milk yield is 1200-1500 kgs per lactation.
8.7 Nagpuri (or) Elitchpuri
✓ This breed is also called as Elitchpuri or Barari.
✓ The breeding tract of this breed is Nagpur, Akola and Amrawati districts of Maharashtra.
✓ These are black coloured animal with white patches on face, legs and tail. The horns are long, flat and
curved, bending backward on each side of the back. (Sword shaped horns).
✓ The bullocks can be used for heavy work.
✓ The milk yield ranges from 700 to 1200 kgs per lactation.
8.8 Godavari
✓ It is a lesser known breed of buffalo, having their breeding tract in east and west Godavari districts of
Andhra Pradesh.
✓ This breed has their origin from interbreed crossing, followed by grading of local non-descript
buffaloes with Murrah breed.
✓ Colour is predominantly black with spare hair coat of coarse brown hairs.
✓ The horns are short, flat, curved, slightly downwards, backwards and then forward with loose ring at
the tip.
8.9 Toda
✓ This buffalo is named after an ancient tribe, Toda of Nilgiris Hills of south India and it is a semi-wild
breed.
✓ They are gregarious in nature.
✓ The body is long and deep and the chest is deep. The legs are short and strong.
✓ The horns are set wide apart curving inward, outward and forward forming a characteristic crescent
shape. The average milk yield is 500 kgs per lactation with high fat content of 8%.
Now let us have a look at the breeds of goat
9 Goat Breeds of India

S.No Name of breed Native place Features
1 Jamunapari It is originated from Dual purposes breed. Pendulated curved long
city of barbera ears; ‘roman nose’ or parrot mouth appearance
(Somalia) in India and thick long hairs on hind legs are major
found in Etawa (UP) characters. (RAS – 2013)
2 Barbari Somali (Africa) Dairy breed, suitable for stall feeding (known as
city goat.) Usually give birth two kids (twins) in one
parturition
3 Black Bengal Western Bengal Excellent for meat (RPSC, AO-09) skin color is black
meat is tender . Its skin is great demand for high
class shoe-making. Most prolific among Indian
breeds.
4 Beetul Gurdaspur (PB) Resembles as ‘Jamunapari’ Good dairy type breed,
presence of beard in male
5 Marwari Marwar (Raj) Disease resistant breed, good for meat, color is jet
black.
6 Jhakrana Behror of Alwar (Raj) Dairy breed large sized, beetle like in appearance.
7 Sirohi Sirohi (Raj) Dual purpose breed, ears are flattened, drooping
& leaf like. Coat colour is brown, white, and
admixture of colours in typical patches; hair coarse
and short.
8 Osmanabadi Osmanabad Coat colour is predominantly black; white, brown
(Maharashtra) and spotted occur. It has good quality meat.
9 Malabari North Kerala Coat colour varies from white to complete black;
black and white, black and brown, and white with
coloured patches occur; It has good quality skin.
9.1 Jamunapari
✓ Jamunapari breeds are found mainly in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
✓ Its coat colour is white with tan or black markings at neck and ears.
✓ This is largest and most elegant of the long-legged goats of India.
✓ It has pronounced Roman nose having a tuft of hair which results in parrot mouth appearance.
✓ Large sized goats, tall and leggy, with convex face line large folded pendulous ears.
✓ They are generally found in white colors.
✓ An adult female weighs between 45kgs to 60kgs, whereas an adult male ranges between 65kgs to
80kgs.
✓ The fat content of the milk ranges between 3 to 3.5%.
✓ They thrive best under range conditions with plenty of shrubs for browsing.
9.2 Beetal
✓ Beetal breeds are found mainly in the states of Punjab.
✓ These breeds are grown mainly for the purpose of milk and meat.
✓ Generally smaller than the breeds of Jamunapari.
✓ An adult female goat ranges between 40kgs to 50kgs, whereas an adult male ranges between 50kgs
to 70kgs.
9.3 Barbari
✓ Popular in urban areas popular in urban areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gurgaon, Karnal, panipat and
Rohtak in Haryana state.
✓ These types of breeds are found mostly in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
✓ Barbari breeds are grown mainly for milk and meat purpose.
✓ The color of this breed is a mixture of white and brown.
✓ They are usually stall-fed and are reported to yield 0.90-1.25 kg of milk (fat content 5%) a day in a
lactation period of 108 days..
✓ They are prolific breeder and kid twice in 12-15 months.
9.4 Tellicherry
✓ Tellicherry breeds are also called as malabari breeds.
✓ These types of breeds are found mostly in the state of Kerala.
✓ They grown mostly for the purpose of meat.
✓ An adult female ranges in weight from 30 to 40kgs, whereas an adult male ranges between 40 to
50kgs.
✓ These types of breeds have better reproductive capabilities.
✓ They can give, 2 to 3 kids in a parturition.
✓ This breed grown in Tamilnadu, having the ability to yield one or two kids.
9.5 Exotic breeds of goat

Breeds Origin/Distribution Remarks
Anglo-Nubian Indian Jamunapari x Called Jersey cow due to both milk (5% fats) and meat
Egyptian Nubians
Saanen Switzerland Milk queen of goats
Alpine France Produce 0.9-1.3 litres milk per day. They have horns, a
straight profile and erect ears. The breed originated in
the French Alps.
Angora Turkey The Angora goat is a breed of domesticated goat,
historically known as Angora. Angora goats produce the
lustrous fibre known as mohair.
Now, we shall see the breeds of sheep
10 Breeds of Sheep
S.No Region Breed Name Native Remarks
1 Himalayan Gaddi Jammu & Kashmir Fine quality wool Loei is obtained from
Rampur-bushier, Bhakarwal
Bhakarwal
2 Western Lohi Pakistan Largest sheep
Bikaneri/pugal Rajasthan One of the best carpet wool
Marwari Punjab & Rajasthan Black face
Jaisalmeri Rajasthan Desert breed
Malpura Tonk, Rajasthan Suitable for meat. Extremely coarse fleece
Chokla Shekhawati region Known as ‘merino’ of Rajasthan
3 Southern Deccani MH, KN, AP Good for mutton, fit for weaving kambal
Nellore Andhra Pradesh Tallest breed
Mandya Karnataka White in colour, compact body, typical
reverse "U" shaped from rear end.
4 Eastern Shahabadi Muzaffarnagar (UP) Best wool producing breed in India.

Hisardale Developed at Hissar Cross of Bikaneri X Merino
10.1 Chokla
✓ Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and bordering areas of Bikaner, Jaipur and Nagaur districts of Rajasthan.
Animals true to the breed type are found in Sikar and Churu districts.
✓ Chokla is perhaps the finest carpet-wool breed in India and called the Merino of Rajasthan.
10.2 Nali
✓ Found in Ganganagar, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, southern part of Hissar and
Rohtak districts of Haryana.
✓ Nali is a good carpet-quality wool breed, with the densest and heaviest fleeces among the breeds of
Rajasthan and a wool of reasonably good carpet quality.
✓ Fleece is white, coarse, dense and long-stapled. Forehead, belly and legs are covered with wool.
10.3 Marwari
✓ The name originates from the home tract of the breed: Marwad. The breed resembles black-headed
Persian sheep but is smaller in size and has good fleece.
✓ Found in Jodhpur, Jalore, Nagaou, Peli and Barmer districts, extending up to Ajmer and Udaipur
districts of Rajasthan and the Jeoria region of Gujarat.
✓ Medium-sized animals. Black face, the colour extending to the lower part of neck. Ears extremely
small and tubular. Both sexes are polled. Fleece is white and not very dense.
10.4 Magra
✓ Formerly known as Bikaneri; also known as Bikaneri Chokhla and Chakri
✓ This breed is the only lustrous carpet-wool producing breed. The most important strain of Magra
(Bikaneri Chokhla) has flocks with extremely white and lustrous fleeces, found only in a few villages
around Bikaner. The fleece is of good carpet quality.
✓ Medium to large animals. White face with light brown patches around the eyes, characteristic of this
breed. Skin colour is pink. Ears are small to medium and tubular. Both sexes are polled. Tail is
medium in length and thin.
✓ Fleece is of medium carpet quality, extremely white and lustrous and not very dense.
10.5 Jaisalmeri
✓ Found in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan. Pure specimens are found in
southwestern Jaisalmer, extending up to northwestern Barmer and southern and western Jodhpur.
✓ This is the largest breed, in body size, of the eight breeds of Rajasthan, and produces good quality
carpet-wool.
✓ Tall, well-built animals. Black or dark brown face, the colour extending up to the neck. Typical
Roman nose. Long drooping ears, generally with a cartilaginous appendage. Both sexes are polled.
The tail is medium to long.
✓ The fleece colour is white; fleece is of medium carpet quality and not very dense.
10.6 Exotic breeds of sheep

The main exotic breeds of sheep are Merino (about 80% of wool that is produced in the world comes
from Merino and its crosses) and Rambouillet.
11 Breeds of pig/swine
Breed Distribution
Large white Yorkshire England, India
Middle white Yorkshire England, India
Landrace Denmark
Essex saddleback Hempshire
Tamworth England
Bershile England
12 Feeding of Live Stock

Feeding is one of the important component of livestock farming. Let us now try to understand various
concepts related to feeding and the fodder.
12.1 Livestock Nutrition

In general, the cattle and the buffaloes are ruminants:
✓ Ruminants means they utilize micro-organisms in the rumen to digest the feed.
✓ The feed eaten by ruminants are mainly of vegetable origin.
✓ The ruminant is an expert in converting cellulose and other fibrous materials into high quality milk
and meat. Their digestive capacity is greater than the non-ruminant.
✓ Ruminants” chew the cud" e.g. regurgitate the food to the mouth and chew it several times, thus
helping the breakdown.
12.2 Ration
It is the allowance of feed given to the animal for a period of 24 hours.
12.2.1 Balanced ration

It is a ration which supplies all the essential nutrients to the animal in required proportion, form and
quantity for 24 hours.
12.2.2 Thumb rule for cattle feeding

✓ The average DM (Dry matter) requirement of desi cow is 2 (dry) to 2.5 (lactating) Kg. / 100 Kg. body
weight / day while it is 2.5 (dry) to 3.0 Kg. (lactating) in cross breed cows and buffaloes.
✓ The roughage requirement is fulfilled through green and dry fodders, about 2/3 of DM through dry
fodder and remaining 1/3 from green fodder
✓ The concentrate requirement of animal for maintenance production and pregnancy is as follows
• Maintenance requirement of desi cow and crossbred cow / buffalo is 1 and 1.5 Kg. respectively.
• Lactating animal should be given 1 Kg. additional concentrate for every 2.5 Kg (Buffalo) to 3 Kg.
(Cow) milk produced.
• Pregnant cows. buffaloes should receive 1.5 Kg. per day extra concentrate allowance during
advance pregnancy to meet extra need of nutrients for growth of foetus
• Breeding bulls in service should get 1 Kg. per day extra concentrate. Allowance to maintain good
health and sex libido.
✓ Mineral mixture and common salt each @ 25-50 gm should be given to fulfill mineral requirement of
animal.
12.2.3 Maintenance Ration

✓ It is minimum allowance of ration given to the animal for carrying out its essential body processes at
optimum rate without gain or loss in body weight.
✓ It is usually given to dry non-producing animals. It roughly satisfies the nutrient requirement for
maintenance.
12.2.4 Gestation or Pregnancy Ration

✓ It is the allowance of ration given to the pregnant animal in addition to maintenance ration during the
last quarter of pregnancy. It is given to satisfy nutrient requirement of pregnant animals.
✓ It is required for optimum foetal growth. It helps in proper development of udder for future lactation.
12.2.5 Production ration

✓ It is the additional allowance of ration given to the animal over and above the maintenance ration for
the purpose of production like milk, meat, wool and work.
✓ It is given to meet the nutrient losses through milk. It helps to maintain milk production to optimum
level
13 Feeds and Fodders

✓ The term feeds and fodders include all such material which can be used for feeding of livestock.
✓ There are various types of feed stuffs available for livestock feeding. These feed stuffs can be grouped
into different classes on the basis of bulkiness and chemical composition.
✓ No two feeding stuffs are alike in the composition and characteristic but in practical feeding,
substitution of one feeding stuff is made with another depending upon the market price and
availabliity in a particular region.
13.1 Components of feed

The following are the important components of feed:
✓ The components of the feed can be divided into protein, energy (carbohydrates), fat, minerals and
water.
✓ The waste end products of the microbial attack are methane and carbon dioxide which are
eructated.
✓ Animal feed includes roughage and concentrates. Roughage is largely fibre
whereas concentrates are low in fibre and contain relatively high levels of proteins and other
nutrients.
13.1.1 Protein
✓ Almost all protein is attacked by the microbes and utilized in their metabolism and incorporated in
the microbial mass. Protein is required for growth, tissue repair and milk production among other
things. Good sources of protein are leguminous forage, grain and oil-seed-cakes.
✓ The protein requirements are measured in Crude protein (CP) in kg or gram.
13.1.2 Carbohydrate
✓ Carbohydrates are the predominant sources of energy for ruminants. Carbohydrates, or sugars, are
the components of starch and fibers.
✓ Fiber is a common name for cell-wall components such as cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin. Starch
can be degraded by animal gastric enzymes, whereas fibers cannot.
✓ Ruminants can utilize fibers to a larger extent than mono-gastric animals because of the ruminal
microbes. However, lignin (wood-fiber) is not utilized.
✓ It is generally believed that buffaloes utilize fiber more efficiently than cattle do. The coefficient of
digestion is 5-8% higher in buffaloes than in cattle.
13.1.3 Energy
✓ Sources of energy are predominantly carbohydrates like fiber and starch and fat to a lesser extent.
✓ Energy is measured in calories (cal) and joules (J) (1 cal equals 4.18 J).
✓ The most common is to use the term Mega calories (M cal) or Mega joules (MJ) which means a million
cal or J.
✓ Another measurement is Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) which is the sum of carbohydrates and fat
in the diet.
✓ The unit for TDN is kg or gram.
✓ The energy ratio in the feed may be increased by adding fat in protected form, thus transferring the
digestion from rumen to the intestinal tract.
✓ Feeding of protected fat (1 kg safflower oil) has proven to increase nutrient utilization. Feeding of
unprotected fat in similar amounts has shown to adversely affect nutrient utilization.
13.1.4 Fat
✓ Fat is not as such required in other than very small amounts for the ruminant.
✓ However, whatever fat is present in the feed undergoes microbial attack and degradation.
Unsaturated fatty acids are hydrolyzed and thus saturated.
✓ This is one of the reasons for the milk and body fat of the ruminant to be of equal composition, largely
independent of the type of feed given.
13.1.5 Minerals
✓ Minerals are essential for many body functions.
✓ The macro-minerals calcium and phosphorus are especially important in milk production.
✓ They are also vital for the skeleton and the function of nerve-impulses.
✓ Phosphorus is the mineral included in the body’s energy metabolism, ATP.
✓ When considering the Ca and P requirements for the animal it is equally important to consider the
ratio in which it is given.
✓ The Ca ration should be 2:1 since there exists and antagonist relationship between the two minerals
concerning uptake from the small intestine.
13.2 Classification of Feeds and Fodders

The various feeds and fodders used in livestock feeding are broadly classified as:
13.2.1 Roughages
✓ Roughages are the feed stuffs which contain more than 18 percent crude fiber and less than 60
percent Total Digestible Nutrients.
✓ Due to higher crude fiber content, they are more bulky and have low digestibility as compared to
concentrates.
✓ Legumes may have 20% or more crude protein content, although a most of may be in the form of
non-protein nitrogen (NPN).
✓ Other roughages, such as straw may have only 3-4% crude protein, most others fall between these
two extremes.
✓ Mineral content may be exceedingly variable; some roughages are relatively good sources of calcium
and magnesium, particularly legumes.
✓ Phosphorus content is apt to be moderate to low and potassium content high; the trace minerals
vary greatly depending on plant species, soil and fertilization practices.
✓ The most common roughage is grass of a number of species.
✓ Lucerne, berseem and clover are herbaceous legumes and have an advantage over grass as they are
nitrogen fixing.
✓ This means that the plants will (with the help of bacteria) fix air-nitrogen and thus they are less
dependent on the nitrogen content of the soil.
✓ These plants contain more protein than grass under the same circumstances. Lucerne (or Alfalfa)
has several advantages.
✓ It contains an elevated amount of calcium, vitamin E and carotene which are of major importance
for milk production.
✓ There are also tree legumes which can be used as high-quality feed, e.g. Leucaena leucocephala,
Gliricida spp., Sesbania and others.
✓ As many of the tree legumes contain anti-nutritional compounds which may depress digestibility as
well as decrease feed intake, they should not be fed as the sole source of roughage.
✓ Roughage of lesser quality are straws. Straw from rice, barley, wheat, sorghum etc. are widely used
in feeding ruminants.
✓ Their protein content is zero and their energy content low because of their largely lignified cell-walls.
Rice or paddy straw has a high silica content in the cell walls which makes it difficult to digest.
✓ Based on the amount of Digestible Crude Protein present in the roughages, they can be classified
into the following types.
13.2.1.1 Maintenance type

They Contain 3-5 percent DCP e.g. Green maize, oat.
13.2.1.2 Non-maintenance type

They contain less than 3 percent DCP e.g. Straw, kadbi.
13.2.1.3 Production type

They contain more than 5 percent DCP e.g. Berseem, lucerne.
The roughages are further classified into two major group based on the amount of moisture presence
13.2.1.4 Green / succulent roughages

They contain about 60-90 percent moisture eg. Pastures, cultivated fodders, tree leaves, root crops and
silages.
13.2.1.5 Dry roughages

They contain about 10-15 percent moisture e.g. Straw, Hay and kadbi.
13.2.2 Concentrates
✓ These are the feedstuffs which contain less than 18 percent crude fibre and more than 60 percent
TDN. They are less bulky and have higher digestibility.
✓ They are concentrated source of nutrients and therefore, they have higher nutritive value than
roughages. The concentrates are further classified as
13.2.2.1 Energy Rich Concentrates
✓ These are rich in carbohydrates.
✓ Examples: Cereal grains, cereal grain byproducts, Roots and tubers.
13.2.2.2 Protein Rich Concentrates

These are rich in protein.
✓ Plant origin Examples: Oilseed cake, pulse chuni, Brewer’s grains and yeast.
✓ Animal origin Examples: Fish meal, Meat meal, Blood meal
13.2.3 Feed Supplements

✓ Feed supplements are the compounds used to improve the nutritional value of the basal feeds so as
to take care of any deficiency. Commonly used feed supplements are
13.2.3.1 Vitamin supplements

Examples: Rovimix, Vitablend, Arovit etc.
13.2.3.2 Mineral supplements

Examples: Minimix, Milk min, Nutrimilk, Aromin etc.
13.2.4 Feed Additives

✓ Feed additives are the non-nutritive substances usually added to basal feed in small quantity for the
fortification in order to improve feed efficiency and productive performance of the animals.
✓ Some commonly used feed additives are as below
✓ Antibiotics Examples: Terramycin, Zinc bacitracin, Flavomycin etc.
✓ Enzymes Examples: Amylase, lipase, protease, pepsin etc.
✓ Hormones Examples: Estrogen, progesterone, hexosterol etc.
✓ Thyroprotein Examples: Iodinated casein.
✓ Probiotics Examples: Microbial species. Lactobacillus.
✓ Biostimulators Examples: Extracts of living organs like spleen, liver, ovary, chick embryo etc.
✓ Antioxidants Examples: Vitamin E (Tocopherols), BHT ( Butylated hydroxy toluene).
✓ Mold inhibitors Examples: Propionic acid, acetic acid.
✓ Pellet binders Examples: Gur, meal, molasses, sodium bentonite.
✓ Coccidiostats Examples: Amprolsol powder, Furasol powder.
13.3 Unconventional feed stuff

Unconventional feed stuff are those that are not commonly used for feeding of livestock but used during
fodder scarcity or shortage. They have low to poor nutritive value.
13.3.1 Classification of Unconventional feed stuff

Based on the type of nutrients available in the feed stuff, unconventional feed stuff can be classified into
3 major types as follows.
13.3.1.1 Protein Source

a) Plant source – Neem cake, niger cake, sunflower and safflower meal, karanj cake.
b) Animal origin – Dried poultry droppings, frog meal, crab meal etc.
13.3.1.2 Energy sources

Examples: Tamarind seed powder, sal seed meal, tapioca waste, mango seed kernel etc.
13.3.1.3 Miscellaneous
Examples: Babul pods, sugarcane baggasse, sugarcane tops, sugar beet pulp, jack fruit waste etc.
13.4 Processing of Feed Stuffs

Various processing methods are being used to increase the voluntary intake, availability of nutrients and
Nutritive value of feeds and fodders.
13.4.1 Grinding or Crushing

Cereal grains and certain seeds are grind or crushed to smaller particle size. It increases the surface area
for action of digestive enzymes as hard seed coat is broken, thereby increasing the digestibility. Coarse
grinding is preferred for grains and seeds.
13.4.2 Chaffing
It is Process of cutting roughages especially fodder crops into smaller size pieces. It minimizes the fodder
wastage.
13.4.3 Soaking
Soaking of feeds and fodders in water removes dustiness and softens the coarse feed material. Soaking of
straw removes some oxalates. It improves nutritive value of feed stuffs.
13.4.4 Heat treatment

It is applied especially in the production of oil seed cakes. It helps to reduce most of the antinutritional
factors present in oil cakes.
13.4.5 Pelleting
Coarsely grinded concentrate feed is mixed with binder substances like sodium bentonite and made into
small cylindrical cubes called as pellets. Pelleting of concentrate mixture ensures the intake of all
components of feed.
13.4.6 Alkali Treatment

Cereal straw have very poor nutritive value due to presence of poorly digestible components like cellulose,
hemi cellulose and lignin in higher proportion. Alkali treatment with 3.3 percent NaOH @ 1 litre/kg of
chaffed straw or 5.5 percent CaOH at 40-60 percent moisture. It improves the voluntary intake and
digestibility of straw.
13.4.7 Urea treatment

The poor quality roughages like straw or mature grasses are treated with 1-3 percent urea and moisture
level is kept at 50 percent level, which is then stacked for 20-30 days till residual ammonia is removed.
The urea treatment breaks the lignocelluloses complex and also adds nitrogen to fodder thereby increases
its protein value.
13.4.8 Formaldehyde or Tannic acid treatment
This protects the feed protein from microbial action in rumen and directly reaches to small intestine.
Formaldehyde or tannic acid treatment is given to protein rich concentrates like oil seed cakes. The oil
seed cakes are made into powder and mixed with formaldehyde @ 5ml/100gm of crude protein of oil
cake or 3 percent tannic acid. It is then stored for about 2 weeks in closed container
13.5 Feeding Schedule of Cattles (As per NABARD Model project)

xdfg
The following points have to be noted

✓ Be sure to feed the calf enough of colostrum between 2 to 2.5 liters daily for the first 3 days following
its birth.
✓ Feed the Colostrum within 15 minutes of calving, the calf should be fed with colostrum at the rate-
1/10th of body weight and buffalo calves at the rate -1/15th of body weight.
✓ Colostrum as a secretion of the mammary gland is produced and accumulated in the final stage of
pregnancy and in the first days after calving. It is designed to provide the calf with the necessary
nutrients and biologically active ingredients.
✓ Colostrum has a regulating function and stimulates the young organism to grow, and it has properties
that support the functioning of systems: Endocrine and immunological.
✓ For colostrum to fulfil its role, it must be administered immediately after birth, because the
immunoglobulins it contains are absorbed during the first 16–27 h after the birth of the calf,
preferably within 2–4 h of age.
✓ Colostrum contains bioactive components with immune enhancing properties: Immunoglobulins,
lactoferrin, lysozyme, lactoperoxidase, α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, or fat that carries important
vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
13.6 Feeding Schedule for Dairy Animal (in Kg)
S. No. Type of animal Feeding during Green Fodder Dry Fodder Concentrate
CROSS BREED COW
1. 6 to 7 liters milk Lactation days 20 to 25 5 to 6 3.0 to 3.5
per day Dry days 15 to 20 6 to 7 0.5 to 1.0
2. 8 to 10 liters milk Lactation days 25 to 30 4 to 5 4.0 to 4.5
per day days 20 to 25 6 to 7 0.5 to 1.0
13.7 Feeding Schedule for different breeds of Buffaloes (kg)
13.8 Nutrient requirement of working bullocks
13.9 Composition of milk (% by weight of different species)
We need to understand one more concept here: SNF – Solid Not Fat
SNF: It contains everything except milk fat and water. So that would be all the minerals, proteins etc
which remain in milk as solids except fat.
13.9.1 Average composition of milk of some important milch breeds of cows (per cent)
Breed Total Solids Fat Protein SNF Lactose

Red Sindhi 13.66 4.90 3.42 8.76 4.81
Jersey 14.91 5.37 3.73 9.54 4.93
Friesian 12.26 3.40 3.13 8.86 4.86
Cross bred 13.13 4.50 3.37 8.63 4.92
Now, we need to know the floor space requirement of the animals
13.10 Floor space requirement for various types of animals

Type of animal Floor space requirement (m2) Maximum number of Height of the shed (cm)
Covered area Open area animals/pen
Cattle and Buffaloes
Bulls 12.0 24.0 1 175 cm in medium and
Cows 3.5 7.0 50 heavy rain fall and 220 in
Buffaloes 4.0 8.0 50 dry areas.
Down – calver 12.0 12.0 1
Young – calves 1.0 2.0 30
Old – calves 2.0 4.0 30
Sheep and Goat
Ewe/Nanny 1.0 - 60 300 cms in dry areas and
Lamb/kid 0.4 - 75 220 in heavy rain fall areas
Ram/buck 3.4 - -
Milch doe 1.4mx1.2m - Single stall
Pigs
Boar 6.0 – 7.0 8.8 –12.0 - 200 – 250cm
Farrowing sow 7.0-9.0 8.8 – 12.0 -
Weaner/fattening 0.9 – 1.8 0.9 – 1.8 30
pig
Dry sow/gilt 1.8 – 2.7 1.4 – 1.8 3 – 10
13.11 Feeding and watering space requirements for different categories of livestock
Type of animal Space/animal Total manger length in a Total water tank length in
(cm) pen for 100 animals(cm) a pen for 100 animals (cm)
Adult cattle and 60 – 75 6000 – 7500 600 – 750
buffaloes
Calves 40 – 50 4000 – 5000 400 – 500
Adult sheep and goat 40 – 50 4000 – 5000 400 – 500
Lambs and kids 30 – 35 3000 – 3500 300 – 500
Adult pigs 60 – 75 6000 – 7500 600 – 750
Growing pigs 25 – 35 2500 – 3500 250 – 350
✓ A free access and sufficient feeding (manger) or watering space must be allocated. The animals
should be at comfortable position and with no competition while in activity.
✓ Feeding trough or manger must accommodate all the animals at a time. Water trough must
accommodate at least 10per cent of the animal stock. The height, width, length is important for
the comfort of animals.
13.12 Dimensions of feed mangers

Type of animal Width (cm) Depth (cm) Height of inner wall (cm)
Adult cattle and buffaloes 60 40 50
Calves 40 15 20
Adult sheep and goat 50 30 35
Lambs and kids 50 20 25
Adult pigs 50 20 25
Growing pigs 30 15 25
13.13 Floor space requirements of poultry

Age of bird Floor space (sq. ft.)
Chicks 0 – 10 weeks 0.8 – 1.0
10 – 16 weeks 1.5 – 2.0
Layers Brown egg 2.0 – 2.5
White egg 2.0
Meat type 2.5 – 3.0
Broilers 0 – 8 weeks 0.8 – 1.0
Turkeys 0 – 8 weeks 1.0 – 1.5
8 – 12 weeks 1.5 – 2.0
12 – 20 weeks 2-3
20 – 26 weeks 3–4
Breeders 6–8
Ducks 0 – 7 weeks 0.5 – 1.0

7 weeks to maturity 2.5
Breeders herd 3.0
Confined 6.0
Quails Adults 200 – 250 cm2
13.13.1 Feeder and water space requirements of chicken

Age (weeks) Feeder space (inches) Waterer space
Chicken
0–3 1.0 – 1.5 25 cm
3 –10 2.5 100 cm
10 – 13 and above 4 250 cm
Quails 1.0 – 1.2 (linear) 1.5 – 2 cm
Note: The above-mentioned tabular column is given in general. In the NABARD’s Model Bankable
Project reports, for specific animals, the floor space requirement/animal is given. NABARD bankable
project reports have been covered under Current Affairs section.
Kindly see the tabular column below which is taken directly from the NABARD’s Model Bankable
Project Reports. Here, the floor space (sqft) per adult animal and floor space (sqft) per calf for the
Graded Murrah Buffalo is given:
13.13.2 NABARD’S Model Bankable Project Report
14 Breeding in Livestock
✓ Man improves his livestock by limiting the reproduction of inferior animals and by choosing superior
animals for mating to produce the progeny, which constitute the next generation.
✓ The productive capacity and physical appearance of animal population can be changed greatly by
selective breeding.
✓ A sound breeding programme is a necessary part of the total animal production system whether the
breeder breeds his own replacements or purchases them from another breeder.
14.1 Systems of Breeding

There are two main systems of breeding: A) Inbreeding B) Out breeding
14.2 Inbreeding
It is the mating of related animals.
14.3 Out breeding

It is the breeding of unrelated animals.
14.3.1 Types of Inbreeding

Inbreeding can be again classified into 2 major types.
14.3.1.1 Close Breeding

It means the mating of closely related animals than the average of the population e.g. mating of Dam and
son or sire and Daughter or full brother and full sister. It should be used if both parents are of outstanding
performance. It develops uniform progeny.
14.3.1.2 Line Breeding

It is mating of distinctly related progeny animal e.g. mating of Grand son and grand daughter or Grand
son and Grand dam, half brother and half sister. It promotes uniformity in progeny.
14.3.2 Types of Out breeding

Outbreeding can be again classified into 2 major types.
14.3.2.1 Out crossing

Mating of unrelated purebred animals within the same breed eg. Mating of unrelated Deoni sire and Deoni
Cow. It is the best method for genetic improvement of cattle within the breed.
14.3.2.2 Cross breeding

It is the mating of animals of different well established breeds e.g. HF sire x Deoni cow, Murrah buffalo
bull x surti buffalo. It is usually practiced to combine desirable characters from different breeds for better
productivity. It increases hybrid vigour in the progeny. It is useful in producing new breeds.
14.3.2.3 Grading up
✓ It is mating of purebred sire with non-descript females and their offsprings for generation after
generation till the progenies are reaching nearly to 98 to 99% inheritance of original breed.
✓ Generally, after 5 to 6 generations the graded animals will be more or less similar to the pure breed
animals that have been used for grading.
✓ Grading up is mainly used for improvement of non-descript animals e.g. Mating of Murrah buffalo bull
with local buffaloes. It helps to develop pure breed after few generations.
14.3.2.4 Species hybridization

✓ It means mating of animals of two different species
✓ Examples: 1. Jack (Male ass) x Mare (female horse) – Mule; 2. European cattle x American buffalo –
Catallo
✓ It produces progeny having more vigour and disease resistance than parental species.
✓ Progeny is usually sterile.
14.4 Artificial insemination

✓ Artificial insemination (AI) is the technique in which semen with living sperms is collected from the
male and deposited into the female genital tract by artifical means rather than by natural mating at
proper time and undermost hygienic conditions with the help of instruments.
✓ This has been found to result in a normal progeny.
14.4.1 Advantages of Artifical Insemination

✓ In increases the use of superior / outstanding sires.
✓ It reduces the number of bulls required for breeding purpose.
✓ It reduces the chances of spread of venereal diseases like brucellosis, trichomoniasis.
✓ It saves labour and expenditure on maintaining breeding bull on farm.
✓ It eliminates difficulties in mating of animals having physical disparity due to differences in size and
weight.
✓ It permits crossbreeding to improve the production performance.
✓ It improves the breeding efficiency.
14.4.2 Limitations of Artifical Insemination

✓ It requires well trained operators and also needs special instruments.
✓ It reduces the market value of bulls.
✓ It is very costly technique.
✓ It is likely to increase incidence of genetic abnormalities.
✓ It involves very strict hygienic precautions at every step.
14.5 Embryo Transfer Technology

✓ Embryo transfer is a specialized technique of breeding. A sexually mature female referred to as the
donor is injected with exogenous hormones to produce.
✓ More ova, which are fertilized inside her either by natural or artificial service.
✓ These are then removed prior to their implantation and transfer to the reproductive tracts of
synchronized surrogate mothers of the same species referred to as the recipients.
✓ The fertilized ova, thus are developed in the recipient body and resulting offspring derive their genes
from the donor and from the male to which donor was bred.
✓ The embryo transfer technique consists of following important steps
• Selection and management of donor and recipients.
• Super ovulation and estrus synchronization of the donor and the recipients.
• Insemination of the donor.
• Collection of embryos.
• Identification and storage of embryos
• Transfer of embryos.
15 Nutrient Deficiencies in Animals

✓ Affects all (most) animals
✓ Reasons for the nutritional deficiencies may be Weather stress (hot/ cold/ humid), Parasite
infestations, Infections, Reduced appetite, Chronic disease, Pregnancy or milk production
✓ If improper nutrition then – Recognize changes related to Appearance/ Body weight- Low/ fatty Thin
appearance; Hair coat: Dull and rough; Activity: Weak and depressed; Behavior: Altered
✓ Based on the symptoms, Identify the cause and correct the problem
Let us look into various deficiencies caused and their symptoms
15.1 Protein Deficiency

✓ After first few days after calving the dairy cow suffers from a massive protein deficiency. Without
enough protein, problems may occur
✓ Symptoms include – Underweight; Weak; Stunted/ Slow growth; Weak or deformed bones; Chronic
skin and ear infections; Epilepsy; Cancer; Spinning or tail chasing; Aggression; Timidity; Repeated
infections; Oedema: Swelling under Throat, Brisket area, Underline; Fatty liver; Hair thinning, faded
hair color, hair loss (alopecia) and brittle nails; flaky or splitting skin, redness and patches of
depigmented skin
15.2 Phosphorus Deficiency

✓ Phosphorus deficiency is a possibility whenever animals are on pasture, especially mature pasture,
that consists of less than 0.25% phosphorus.
✓ Heavily lactating dairy cows and ewes may develop phosphorus deficiency when pasture contains less
than 0.32% phosphorus.
✓ Good pastures need to be selected for grazing and these Problem arises with unfertilized pastures.
✓ Symptoms include Unthrifty; Lame; Stiff; Pica (Compulsive eating of non-nutritive substances)
✓ Phosphorus deficiency in crops occurs worldwide.
✓ Deficiency symptoms occur in 82% of the tropical soils in the Western hemisphere.
15.3 Grass Tetany

✓ It is a disease of livestock caused by magnesium deficiency, occurring especially when there is a
change from indoor feeding to outdoor grazing.
✓ Also called as Grass Staggers.
✓ Magnesium deficiency Symptoms include excitability; Inability to stand; Stiff muscles; convulsions;
and sometimes can lead to Death.
✓ Grass tetany is a highly fatal disease Associated with low levels of magnesium in the blood.
✓ Grass tetany can affect all classes of cattle, but older cows with calves at foot during winter and spring
are most at risk.
✓ Very thin and overly fat animals are also more susceptible, as are Angus cattle and their crosses.
✓ Problem can be due to Grazing lush grass (new emerging grass) with Low Mg, High K, N that Interferes
with absorption in digestive tract.
15.4 Milk Fever
✓ Milk fever is a disorder mainly of dairy cows close to calving.
✓ It is a metabolic disease caused by a low blood calcium level (hypocalcaemia).
✓ Symptoms include Loss of appetite; Depression; Muscle tremors; Grinding teeth; Muscular paralysis;
Lies on sternum – Head to side; Possible death.
✓ Also occurs in dogs and horses, wherein symptoms include Trembling; Panting; Nervousness;
Convulsions; Possible death
✓ Can be controlled by feeding low-calcium diets or acidifying diets prepartum
15.5 Vitamin A deficiency

✓ Causes include Inadequate intake, fat mal-absorption, or liver disorders.
✓ Deficiency impairs immunity and hematopoiesis and causes rashes and typical ocular effects (e.g.,
xerophthalmia, night blindness).
✓ Problems include - Skin and eye problems; Abortions; Retained placentas; Weak newborns; Night
blindness
✓ Correction include providing Supplements to the animals and Good quality hay
15.6 Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

✓ Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) refers to the excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone
(PTH) by the parathyroid glands in response to hypocalcemia (low blood calcium levels) and associated
hyperplasia of the glands.
✓ This disorder is especially seen in patients with chronic kidney failure or those on High phosphorus,
low calcium diets.
✓ Affects include - Livestock on high-bran diets with no supplements or hay; Pets on All meat diets with
no supplements; Malnutrition caused by a diet of one type of food; Diets rich in natural meat alone
can cause malnutrition with deficiency of calcium and vitamin D.
✓ Advanced stages of malnutrition can cause kidney disease.
15.7 Founder (laminitis)

✓ This is a problem that generally occurs in Horses.
✓ Chronic or acute laminitis and their sequelae are thought to result from diets with high concentrations
of nonfiber carbohydrates
✓ This might be due to Improper feeding; Overfeeding of grain; Bacterial toxins
✓ Symptoms include affects hoof wall; Hoof – Inflammation; Pain – Lameness; Depression; Loss of
appetite; Slow, painful walk
15.8 Other common NDs in India
15.8.1 Copper
✓ This may occur in animals which are grazing on the soil deficit in copper, the deficiency causes anaemia
and animals are unthrifty, related weight loss, diarrhoea and anaemic.
✓ The affected sheep shows ‘steely wool’ condition, in which the wool loses its crimp and become hair
like and also loose its colour.
15.8.2 Cobalt
Cobalt deficiency noticed mainly in ruminants fed on cobalt deficient diet, shows anemia, loss of appetite,
progressive emaciation, rough hair coat and paler mucous membranes and eventually death.
15.8.3 Iodine
✓ Noticed in the animals of cattle, buffaloes and sheep in areas where there is lack of iodine in salt and
water and also in sub mountainous areas of Himalayas in India, animal shows enlargement of thyroid
gland known as goitre.
✓ Loss of hair and affected calves shows high mortality rate and adult cows exhibits dullness and
digestive troubles.
15.8.4 Zinc
✓ The deficiency may be noticed in the animals fed on excessive calcium and phosphorous rich diet.
✓ In case of sheep, the deficiency of zinc causes loss of wool and thick wrinkled skin.
15.8.5 Molybdenum
✓ Rather than deficiency, this includes toxicity if taken in huge quantities.
✓ Chronic molybdenum poisoning includes scouring, unthriftness, rough hair coat, loss of hair colour,
dehydration, emaciation and death eventually.
✓ The sheep which are grazing on molybdenum rich grasses, gives, birth to lambs, which shows ‘copper
deficient nervous syndrome’ known as ‘sway back’
15.8.6 Selenium
✓ Selenium deficiency noticed in animals grazed on fodders in alkaline soils and areas which are using
excess of sulphate fertilizers.
✓ The deficient herd shows neonatal mortality and unthriftiness in weaver calves lambs, and goats,
chronic diarrhoea noticed in calves. Infertility noticed in adult cattle.
15.8.7 Sodium Chloride (Salts) and Potassium Deficiency

✓ These deficiencies can be noticed in animals in taking ration not supplemented with salts in regular
diet and also noticed during excessive emesis, diarrhoea and sweating.
Let us now study about vaccination schedules of various domesticated animals. But kindly note, focus
on the timelines of vaccines to be given.
16 Vaccination programme for Sheep in India
17 Vaccination programme for Goats in India
S.No. Name of Disease Time Table
Primary vaccination Regular Vaccination

1. Anthrax At the age of 6 month for kid or Once Annually (In Affected area only)
lamb
2. Haemorrhagic At the age of 6 month for kid or Once Annually Before monsoon
Septicemia (H.S.) lamb
3. Enterotoxaemia At the age of 4 month for kid or Before monsoon (Preferably in May).
lamb (If dam is vaccinated) Booster vaccination after 15 days of
At the age of 1st week for kid or first vaccination.
lamb(If dam is not vaccinated)
4. Black Quarter (B.Q) At the age of 6 month for kid or Once Annually (Before monsoon)
lamb
5. P.P.R. At the age of 3 month for kid or Once in three years
lamb & above
6. Foot & mouth disease At the age of 4 month for kid or Twice in a year (September & March)
(F.M.D.) lamb & above
7.. Goat Pox At the age of 3 month & above for Once Annually (December month)
Kid
8. C.C.P.P At the age of 3 month & above for Once Annually (January month)
Kid or lamb
18 Vaccination programme for Dairy cattle in India

Sl. Name of Disease Age at first dose Booster dose Subsequent dose
No
1 Foot and Mouth 4 months and above 1 month after Six monthly
Disease (FMD) first dose
2 Haemorrhagic 6 months and above - Annually in endemic areas.

Septicaemia (HS)
3 Black Quarter (BQ) 6 months and above - Annually in endemic areas.
4 Brucellosis 4-8 months of age - Once in a lifetime

(Only female calves)
5 Theileriosis 3 months of age and - Once in a lifetime. Only

above required for crossbred and
exotic cattle.
6 Anthrax 4 months and above - Annually in endemic areas.
7 IBR 3 months and above 1 month after Six monthly (vaccine

first dose presently not produced in
India)
8 Rabies (Post bite Immediately after 4th day 7,14,28 and 90 (optional)
therapy only) suspected bite. days after first dose.
19 Vaccination programme for Buffaloes
Infectio Manufactu Ingredients/adjuvant Dose Primary Booster Revaccination
n rer
FMD
Bovilis® Intervet Binary ethyleneimine 2ml, i/m 3 months I After 4- Every 44-48
Clovax India (BEI) inactivated FMD (Vial: 100 onwards 6 weeks weeks after
mineral oil emulsion ml) of 2nd booster
vaccine containing a primary vaccination
mixture of virus vaccinati
serotypes O, A and on
Asia-1 II After
24
weeks of
first
booster
Raksha Indian Inactivated tissue 3 ml in the 4 months 2-4 Every 6
Immunolog culture FMD virus mid-neck weeks months after
icals strains O, A and Asia- region, s/c after booster and
1 adsorbed on Al (Vial: 30 primary every 4
(OH)3 gel and saponin ml) vaccinati months in
as an adjuvant on endemic areas
Raksha -do- Inactivated tissue 2 ml in 4 months 9 Annually
Ovac culture FMD virus the mid- months
strains O, A, and neck after
Asia-1 adjuvanted region, primary
with mineral oil deep i/m vaccinati
on
Haemorrhagic Septicemia (Galghotu/Ghurrka)
Raksha Indian Formaldehyde 2 ml, mid- 6 months Annually and in adverse
HS Immunolog inactivated culture neck and climatic conditions like
icals of Pasteurella region, s/c above unseasonal rains and
multocida adsorbed (Vial:100 cyclones, etc.
on aluminium ml)
hydroxide gel
Compound Vaccines of FMD/HS/BQ
Raksha Indian FMD inactivated 3 ml, 4 months 9 months Annually
biovac Immunolog antigens against O, A, midneck,
(FMD+H icals and Asia-1 strains deep i/m
S) and formaldehyde (Vial: 30
inactivated Pasteurell ml)
a multocida culture
mixed together in
light mineral oil
emulsion
Raksha -do- FMD inactivated 3 ml, mid- 4 months 9 months Annually
triovac antigens against O, A, neck, deep
(FMD+H Asia-1 and i/m
S+BQ) formaldehyde (Vial: 30
inactivated Pasteurell ml)
a multocida culture,
inactivated Clostridiu
m chauvoei culture
mixed together in
light mineral oil
emulsion
Raksha -do- Formaldehyde 3 ml, mid- 6 months Annually and in adverse
HS+BQ inactivated cultures neck and climatic conditions like
of Pasteurella region, s/c above unseasonal rains and
multocida and Clostri (Vial: 90 cyclones, etc.
dium ml)
chauvoei adsorbed
on aluminium
hydroxide gel
Brucellosis
Bruvax Indian Live Brucella 2 ml., s/c 4-8
Immunolog abortus strain 19 (Vial: 5 months
icals freeze dried bacteria, dose old
each dose ≥ freeze serologic
40x109 organisms dried ally
vaccine negative
with 10 ml female
sterile calves
diluent)
Note: Only serologically negative female calves should be vaccinated with live B. abortus strain 19
while bulls and pregnant animals should not be vaccinated
Depending upon prevalence in a given area, vaccination against following diseases may also be
taken up Anthrax
Raksha- Indian Suspension of live 1 ml, i/m one month before grazing season or
Anthrax Immunolog spores of attenuated or s/c prior to the time the disease usually
(Prophy icals non-capsulated strain (Vial: 50 occurs
lactic of B. anthracis in 50% ml)
only) glycerinated saline,
each dose ≥
1x108 viable spores
Note: Protect animals from overexertion 3 days following vaccination. Do not vaccinate the animal
60 days before slaughter
Sterne Institute of **Live spores of 1 ml, s/c Approx. 4 Revaccinate annual
Vaccine Veterinary highly antigenic weeks after 2-3 vaccinatio
Preventive nonencapsulated prior to weeks in n in
Medicine, avirulent Sterne the time heavily endemic
Tamil Nadu strain (34 F2) of B. the contaminated areas
anthracis in glycerine disease areas
saline usually
appears
Note: Use boiled milk from lactating animals up to 1 month after vaccination, do not vaccinate
within 42 days before slaughter, do not give antibiotics to animals being vaccinated; burn,
autoclave or chemically disinfect container and all unused contents; adrenalin should be
administered immediately if anaphylactoid reaction occurs, immunity 6m-1year
Rabies
Rakshar Indian ***Tissue culture 1 ml by s/c 3 m and In case 3 years,
ab, Immunolog rabies virus, CVS or i/m above primary annual
Prophyl icals strain adjuvanted route vaccination is vaccinatio
actic with Al(OH)3 (Vial: 1 ml, given below 3 n
adjuvant, antigen 5 ml, 10 months of recomme
potency >2.5 IU/ml ml) age, a nded in
booster dose endemic
should be areas
given at 3
months age
Post- I-Day Zero of dog bite or within 24 hrs, II-Day 3, III-Day 7, IV-Day 14, V- Day
exposur 28 and VI-Day 90
e
therapy
(PET)
Note: Vaccinate only healthy animals; malnutrition, helminth infestation, administration of
immunosuppressive agents like corticosteroids, radiation therapy, etc. will suppress immune
response to vaccine; generally no adverse reactions are noticed, occasionally a transient, palpable
nodule may occur at the site of injection; in rare cases hypersensitivity may occur, immediate
treatment with antihistaminics is advocated.
20 Poultry
✓ Poultry can also be defined as domesticated fowls, including chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks,
raised for the production of meat or eggs.
✓ In simpler terms, any kind of domesticated bird raised in captivity for its utility is known as Poultry.
20.1 Difference between fowl and poultry

Fowl Poultry
Fowls are birds, which are generally edible Domesticated birds raised by human as a source
(meat/eggs), whether domesticated or not. of food (meat/eggs).
20.2 Breeds of poultry

✓ Breed refers to a group of domestic fowls with a common ancestry and having similarity in shape,
conformation, growth, temperament, shell colour of egg and breed true to type.
✓ Variety is a subdivision of breed and within a breed there may be several varieties. The term variety
is used to distinguish fowls having the characteristics of the breed to which they belong but differing
in plumage colour, comb type etc. from other groups of the same breed.
20.3 Based on the origin

Based on the origin, poultry breeds can be classified into various classes viz.,
1. American class
2. Asiatic class
3. English class
4. Mediterranean class
20.3.1 Asiatic class

✓ The breeds of this class belong to Asian continent. They are characterised by large body with heavy
bones, feathered shanks, red ear lobes and yellow skin.
✓ They are used for egg and meat purpose.
✓ The egg shells are light to dark brown in colour.
✓ The important breeds of this class are Brahma, from Brahmaputra valley in India, Cochin and
Langshan are from China.
20.3.1.1 Brahma
✓ Brahma breed is well known for its massive body with heavy bones, well - feathered and
proportionate body. Pea comb is one of important breed character. Light, Dark Brahma are of two
common varieties of Brahma.
✓ Light Brahma: It has light grey to white colour and the hackle feathers are black. The beak and legs
are light yellow coloured. Standard weights of light Brahma are, cock 5.4 kg; hen 4.3 kg; cockerel
4.5kg; and pullet 3.6 kg.
✓ Dark Brahma: Dark brahmas are light black or steel grey coloured with greenish hackle. standard
weight of dark Brahma are, cock 4.9 kg; hen 3.9 kg; cockerel 4.0 kg; and pullet 3.1 kg.
20.3.1.2 Cochin
✓ Cochin chickens were originated from China. For this reason they were known as ‘Shanghai’ in the
past.
✓ They become white, black and citrine colored.
✓ They have head crest. Hens lay brown colored eggs.
✓ Their body covered with beautiful feathers. Their legs are also covered with feathers.
✓ Usually, they are raised for their meat and feathers.
✓ An adult rooster weights about 4.5 to 5 kg and an adult hen weights between 3.5 to 4 kg.
✓ Lobes of this chicken breed are red colored. Profitable for meat production than eggs.
20.3.1.3 Longson
✓ Longson breed were originated from Longson of China.
✓ Longson is suitable for both meat and egg production.
✓ The feathers of their tail become 16 to 17 inch long. Their skin is white colored.
✓ Eggshell is deep brown colored.
✓ An adult longson rooster weights about 4.5 kg. The longson hens usually weight about 4 kg when
they become adult.
20.3.1.4 Asil
✓ This poultry breed were originated from Chittagong and Comilla district of Bangladesh.
✓ They are very skilled in fighting.
✓ Their Chest is wide and very beautiful. They are big sized, sedulous and very hardy.
✓ Their body structure is very well and they become very strong. Their neck and legs are very long.
✓ They are very famous for meat production.
✓ USA and UK have produced many meat productive species by inseminating other species with Asil.
✓ They lay only a few eggs in a year. Their eggs are very small sized.
✓ Their feathers are black, red or mixed colored.
✓ Head crest is very small (pea comb).
✓ An adult rooster weights about 3 to 4 kg. An adult Asil hen weights between 2.5 to 3 kg.
20.3.1.5 Kadaknath
✓ It is a fowl with black flesh. It is abundant in Madhya Pradesh and bred by tribals and the eggs are
light brown in colour.
✓ The adult plumage varies from silver and gold-sprangled to bluish- black. The comb, wattles and
tongue are purple in colour. The black colour is due to Melanin.
20.3.1.6 Others
Breed Home Tract
Ankaleshwar Gujarat
Aseel Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh
Busra Gujarat and Maharashtra
Chittagong Meghalaya and Tripura
Danki Andhra Pradesh

Daothigir Assam
Ghagus Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
Harringhata Black West Bengal

Kadaknath Madhya Pradesh
Kalasthi Andhra Pradesh
Kashmir Faverolla Jammu and Kashmir
Miri Assam
Nicobari Andaman & Nicobar
Punjab Brown Punjab and Haryana
Tellichery Kerala
Mewari Rajasthan
Breed Body weight Age at sexual Annual egg Egg weight Fertility Hatchability
(20 weeks) maturity production at 40 weeks FES (5)
(days) (No.) (g)
Aseel 1220 196 92 50 66 63
Frizzle 1005 185 110 53 61 71
Kadaknath 920 180 105 49 55 52
Naked neck 1005 201 99 54 66 71
20.3.2 American class

✓ It includes those birds which were developed in the United States, generally by the crossing of the
Mediterranean and Asian types.
✓ They serve the dual purpose of giving meat and egg. Although, there are eleven different breeds,
the popular ones are as follows
20.3.2.1 Rhode Island Red

✓ It is the most popular of the American breeds, imported to this country because of its hardy nature.
✓ It can survive in damp, dry or rainy regions. It is useful for all purposes.
✓ The body is somewhat rectangular with a broad back and a protruding breast.
✓ The plumage colour is dark red or brownish-red.
✓ It is a good layer and the eggs are large brown- shelled. The quality and the yield of flesh are
excellent. The chicks grow quickly and are not so delicate.
✓ There are two varieties of Rhode Island Red—Single combed and Rose combed, out of which single
comb is most popular. The average weight of the cock is 3.8 kgs. and of the hen 3 kgs.
20.3.2.2 Rhode Island White

✓ It is not a very common breed.
✓ Its structure and behaviour is like that of the Rhode Island Red but the colour of the plumage is
white instead of red.
20.3.2.3 Wyandotte
✓ The body of this breed of bird is comparatively round with a short beak and a rose comb.
✓ It is good for the dual purpose of egg and flesh but is more popular as a table bird. It lays well.
✓ The average weight of the cock and the hen is 4 kg. and 3 kg. respectively.
20.3.2.4 New Hampshire

✓ The name has been given after the name of the place where this breed was developed from the
Rhode Island Red stock.
✓ The body is less rectangular as compared to the Rhode Island Red. The colour of the plumage is
deep chestnut red. The birds have a single comb.
✓ They are good layers and the eggs are large brown-shelled. The average weight of the cock is 3.5 kg.
and that of the hen is 2.5 kg.
✓ Because of its hardy nature, it is gaining much popularity in recent years.
20.3.2.5 Plymouth Rock

✓ Due to its good size, excellent flesh and egg producing capacity, it is the most popular poultry breed
in America. The body is somewhat long with a prominent breast. It is single combed.
✓ The average weight of the cock and the hen is 4.5 kg. and 3.2 kg. respectively.
✓ Although this breed is comparatively less popular in India, its cocks have been used for improving
the races of the desi variety. There are several varieties of Plymouth Rock viz., Barred, Buff, Blue,
White, Columbian, Silver pencilled, Partridge, etc.
20.3.2.6 Delawares
✓ They have been developed by crossing the barred Plymouth Rock male with New Hampshire female
and are the newest of the American breeds.
✓ The body is broad and slopes slightly towards the tail. The breast is full and deep.
✓ They grow rapidly and hence are very useful for producing flesh. The average weight of the male
and female is 4 kg. and 3 kg Respectively.
20.3.3 English class
They are mostly utility breeds noted for their excellent flushing properties.
Breed/Class Origin Variety Characteristics
Sussex England Light Sussex, Red Single comb, Coloured beaks, shanks and
Sussex toes.
Australorp Australia NA Good dual purpose breed
Orpington England NA 4 -5 kg, Single comb, Buff orpington is
popular in America
Cornish Cornwall, UK Also known as The Cornish chicken is the perfect dual-
Indian Game purpose chicken - eggs and meat. Most of
the modern broiler chicken breeds were
developed from Cornish chicken breed
20.3.4 Mediterranean class

Breed/Class Origin Varieties Characteristics
Leghorn Italy Single comb white, Single comb Known for its stylish carriage, Mature
buff, Single comb light brown birds weigh 2 -2.7 kg. world’s no. 1 egg
producer breed
Minorca Spain Also known as Red faced black Largest and heaviest of all
Spanish Mediterranean breeds of poultry
20.4 Based on the utility

Based on the origin, poultry breeds can be classified into various classes viz.,
1. Broilers
2. Layers
3. Dual purpose breeds
20.4.1 Broilers
✓ Broiler chicken are only for meat production.
✓ Examples: Plymouth rock, Cornish, Sussex, Dorking, Cochin, Brahma, Asil, Star Brow, Hi-line etc. are
popular broiler breeds.
20.4.2 Layers
✓ Layer is for egg production.
✓ Some popular layer breeds are Leghorn, Minorca, Ancona, Fayoumi, Isa Brown, Babycock, Star Cross,
Lohman etc.
20.4.3 Dual purpose breeds

✓ This types of breed are used for the purpose of both egg and meat production.
✓ Rhode island red, New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock etc. are popular breeds for both meat and egg
production.
20.4.4 Difference between Broilers and Layers
Broilers Layers
Broiler are young chicken of either sex, which are Egg laying poultry, Only females can be used, a layer
reared primarily for meat purposes and marketed should be able to produce more number of large
at an age of 6-8 weeks. sized eggs, without growing too much.
Nutrient requirement is high because a broiler Layers attain sexual maturity around 20–22 weeks
should yield more meat and hence should be able and laying eggs up to 72 weeks of age and then they
to grow well. Usually broilers are reared in batches are either moulted or sold as spent hens.
in an all in-all out system in a single rearing shed.
Broilers are reared for a span of 38–42 days and Layers are reared as per different growth stages in
then they are marketed and slaughtered for meat. different sheds ie., Chicks(0-8weeks), growers (9–
22 weeks) and layers (23–72 weeks).
Broilers attain a body weight of around 2.2- 2.4 kg Layers attain a body weight of 1.5–1.8 kg at their
within 6 weeks sexual maturity (20-22weeks)
20.5 Commercial breeds of chicken in India - Layers

Breed First egg 50% Peak Livability Egg Feed Egg Net egg
Production production producti efficiency weight production
on peak (72 weeks)
ILI-80 17-18 150 days 26-28 weeks Grower (96%) 92% 2.1 54 g 280 eggs
weeks Layer (94%)
Golden- 18-19 155 days 27-29 weeks Grower (96%) 90% 2.2 54 g 265 eggs
92 weeks Layer (94%)
Priya 17-18 150 days 26-28 weeks Grower (96%) 92% 2.1 57 g 290 eggs
weeks Layer (94%)
Sonali 18-19 155 days 27-29 weeks Grower (96%) 90% 2.2 54 g 275 eggs
weeks Layer (94%)
Devend 18-19 155 days 27-29 weeks Grower (97%) 90% 2.5 50 g 200 eggs
ra weeks Layer (94%)
20.6 Commercially available meat-type chicken in India

Breed Weight at six Weight at Food Livability
weeks (g) seven weeks (g) conversion (%)
ratio
B-77 1300 1600 2.3 98-99
CARIBRO-91 1650 2100 1.94-2.2 97-98
CARIBRO 1600 2000 1.9-2.1 97-98
Multicolored
CARIBRO Naked 1650 2000 1.9-2.0 97-98
neck
Varna 1500 1800 2.1-2.25 97
We have been reading about combs of poultry, let us try to understand them briefly.
20.7 Types of Combs in poultry
✓ Breeds with single combs: Rhode Island Red, Leghorns, Minorcas etc.,
✓ Breeds with rose combs: Wyandottes, Leghorns etc.,
✓ Breeds with buttercup combs: Sicilian Buttercup (only breed)
✓ Breeds with pea combs: Brahmas, Sumatras
Note: Here, we have provided with most important examples. Rest just have an idea.
After studying about all the breeds, let us now try to understand how to rear poultry birds like housing,
feeding etc.,.
20.8 Poultry Rearing

Chickens are one of the most common and widespread domestic animals. Let us try to understand their
rearing.
20.8.1 General layout of poultry house

✓ Poultry house should be located away from residential and industrial area.
✓ It should have proper road facilities.
✓ It should have the basic amenities like water and electricity.
✓ Availability of farm labourers at relatively cheaper wages.
✓ Poultry house should be located in an elevated area and there should not be any water-logging.
✓ It should have proper ventilation.
✓ Layout should not allow visitors or outside vehicles near the sheds.
✓ The sheds should be so located that the fresh air first passes through the brooder shed, followed by
grower and layer sheds. This will prevent the spread of diseases from layer houses to brooder
house.
✓ There should be a minimum distance of 50-100 feet between chick and grower shed and the
distance between grower and layer sheds should be of minimum 100 metre.
✓ The egg store room, office room and the feed store room should be located near entrance to
minimize the movement of people around the poultry sheds.
✓ The disposal pit and sick room should be constructed only at the extreme end of the site.
20.9 Poultry Housing for Layers

Basically, three systems are commonly followed in our country (especially for Layers)
1. Deep litter system
2. Cage System
3. Elevated Cage system
20.9.1 Deep litter system:

✓ Deep litter system is commonly used in all over the world.
✓ Deep litter is an animal housing system, based on the repeated spreading of straw or sawdust
material in indoor booths.
✓ The birds are kept on suitable litter material of about 3” to 5” depth.
✓ An initial layer of litter is spread for the animals to use for bedding material and to defecate in, and
as the litter is soiled, new layers of litter are continuously added by the farmer.
✓ Arrangement for feed, water and nest are made inside the house.
✓ Usually paddy husk, saw dust, ground nut hulls, chopped paddy straw or wood shavings are used as
litter materials.
✓ This arrangement saves labour involved in frequent cleaning of faecal matter (droppings), however it
needs periodical stirring.
✓ The litter is spread on the floor in layers of 2” height every fortnightly till the required drying is
achieved.
20.9.1.1 Advantages
✓ Vit B2 and Vit B12 are made available to birds from the litter material by the bacterial action.
✓ The welfare of birds is maintained to some extent.
✓ The deep litter manure is a useful fertilizer.
✓ Lesser nuisance from flies when compared to cage system.
✓ Because of the direct contact between bird and litter, bacterial and parasitic disease may be a
problem.
✓ Respiratory problems may emerge due to dust from the litter.
✓ The cost of litter is an additional expenditure on production cost.
✓ Faults in ventilation can have more serious consequences than in the cage system.
20.9.2 Cage system

✓ The cage system of rearing birds has been considered as a super intensive system providing floor
area of 450-525 sq.cm (0.6-0.75 sq. feet) per bird.
✓ In cage the birds are kept in one, two or three per cage, arranged in single or double or triple rows.
✓ This system involves rearing of poultry on raised wire netting floor in smaller compartments, called
cages, either fitted with stands on floor of house or hanged from the roof.
✓ It has been proved very efficient for laying operations, right from day-old to till disposal.
✓ Currently, in the world, majority of commercial layers in the world are kept in cages.
✓ Feeders and waterers are attached to cages from outside except nipple waterers, for which pipeline
is installed through or above cages.
✓ Auto-operated feeding trolleys and egg collection belts can also be used in this rearing system.
✓ The droppings are either collected in trays underneath cages or on belts or on the floor or deep pit
under cages, depending on type of cages.
20.9.2.1 Advantages
✓ Minimum floor space is needed.
✓ More number of eggs per hen can be received.
✓ Less feed wastage.
✓ Better feed efficiency.
✓ Protection from internal parasites and soil borne illnesses.
✓ Sick and unproductive birds can be easily identified and eliminated.
✓ Clean eggs production.
✓ Vices like egg eating, pecking is minimal.
✓ Broodiness is minimal.
✓ No need of litter material.
✓ Artificial Insemination (AI) can be adopted.
✓ High initial investment cost.
✓ Handling of manure may be problem. Generally, flies become a greater nuisance.
✓ The incidence of blood spots in egg is more.
✓ In case of broilers, incidence of breast blisters is more, especially when the broilers weight is more
than 1.5 kg.
✓ Cage fatigue: Cage fatigue is considered to a physiological derangement of mineral electrolytes
imbalance. Leg weakness is common in caged birds. It may be due to Ca and P deficiency also.
✓ Fatty live syndrome: It is a problem met with caged layers due to increased deposition of fat in the
body resulting in death due to internal hemorrhage. Increasing the protein level and the diet
strengthened by the addition of choline, vitamin B12, inositol and vitamin-E may be helpful in
reducing the incidence of problem.
20.9.3 Elevated Cage system

✓ The height of the shed is raised by 6-7 feet using concrete pillars.
✓ The distance between two pillars is 10 feet.
✓ Two feet wide concrete platforms are made over the pillars. When 3 ‘M’ type cages are arranged 4
platforms are needed.
✓ In case of 2 ‘M’ and 2 ‘L’ type cages are arranged 3 platforms are needed.
✓ When constructing platforms projecting angles or iron rods to be provided to fix the cages.
✓ The inter-platform distance is 6-7 feet depending upon the type of the cages used.
✓ The total height of the house is 20-25 feet and the width is 30-33 feet.
✓ This type of house provides sufficient ventilation in tropical countries.
20.10 Poultry Housing for Broilers
Basically, Cage system of rearing is commonly followed in our country (especially for Broilers)
✓ Broiler cages are similar to that of grower cages. To prevent the breast blisters, the bottom of the
cage may be coated with some plastic materials.
✓ The floor space requirement in cages is 50% of the floor space needed in deep-litter.
✓ The relative advantages and disadvantages of cage rearing of broilers are
Advantages
✓ Higher density of rearing possible
✓ Easy to catch the birds at market time and hence reduces bruising
✓ No expenditure on litter
✓ No incidences of coccidiosis
✓ Reduced cannibalism
✓ Cleaning and disinfection easier
✓ Better growth and feed efficiency
Disadvantages
✓ Higher incidences of breast-blisters which increases carcass condemnations
✓ Higher incidences of crooked keel (it's the flexible wedge of cartilage connecting a chicken's breast
muscles at the tip of the breastbone)
✓ Wing bones will be more brittle which will be a disadvantage for the processor also.
✓ Birds are not having access to the unidentified growth factors in deep-litter system.
✓ Cleaning faecal-trays is not labour friendly.
✓ High initial investment on cages.
✓ Birds will be uncomfortable especially during summer
20.10.1 Management practices for Broilers

✓ Poultry house temperature: 1st week 950F is quite comfortable and reduced at the rate of 50F
weekly until 700F in 6th week.
✓ Ventilation: Maintain good aeration, remove the ammonia (bird droppings) regularly to avoid
suffocation to birds
✓ Lighting: 60 watt bulb for 200 sq. ft floor space
✓ De-beaking: debeaked when 1-day old
20.10.2 Floor space requirement for poultry - layers

Age (weeks) Deep litter (ft2) Cages (ft2)
0-8 0.60 0.20
9-18 1.25 0.30
18-72 1.50 0.50
20.10.3 Floor space requirement for poultry – broilers

Age Floor space/ bird
Up to 18 days 450 cm2 (0.5 sq.ft.)
From 19 days to 42 1000 cm2 (1.1 sq.ft.)
days
Based on the age and utility of poultry, the following terms are most commonly used.
✓ Broiler: Broiler are young chicken of either sex, which are reared primarily for meat purposes and
marketed at an age of 6-8 weeks
✓ Grower: The management of birds during 9-20 weeks or to the point of laying is referred to as grower
period.
✓ Layer: The management of birds during 21-72 weeks of age for the purpose of laying eggs (egg
production).
21 Egg Production Cycle

✓ Birds usually start to lay at around five months (20-21 weeks) of age and continue to lay for 12
months (52 weeks) on average, laying fewer eggs as they near the moulting period*.
✓ The typical production cycle lasts about 17 months (72 weeks) and involves three distinct phases, as
follows.
✓ Phase 1: Small chicks or brooders. This phase lasts from 0 to 2 months (0-8 weeks) during which
time small chicks are kept in facilities (brooder houses) separate from laying birds.
✓ Phase 2: Growers. This phase lasts about 3 months, from the ninth to the twentieth week of age.
Growers may be either housed separately from small chicks or continue to be reared in brooder-
cum-grower houses. It is important to provide appropriate care to the growers particularly between
their seventeenth and twentieth week of age as their reproductive organs develop during this
period.
✓ Phase 3: Layers. Growers are transferred from the grower house to the layer house when they are
18 weeks old to prepare for the laying cycle. Birds typically lay for a twelve-month period starting
when they are about 21 weeks old and lasting until they are about 72 weeks old.
* Moulting Period: To chickens, it's a sign that it is time to renew their feathers. Losing feathers and re-
growing them is called molting and occurs every year when the days get shorter.
During molt, chickens typically stop laying eggs and use this time to build up their nutrient reserves.
Other than the above, one important phase is hatching.
22 Hatching
✓ Incubation is the process by which certain oviparous (egg-laying) animals hatch their eggs; it also
refers to the development of the embryo within the egg under favorable environmental condition.
✓ Multiple and various factors are vital to the incubation of various species of animal. In many species
a constant and particular temperature is necessary for successful incubation.
✓ Especially in poultry, the act of sitting on eggs to incubate them is called brooding.
✓ The action or behavioral tendency to sit on a clutch of eggs is also called broodiness, and most egg-
laying breeds of poultry have had this behavior selectively bred out of them to increase production.
22.1 Natural incubation and hatching

✓ The incubation period for chicken eggs is 20 to 21 days, and increases up to 30 days for other
poultry. After sitting for some days, a broody hen can be given some newly hatched chicks and, if
they are accepted, the original eggs can be removed and replaced with more chicks. Thus hens with
a better record of mothering can be better utilised for their abilities.
✓ Eggs initially need a very controlled heat input to maintain the optimum temperature of 38°C,
because the embryo is microscopic in size.
✓ As the embryo grows in size (especially after 18 days), it produces more heat than it requires and
may even need cooling. Moisture levels of 60 to 80 percent Relative Humidity (increasing during
the incubation period) are important to stop excess moisture loss from the egg contents through
the porous egg shell and membranes.
✓ Factors to consider for successful natural incubation include the following:
o Feed and water should be close to the hen.
o The broody hen should be examined to ensure that she has no external parasites.
o Any eggs stored for incubation should be kept at a temperature between 12 and 14 °C, at a
high humidity of between 75 to 85 percent, and stored for no longer than seven days.
o Extra fertile eggs introduced under the hen from elsewhere should be introduced at dusk.
o The eggs should be tested for fertility after one week by holding them up to a bright light (a
candling box works best. If there is a dark shape inside the egg (the developing embryo),
then it is fertile. A completely clear (translucent) egg is infertile.
✓ A hatchability of 80 percent (of eggs set) from natural incubation is normal, but a range of 75 to 80
percent is considered satisfactory.
✓ Setting of hatchings is best timed so that the chicks to be hatched are two months of age at the
onset of major weather changes, such as either the rainy (or dry) season or winter/summer.
✓ A plentiful natural food supply over the growing period of the chicks will ensure a better chance for
their survival. Successful poultry species instinctively lay and incubate their eggs at a time of the
year when newly hatched chicks will have a better supply of high protein and energy food provided
by the environment. For example, guinea fowl will only lay eggs in the rainy season. However,
seasonal changes in weather patterns are also times of greater disease risk.
22.2 Artificial incubation and hatching

✓ The objectives of artificial incubation are met equally well using either parched rice or rice husks,
and a hatchability of 65 to 75 percent is common. By candling the eggs, infertile eggs can be
detected as “clears” (as the light is not obscured by the growing embryo).
✓ The eggs are candled on days 5 and 13, both to identify infertile eggs and dead embryos and to
assess the degree of embryo development; which is used as one of the guides in adjusting basket
temperature.
✓ These eggs are still suitable for sale for human consumption, which improves the economic viability
of this system.
✓ Generally, the artificial parched rice or rice husk incubation process is started by heating the eggs,
either in the sun or in an insulated warming room equipped with a heat source.
✓ On sunny days, approximately 25 to 30 chicken eggs or 40 duck eggs, (presumed fertile, and
carefully dated and labelled) are placed in the sun on pieces of padded cloth for about 30 minutes
and turned occasionally to raise the temperature of the eggs to the required 37 to 38 °C.
✓ This temperature can be judged by the appearance of water droplets on the shell or by touching the
egg to the eyelid.
✓ On sunless days, eggs must be placed on a cloth in a shallow bamboo basket and put on racks in a
heated warming room to slowly achieve the same temperature. This usually requires approximately
one to three hours.
✓ Artificial incubators are used generally by hatcheries*. The physical factors necessary for successful
incubation are
o Temperature;
o Humidity;
o Gaseous environment;
o Turning of eggs.
✓Optimum and uniform temperature inside the incubator is very essential for obtaining satisfactory
results.
✓The incubator temperature should be maintained as recommended by the manufacturer. It usually
varies from 99.5° to 100.5°F (37.2°C - 37.8°C) for forced draft-type incubators and about 1°F higher
for still-air incubators.
✓Humidity in the incubator affects hatchability - Dry and wet bulb thermometers are used for
measuring humidity.
✓The relative humidity should be around 60 per cent during the first 18 days of incubation and 70 per
cent in the last 3 days for optimum hatchability.
✓ In the forced draft-type incubators the· temperature requirement decreases as the humidity
increases.
* A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish
or poultry. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered
species under controlled conditions; alternatively, it may be for economic reasons.
22.3 Egg Science and Technology

Egg is the physiological product of the female reproductive system and a hen’s egg, apart from the ovum
does contain other nutrients for the growth and development of the embryo.
✓ Egg average weight : 50-60 gm.
✓ Egg contains yolk – 30%
✓ White or albumen – 58%
✓ Inner & outer shell membranes & shell – 12%
22.3.1 Nutrient composition: on egg weight

✓ 12% Protein
✓ 11% Fat
✓ 12% minerals and 65 % water
✓ Calories: 148 cal/100 gm.
22.3.2 Grading of eggs - By weight

✓ Extra large 60 gms
✓ Large 53-59 g.
✓ Medium 45-52 g.
✓ Small 38-44 g.
22.3.3 Agmark grading
AGMARK is the quality certification mark employed on agricultural products in India. Agmark (
Agriculture marketing ) Certifying agency is Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Government of
India.
✓ A-grade: Clean, unbroken shell, aircell, 4mm depth, clear, firm white well centered yolk free from
defects.
✓ B-grade: Clean, moderately tainted shell, aircell 8 mm depth, slightly off centered and shape visible
✓ No grade: Eggs classified as loss or no grade is edible - contaminated by smoke, chemical and other
foreign materials, which may effect the character and appearance.
23 Disease management in Poultry
23.1 Vitamin deficiency diseases

✓ Generally, diseases due to vitamin deficiency is most common among poultry birds which are
avoidable too. Let us now study about few diseases caused in poultry due to Vitamin deficiencies
✓ Vitamins are a group of organic compounds that poultry only require in small quantities, but they
are essential for normal body functions, growth, and reproduction.
✓ A deficiency of one or more vitamins can lead to a number of diseases or syndromes.
✓ Vitamins are divided into two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins
are A, D, E, and K. The water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the B vitamins.
✓ Poultry can make vitamin C, so there is no dietary requirement established for this vitamin. Vitamin
C supplementation is useful when birds are in stress.
23.1.1 Vitamin A
✓ It is required for normal growth, reproduction and maintenance of epithelial cells in good condition
(skin and the linings of the digestive, reproductive, and respiratory tracts).
✓ Deficiency causes nutritional roup, characterised by conjunctivitis, oculo-nasal discharge, and eyelids
stuck together with thick exudates. In advanced cases necrosis and keratinisation of mucosa of
alimentary and respiratory tract occurs.
✓ Fish liver oil and greens are rich sources of vitamin A.
23.1.2 Vitamin D3
✓ It is required for proper absorption and utilisation of calcium and phosphorous, which are required
for normal growth, bone development, and eggshell formation.
✓ Vitamin D can be produced when sunlight hits the bird's skin. Deficiency leads to rickets. Birds
produce thin shelled eggs with reduced hatchability, show leg weakness and penguin like sitting
posture. The beak, claws and ribs become very pliable.
✓ Characteristic feature is the bending of sternum and spinal column. Fish liver oils are rich sources
of vitamin D.
23.1.3 Vitamin E
✓ It is a powerful antioxidant and important for normal neurological functions. Deficiency leads to
encephalomalacia/crazy chick disease, exudative diathesis in young birds, muscular dystrophy seen
more frequently in older and mature birds.
23.1.4 Vitamin K
✓ It is essential for synthesis of prothrombin, thus it plays an important role in clotting mechanisms
and also has a protective effect against coccidiosis.
✓ Deficiency of vitamin K may cause an increase of blood spots in eggs, haemorrhages in the legs and
breast and a failure of blood clotting.
✓ Wheat germ oil, fish liver oil, alfalfa meal, greens, germinated pulses, soybean oil, grains and fish
meals are rich source of Vitamin A, D3, E and K.
23.1.5 B Complex
✓ The B vitamins include vitamin thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, folic
acid, and cyanocobalamin.
✓ The B vitamins are involved in many metabolic functions, including energy metabolism. A vitamin
premix is typically used to compensate for the fluctuating levels of vitamins found naturally in food
and to assure adequate levels of all vitamins.
✓ Thiamine (Vitamin B1) is necessary for proper carbohydrate metabolism. The deficient birds show
anorexia, loss of weight, ruffled feathers, dropping of wings and paralysis of muscles.
✓ The birds sit on flexed legs and draw back the head in a 'star-gazing' position. It is found in
abundance in rice polish, wheat bran and cereal grains.
✓ Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is part of enzyme systems so plays a vital role in metabolism. The
deficiency causes diarrhoea and “curled toe paralysis” in birds between the first and second week
of age.
✓ The affected birds walk upon their hocks with the aid of their wings. In adult birds, decreased egg
production, increased embryonic mortality and dead in shell chicks, with dwarfing and clubbing
down feathers are seen.
✓ Embryo mortality reaches a peak between 18 to 20 days of incubation. Grasses and brewer’s yeast
are rich source of this vitamin.
✓ Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) is necessary for proper metabolism of amino acids. Due to deficiency,
spasmodic convulsions and jerky movements are seen in sick birds. The bird should be fed cereal
grains, yeast and alfalfa meal.
✓ Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) is involved with nucleic acid synthesis, carbohydrate and fat
metabolism and methyl synthesis. This is found in all foods of animal origin.
✓ Its deficiency shows slowed growth, poor feed utilisation and reduced hatchability. Embryonic
mortality reaches peak on the 17th day of incubation.
✓ Myotrophy of legs and haemorrhages in the allantois of the embryo may be seen. Fish meal, milk
products and animal proteins are sources of vitamin B12.
23.1.6 Choline deficiency

✓ The deficiency of choline causes perosis, characterised by puffiness around the hock joint,
flattening of the tibiometatarsal joint and a twisting and bowing of the metatarsal with a slipping
of the Achilles tendon from the condyle.
✓ The livers of deficient birds show abnormal fat contents. Yeast, fish meal oil cake and synthetic
choline can be given to birds.
23.1.7 Manganese Deficiency

✓ Perosis occurs due to manganese deficiency in growing chicks.
✓ The symptoms are enlargement of the hock joints and bending of the distal ends of long bones.
Shipped tendon causes loss of control over the legs. The disease is incurable.
✓ It can be prevented by increasing sufficient quantity of manganese salts in the feed.
23.2 Viral Diseases
23.2.1 Ranikhet Disease (New Castle disease)

✓ Affect birds of all ages
✓ Most destructive disease in broilers (upto 100% mortality)
✓ It is one of the most dreaded diseases of poultry
✓ It causes very heavy mortality at a very high speed.
✓ It is caused by paramyxo virus
✓ Chicken is the natural host but vast majority of birds are susceptible to infection including ducks and
turkey .
✓ The neurotropic form of the disease is clinically manifested by ataxia, opisthotonus, torticolis,
paresis and paralysis of legs.
✓ Affect birds of all ages
✓ Sneezing, Cough, gasping for breath, Depression, prostration, loss of appetite initially
✓ Later on greenish water diarrhea with odour and twisting of head
23.2.2 Fowl pox/Chicken pox(Pox virus)

✓ It is a viral infection and is very contagious.
✓ Young birds are more susceptible to this disease and the mortality rate is almost 100%.
✓ The symptoms of this disease are wart-like protuberance on comb and wattles. The eyes and nostrils
often become covered by a yellow, cheesy discharge which sometimes causes respiratory trouble.
✓ There is no effective treatment for this disease. However, the skin of the suffering bird should be
washed with dettol and silver nitrate or a saturated solution of picric acid can be applied on the
affected part.
✓ For prevention, those chicks, above four weeks of age should be vaccinated in the thigh with
“pigeon pox vaccine”.
✓ The 12-16 weeks old chicks should be vaccinated with “fowl pox vaccine” on the wings. On the
sudden outbreak of this disease all the affected birds should be immediately isolated.
23.2.3 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

✓ Highly Pathogenic
✓ Avian Influenza(HPAI) is a highly lethal systemic disease affecting vast majority of birds.
✓ It is caused by the Influenza Type A virus. H5N1 causes bird flu. Because of the zoonotic as well as
pandemic potential, the disease gained much public health importance.
✓ Water birds and migratory birds, ducks act as carriers and spread the infection. Bird flu is highly
contagious among birds and also effects ducks, and turkeys.
✓ Sudden, heavy and unusual mortality reaching almost 100% without any clinical signs. Combs and
wattles are cyanotic and oedematous, and may have petechial or ecchymotic haemorrhages at their
tips. Profuse watery diarrhoea is frequently present and birds are excessively thirsty.
✓ Respiration may be laboured. Haemorrhages may occur on unfeathered areas of skin.
✓ The mortality rate varies from 50 to 100%.
✓ Nervous disorders like tremors, torticollis and opisthotonus
✓ In broilers, the signs of disease are frequently less obvious with severe depression, lack of appetite,
and a marked increase in mortality. Edema of the face and neck and neurological signs such as
torticollis and ataxia may also be seen.
23.2.4 Mareck’s Disease (Herpes Virus)

✓ Marek’s Disease Virus (MDV) is a highly contagious viral infection that predominantly affects
chickens but can also affect pheasants, quail, gamefowl and turkeys.
✓ It is one of the most common diseases that affects poultry flocks worldwide. Clinical disease is not
always apparent in infected flocks, however subclinical disease is often more economically
important as it reduces weight gain and egg production.
✓ Mortality rates can be very high in susceptible birds.
✓ Marek’s Disease (MD) results in enlarged nerves and in tumour formation in nerve, organ, muscle
and epithelial (cells that line the internal and external surfaces of the body) tissue.
✓ Clinical signs include paralysis of the legs, wings and neck, weight loss, grey iris or irregular pupil,
vision impairment and the skin around feather follicles can be raised and roughened.
✓ Affected birds are immunosuppressed and as a consequence are more susceptible to other
infectious diseases.
23.2.5 Gumboro Disease

✓ Infectious Bursal Disease(IBD) is a highly contagious viral disease of young chicken causing serious
economic losses.
✓ The virus targets the Bursa of Fabricius, an important part of immune system making the bird
susceptible to other infections. Inflammation of bursa.
✓ Dullness, depression and death, Whitish diarrhea.
✓ Mortality heavy in the initial out breaks in a farm.
✓ Hemorrhages in the thigh and pectoral muscles, Bursa enlarged, edematous and hyperemic with
bloody or mucoid contents inside.
✓ Bursa firm and atrophic in chronic form. Kidney may show nephrosis and mottling.
✓ Vaccines are available for prevention
✓ Chicks of 3 weeks age become most susceptible to other infections as immunity weakens.
✓ Layers are most susceptible.
23.2.6 Avian Leucosis

✓ It is causes by viral infection and is supposed to be an important disease.
✓ The symptoms depend upon the parts affected by this disease. In general, death occurs due to
paralysis and heart failure.
✓ There is no effective treatment for this disease.
✓ However, it can be prevented by raising the stock resistant to this disease.
✓ General cleanliness of poultry equipment can check the spreading of this disease.
✓ The affected bird should be immediately culled.
23.2.7 Infectious Bronchitis

✓ It is a highly infectious viral disease of poultry of worldwide distribution.
✓ It can affect any age, breed or type. Chicken is the only bird that is naturally infected by this virus.
✓ Respiratory signs like coughing, sneezing and rales in chicks, discharges from eyes and nostrils.
✓ Drop in egg production (drops by 60-90 %) and hatchability. Production of deformed, thin shelled,
rough eggs with low internal egg quality.
✓ Mortality low in uncomplicated case.
23.2.8 Egg Drop Syndrome

✓ Caused by adeno virus.
✓ Sudden and variable drop in egg production (30- 40%) in laying hens.
✓ Production of depigmented, cracked or shell less eggs.
✓ Disease runs for a few weeks and egg production returns to normal.
23.3 Bacterial Diseases
23.3.1 Infectious Coryza (Haemophilus gallinarum)

✓ The symptoms are inflammation of the head sinuses and respiratory passage leading to respiratory
problem. The birds show inactivity, coughing and sneezing. Discharge from eyes and nostrils, Eyelids
stick together, Swelling of eyes & face.
✓ Can be controlled using Sulphurdrug@0.05% in feed or water or Tetracycline and Streptomycine
✓ Greens, rich in Vit A, Such as Barseem and Lucerne may be fed to prevent this.
✓ The disease can be checked by improving the sanitary conditions and removing dampness.
23.3.2 Collibacillosis (E. coli)

Symptoms are diarrhoea of varying degrees, swelling on wattle & comb, poor growth.
23.3.3 Tuberculosis
✓ It is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Micobacterium tuberclosis.
✓ The symptoms are loss of body muscles. At the acute stage, paralysis of legs occurs.
✓ There is no treatment and the affected bird should be isolated on detection by “tuberculin test”.
23.3.4 Fowl Cholera

✓ It is of rare occurrence in India. It is caused due to bacteria called Pasteurella ariseptica.
✓ Symptoms are diarrhoea, general weakness etc.
✓ The treatment is providing birds with one ounce sulphamezathine (16%) in seven litres of water.
Methanol and thynol should be dissolved with drinking water.
✓ As a preventive measure, the birds should be vaccinated with “fowl cholera serum” followed after a
week by “fowl cholera vaccine”.
✓ The affected birds should be kept aloof.
23.3.5 Bacillary white diarrhoea

✓ Causes pullorum disease
✓ Fatal septicemia of young chicks. Caused by Salmonella pullorum
✓ Weakness, Loss of appetite, Chalky white diarrhoea, Stained greenish brown(sometimes) in and
around vent
✓ Treatment can be given by administering Enrofloxacin, Parenteral injections, Oral liquids, Supportive
therapy
23.3.6 Bumble foot pododermatitis

✓ Injury to the lower surface of the foot and subsequent infection with Staphylococcus bacteria
✓ Common causes of injury: Rough perches, Splinters, Wire floors, Poor litter or bedding quality
✓ Symptoms include Lameness, Swelling of the foot pad, Hard, pus‐filled abscess on foot pad
✓ Treatment - Soak foot in warm water and Epsom salts, disinfect with alcohol. If skin is open, drain
pus from abscess. Flush abscess cavity with hydrogen peroxide to cleanout pus and debris. Pack the
cavity with antibiotic ointment. Wrap the foot with gauze and elastic bandage. Repeat daily until
foot heals.
✓ Prevention and control: Provide good quality litter or bedding. Keep bedding clean, dry, and deep.
Keep perches less than 18 inches from the floor to prevent foot damage due to impact from
jumping. Remove potential sources of injury such as sharp objects and/or surfaces.
23.4 Protozoan Diseases
23.4.1 Coccidiosis
✓ This disease is caused by a group of protozoan parasites called coccidia. Two important members of
this group namely, Eimeria tenella and Eimeria mitis affect caeca (caecal coccidiosis) and anterior
portion of the small intestine (intestinal coccidiosis) respectively.
✓ Intracellular parasites mainly affect the intestines of chicks between 3 – 10 weeks age
✓ Cause heavy mortality(50 -70%)
✓ Affected birds do not eat
✓ Blood and mucus is seen in droppings
✓ Drooping of wings
✓ Reduction in egg yield.
✓ Treatment is done by the administration of 1/2% mixture of sulphamezathene and
sulphaquinoxalme with drinking water for about a week.
✓ Preventive measures include general improvement in the sanitary condition of the rearing house
and the administration of sulpha drugs with the feed from time to time.
23.4.2 Spirochaetosis (Tick fever)

✓ It is a highly fatal disease caused by an organism called Borrelia gallinarum.
✓ The fowl tick (Argus persicus) is the transmitting agent from one bird to other.
✓ The common symptoms are rise in temperature and a subsequent sudden drop below normal, loss
of appetite, increased thirst, profuse loose discharge etc. In advanced condition, paralysis of legs
and wings occurs and the birds die within 24-48 hours of the appearance of these symptoms.
Mortality rate is 70—100%.
✓ The affected bird should be injected with soamin and sulphursenol in 2 and 1 ratio respectively per
kg. of body weight. The chemical can be injected in the breast muscle by first dissolving it in distilled
water.
✓ For prevention, the material used for the construction of house should be tick free. The body of
newly purchased birds should be rubbed with gamaxine or BHC powder. As a safeguard, birds can be
injected with sulphursenol once a year.
✓ Female birds are more susceptible than males
23.5 Others
23.5.1 Feather Picking

✓ This is a peculiar habit in which birds start picking feathers, toes, combs etc. of one another.
✓ This habit may develop due to overcrowding of birds in a confined area and due to nutritional
deficiency.
✓ Treatment by adding 2-4% extra salt in the feed is effective.
✓ In acute case the upper mandible of the bird showing the picking habit may be trimmed by sharp
knife or they may be put under isolation.
23.5.2 Crop Bound

✓ This disease is caused as a result of regular over-eating especially of rough and fibrous food.
✓ The crop becomes enlarged and protrudes prominently.
✓ In the initial stage, treatment by administering a teaspoon full of castor oil is very effective.
However, in acute cases removal of crop content is done through surgery.
✓ For the first 2-3 days after surgery, birds should be provided liquid diet only.
23.5.3 Other diseases

✓ There are several other diseases of less common occurrence caused by environmental factors,
namely, “Egg bound” (difficulty in egg-laying due to narrow cloacal passage), “Vent gleet’’(ulcer of
cloaca), “Bumble foot” (swelling and abscess of the foot), “Subcutaneous Emphysema (skin
distended with air) etc.
23.6 Vaccinations in Poultry

✓ Vaccination plays an important part in the health management of the poultry flock. There are
numerous diseases that are prevented by vaccinating the birds against them.
✓ A vaccine helps to prevent a particular disease by triggering or boosting the bird’s immune system to
produce antibodies that in turn fight the invading causal organisms.
23.6.1 Types of Vaccines
23.6.1.1 Live vaccine

The active part of the vaccine is the live organism that causes the disease. As such, it is capable of
inducing the disease in birds that have not had previous contact that organism. Vaccinated birds, in
many cases are able to infect non-vaccinated birds if housed together.
23.6.1.2 Attenuated vaccine

✓ With this type of vaccine the organism has been weakened by special procedures during
manufacture so that it has lost its ability to cause the serious form of the disease.
✓ At worst, the birds may contract a very mild form of the disease, however, the vaccine still has the
ability to trigger the immune system to produce antibodies.
✓ Attenuation is a process by which the pathogenicity/ capability of producing a disease is brought
down with out disturbing the immune-genecity. Examples: Lasota vaccine, F1, R2B, IBD live vaccine
23.6.1.3 Killed vaccine

With this type of vaccine the organism has been killed and is unable to cause the disease, although the
ability to trigger the immune system remains. In many cases, the level of immunity produced by this
form of vaccine is weaker than that produced by live and attenuated vaccines. Examples: ND killed
vaccine
23.6.2 Vaccines classified based on their contents
23.6.2.1 Viral vaccines

ND, IBD, IB vaccine
23.6.2.2 Bacterial vaccines

coryza killed vaccine
23.6.2.3 Parasitic vaccines

Coccivin ( againist Coccidiosis)
23.6.3 Method of administration of Vaccine

✓ There are a number of ways that vaccines may be administered to poultry and it is very important
that the correct method be used for each vaccine.
✓ To use the wrong method will often result in failure of the vaccine to produce the desired immunity.
✓ Some of the methods require the operator to handle every bird and, consequently are time
consuming and stressful to the birds and operator. Other methods involve administration by
methods much less stressful and time consuming.
✓ These methods include administration via the drinking water or as an aerosol spray.
✓ The different ways that the vaccines may be administered to poultry are below.
23.6.3.1 Intra occular (I/O)

Administerd by putting drops in eye. Examples: IBD, IB Live, Lasota
23.6.3.2 Intra nasal

Administered through nostrils or mouth. Birds should not be supplied water for 2 hours. Examples:
Lasota, IBD Live
23.6.3.3 Drinking water

✓ Now a days popular.
✓ The temperature of water brought down to temperature of vaccine by ice and stabilizer like
skimmed milk powder.
✓ For 10 litr of water 1 kg ice and 60gm skimmed milk powder used.
✓ Birds made thristy for 2-3 hours before vaccination , so that they drink water immediately.
Examples: Lasota, IBD Live
23.6.3.4 Wing web

✓ With this method the vaccine is introduced into the wing by a special needle(s).
✓ These needles have a groove along their length from just behind the point. When dipped into the
vaccine some of the vaccine remains on the needle to fill the groove. The needle(s) are then pushed
through the web just behind the leading edge of the wing and just out from its attachment to the
body of the bird. Examples: Fowl pox
23.6.3.5 Vent
Vaccine is rubbed to upper part of cloaca with a small glass rod. Examples: ILT
23.6.3.6 Sub cutaneous

Vaccine is deposited under skin by injection with insertion of needle. Example: marek’s disease
23.6.3.7 Intra-muscular
Vaccine is deposited in between muscle fibres by injection. Ex: ND killes, R2B, IBD killed.
23.6.3.8 Aerosal sprays

✓ Vaccine is sprayed in air in the form of fine mist, which is absorbed by birds through nostrils. -mass
vaccination for large scale poultry farms.
✓ Generally mass vaccination was followed in commercial farms. A spray vaccination is more invasive
and may give better results than a drinking water vaccination and it allows the vaccine to penetrate
more deeply into respiratory tract.
23.6.3.9 In-ovo vaccination

✓ Most latest method of administering vaccination.
✓ Using the method of in-ovo vaccination, the vaccine is administered into the embryo before hatch.
✓ Injection in the body of the embryo or the allantoic sac is effective. Therefore, the optimum period
to inject the embryo is in the late stage of development, i.e. about the time when the chicken tucks
its head under its wings.
23.7 Vaccination programme for commercial broilers

✓ 0 day – Marek’s disease, HVT strain, strictly sub cutaneous.
✓ 5 – 7 days of age- Ranikhet Disease, Lasota strain to be given by occulo-nasal method (one drop
each in the eye and nostrils) or drinking water.
✓ 14th day – IBD or Gumboro Disease live georgia vaccine (intermediate) by eye drop or drinking
water method.
✓ 25-28 days of age: RD lasota vaccine through drinking water.
23.8 Vaccination programme for commercial layers
For
Fisheries

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Branches of cultivation and harvesting fishes ................................................................................... 8
1.1 What is Fisheries? .................................................................................................................... 8
1.2 What is pisciculture? ................................................................................................................ 8
1.3 What is Aquaculture? ............................................................................................................... 8
1.4 What is Mariculture?................................................................................................................ 8
2 Classification of Fishery Resource into Fin and Non-Fin .................................................................... 9
3 Classification of Fishery Resource into Capture and Culture Fishery ................................................. 9
3.1 C Capture fisheries ................................................................................................................. 10
3.2 Culture fisheries ..................................................................................................................... 10
4 Classification of the Capture Fisheries ............................................................................................ 10
4.1 Marine Fishery ....................................................................................................................... 10
5 Classification of Marine Fishery...................................................................................................... 11
5.1 Pelagic Fish ............................................................................................................................ 11
5.1.1 Coastal Fish .................................................................................................................... 11
5.1.2 Oceanic Fish ................................................................................................................... 12
5.2 Demersal Fish......................................................................................................................... 13
5.3 Deep Sea Pelagic Fish (Below Photic Zone) ............................................................................. 14
6 Inland Fishery ................................................................................................................................ 15
6.1 Riverine Fisheries ................................................................................................................... 16
6.1.1 Ganges River System ...................................................................................................... 16
6.1.2 Fisheries of the Godavari River System ........................................................................... 17
6.1.3 Fisheries of the Krishna River System.............................................................................. 17
6.1.4 Fisheries of the Cauveri River System.............................................................................. 17
6.1.5 West Coast River System: ............................................................................................... 18
6.1.6 Fishery of the Narmada River System: ............................................................................ 18
6.1.7 Fisheries of the Tapti River System ................................................................................. 18
6.2 Reservoirs .............................................................................................................................. 18
6.2.1 Potential transferable area ............................................................................................. 19
6.2.2 Production guidelines/ user guidelines including input requirements ............................. 19
6.3 Estuarines .............................................................................................................................. 20

6.4 Wetland Fishery ..................................................................................................................... 22
6.4.1 Functions of the wetlands............................................................................................... 22
6.4.2 Different kinds of wetlands ............................................................................................. 23
6.4.3 Wetlands in India and its management ........................................................................... 23
6.4.4 Species Options .............................................................................................................. 24
7 Culture Fisheries ............................................................................................................................ 24
7.1 Freshwater Aquaculture......................................................................................................... 25
7.2 Prawn culture......................................................................................................................... 25
7.2.1 Stocking.......................................................................................................................... 25
7.2.2 Water Quality and Management .................................................................................... 26
7.2.3 Harvesting of Fresh Water Prawn ................................................................................... 26
7.3 Brackish Fisheries ................................................................................................................... 27
7.3.1 Shrimp Culture ............................................................................................................... 27
7.4 Marine Cage Aquaculture....................................................................................................... 29
7.4.1 Cage Farming in India ..................................................................................................... 29
7.4.2 Size................................................................................................................................. 29
7.4.3 Stocking.......................................................................................................................... 29
7.5 Ornamental Fisheries ............................................................................................................. 30
7.5.1 Aquarium fishes.............................................................................................................. 30
7.5.2 Aquarium plants ............................................................................................................. 30
8 Aquaculture ................................................................................................................................... 33
8.1 Classification of Aquaculture .................................................................................................. 34
8.1.1 Based on the degree of intensity .................................................................................... 34
8.1.2 Based on the type of environment within which the cultivation takes place and the
species is cultivated (Eg. Based on Salinity) .................................................................................... 34
8.1.3 On the basis of species stocked for farming .................................................................... 35
8.2 Fish Pond Culture ................................................................................................................... 35
8.3 Pen and Cage Culture ............................................................................................................. 36
8.3.1 Cage Culture................................................................................................................... 36
8.3.2 Pen Culture..................................................................................................................... 37
8.4 Raceway................................................................................................................................. 37
8.4.1 Linear Type..................................................................................................................... 37

8.4.2 Lateral Type.................................................................................................................... 37
8.4.3 Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) ......................................................................... 37
9 Integrated Fish Farming ................................................................................................................. 38
9.1 Fish cum Poultry System......................................................................................................... 39
9.1.1 Fish sub system .............................................................................................................. 39
9.1.2 Chicken sub-system ........................................................................................................ 42
10 Carp Culture............................................................................................................................... 44
10.1 Species Suitable for Farming .................................................................................................. 44
11 Composite fish Culture............................................................................................................... 45
11.1 Pre-Stocking Management ..................................................................................................... 45
11.1.1 Pond Construction .......................................................................................................... 46
11.1.2 Control measures ........................................................................................................... 46
11.1.3 Eradication of unwanted fish .......................................................................................... 48
11.1.4 Fertilization .................................................................................................................... 50
11.2 On stocking management....................................................................................................... 50
11.2.1 Selection of species ........................................................................................................ 50
11.3 Post-Stocking Management.................................................................................................... 51
11.3.1 Water Quality ................................................................................................................. 51
11.3.2 Physico-chemical characteristics of pond water for fish culture ...................................... 52
12 Air breathing fishes .................................................................................................................... 54
12.1 Advantages of Culturing Air-Breathing Fishes ......................................................................... 54
12.2 Cultivable Species of Air-Breathing Fishes in India: ................................................................. 54
12.3 The culture of air-breathing fishes is done by the following ways ........................................... 55
12.3.1 Pond culture ................................................................................................................... 55
12.3.2 Swamp culture ............................................................................................................... 55
12.3.3 Cage Culture................................................................................................................... 55
12.3.4 High Density Culture....................................................................................................... 56
12.4 Harvesting.............................................................................................................................. 56
13 Fish Harvest Technology ............................................................................................................ 56
13.1 Significance ............................................................................................................................ 56
13.2 Fish Harvesting Systems ......................................................................................................... 57

14 Post-Harvest Fisheries................................................................................................................ 58
14.1 Processing Technology of Fisheries......................................................................................... 58
14.1.1 Freezing.......................................................................................................................... 58
14.1.2 Double Freezing.............................................................................................................. 59
14.1.3 Handling of fish before freezing ...................................................................................... 59
14.1.4 Drying of Fish.................................................................................................................. 60
14.1.5 Different methods exist to suppress bacterial growth ..................................................... 60
14.2 By-Products and Value Addition ............................................................................................. 61
14.3 The following is the list of the important by-products............................................................. 61
14.4 Fish as Food ........................................................................................................................... 63
14.4.1 Significance of Fish as Food ............................................................................................ 63
14.4.2 Nutrient Profile of Fish.................................................................................................... 63
14.4.3 Proteins .......................................................................................................................... 63
14.4.4 Fatty acids/Fish Oils ........................................................................................................ 63
15 Animal Classification – Overall (at the broader level).................................................................. 64
15.1 Taxonomy of Fish ................................................................................................................... 64
15.1.1 Class – Cyclostomata ...................................................................................................... 65
15.1.2 Class – Chondrichthyes ................................................................................................... 65
15.1.3 Class – Osteichthyes ....................................................................................................... 65
15.2 Difference between the two classes ....................................................................................... 66
15.3 Classification of fish Species According to their Feeding Habits............................................... 66
16 Important terminology of Fisheries ............................................................................................ 68

Till now, we have studied about Various agricultural crops, horticultural crops and Animal
Husbandry/poultry as well. Let us now study about Fishes and fisheries.

1 Branches of cultivation and harvesting fishes
1.1 What is Fisheries?

✓ Fisheries is the body, department or setup that deals with all the aspects about harvesting or raising
of fish.
Ichthyology is the branch of science dealing with the study of fishes, with the study of commercial
aspects of fishes, including the study of hydrobiology (chemistry of water), limnology (behaviour of
environment), population dynamics, (Craft) use of nets and gears, methods of fish catching and detection,
study of pollution, aquaculture and breeding etc.
1.2 What is pisciculture?

✓ The breeding, rearing and transplantation of fish by artificial means is called pisciculture, in other
words, fish farming. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food.
1.3 What is Aquaculture?

✓ It is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish and even plants thus it involves the
production of all types of aquatic organisms in water bodies.
✓ It refers to the cultivation of both marine and freshwater species and can range from land-based to
open-ocean production.
1.4 What is Mariculture?

✓ It involves the cultivation of only marine organism unlike any aquatic organism. This is the method
of fish farming which is done usually on very broader scale means by forming an enclosed section in
the ocean.
✓ It is done mostly to obtain commercial products by marine organisms like cosmetics, fish meal,
cultured pearls etc.
Now, let us see the broad classification of the Fishery Resources

2 Classification of Fishery Resource into Fin and Non-Fin
Fin Fisheries is the fisheries of true fishes whereas Non-Fin fisheries is the fisheries of organisms other
than true fish like prawn, crab, lobster, mussel, oyster, sea cucumbers, frog, sea weeds, etc.
What are true fishes?
In Aquaculture, the true fish are referred to as finfish (or fin fish) to distinguish them from these other
animals.
A typical fish is ectothermic (usually referred to as cold-blooded animals), has a streamlined body for
rapid swimming, extracts oxygen from water using gills or uses an accessory breathing organ to breathe
atmospheric oxygen, has two sets of paired fins, usually one or two (rarely three) dorsal fins, an anal fin,
and a tail fin, has jaws, has skin that is usually covered with scales, and lays eggs.
3 Classification of Fishery Resource into Capture and Culture Fishery

Fishery Resource can further be classified based on the mode of capturing and the methodology involved
into Capture Fishery and Culture Fishery

3.1 C Capture fisheries
✓ It is intended for catching fishes, prawns, lobsters, crabs, molluscs etc.
✓ Capture fisheries is exploitation of aquatic organisms without stocking the seed.
✓ This is carried out in the sea, rivers, reservoirs, etc.
✓ Capture Fishery can be classified into Marine Fishery and Inland Fishery.
Fish Seed: Fertilized fish eggs are known as Fish seeds. In simple words, they are the baby fishes
used for seeding new Ponds in fisheries.
'Seed' appears to be an industrial/technical term in fish farming used to refer either collectively to the
juvenile life stages of fish (hatchling, spawn, fry and fingerling), or specifically to fry (the stage after the
yolk sac disappears and before scales form).
3.2 Culture fisheries

✓ Culture fisheries is the cultivation of selected fishes in confined areas with utmost care to get
maximum yield.
✓ The seed is stocked, nursed and reared in confined waters, then the crop is harvested.
✓ Culture takes place in ponds, which are fertilized, and supplementary feeds are provided to fish to get
maximum yield.
4 Classification of the Capture Fisheries
4.1 Marine Fishery

It refers to the fishing in the marine waters. It can be again classified into 3 types. Pelagic, Demersal and
Deep sea. Zones of ocean
5 Classification of Marine Fishery
5.1 Pelagic Fish

✓ Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters - being neither close to the bottom nor
near the shore - in contrast with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish,
which are associated with coral reefs.
✓ The marine pelagic environment is the largest aquatic habitat on Earth, occupying 1,370 million cubic
kilometres (330 million cubic miles), and is the habitat for 11 percent of known fish species.
✓ The oceans have a mean depth of 4000 metres. About 98 percent of the total water volume is below
100 metres, and 75 percent is below 1000 metres.
Marine pelagic fish can be divided into pelagic coastal fish and oceanic pelagic fish.
Coastal fish inhabit the relatively shallow and sunlit waters above the continental shelf, while oceanic
fish (which may well also swim inshore) inhabit the vast and deep waters beyond the continental shelf.
✓ Pelagic fish range in size from small coastal forage fish, such as herrings and sardines, to large apex
predator oceanic fishes, such as the Southern bluefin tuna and oceanic sharks.
✓ They are usually agile swimmers with streamlined bodies, capable of sustained cruising on long
distance migrations.
The Indo-Pacific sailfish, an oceanic pelagic fish, can sprint at over 110 kilometres per hour. Some
tuna species cruise across the Pacific Ocean. Many pelagic fish swim in schools weighing hundreds of
tonnes. Others are solitary, like the large ocean sunfish weighing over 500 kilograms, which
sometimes drift passively with ocean currents, eating jellyfish.
Let us study the types of marine pelagic fish: Coastal fish and Oceanic fish in detail
5.1.1 Coastal Fish

✓ Coastal fish (also called neritic or inshore fish) inhabit the waters near the coast and above the
continental shelf.
✓ Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres deep, it follows that coastal fish that are
not demersal fish are usually epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone.
✓ Coastal epipelagic fish are among the most abundant in the world.
✓ They include forage fish as well as the predator fish that feed on them. Forage fish thrive in those
inshore waters where high productivity results from the upwelling and shoreline run off of nutrients.
Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger
predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
Some are partial residents that spawn in streams, estuaries and bays, but most complete their life
cycle in the zone.
5.1.2 Oceanic Fish

✓ Oceanic fish inhabit the oceanic zone, which is the deep open water which lies beyond the
continental shelves.
✓ Oceanic fish (also called open ocean or offshore fish) live in the waters that are not above the
continental shelf.
✓ Oceanic fish can be contrasted with coastal fish, which do live above the continental shelf.
✓ However, the two types are not mutually exclusive, since there are no firm boundaries between
coastal and ocean regions, and many epipelagic fish move between coastal and oceanic waters,
particularly in different stages in their life cycle.
✓ Oceanic epipelagic fish can be true residents, partial residents, or accidental residents.
5.1.2.1 True residents

✓ They live their entire life in the open ocean. Only a few species are true residents, such as tuna,
billfish, flying fish, sauries, commercial pilot fish and remoras, dolphin, ocean sharks and ocean
sunfish. Most of these species migrate back and forth across open oceans, rarely venturing over
continental shelves.
✓ Some true residents associate with drifting jellyfish or seaweeds.
5.1.2.2 Partial residents

✓ They again occur in three groups
✓ Species which live in the zone only when they are juveniles (drifting with jellyfish and seaweeds);
species which live in the zone only when they are adults (salmon, flying fish, dolphin and whale
sharks); and deep-water species which make nightly migrations up into the surface waters (such as
the lantern fish).
5.1.2.3 Accidental residents

They occur occasionally when adults and juveniles of species from other environments are carried by
accident into the zone by currents.
While studying the marine pelagic fish, let us have a look at ‘Epipelagic Fish’ that inhibits the ‘Epipelagic
Zone’
✓ The epipelagic zone is vast and is the home for most pelagic fish.
✓ The zone is well lit so visual predators can use their eyesight, is usually well mixed and oxygenated
from wave action, and can be a good habitat for algae to grow. However, it is an almost featureless
habitat.
✓ This lack of habitat diversity results in a lack of species diversity, so the zone supports less than 2
percent of the world's known fish species.
✓ Much of the zone lacks nutrients for supporting fish, so epipelagic fish tend to be found in coastal
water above the continental shelves, where land runoff can provide nutrients, or in those parts of
the ocean where upwelling moves nutrients into the area.
• Epipelagic fish can be broadly divided into small forage fish and larger predator fish, which feed on
them.
• Forage fish school and filter feed on plankton. Most epipelagic fish have streamlined bodies capable of
sustained cruising on migrations.
• In general, predatory and forage fish share the same morphological features.
• Predator fish are usually fusiform with large mouths, smooth bodies, and deeply forked tails.
• Many use vision to predate zooplankton or smaller fish, while others filter feed on plankton.
✓ Though the number of species is limited, epipelagic fishes are abundant.

✓ What they lack in diversity they make up in numbers.
✓ Forage fish occur in huge numbers, and large fish that predate on them are often sought after as
premier food fish.
✓ As a group, epipelagic fishes form the most valuable fisheries in the world.
✓ Many forage fish are facultative predators that can pick individual copepods or fish larvae out of the
water column, and then change to filter feeding on phytoplankton when energetically that gives better
results.
5.2 Demersal Fish

✓ Demersal fish live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).
✓ They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In
coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on
or near the continental slope or along the continental rise.
✓ They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain,
but they can be found around seamounts and islands.
✓ The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
✓ Demersal fish are bottom feeders.
✓ They can be contrasted with pelagic fish which live and feed away from the bottom in the open water
column.
✓ Demersal fish fillets contain little fish oil (one to four percent), whereas pelagic fish can contain up
to 30 percent.
Types of Demersal fish

✓ Demersal fish can be divided into two main types: strictly benthic fish which can rest on the sea floor,
and benthopelagic fish which can float in the water column just above the sea floor.
✓ Benthopelagic fish have neutral buoyancy, so they can float at depth without much effort, while
strictly benthic fish are denser, with negative buoyancy so they can lie on the bottom without any
effort. Most demersal fish are benthopelagic.
The Demersal fish can also be divided into Coastal Demersal Fish and Deep Water Demersal fish.
✓ Coastal demersal fish are found on or near the seabed of coastal waters between the shoreline and
the edge of the continental shelf, where the shelf drops into the deep ocean. Since the continental
shelf is generally less than 200 metres deep, this means that coastal waters are generally epipelagic.
The term includes demersal reef fish and demersal fish that inhabit estuaries, inlets and bays.
✓ Deep water demersal fish occupy the benthic regions beyond the continental margins. On the
continental slope, demersal fishes are common. They are more diverse than coastal demersal fish,
since there is more habitat diversity.
5.3 Deep Sea Pelagic Fish (Below Photic Zone)

✓ Deep-sea fish are fish that live in the darkness below the sunlit surface waters, that is below the
epipelagic or photic zone of the ocean.
✓ The lantern fish is, by far, the most common deep-sea fish.
✓ Other deep-sea fish include the flashlight fish, cookie cutter shark, bristle mouths, anglerfish, and
viperfish.
✓ Only about 2% of known marine species inhabit the pelagic environment.
✓ This means that they live in the water column as opposed to the benthic organisms that live in or on
the sea floor.
✓ Deep-sea organisms generally inhabit bathypelagic (1000m-4000m deep) and abyssopelagic
(4000m-6000m deep) zones.
✓ However, characteristics of deep-sea organisms, such as bioluminescence can be seen in the
mesopelagic (200m-1000m deep) zone as well.
✓ The mesopelagic zone is the disphotic zone, meaning light there is minimal but still measurable. The
oxygen minimum layer exists somewhere between a depth of 700m and 1000m deep depending on
the place in the ocean. This area is also where nutrients are most abundant. The bathypelagic and
abyssopelagic zones are aphotic, meaning that no light penetrates this area of the ocean.
✓ These zones make up about 75% of the inhabitable ocean space. The zone that deep-sea fish do not
inhabit is the epipelagic zone (0m-200m), which is the area where light penetrates the water and
photosynthesis occurs.
Some important facts

Marine Snow:
• In deep water, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper
layers of the water column.
• Its origin lies in activities within the productive photic zone. Marine snow includes dead or dying
plankton, protists (diatoms), fecal matter, sand, soot and other inorganic dust.
• The "snowflakes" grow over time and may reach several centimetres in diameter, travelling for weeks
before reaching the ocean floor.
• However, most organic components of marine snow are consumed by microbes, zooplankton, and other
filter-feeding animals within the first 1,000 metres of their journey, that is, within the epipelagic zone.
• In this way marine snow may be considered the foundation of deep sea mesopelagic and benthic
ecosystems: As sunlight cannot reach them, deep-sea organisms rely heavily on marine snow as an
energy source.
Pseudoceanic: Some deep-sea pelagic groups, such as the lantern fish, ridgehead, marine hatchet fish,
and lightfish families are sometimes termed pseudoceanic because, rather than having an even distribution in
open water, they occur in significantly higher abundances around structural oases, notably seamounts and
over continental slopes. The phenomenon is explained by the likewise abundance of prey species which are also
attracted to the structures.
Nitrogen Narcosis:
✓ Deep-sea organisms contain gas-filled spaces (vacuoles).
✓ Gas is compressed under high pressure and expands under low pressure.
✓ Because of this, these organisms have been known to blow up if they come to the surface.
✓ Other complications arise from nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness, which also occur in humans.
✓ Nitrogen narcosis occurs because the absorption of gases in the blood, especially nitrogen, increase at greater
depths.
✓ The result is similar to drunkenness. Decompression sickness occurs when excess gases cannot be removed
from the blood stream fast enough when an organism rises in the water column.
✓ The decreased pressure makes the gases expand and small bubbles of nitrogen form in the blood stream as
well as tissues.
✓ The result of this can be bone damage, extreme pain, physical debilitation, and even death.
6 Inland Fishery
Under Inland Fishery, we shall see Riverine, Reservoir, Estuarine and Wetland Fisheries.
What is Inland Fishery?
✓ Fishing has long been an important source for human nutrition and commercial activity. Although
most fishing occurs at sea, in the marine environment, many smaller-scale fisheries rely on inland
bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. Most recreational fishing also occurs in inland locations.
Inland fishing captures freshwater fish species, such as trout. Some inland fisheries are based upon fish
farming, where species are raised in giant tanks or ponds.
6.1 Riverine Fisheries

✓ The Inland water bodies in India have been divided into five riverine systems and their tributaries
extending to a length of about 29,000 km in the country – Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, East flowing
riverine system and West riverine system.
✓ All these rivers, their tributaries, canals and irrigation channels have and area of roughly 13000km.
✓ These water bodies harbor the original germplasm of one of the richest and diversified fish fauna of
the world comprising 930 fish species belonging to 326 genera.
✓ The major river systems of India on the basis of drainage can be divided broadly into two major
rivers systems.
✓ They are (i) Himalayan rivers system (Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra) and (ii) Peninsular river system
(East coast and West coast river system).
6.1.1 Ganges River System

✓ It is the largest river systems of the world, having a combined length (including tributaries) of 12,500
km. It originates from Gangotri in the Himalayas at a height of about 3129 km above the sea level.
✓ After origin it drains the southern slopes of the central Himalayas.
✓ Ganga passes through UP, Bihar, some parts of Rajasthan, M.P. and west Bengal and finally joins to
the Bay of Bengal.
✓ It has a large number of tributaries and ‘Yamuna’ river is one of the major tributaries of this system,
which is about 1000 km long.
✓ The other tributaries are – Ram Ganga. Gomti, Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi, Chambal, Betwa and Ken.
✓ Further more; it has numerous lakes, ponds and Jheels, both perennial and seasonal areas. It has a
total catchment area of 9.71 lakh sq. km and receives an annual rainfall of 25-77 inches.
Fisheries of the Ganga River Systems

✓ The Ganga river system supports a large number of commercially important fish species including
major carps (Labeo. rohita: L.Calabasu, Catla catla and Cirrhinus mrigala), minor carps ( Labeo
fimbriatus; L.bata; Cirrhinus. reba), catfishes (Wallago. attu; Mystus. aor; M.tengara, Clarias.
batrachus; Heteropneustes fossilis), cluipeiods, murrels (Channa species), feather backs (Notopterus.
notopterus; N.chitala), mullets (Mugil corsula), fresh water eel (Anguilla) and prawns (Macrobrachium
malcolmsonii; Palaemon. Lamarii).
✓ Apart from these fishes, the others like Pangasius; silonia silondia; Gudusia chapra; Bagasius.
bagasius; Eutropichthys. vacha are also found in the river system.
✓ The commercial fisheries in this zone are non-existing due to spares population, inaccessible terrain
and poor communication between fishing grounds and landing centers.
The fish yield has been declined over the years due to
✓ Sandification of the river bed (upto Patna) which reduced the rivers productivity due to blanket effect
✓ Marked reduction in the water volume on account of increase sedimentation,
✓ Increased water abstraction
✓ Irrational fishing: In spite of this, the Ganga river system is contributing nearly about 89.5% of the
total fish seed correlation of India.
Fishing gears used: The principal gears used in Ganga river system are dragnets, cast nets and bag nets.
6.1.2 Fisheries of the Godavari River System

The head waters harbour a variety of game fishes but don’t support the commercial fisheries. The
commercial fisheries consist of carps (major caps, Labeo fimbriatus), large cat fish (Mystus spp., Wallago
attu; Bagarius bagarius) and fresh water prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).
Fishing gears used: The principle gear used in Godavari river system are falls under two categories viz. gill
nets, which include setgill nets, drift nets, drag gill nets (Benduvala) and the barrier gillnet (Katu vala).
Seines include shore seine (Jaruguvala), Large seine (Allui vala) and dragnet castnets are also employed
for fishing.
6.1.3 Fisheries of the Krishna River System

In general, the physiographic and fish fauna resembles the Godavari river systems. The head waters
support rich fishery when compared to mid-stretch, which is rocky and inaccessible.
6.1.4 Fisheries of the Cauveri River System

✓ The Cauveri river system exhibits substantial variations in its fauna - nearly 80 species of fish belong
to 23 families have been reported from this river system.
✓ Its fish funa differs significantly from Godavari and Krishna river system. The fishes like Acrossocheilus
hexagonolepis; Tor. Putitora; Barbus carnatus; B. dubius; Labeo kontius; L. ariza; Cirrhinus cirhosa;
Mystus aor; Mystus seenghala; Pangasius pangasius; Wallago attu; Silonia silonida; Glyptothorax
madrapatanus; Gangetic carps such as Catla catla; Labeo rohita; Cirrhinus mrigala and the
exotic species Cyprinus carpio and Osphronemus goramy have been transplanted in Cauveri river
system. The game fish Tor khudri and T mussullah are found all along the river length except the
deltaic stretch.
6.1.5 West Coast River System:
✓ The west coast system comprises the river Narmada and Tapti, both of which flow in west direction
of the country and drain the narrow belt of peninsular India, west of the western ghats further in the
north the system forms basins of Narmada and Tapti and the drainage of Gujarat.
6.1.6 Fishery of the Narmada River System:

✓ Narmada river harbors 84 fish species belonging to 23 genera.
✓ The contribution of carps in commercial fishery is of the order of 60.4%, followed by catfishes of 34.1
% and miscellaneous fishes of 5.5%.
✓ The carp fish groups are Tor tor; Labeo. frimbriatus; L.calabasu; L.bata; L.gonius; Cirrhinus. reba;
Puntius. sarana etc, cat fish groups such as Mystus senghala; M.aor ; M. cavasius; Wallago. Attu;
Clupisoma garua; Ompak bimaculatus and miscellaneous fish groups
like Channa spp, Mastacembalus spp; Notopterus notopterus.
✓ Cast nets, gill nets and longlines are the fishing gears that are generally used in these waters.
6.1.7 Fisheries of the Tapti River System

✓ The main fisheries of this river system are Tor. tor; Mystus. seenghala; M.aor; Wallago attu; Labeo
calabasu; L. fimbriatus; Puntius sarana; Cirrhinus mrigala; C. reba, Chupisorna garna;
Channa spp; Mastacembalus. armatus.
6.1.7.1 Factors influencing fish yield from rivers

The intensity of fishing, nature of exploitation and species orientation are the characteristics of the
artisan riverine fisheries and are governed by
✓ Seasonality of riverine fishing activity
✓ Unstable catch composition
✓ Conflicting multiple use of river water
✓ Cultural stresses leading to nutrient loading and pollution.
✓ Lack of understanding of the fluvial system and infirm data base.
✓ Fragmentary and out molded conservation measures lacking enforcement machinery.
✓ Inadequacy infrastructure and supporting services
✓ Affordability and playability and
✓ Socio- economic and socio-cultural determinant.
6.2 Reservoirs
✓ The man-made water bodies created by obstructing the surface flow or erecting a dam of any
description, on a river, stream or any water course called reservoirs.
✓ The small reservoirs have an area of <1000 ha.
✓ Fish yield of these reservoirs, where the management is on the basis of culture-based fisheries is
dependent on a number of parameters, such as growth rate, natural mortality and fishing mortality.
✓ Therefore, stocking density, size at stocking, size at harvesting, rate of fishing mortality, and
harvesting schedule hold the key for obtaining the optimum yield.
6.2.1 Potential transferable area
✓ The small reservoirs are a common feature of rural landscape in most of the states of India.
✓ Primarily, these states are Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
✓ The small reservoirs constitute the prime inland fishery resource of India by virtue of their vast area
(1.5 million ha) and huge production potential (150 kg ha-1 year-1).
6.2.2 Production guidelines/ user guidelines including input requirements
6.2.2.1 Assessment of yield potential

✓ Several methods are in vogue to assess the fishery potential of small reservoirs, based on area, depth,
catchment area and the chemical characters of soil and water.
✓ Morpho-edaphic index (MEI) was evolved in an attempt to combine the morphometric as well as
chemical parameters. A Morpho-edaphic index may be computed as MEI = Specific conductivity
(μmhos cm-1) per unit mean depth (m).
✓ For Indian reservoirs it has been used to estimate fish yield potential as: C= 3.984 MEI0.6374
6.2.2.2 Enhancement
✓ Fisheries enhancement can be achieved through human interventions in the aquatic ecosystems
with a view to increasing their productivity.
✓ The common modes of enhancements, which are relevant to small reservoirs in India, are stock
enhancement (increasing the stock), species enhancement (inducting new species to broaden the
catch structure), and environmental enhancement (enriching the water quality through artificial
eutrophication).
6.2.2.3 Stocking Rate

Based on the National Consultation on Reservoir Fisheries, the Government of India has adopted the
following formula of Welcomme, 1976 to calculate the stocking rate for small reservoirs.
P can be estimated through MEI method (mentioned above) and the range of mortality rates can be found
out from the estimated survival rate. The calculation of stocking rates using the formula given above,
when P= 200 kg/ha, q=1, w=0.5 kg and tc-t0 is 1.
6.2.2.4 Advantage over similar technologies

✓ In contrary to aqua cultural technologies, on one hand the technology involves very less capital and
environment cost and on the other being a community –based development process, it has direct
bearing on rural populace and the benefits of increased yield may be equitably distributed among
large number of involved people/fishers.
6.2.2.5 Risk involvement including Bio-Safety:
✓ There is no risk involved including bio-safety as the technology involves only stocking of fish seed and
no chemical application. The fish depend on the natural food viz. plankton and benthic organisms for
their feed. Therefore, the technology improves the water quality of reservoir water.
✓ The technology has no adverse impact on the aquatic environment, rather the fish stock eat up the
plankton and benthic population and help in improving the water quality.
6.3 Estuarines
✓ An estuary is defined as a semi-enclosed coastal body of water, which has a free connection with
the open sea and within which the seawater is measurably diluted with the freshwater of land
drainage.
✓ Estuaries provide habitats for a large number of organisms and support very high productivity.
✓ Two of the main challenges of estuarine life are the variability in salinity and sedimentation.
✓ Many species of fish and invertebrates have various methods to control or conform to the shifts in
salt concentrations and are termed osmoconformers and osmoregulators.
Osmoconformers and osmoregulators:
✓ Organisms that live in habitats with high salt concentrations need special techniques and adaptations
to withstand the fluctuations of salt concentrations.
✓ Therefore, regulation of osmolarity is a vital aspect since it decides the fate of organisms living in such
environments.
Difference between Osmoregulators and Osmoconformers:
✓ Many animals also burrow to avoid predation and to live in the more stable sedimental environment.
✓ However, large numbers of bacteria are found within the sediment which have a very high oxygen
demand.
✓ This reduces the levels of oxygen within the sediment often resulting in partially anoxic conditions,
which can be further exacerbated by limited water flux.
✓ Plankton are key primary producers in estuaries. They move with the water bodies and can be
flushed in and out with the tides. Their productivity is largely dependant upon the turbidity of the
water. The main plankton present are diatoms and dinoflagellates which are abundant in the
sediment.
✓ It is important to remember that a primary source of food for many organisms on estuaries,
including bacteria, is detritus from the settlement of the sedimentation.
Brackish water resources of India: (As per Handbook of Fishery, ICAR)
6.4 Wetland Fishery

✓ Wetlands are dynamic aquatic ecosystems found all over the world. A wetland is an area of land that
is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands can
be freshwater, brackish (partly salty), or saline (very salty).
✓ Wetlands are known as the earth's 'kidneys' because, like your kidneys, they serve the very important
function of filtering water. As water moves through a wetland, the sediments and pollutants 'stick' in
the wetland, making the water cleaner. Wetlands also help reduce flooding and prevent shoreline
erosion.
✓ Wetlands may be natural or human-made. The only continent on Earth that does not contain natural
wetlands is Antarctica.
✓ Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species.
✓ Human-made wetlands may be constructed for water management purposes in urban areas. What
is unique about all wetlands is that they contain vegetation that is specially adapted to such wet
conditions. Plants that live in wetlands must be quite tolerant of wet, productive soils.
6.4.1 Functions of the wetlands

✓ Wetland habitats serve essential functions in an ecosystem, including acting as water filters, providing
flood and erosion control, and furnishing food and homes for fish and wildlife.
✓ They do more than sustain plants and animals in the watershed, however.
✓ Many wetlands are not wet year-round because water levels change with the seasons.
✓ During periods of excessive rain, wetlands absorb and slow floodwaters, which helps to alleviate
property damage and may even save lives.
✓ Wetlands also absorb excess nutrients, sediments, and other pollutants before they reach rivers,
lakes, and other waterbodies.
✓ They are also great spots for fishing, canoeing, hiking, and bird-watching, and are enjoyable outdoor
"classrooms" for people of all ages.
6.4.2 Different kinds of wetlands

✓ There are many different kinds of wetlands and many ways to categorize them.
✓ Generally, the wetlands are divided into five general types: marine (ocean), estuarine (estuary),
riverine (river), lacustrine (lake), and palustrine (marsh).
Common names for wetlands include marshes, estuaries, mangroves, mudflats, mires, ponds, fens,
swamps, deltas, coral reefs, billabongs, lagoons, shallow seas, bogs, lakes, and floodplains etc.
6.4.3 Wetlands in India and its management

✓ The wetlands in India support subsistence and livelihood to thousands of people through fishing,
collecting edible plants, agriculture, water transport, irrigation and fisheries, besides rich biodiversity.
Most of the wetlands are directly or indirectly linked to rivers.
✓ Of these, wetlands associated with floodplains of rivers (floodplain wetlands) cover an estimated area
of 3.54 lakh ha and are a common feature of the Indian landscape, especially along the Ganga and
Brahmaputra river systems.
✓ They also form a major inland fisheries resource in the country.
There are two types of fishery techniques that can be followed depending on open or closed wetlands:
6.4.3.1 Capture fishery for open wetlands

✓ Floodplain wetlands retaining their riverine connection for a reasonably long period of time are
relatively free from weeds.
✓ The management strategy can be that of capture fisheries.
✓ The approach is to allow natural fish recruitment by conserving and protecting the brooders and
juveniles.
✓ This involves identification and protection of breeding grounds, brood stock and juveniles; allowing
free migration of brooders and juveniles from wetland to river and vice versa.
6.4.3.2 Culture-based fishery for closed wetlands

✓ Closed floodplain wetlands, in majority of the cases, are characterized by weed infestation and
derelict nature, constraining optimization of fish yield from these water bodies.
✓ Management of completely closed wetlands or those with a very brief period of connection with the
rivers is more like that of culture-based fisheries of small reservoirs.
✓ The basic strategy for fish yield enhancement here is stocking and recapture.
✓ The growth of fishes in these water bodies will be faster compared to that of reservoirs due to
availability of huge reserve of food niches.
6.4.3.3 Capture and culture-based fisheries

✓ There are management systems, which combine the norms of capture/culture-based fisheries and
culture fisheries.
✓ In this system, the marginal areas of wetlands are cordoned off for culture fishery either in ponds or
in pens and the central portion (wetland proper) is left for capture fisheries.
✓ Under this system, a series of small enclosures are created along the periphery of the lake, which is
leased out to entrepreneurs for fish farming.
✓ Some of these enclosures serve as nurseries to rear the seed for both aquaculture and stocking in the
wetland.
✓ When culture-based fishery is practiced, the connecting channel is blocked using wire mesh to prevent
the stocked fishes from escaping and the water inflow and out flow is regulated through a sluice
installed at the mouth of the channel.
6.4.4 Species Options

Species management is a very important tool in wetland fishery management. This can be achieved
through various options of species enhancement. There are various species options.
6.4.4.1 Indian major carps

✓ The main species are catla, rohu and mrigal.
✓ In the absence or low recruitment, stocking with these species is the best option.
✓ These are fast growing species and effective in utilizing the available food niches.
✓ Species ratio and density need to be determined based on the strengths of fish food available such as
plankton, benthos, detritus, etc.
6.4.4.2 Indigenous fishes

✓ It is not necessary to develop all the wetlands as carp-based fisheries.
✓ The natural stock of indigenous fish populations is on the decline in most of the floodplain wetlands
in India.
✓ Anabas testudineus, Clarias batrachus, Ompok spp., murrels, Amblypharyngodon mola, Gudusia
chapra, Puntius spp., etc. are a few among them.
✓ The low yield rates of these species, compared to those of major carps, can be compensated with the
high price these species fetch in the market and the biodiversity gains of the ecosystem.
Under Culture Fisheries, let us have a look at the following:

7 Culture Fisheries
7.1 Freshwater Aquaculture
Under this we shall study Carp Culture and Prawn Culture
7.2 Prawn culture

The giant freshwater prawn is suitable for cultivation in tropical and subtropical climates. The most
commonly cultured species in India is Macrobrachium rosenbergii.
About Macrobrachium rosenbergii and in general about prawns:

✓ Macrobrachium rosenbergii is found in inland freshwater areas including lakes, rivers, swamps, irrigation
ditches, canals and ponds, as well as in estuarine areas.
✓ This species requires brackishwater in the initial stages of their life cycle (and therefore they are found in
water that is directly or indirectly connected with the sea).
✓ On completion of their larval life, freshwater prawns metamorphose into post larvae (PL). From this point
onwards they resemble miniature adult prawns and become mainly crawling rather than free-swimming
animals.
✓ Post larvae exhibit good tolerance to a wide range of salinities, which is a characteristic of freshwater
prawns.
✓ Post larvae begin to migrate upstream into freshwater conditions within one or two weeks after
metamorphosis and are soon able to swim against rapidly flowing currents and to crawl over the stones at
the shallow edges of rivers and in rapids.
✓ In addition to using the foods available to them as larvae, they now utilize larger pieces of organic material,
both of animal and vegetable origin. Post larval freshwater prawns are omnivorous can also be cannibalistic.
✓ The system for prawn production involves three phases: hatchery phase, nursery phase, and grow-out
phase.
✓ Mature prawns from the grow-out phase are then used as spawners for the hatchery phase
✓ The nursery phase has developed as a means to grow prawn post-larvae to the juvenile stage.
7.2.1 Stocking
✓ The stocking density normally varies from 4000 to 50000 PL/ha depending on the type and intensity
of the management practices.
✓ The culture system may be monoculture or polyculture with carps. In case of polyculture with carps
the more pond depth is preferred at 4-5 feet.
✓ In case of polyculture the stocking density of prawn may vary from 2500-20000 post larvae. The carp
fingerlings may be of the order of 500-2500 nos.
✓ The rate of feeding is determined by the stage of growth of prawn, water quality, density of stock and
other manuring practices.
✓ Generally, the feeding rate may be 5% of the body weight.
✓ The duration of culture varies from 6 to 12 months depending on the type of culture practice.
✓ Generally, in monoculture the culture period may be 6-8 months under monoculture and 8-12 months
under polyculture.
✓ The average growth of prawn may range from 50 gms to 200 gms depending on the duration, density,
water quality, feeding etc. The survival rate may range 50% to 70% depending on the type of
management practices.
7.2.2 Water Quality and Management

✓ Freshwater is normally used for rearing freshwater prawns from postlarvae to market size. Water of
3-4 ppt salinity may be acceptable for the culture of M. rosenbergii.
✓ The reliability of the quality and quantity of the water available at the site is a critical factor in site
choice.
✓ However, as in the case of hatchery water supplies, the absolute ‘ideal' for rearing sites may be
difficult to define; a range of water qualities may be generally suitable.
✓ As for hatchery water, the level of calcium in the freshwater seems to be important. Growth rate has
been reported to be lower in hard than in soft water.
✓ It is recommended that freshwater prawn farming should not be attempted where the water supply
has a total hardness of more than 150 mg/l (CaCO3).
7.2.3 Harvesting of Fresh Water Prawn

✓ Basically, there are two methods of harvesting: cull-harvesting drain harvesting.
✓ Harvesting time depends partly on growth rate and the size of animals you want to sell.
✓ This, in turn, depends on your market requirements.
✓ It also depends on the pond management technique chosen.
Cull Harvesting: In this technique a seine net is pulled through the pond to remove market-sized animals.
The net may be a simple seine or one constructed especially for the purpose, usually made of
monofilament nylon, and provided with floaters, sinkers and sometimes a bag. The size of the seine you
use depends on the size of pond you are using it for.
The method and efficiency of drain harvesting depends on the design of the pond. As with any other
method of harvesting, speed is important and harvesting should start very early in the morning while the
temperature is cool. You can partially draw down the pond water level during the night
before harvesting commences.
7.3 Brackish Fisheries
Of all the brackish fisheries culture, we shall have a discussion regarding Shrimp Culture:
7.3.1 Shrimp Culture

Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business that exists in either a marine or freshwater environment,
producing shrimp or prawns.
7.3.1.1 Shrimp species and their suitability

✓ Many factors must be considered when a farmer is deciding which species of shrimp he should culture.
Due to its large size and high price, Penaeus monodon and P. indicus are generally considered for
farming. It has also been seen that both these species are suitable for farming in Kerala's environment.
✓ Apart from these candidate species other commercially important species such as Metapenaeus
ensis, M. monoceros, M. brevicornis, Penaeus semisulcatus and P. merguiensis are also potential
species that can be grown in India.
✓ Another potential candidate species that is flooding international market is the White leg
shrimp, Penaeus vannamei.
✓ Although the Government of India has not yet given sanctions to culture it in the country, many Asian
countries have already started to culture this species.
7.3.1.2 The following are the parameters required for Shrimp Culture
A. Water quality
Site should have good pollution free water supply of both freshwater and brackish water.
Water quality parameters required for maximum feed efficiency and maximum growth of Penaeus
monodon are given below:
B. Soil Conditions
✓ The type of soil is the most critical in site selection, since the shrimp will spend most of their time on
the pond bottom during the culture period.
✓ Usually, clay or loam-based soil containing more than 90% clay and pH between 6.5-8.5 is preferable.
C. Stocking
✓ The most suitable species for culture in India are the Indian white prawn Penaeus indicus and tiger
prawn P. monodon.
✓ As per the directives of Supreme Court only traditional and improved traditional shrimp farming can
be undertaken within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) with a production range of 1 to 1.5 t/ha/crop
with stocking density of 40,000 to 60,000/ha/crop. Outside CRZ extensive shrimp farming with a
production range of 2.5 to 3 t/ha/crop with stocking density of 1,00,000/ha/crop may be allowed.
D. Methods of Harvesting
✓ Two methods of harvesting are generally practiced on farms.
✓ These are either by draining the pond and catching the shrimp in a bag net or by netting the shrimp
within the pond.
✓ The proportion of soft shell shrimp should not be more than 5% at the time of harvest.
what makes shrimp and prawn different is Shrimp live exclusively in salty marine water, where they
transport themselves by swimming. Prawns, on the other hand, spend their lives crawling along the floors
of fresh or brackish waters.
Let us now try to understand more about marine cage culture. But before getting in marine cage
aquaculture, let us see what exactly is MARINE FISH.
7.4 Marine Cage Aquaculture
7.4.1 Cage Farming in India

✓ As an R & D activity, the first open sea cage was launched in Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam coast
during May 2007.
✓ Due to the rough sea conditions, the first version of the cage had lasted only for 45 days in the sea.
With further modifications, the second version of marine cage was fabricated involving marine
engineering and naval diving experts and was launched in December 2007.
✓ With a low stocking density, the trial was successfully completed in April 2008.
7.4.2 Size
✓ CMFRI has developed open sea cages of 6 m dia and 15 m dia for grow out fish culture and 2 m dia
HDPE cages for seed rearing.
✓ Ideal size for grow out cage is 6 m due to its easy manoeuvring and reduced labour.
✓ For fingerling 2 m cages can be used.
7.4.3 Stocking
✓ Although stocking densities should be determined by species requirements and operational
considerations, the influence of stocking densities on growth and production has been determined
empirically.
✓ The stocking density depends also on the carrying capacity of the cages and the feeding habits of the
cultured species.
✓ Optimal stocking density varies with species and size of fish.
✓ For producing 5 tonnes of 500-600 g seabass from a 6 m dia. HDPE cage, 30-50 individuals (100 g) per
cubic meter can be stocked.
7.5 Ornamental Fisheries
7.5.1 Aquarium fishes

✓ Aquarium fishes are broadly grouped into 2 categories on the basis of their breeding behaviour, viz.,
egg-layers (oviparous) and livebearers (ovo-viviparous).
✓ Egg-layers are further classified as egg-layers with no care (non-guarders), egg-layers with care
(guarders), egg buriers, mouth-incubators, nest-builders and egg-carriers on the basis of parental
care.
7.5.1.1 Egg Layers
7.5.1.2 Live Bearers

✓ They give birth to young ones and reproducing only a few numbers of offspring in comparison to egg
layers.
✓ Their breeding is relatively easy, and development of young ones takes place inside the female, which
are released after about 4 weeks.
7.5.2 Aquarium plants
The following is the list of common diseases of ornamental fishes and their treatments
Symptoms Disease Causative agent Treatment Observations

Pinhead size white spots Ichthyophthyriasis Protozoan parasite Increase the Contagious,
on the body and fins (Ichthyophthirius) temperature and treat observed during
with 5% methylene blue sudden drop of
(1 drop/litre), treat the water temperature
fish for 1 week
White spots smaller than Oodinium Unicellular parasite (mono Copper sulphate 0.1 Contagious
above flagellate) mg/litre for 10-15 min
bath
White clumps with Saprolegniasis Fungi 1 tsp salt/2 litres water, Favoured by
cotton like appearance including Saprolegnia 1-2 drops of 5% wounds
methylene blue or
malachite green 2
mg/litre for 30 min dip
or 0.1 mg/litre for
permanent bath
Swollen eyes Exophthalmus Bacteria, virus, fungi, 1% silver nitrate on Treatment is
sometimes together poped eyes followed by difficult
1% potassium
permanganate
Gradual disintegration of Pseudomoniasis Bacterial disease Surgical removal of Unusual swimming
fins ragged portion by a fine behavior
sterilized scissors, paint
the cut wounded
portion by iodine
solution. Repeat the
same at 12 & 24 hr
Swollen abdomen Dropsy Bacterial disease No known cure. Contagious,
erected scale Antibiotics may be difficult to treat
tried.
Opercula sticking out, Gyrodactyliasis Parasite Formaldehyde 5-6 Not easy to detect
unusual swimming, tiny fluke, Gyrodactylus drops/litre water dip
flukes on the gills treatment for 10 min.
Repeat for 3 days
Red patch in the body Argulosis/ Argulus/ Physical removal of Violent rubbing
Learnaeasis Learnaea ectoparasite parasites, 15 min bath due to irritation
in 1-2% potassium
permanganate,
painting the region with
iodine soln. Repeat the
same after 12 & 24 hr
Source: ICAR
Chemicals used in treatment

Iodine: Diluted by addition of an equal amount of water to produce a half-strength solution.
Malachite green: Stock solution prepared from zinc-free grade by adding 500 ml distilled water to 1 g malachite green.
Methylene blue: A stock solution is made by adding 1 g medical grade methylene blue to 100 ml warm distilled water.
Potassium permanganate: A stock solution is made by thoroughly dissolving 1 g crystals in 99 ml warm distilled water.
8 Aquaculture
✓ Aquaculture or farming in water is the aquatic equivalent of agriculture or farming on land.
✓ Defined broadly, agriculture includes farming both animals (animal husbandry) and plants
(agronomy, horticulture and forestry in part).
✓ Similarly, aquaculture covers the farming of both animals (including crustaceans, finfish and
molluscs) and plants (including seaweeds and freshwater macrophytes).
✓ While agriculture is predominantly based on use of freshwater, aquaculture occurs in both inland
(freshwater) and coastal (brackish water, seawater) areas.
✓ It implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to increase production, such as regular
stocking, feeding and protection against predators.
✓ This farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.
FAO (1988) introduced a definition of aquaculture

✓ Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants.
✓ Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular
stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc.
✓ Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.
✓ For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms which are harvested by an individual or corporate body which has
owned them throughout their rearing period contribute to aquaculture, while aquatic organisms which are
exploitable by the public as a common property resources, with or without appropriate licences, are the
harvest of fisheries.
Let us have a look at certain terms that we shall encounter
Fish Seed
✓ Fertilized fish eggs are known as Fish seeds. In simple words, they are the baby fishes used for seeding new
Ponds in fisheries.
✓ 'Seed' appears to be an industrial/technical term in fish farming used to refer either collectively to the
juvenile life stages of fish (hatchling, spawn, fry and fingerling), or specifically to fry (the stage after the yolk
sac disappears and before scales form).
The Juvenile stages are

1. Hatchling
✓ The larvae emerging from the fertilized eggs after hatching is called hatchling. It is characterized by the
presence of yolk sac hanging below from where it draws its nutrition for 2–3 days.
✓ At this stage the mouth is not formed and hence it does not take food from outside.
2. Fry
When the fishes have developed to the point where they are capable of feeding themselves, the fish are
called fry (1-2 cm).
3. Fingerling
As soon as the fry grow up to 10–15 cm size or roughly equal the size of a finger it is known as fingerling.
Fingerling is the proper size for stocking in table fish production ponds. It takes about 30–60 days for the fry to
grow up to fingerling size.
Note: Sometimes, we come across a juvenile stage called spawn in some places, it is the intermediate stage
between hatchling and fry.
8.1 Classification of Aquaculture
8.1.1 Based on the degree of intensity

✓ Intensive production involves the high-density culture of organisms, and regular and nutritionally
complete feeding;
✓ Semi-intensive systems involve lower densities, with the enhancement of naturally occurring feed,
and some direct feeding;
✓ Extensive aquaculture involves a low density of organisms, sometimes with the enhancement of
naturally occurring feed.
8.1.2 Based on the type of environment within which the cultivation takes place and the species is
cultivated (Eg. Based on Salinity)
✓ Freshwater: This refers to farming of aquatic animals in zero saline water
✓ Brackish water: Brackish water is a mixture of seawater and freshwater with a salinity less than 30
ppt (Parts Per Thousand). Examples are: Estuaries, backwaters, creeks and mangrove waterways.
✓ Marine: This refers to farming of aquatic animals and plants in sea water.
The main groups of species are

✓ Finfish, such as sea bass, sea bream, trout and carp
✓ Crustacea, such as marine shrimp and freshwater crayfish
✓ Molluscs, such as mussels, oysters and clams, and
✓ Seaweeds.
8.1.3 On the basis of species stocked for farming
8.1.3.1 Monoculture
Only one species is reared in a culture system.
8.1.3.2 Polyculture
✓ Two or more different fish species are farmed.
✓ Polyculture practices give higher yield than monoculture.
What are the principal requirements of different species for polyculture

✓ Different feeding habits. Should occupy different columns in a pond system
✓ Should attain marketable size at the same time. Should be non-predatory in behaviour
Various Aquaculture Methods and Practices

✓ A number of aquaculture practices are used world-wide in three types of environment (freshwater,
brackish water, and marine) for a great variety of culture organisms.
✓ Freshwater aquaculture is carried out either in fish ponds, fish pens, fish cages or, on a limited scale,
in rice paddies.
✓ Brackish water aquaculture is done mainly in fish ponds located in coastal areas.
✓ Marine culture employs either fish cages or substrates for molluscs and seaweeds such as stakes,
ropes, and rafts.
Culture systems
It range from extensive to intensive depending on the stocking density of the culture organisms, the level of
inputs, and the degree of management. In countries where government priority is directed toward increased
fish production from aquaculture to help meet domestic demand, either as a result of the lack of access to
large waterbodies or the over-exploitation of marine or inland fisheries, aquaculture practices are almost
exclusively oriented toward production for domestic consumption.
The following are some of the culture practices: (Basically it is divided on the basis of enclosure used for
culture) - Fish Pond Culture ; Pen and Cage Culture ; Raceway ; Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS)
8.2 Fish Pond Culture

It is the common method of fish culture. Water is maintained in an enclosed area by artificial
construction of dike/bund. In relation to the Fish Pond Culture, let us have a look at the summary of
comparative features among the three main culture systems
8.3 Pen and Cage Culture
✓ Pen and cage culture involve the rearing of fish within fixed or floating net enclosures supported by
frameworks made of bamboo, wood, or metal, and set in sheltered, shallow portions of lakes, bays,
rivers, and estuaries.
✓ Both cage and pen culture are types of enclosure culture and involve holding organisms captive within an
enclosed space whilst maintaining a free exchange of water.
✓ The two methods, however, are distinct from one another.
✓ A cage is totally enclosed on all, or all but the top, sides by mesh or netting, whereas in pen culture the
bottom of the enclosure is formed by the lake or sea bottom.
✓ Cage culture uses existing water resources (ponds, rivers, estuaries, open ocean, etc.) but confines the
fish inside some type of mesh enclosure.
✓ The mesh retains the fish, making it easier to feed, observe and harvest them.
✓ The mesh also allows the water to pass freely between the fish and surrounding water resource, thus
maintaining good water quality and removing wastes.
8.3.1 Cage Culture

Rearing of fish from juvenile stage to commercial size in a volume of water enclosed on all sides (In
some cases, the top maybe open).
Advantages of Cage Culture

✓ Effective use of existing waterbodies ; Technical simple
✓ Lower capital cost ; Easier stock management and monitoring
Disadvantages of Cage Culture
✓ Vulnerable to external water quality problems eg. Algal blooms, low oxygen
✓ Stock is more vulnerable to predators such as birds ; Growth rates are significantly influenced by
ambient water parameters
8.3.2 Pen Culture
✓ Pen culture is defined as raising of fish in a volume of water enclosed on all sides except bottom.
✓ This system can be considered a hybrid between pond culture and cage culture.
Advantages of Pen Culture

✓ Intensive utilization of available space ; Suitability for culturing many varied species
✓ Ease of harvest ; The flexibility of size and economy ; Availability of natural food and exchange of
materials with the bottom
Disadvantages of Pen Culture
✓ High demand for oxygen and water flow ; Pollution ; Rapid spread of diseases ; Risk of theft
✓ Conflict with multiple use of natural waters
8.4 Raceway
Raceway culture is defined as raising of fish in running water. Raceways are designed to provide a flow-
through system to enable rearing of much denser population of fishes.
8.4.1 Linear Type

Ponds arranged in sequence the volume of water entering each pond is larger and as the same water is
used repeatedly from pond to pond, occurrence of disease in initial ponds may directly affect the other
connected ponds.
8.4.2 Lateral Type

Ponds laid out in parallel in this type the volume of water entering each pond is smaller but a fresh
supply of water is always ensured, and no transfer of disease from one pond to another.
8.4.3 Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS)

A Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) can be defined as an aquaculture system that incorporates the
treatment and reuse of water with less than 10% of total water volume replaced per day.
9 Integrated Fish Farming
✓ The principle of integrated fish farming involves farming of fish along with livestock or/and
agricultural crops.
✓ This type of farming offers great efficiency in resource utilization, as waste or byproduct from one
system is effectively recycled.
✓ It also enables effective utilization of available farming space for maximizing production.
✓ The rising cost of protein-rich fish food and chemical fertilizers as well as the general concern for
energy conservation have created awareness in the utilization of rice and other crop fields and
livestock wastes for fish culture.
✓ Fish culture in combination with agriculture or livestock is a unique and lucrative venture and
provides a higher farm income, makes available a cheap source of protein for the rural population,
increases productivity on small land-holdings and increases the supply of feeds for the farm
livestock.
✓ The scope of integrated farming is considerably wide.
✓ Ducks and geese are raised in pond, and pond-dykes are used for horticultural and agricultural crop
products and animal rearing.
✓ The system provides meat, milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, mushroom, fodder and grains, in addition
to fish.
✓ Hence this system provides better production, provides more employment, and improves socio-
economic status of farmers and betterment of rural economy.
Integrated fish farming can be broadly classified into two, namely: Agriculture-fish and Livestock-fish
systems.
✓ Agri-based systems include rice-fish integration, horticulture-fish system, mushroom-fish system,
seri-fish system.
✓ Livestock-fish system includes cattle-fish system, pig-fish system, poultry-fish system, duck-fish
system, goat-fish system, rabbit-fish system.
Let us study about one such system completely.
9.1 Fish cum Poultry System

✓ In most of the agricultural farms, extensive fish culture and extensive poultry raising is practiced, but
the two systems are not interlinked.
✓ To develop an integrated system of poultry production and fish culture, the first thing a farmer has
to reorganize is the poultry raising and the stocking structure of fish.
✓ Although fish production is the more profitable component, in a integrated system the
profitability of poultry sub-system (even if it is minimal) must also required to be a self sustaining
activity be ensured, or, at least, the poultry sub-system must pay for itself.
✓ The modern methods of poultry raising require sophisticated management which seems to be
beyond the capacity of most of the rural fish farmers.
✓ It may be easier for a proven poultry farmer to integrated fish culture with his poultry rearing rather
than a fish farmer integrating poultry raising in his fish farming system.
✓ The Management of fish sub-system - as second consumer level - seem to be easier, as it is mainly
“served” by the poultry sub-system.
✓ Considering consumer's preference and local price structure, only three types of poultry farming is
economically viable.
a. Chicken egg production
b. Duck egg production
c. Chicken meat (broiler) production in selected places
9.1.1 Fish sub system

✓ While designing the fish sub-system, both fish production conditions as well as the type of
wastes/by-products expected from other sub-systems that are to be recycled in fish pond are to be
evaluated. Except for modifications in the design to accommodate the poultry/crop sub-system, the
rest remains more or less similar to normal polyculture system.
A. Size of pond
✓ Considering rural conditions, mainly the smaller ponds can be used for integrated fish culture.
Majority of the homestead ponds are suitable for this purpose.
✓ Generally 0.5–1.5 bigha size is easily manageable by small farmers.
B. Depth of pond
✓ Any pond that retain 2–3 m water can be considered as suitable. However, the determining factor is
the water depth in dry season.
✓ Minimum of 1.5m of water depths is essential even during the summer season. In low water depth
the danger of organic over-loading is high from the poultry sub-system and that may cause fish kills
in the summer months.
Selection and stocking rate of fish species
Considerations for selection

✓ The selected species should be compatible with each other
✓ The species and their combination ratio should be adjusted according to the amount of feed stuff
and manure that are expected to be made available by the other sub-system
✓ As far as possible the species should be fast growing
✓ Selected fish should be hardy and resistant to common diseases and parasites
✓ The species should be able to tolerate low oxygen levels and high organic content in the water.
The species combination and stocking ratio may vary according to the local requirements and
possibilities. A general guideline on the fish stocking density and species ratio in an integrated fish-cum-
poultry farming system is given below.
Recommended fish species combinations and stocking in a typical integrated fish-cum-poultry farming
system
Number of birds/bigha
Trophic niche Fish species Stocking ratio (%)
20 50 100 140
Number of fish/bigha
Silver carp 35 94 210 280 385
Surface feeder Catla 10 27 60 80 110
Mid-water
Rui 10 27 60 80 110
feeders
Grass carp 5 14 30 40 55
Thai sarputi 20 54 120 160 220
Mirror/common
Bottom feeders 20 54 120 160 220
carp/ Mrigal
Total stocking 100 270 600 *800 *1100
Fish yield to be
expected 200 330 500 700
(kg/bigha/year)
* Partial harvesting and possible re-stocking is recommended.

* 1 acre = 5 Bhiga (approximately)
Recommended size of stocking material

✓ Size of the stocking material also depends upon the level of management. In a well prepared pond,
fingerling of the size of 5–10 cm may be stocked. However, if the pond is not poisoned or
dewatered, larger size fingerlings 10–15 cm should be stocked.
✓ These guidelines are suitable for a semi-intensive production level, based on a poultry sub-system. If
the organic waste requirement falls short of supply from the integrated livestock sub-system,
stocking density of fish should be decreased, otherwise supplementary feeding and manuring would
be necessary.
✓ If the fish sub-system is supported by other by-products, or supplementary feeding, the stocking
number can be increased with the species which can utilize best the added by-products/feed.
Managing proper growth rate in integrated pond

✓ In most cases of integrated culture system the waste output from livestock component remain
constant during the production cycle.
✓ While during the initial phase of fish rearing the biomass of fish is not big enough for full utilization
of available nutrients. As a result, initially the growth rate of fish is high.
✓ The larger the fish, the more absolute amounts of food is required in order to sustain its potential
growth and maintain its body weight.
✓ As soon as the biomass reaches the critical standing crop (the point when the food requirements of
fish and the natural supply of feed are in balance), the growth rate starts decreasing and even may
reach zero mark.
✓ In small scale integrated system supplementary feeding is not usually required. As soon as the
sampling results show the pattern of decreasing growth, the biomass should be decreased by
periodical partial harvesting.
9.1.2 Chicken sub-system
✓ In integrated fish-cum-poultry farming system the birds are typically fed complete diets in pelleted
or mash form and the manure is used fresh or as dried poultry waste.
✓ The waste recycling is the key feature of the system, and integration of fish culture with poultry
raising is one of the best ways of poultry waste management.
✓ The digestive tract of a chicken is very short, only 6 times its body length. Therefore, some of the
eaten foodstuff are excreted by the chicken before being fully digested. Research has shown that
about 80 percent (by dry weight) of feed stuff is utilized and digested by the poultry, leaving 20
percent for use by the fish in the integrated fish culture system.
✓ Chickens while peaking, scatter about 10% of their food over the ground. This wasted feed is utilized
directly by fish. The total protein content of dry chicken excrement can be as high as 30 percent.
Usually, good chicken feed stuffs have a protein content over 18 percent.
Following are some of the additional advantages when fish culture is integrated with chicken raising
on/or near the pond dykes
✓ The direct discharge of fresh chicken manure to the fish ponds produces enough natural fish feed
organisms without the use of any additional manure/fertilizer.
✓ The transportation cost of the manure is not involved.
✓ The nutritive value of applied fresh manure is much higher than dry and mixed with bedding
materials e.g. saw dust or rice husk.
✓ Some parts of the manure is consumed directly by the fish.
✓ No supplementary feed is needed for the fish.
✓ No extra space is required for chicken farming. Chicken sheds can be constructed over the pond
water or on the dyke.
✓ More production of animal protein will be ensured from the same area of minimum land.
✓ The overall farm production and income will increase.
Selection of species
First of all the farmer should decide whether he wants to take up egg or meat production. Where the
market chain is good for broiler it is preferred over layers because the shorter broiler production period
can easily be programmed with pond culture period. In the country side, only layer chicken is suggested
because of consumer preference. For the purpose of integrating with fish culture the following varieties
of poultry are recommended.
Poultry varieties recommended for integration with fish culture

Type Main Characteristics
Laying capacity: 240–250 eggs/yr

Layer hybrid (white sussex X
colour of eggs is brown
Rhode Island Red)
Feed: 115–120 g/day.
Laying capacity: 240–250 eggs/yr
Layer hybrid
Feed: 115–120 g/day
Colour is white, growth:1.4–1.6 kg under 7–8 weeks. Feed

Broiler hybrid
conversion rate 2.3–2.5 kg feed to 1kg chicken
Housing of birds
✓ Chicken sheds can be constructed out of locally available materials such as bamboo, wood, tin, etc.
The size depends on the number of chicken and type of chicken. Floor space, nests, ventilation,
temperature regulating device, dryness, light and sanitation are the main features to be considered
during shed construction.
✓ Size of the house depends on the number of birds to be kept - normally 2–3 sq. ft. area is required
for a layer chicken and 1–1.5 sq. ft for a broiler.
✓ One of the main point is to make the pen as cheap as possible and simple in design. However, it
should be strong enough to last at least for 3 years. Otherwise, frequent repair and maintenance will
cost more. To extend the life of bamboo structure water proof painting is recommended.
Useful considerations while constructing a chicken pen

✓ Rectangular house has been found to be suitable from overall management point of view.
✓ The house should be built at the most wind protected side of the pond. Storms can cause serious
damages to the structure.
✓ If the house is constructed above the pond, it has to be carefully considered that the gap between
the house floor and the pond water surface should be at least 1 foot at highest water level in
monsoon period.
✓ Roof: Tin is the long lasting and perfect roof material. At roof design first have to calculate with the
available length of tin sheets on the market. The tin roof should rest over a bamboo mat rice or rice
straw mat to cut down heat inside the chicken house during the summer months.
✓ Wall: Wall material can be bamboo mat, bamboo sticks or wire mesh. Optimal height of the wall
should be 120–160 cm. If bamboo mat is used, the upper 1/3 of the walls should be left free and
fitted with wire mesh for light and ventilation.
✓ If the walls are built with wire mesh and supporting bamboo stick, the lower one third of the walls
should be covered with bamboo mat to give protection for the chicken and nests against bad
weather.
✓ Floor: The floor of a chicken house over the pond should be constructed with bamboo splits. The
gap between the bamboo splits should be wide enough (1.5 – 3 cm) to let the chicken faeces drop
into the pond water below, but should not be too wide so as to cause injury to the legs of the birds.
✓ Bridge: Should be movable in order to avoid pouching and predation. Three or four linked bamboo
sticks serve well as a movable bridge for the caretaker and the chickens.
✓ Feeders can be prepared out of tin or wood. The numbers should be sufficient to allow all the
chicken to eat at the same time. If the height is too low (2 – 3 cm) the chicken will peck out too
much feed.
✓ Simple self drinkers are suggested for use. It is more hygienic and practical than open jar. One
drinker should be provided for every 25 chicken.
✓ A stocking density of 80–100 chicken per bigha of water surface has been found satisfactory enough
to ensure good fish yield.
10 Carp Culture
What are Carps?
✓ Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish
native to Europe and Asia.
✓ They are highly cultured and domesticated in aquaculture for food and ornamental purpose.
✓ Fishes like catla (catla catla), mrigal (cirrihnus mrigal) and labeo rohita are 3 major carps of India.
10.1 Species Suitable for Farming

The commonly cultivated six species - Catla (Catla catla), Rohu (Labeo rohita), Mrigal (Cirrhinus
mrigala), Silver carp (Hypothalmichthys molitrix), Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Common
carp (Cyprinus carpio) are considered to be the best culturable species of fishes in the inland water
system.
Species Feeding Habit and Feeding Zone
Exotic Carps:
11 Composite fish Culture

✓ Stocking of fishes of different habits, in same pond is called Composite fish culture.
✓ The main objective of the composite fish culture is to select and grow compatible species of fish of
different feeding habits to exploit all types of food available in the different regions of the fish pond,
for maximizing fish production.
The whole management practices followed in case of composite fish culture system can be divided
into 3 stages. They are as follows
✓ Pre-Stocking Management
✓ On Stocking Management
✓ Post Stocking Management
11.1 Pre-Stocking Management

It includes Construction of a fish farm - Site Selection, Pond construction, Pond preparation for stocking
with fish.
✓ Site Selection: The main criteria to be kept in mind while selecting the pond is that the soil should
be water retentive, adequate supply of water is assured and that the pond is not in a flood prone
area.
✓ Water quality: Biological and physico- chemical nature of water and their seasonal variations.
✓ Drainage: There should be replacement and recycling facility.
✓ Soil quality: A selected site’s soil in its every 100gm should contain 50-75 mg nitrogen, 6-12 mg
phosphorous and 1.5-2.5gm organic carbon. For good production from cultured fish soil PH should
be between 7.5-8.5.
✓ Fish Seed: Availability of quality fish and prawn seed of required species with the transportation
facilities to the site and assurance of supply in required time.
✓ Fish feed: The 60 % of the expenses of total operational cost of fish farming goes for feed alone.
They need to be fed with grass like- para, napier, maize leaves, banana leaves, chopped green cattle
fodder, etc.
✓ Climatic factors: Rainfall, temperature, evaporation rate, flood, cyclones, etc. are the important
climatic factors. The growth of fish depends upon these factors. Sometimes flood, drought, etc.
cause heavy loss to the fish farmers.
✓ Industrial and agricultural pollution: The insecticides used in agriculture are toxic to fish. Beyond a
certain level, heavy metals and various chemicals discarded from industries are also poisonous to
fish.
11.1.1 Pond Construction

Scientifically constructed fish farm has 3 types of ponds:
1. Nursery pond: Area of nursery pond ranges from 100-500 m2 and the depth of water should be in
between 1 - 1.5m. This pond covers 5 % area of total productive area of the fish farm. Here the fish
is reared upto fry stage for 2-3 weeks.
2. Rearing pond: Area of rearing pond varies between 500-1000m2 and the depth of water ranges from
1.5-2.0m. This type of pond covers 15 % area of the total productive area of the fish farm.
Sometimes it may be used as stocking pond also. Here the fish is reared upto the fingerling stage for
about 3 months.
3. Stocking pond: Area of stocking pond varies between 1000-20000m2 and the depth of water ranges
from 2-2.5 m. This type of pond covers 60-70% area of total productive area of the fish farm. Here
the fishes are stocked until reaching the market size.
11.1.1.1 Ponds of a fish farm is constructed in two ways

1. Dug out pond: This is constructed in a plain area by digging soil. This type of fish pond is more
suitable for fish farming as they can be constructed by the fish farmer based on their requirements
scientifically by maintaining the shape, size, depth etc. Normally small size rectangular pond is
preferred. But it maybe of any shape like circular, square, rectangular etc.
2. Embankment pond: This type is constructed in undulating and hilly areas. It is constructed by
erecting embankments to suitable height for fish culture with provisions of inlet and outlet.
✓ Pond preparation for stocking with fish: Pre-stocking management aims at proper preparation of
ponds to remove the causes of poor survival, unsatisfactory growth, etc., and also to ensure ready
availability of natural food in sufficient quantity and quality for the fry/fingerlings to be stocked.
✓ Pre-stocking part of the management involves the following sequential measures. Eradication and
control of aquatic weeds and alga:
✓ Floating weeds such as water hyacinth, Pistia, etc., very often cover the entire water surface cutting
off light drastically, thus resulting in critical reduction in primary productivity of the pond which
needs to be eradicated.
11.1.2 Control measures

Control measures for all the above-mentioned classes of weeds and blooms fall into four major
categories, viz. preventive, manual and mechanical, chemical and biological.
1. Preventive Control:
✓ The preventive measures have to be taken well in advance. The measures include trimming of pond
margins, dewatering and desilting of old ponds, uprooting or burning of dried marginal weeds
during the summer and providing barriers to prevent the entry of floating weeds.
2. Manual and Mechanical Control:
✓ The free-floating groups of weeds are either handpicked or dragged by wire or strong coir rope
nets. In bigger ponds they should be removed part by part from the marginal areas and finally the
centrally located weed mass is dragged towards the banks and lifted out.
3. Chemical Control:
✓ Certain commercially available chemicals (herbicides) can provide an efficient means of eradication
of undesirable aquatic plants. Most herbicides are selective in nature and hence application of
appropriate herbicide should be taken up.
The table given below is a list of the various herbicides used for various types of weeds:
4. Biological control of aquatic weeds:

✓ Another important controlling method is by introduction of weed-eating fishes.
✓ Grass carp is the most effective biological control agent against most of the submerged and floating
weeds except the water ferns.
✓ About 300–400 fish, each of about 0.5 kg weight, are enough to clear 1 ha of Hydrilla infested water
body in about a month.
11.1.2.1 Common weed eating fish and the weeds of their preference
11.1.3 Eradication of unwanted fish

Predatory fish prey upon the spawn, fry and fingerlings of carps and the weed fish compete with carp for
food, space and oxygen. Therefore, predatory and weed fish should be completely eradicated from
nursery, rearing and stocking ponds before these ponds are stocked.
List of the commonly encountered predatory and weed fish in undrainable ponds
Absolute removal of these unwanted fish by thorough and repeated netting is not possible and hence
dewatering and poisoning the pond are the only alternative methods.
11.1.3.1 Fish Toxicants

Although a number of chemicals and plant derivatives are available in the market which are poisonous
for fish, only a limited number of such toxicants are safe and suitable for fish culture purposes.
Based upon the following criteria a suitable fish poison is selected.

✓ Poisoned fish should be safe for human consumption
✓ Least adverse effect on the pond biota
✓ Toxicity period should be of short duration
✓ Should not have residual effect
✓ Easy commercial availability
✓ Simplicity of application
✓ Cost considerations
What are the fish toxicants that are commonly used?

✓ Mohua oil cake, bleaching powder and ammonia are considered suitable.
✓ Mohua oil cake kills all the fish species within a few hours when applied at the rate of 250 ppm.
✓ The toxicity of doses up to 250 ppm lasts for about 96 hours and subsequently it serves as organic
manure in the pond. It should be applied at least two weeks before stocking the ponds.
✓ Bleaching powder or Calcium hypochlorite (CaOCl2) is another practical and safe fish toxicant. It kills
all the predatory and weed fish of the pond when applied at the rate of 25–30 ppm. Distressed and
dead fish are removed by netting.
✓ Chlorine killed fish are safe for human consumption. Anhydrous ammonia when applied at the rate
of 20–25 ppm kills the predatory and weed fishes. Besides, it also controls the aquatic weeds and
later acts as nitrogenous fertilizer. Toxicity of ammonia lasts for 4–6 weeks.
11.1.3.2 Recommended doses of fish poison
11.1.3.3 Liming
✓ The tanks, which are acidic in nature, are less productive than alkaline ponds.
✓ Lime is used to bring the pH to the desired level.
✓ In addition, lime also has the following effects: Increases the pH; Acts as buffer and avoids
fluctuations of pH; It increases the resistance of soil to parasites; Its toxic effect kills the parasites;
and It hastens organic decomposition
✓ The normal doses of the lime desired ranges from 200 to 250 Kg/ha.
However, the actual dose has to be calculated based on pH of the soil and water as follows:
11.1.4 Fertilization
✓ Fertilization of the pond is an important means of intensifying fish culture by increasing the natural
productivity of the pond.
✓ The fertilization schedule has to be prepared after studying the quality of the pond soil.
✓ A combination of both Organic and Inorganic fertilizers may be used for best results.
✓ The fertilizer programme has to be suitably modified depending on the growth of the fish, available
food reserve in the pond, physico chemical conditions of the pond and climatic conditions.
11.2 On stocking management

It includes Selection of species, Size, quality, number and composition of fish species to be stocked,
Stocking of fish pond with fish seed, Cares to be taken during stocking.
11.2.1 Selection of species

Species selection criteria - Fish species selected for culture should have the following characters:
✓ Fast growth rate
✓ Good food conversion efficiency
✓ Acceptability of supplementary and natural food
✓ Adaptability to crowded conditions and resistance to diseases
✓ Ability to withstand changing physico-chemical and biological conditions of the pond water.
✓ Good market value
Examples: Rohu (Labeo rohita), Catla (catla catla), Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala ), Silver carp
(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Common carp (cyprinus carpio), grass carp (ctenopharyngodon idella),
Tilapia (oreochromis mossambica), Magur (clarias batrachus), Java puthi(Puntius javanicus) Kurchi (labeo
gonius), fresh water prawn, etc.
Size, quality, number and composition of fish species to be stocked
Size of fish seed to be stocked: Considering the environmental condition which allow only a short period
for growing of fish, stocking of pond with yearling is always best to get good return. Fish fingerling i.e.
10-15 cm size fish seed is the best stocking material in the stocking pond.
Quality of fish seed to be stocked: Farmers should collect the fish seed from a known source who is
maintaining a good quality seed stock of brood fish for production of fish seed.
Number of fish seed to be stocked: In composite fish culture in stocking pond, fish seed of 10-15 cm
length (fingerling) is stocked at the rate of 5000-7000 nos/hectare.
11.3 Post-Stocking Management

It includes operations like Liming, Fertilization, Feeding, Water quality management, Fish health
management, Harvesting management. The following parameters should be looked into after stocking:
11.3.1 Water Quality

✓ Water Temperature: A water temperature between 20-30◦C is generally good for fish farming.
✓ Oxygen levels: The levels should be maintained for the fishes to survive. Stirring of the water and
adding extra freshwater increases the amount of dissolved oxygen.
✓ Water Acidity, Alkalinity and Hardness:
• The pH of the pond water should be preferably in the range of 6.7 to 8.6.
• Phytoplankton require a pH of about 7 and zooplankton a slightly lower pH of 6.5. Water
containing more amount of dissolved salts is called hard water. Hard water is important for good
fish growth.
✓ Turbidity:
• It is the term used for the amount of dissolved, suspended dirt and other particles in the water,
which gives the water a brown colour.
• High turbidity of water can decrease fish productivity, as it will reduce the light penetration into the
water and thus oxygen production by the water plants.
• Dissolved, suspended solids will also clog filters and injure fish gills.
• A method for measuring water transparency, and therefore an indirect way to estimate turbidity
is the Secchi disc.
• The application of lime, gypsum or preferably alum at 1 gram per 100 litres of water reduces the
turbidity.
✓ Harvesting management:
• After 7-8 months of growing cultured fishes, they reach marketable size. The grass carp and silver
carp become 1 kg in size in 7-8 months.
• To reach 750gm to 1 kg rohu, catla, mrigal, needs about 1 year growing period.
• When the cultured fish reaches 750gm to 1 kg in weight, then they are harvested from the pond.
• The harvesting may be done by removing the complete stocks of cultured fishes or by removing the
only table size (750 gm to 1 kg) fishes partially on market demand.
• In case of partial harvesting the numbers of fish harvested from a pond is replenished with equal
numbers of small fishes from nursery ponds of the farm. This helps in getting more money.
11.3.2 Physico-chemical characteristics of pond water for fish culture
✓ Light
• Light is a complex environmental factor and its penetration into pond water can produce diverse
ecological effects.
• The phytoplankton, zooplankton, organic and inorganic particles and turbidity of water, reflects or
absorb the light rays, which supplies energy for the process of photosynthesis in plants.
• Light also provides oxygen and food to the fish and the organisms of water, serving as food for
fishes.
✓ Temperature
• The range of temperature prevailing in pond water imposes definite limitations upon the choice of
fish to be cultivated, because different fishes have different ranges of temperature-tolerance.
• Water temperature in range of 20-370 C is favors all major carps growth.
✓ Turbidity
• Turbidity is mainly due to plankton growth or due to suspension of silt and clay particles.
• Indian major carps can tolerate turbidity upto 2000 ppm.
• Turbidity affects penetration of sunlight and therefore is unfavorable to photosynthetic activity in
the pond water affecting primary productivity.
✓ Dissolved oxygen content
• Aquatic living organisms need dissolved oxygen in water for respiration and in exchange release
carbondioxide.
• Carps need 6-7 mg/litre dissolved oxygen for aquatic breathing.
✓ PH level
• Generally, neutral or slightly alkaline (PH-7.8) water is more productive than acidic water.
✓ Carbon dioxide
• Carbondioxide comes into the pond water through decomposition organic materials, respiration of
various organisms and from the atmosphere.
• It is useful for the green plants.
✓ Nitrogen and Phosphorus
• 0.2 ppm of dissolved nitrogen is considered favourable for better productivity. The optimum limit of
nitrogen can be in the range of 0.3 to 0.3 ppm.
• 60 -120 ppm of phosphorus is supposed to be ideal for high productivity.
✓ Aquatic fauna and flora:
• Pond should be rich in aquatic fauna and flora.
• It definitely increases the productivity or the pond phytoplankton and zooplankton that are
consumed by the fishes.
Given below is a list of major fin fish diseases, their symptoms and management measures:
Disease Casual organism Clinical signs Control measures

1: Bacterial disease
Fin rot and tail rot Aeromonas puntata White line on the 1-minute dip
margin of the fin; fin treatment in 500 ppm
rays become brittle copper sulphate
and start breaking solution.
Dropsy Mixed infection of A. Accumulation of fluid Dip treatment in 5
hydrophila and inside the body cavity: ppm potassium
myxozoan parasite scale protrusion; permanganate
exophth almic solution for 2 minutes.
condition.
Eye disease A.Liquefanciens Cornea of eye Chloromycetin (8-10
becomes vascularised mg/litre) bath for 1
and later become hour 2-3 days.
opaque; eye ball gets
decayed.
Ulcer disease A.Hydrophila open sores or ulcers Dip treatment for 1
on the body. minute in 1:2000
copper sulphate
solution for 3-4 days
2: Fungal disease
Water mould disease Saprolegnia parasitica Dies after ulceration Dip treatment for 3
or exfoliation of skin seconds in 1:1000
followed by solution of potassium
haemorrhage; tufts of permanganate or for
white hair like 5-10 minutes in 3 %
outgrowth in the common solution
effected region.
3: Protozoans disease
Ichthyophthiriasis or Ichthyophthirius Small whitish cysts of 5 days bathing in 2
white spot disease multifilis about 1mm dia on the ppm methylene blue;
skin, gills and fins hourly dip treatment
in 1:5,000 formalin
solution for 7-10 days.
Knot disease Myxobolus exiguous Small knots in the skin All infected fish should
of common carp. be destroyed or burnt
Costiasis Costis necatrix Bluish- coating on the Bath in 3 % common
skin; lesions as salt solution or in
irregular patches. 1:2,500 formalin
solution for 10
minutes
12 Air breathing fishes
✓ Air-breathing fishes are characterised by the possession of an accessory respiratory organ. This
organ enables the fishes to remain for hours out of water or for indefinite period in oxygen poor
waters and even in moist mud.
✓ They are extremely hardy with respect to all environmental parameters and are suited to shallow
foul waters, weedy waters of ponds and swamps.
✓ These fishes have commercial value as they are marketed in living condition and hence they are
also referred to as ‘live fishes’ or ‘jeol fishes’.
✓ The culturable species of air breathing fishes are
o Channa straitus - Big or Striped Murrel or Snake Head Fish
o Channa punctatus - Spotted Murrel
o Channa marulius - Giant Murrel
o Clarias batrachus - Magur
o Heteropneustes fossilis - Singhi
o Anabas testudineus - Koi or Climbing Perch.
✓ Out of these, Channa striatus has highest demand in the market and is also commands a higher
price.
✓ Next best are Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis.
✓ Air-breathing fishes, at present, form the bulk and main stay of tank fisheries in India. The states of
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka. Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil
Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, support the most significant natural fishery of air-breathing
fishes.
12.1 Advantages of Culturing Air-Breathing Fishes

✓ They have high protein, high iron and low fat content and are thus more nutritious and of high
medicinal value.
✓ They have a high market demand and fetches a high price than other edible fishes.
✓ As air-breathing fishes have accessory respiratory organs, their culture can be undertaken in
rejected foul water of shallow ponds, swamps, weedy waters and other kinds of oxygen depleted
water bodies.
12.2 Cultivable Species of Air-Breathing Fishes in India:

• The cultivable species among catfishes (presence of small to very long barbels like the whiskers of
cats) are Indian magur (Clarias batrachus) and Snighi (Heteropneustes fossilis).
• Among the murrels (snake-headed fishes) are the giant murrel (Channa marulius), stripped murrel
(C. striatus) and spotted murrel (C. punctatus) are the cultured species. While in the case of climbing
perch the species favourable for culture is Koi (Anabas testudineus).
• Among the two exotic magur cultured of commercial importance, the African catfish or Nile catfish
C. lazera/C.gariepinus (often wrongly called as hybrid magur by common man) has received greater
attention because of its voracious (carnivore) eating and faster growth rate.
• The other exotic catfish C. macrocephalus, with slower growing rate, has a higher consumer
preference.
12.3 The culture of air-breathing fishes is done by the following ways

(a) Pond culture
(b) Swamp culture
(c) Cage and pen culture, and (d) High-density culture.
12.3.1 Pond culture

✓ Culture of air- breathing fishes is equally adaptable in carp culture ponds as well as in waters
unsuitable for conventional culturable species of carps.
✓ They can be grown under poor environmental conditions. Culture is generally done in shallow water
area of 0.1 ha with a depth of 2-3 feet (or 50-75 cm).
✓ Shallow water depth has an advantage as the fish has to spend less energy in travelling to surface
for intake of atmospheric oxygen. Cultivation of these fishes is also done in nursery ponds during the
period these ponds remain fallow (after harvesting of carp fry).
12.3.2 Swamp culture

✓ India has an estimated 0.6 million hectare of water that has remained unutilised for fish production.
This area comprises marshes and swamps whose difficult ecology has made it derelict. West Bengal,
Kerala, Bihar and Assam has such extensive areas under swamp conditions.
✓ These water bodies are potentially rich but are difficult for fish culture. Reclamation has been made
possible with the introduction of cage-culture method of raising air-breathing fishes.
12.3.3 Cage Culture

✓ Cage culture of air-breathing fishes is generally undertaken in swamps, running water systems like
streams, raceways and channels and unmanageable water bodies like reservoirs.
✓ The cages used for culture may be floating nylon cages of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m, supported with wooden
reapers, or bamboo cages of 2 m x 1 m with a depth of 0.8 m.
✓ Constant flow of water helps to bring food and wash away the waste products. Cage culture of air-
breathing fishes particularly in the case of climbing perch (koi) has eliminated the risk of raised
fishes being lost, thereby increasing the yield.
✓ Koi stocked at the rate of 50-100/cage and fed (at the rate of 10% of body weight) on rice bran,
mustard oil cake and silkworm pupae can give a production of 1.3 kg/m3/3 months of culture.
✓ Magur with a high stocking rate of 200/cage and fed (10% of body weight) with dried trash fish, oil
cake and rice bran can yield 9.9-12 kg/m3/1 year.
12.3.4 High Density Culture
✓ High density tank culture of air-breathing fishes in recirculating water system has been tried on an
experimental scale.
✓ Although this has been found to be profitable yet it has not been adopted for commercial
production.
12.4 Harvesting
✓ Summer season is ideal for harvesting air - breathing fishes from ponds.
✓ The pond is drained and the fishes are harvested with the help of scoop nets or hand nets.
✓ Due to their high demand and market price, the culture of this air - breathers provide profitable
income to fish farmers with simple management techniques.
13 Fish Harvest Technology
13.1 Significance
✓ Fish harvest technology provides employment and economic benefits to large sections of the
society.
✓ It encompasses various processes of catching aquatic organisms.
✓ Use of fishing methods varies, depending on the types of fisheries, and can range from as simple
process as gathering of aquatic organisms by hand picking to highly sophisticated fish harvesting
systems, viz. aimed mid-water trawling or purse seining conducted from large fishing vessels.
✓ The targets of capture fisheries can range from small invertebrates to large tunas and whales.
The large diversity of targets in capture fisheries and their wide distribution requires a variety of
fishing gears and methods for efficient harvest.
Harvest technologies, as they are practiced today generally fall into 3 main groups
✓ Catching fish singly or in schools by use of nets or spears;

✓ Trapping fish in stationary gears such as fish traps or set nets;
✓ Attracting fish to get caught on hooks by use of bait, artificial lures or other means such as light.
Over the years, traditional fishing gears have been upgraded and newer more efficient fishing systems
have been introduced. Most important among them are fish harvesting systems like trawls, seines,
lines, gill nets and entangling nets and traps.
Most significant among the technological developments which support the evolution of fish harvest
technology are:
✓ Developments in craft technology and mechanization of propulsion, gear and catch handling
✓ Introduction of synthetic gear materials
✓ Developments in acoustic fish detection and satellite based remote sensing techniques
✓ Advances in electronic navigation and position fixing equipment, and
✓ Awareness of the need for responsible fishing to ensure sustainability of the resources, protection of
the biodiversity and environmental safety and energy efficiency
13.2 Fish Harvesting Systems

✓ Fish harvesting system includes the components, fishing vessels (craft) and fishing gear.
✓ The term fishery vessels is used to denote the mobile floating objects of any kind and size operating
in freshwater, brackish water and marine areas, used for catching, transporting, landing, preserving
and/or processing of fish, shellfish and other aquatic animals.
✓ There are vessels performing other functions related to fisheries such as supplying, protecting,
rendering assistance or conducting research or training.
✓ The term fishing vessel is used to distinguish fishery vessels engaged in catching operations.
✓ The term non-fishing vessel covers the remaining fishery vessels.
✓ The basic criterion used for the classification of fishery vessels is the gear used for catching fish or
other aquatic organisms.
✓ The characteristics used to distinguish the various types and classes of fishing vessels are the general
arrangement and deck layout, position of the bridge or wheelhouse, the fishing equipment used and
the method of fish preservation and processing used in the vessel.
Traditional methods of fish harvesting are Ring seine, Stake net, Chinese dip net, Cast net, Shore seine,
Trammel net, Mini trawls, Gill nets, Hook and line, traps and pots.
✓ Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing) is a method of fishing that employs a fishing net called a seine,
that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge
buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, or from a boat.
✓ A stake net is a long wall like net consisting of a number of rectangular pieces of nettings joined
together.
✓ Chinese fishing nets are a type of stationary lift net in India. They are fishing nets that are fixed land
installations for fishing. While commonly known as "Chinese fishing nets" in India, the more formal
name for such nets is "shore operated lift nets".
✓ A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with
small weights distributed around its edge. The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it
spreads out while it's in the air before it sinks into the water. This technique is called net
casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in. This simple device is
particularly effective for catching small bait or forage fish, and has been in use, with various
modifications, for thousands of years.
✓ Shore fishing/Shore seeing is an effective and an easy way to fish in waterways, close to shores.
✓ A trammel net consists of two/three layers of netting with a slack small mesh inner netting between
two layers of large mesh netting within which fish will entangle. Most trammel nets use to be hauled
by hand. Modern gillnet haulers may also be used for hauling the nets.
✓ Mini Trawls: Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water
behind one or more boats. The net that is used for trawling is called a trawl. The boats that are used
for trawling are called trawlers or draggers.
✓ Gill Nets: Gillnetting is a fishing method used by commercial fishers, artisanal fishers, and research
scientists in oceans, coastal environments, rivers, and lakes. Gill nets are composed of vertical
panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the
surface of the water.
✓ Hooks and lines are gear where the fish is attracted by a natural or artificial bait (lures) placed on
a hook fixed to the end of a line or snood, on which they get caught. Hooks or metallic points (jigs)
are also used to catch fish by ripping them when they pass in its range of movement.
✓ Traps and pots are submerged three-dimensional wire or wood devices that permit organisms to
enter the enclosure but make escape extremely difficult or impossible.
Modern methods of fish harvesting include Trawling, Purse seining, Gill net, Hook and line mechanized,
Jigging and Trolling lines.
14 Post-Harvest Fisheries
What do we mean by post-harvest fisheries?

✓ Post-harvest fisheries comprise the activities that take place from the time the fish is landed or harvested
until it is consumed.
✓ Post-harvest fisheries embrace the cultural, environmental, economic, institutional, social, technical and
marketing aspects of the supply, demand, preservation, processing and distribution of fish and fish
products.
14.1 Processing Technology of Fisheries

We shall be talking about two processes: PROCESSING and BY PRODUCTS & VALUE ADDITION.
We shall be discussing two concepts under Processing: Freezing and Drying (Only important points shall
be discussed)
14.1.1 Freezing
There are two basic requirements for freezing.
✓ The fish should be frozen quickly and should be reduced to storage temperature (They must be
maintained at -18◦C or below).
✓ These two basic requirements for freezing go together since it is likely that a freezer which can quick
freeze fish also operates at a sufficiently low temperature to ensure that the recommended product
storage temperature can be achieved.
✓ Some freezing codes and recommendations define freezing rate in terms of the thickness frozen in
unit time. The freezing rate, however, is always quicker near the surface of the fish, where it is in
contact with the cooling medium, and slower at the centre.
✓ Freezing rates are therefore, only average rates and they do not represent what happens in practice.
Average freezing rates vary between 2 and 1000 mm/h.
Freezing Rates:
An exception:
✓ One exception to the general requirements tor quick freezing of fish requires special mention. Frozen
tuna, which will eventually be eaten in its raw state as the Japanese product "Shasimi" seemingly
requires to be reduced to a lower temperature than other fish products.
✓ Japanese fishing vessels catching fish for this product operate with freezers at -50° to -60°C.
✓ In this case, freezing tuna takes a longer time and we see that quick freezing does not take place here.
14.1.2 Double Freezing

✓ Double freezing means freezing a product, thawing or partly thawing it, and refreezing.
✓ This practice is often necessary for the production of some frozen fish products made from fish
previously frozen and stored in bulk.
✓ What must be remembered is that even quick-freezing results in quality changes in the fish and
double freezing will therefore result in further changes.
✓ Only fish that were initially very fresh could therefore be subjected to double freezing and still
conform to good quality standards.
✓ Fish frozen quickly at sea immediately after catching, for instance, would be suitable for this
purpose.
14.1.3 Handling of fish before freezing

✓ Freezing and cold storage is an efficient method of fish preservation, but it must be emphasized
that it does not improve product quality.
✓ The final quality depends on the quality of the fish at the time of freezing as well as other factors
during freezing, cold storage and distribution.
✓ The important requirement is that the fish should at all times be kept in a cool condition before
freezing, about 0°C, and the use of ice or other methods of chilling is recommended.
Given below is a table giving the practical storage life of fish
Note: This is according to Guide to Refrigerated Storage IIR, 1976 which is a combined English-French edition.
The document is a comprehensive and detailed guide covering all aspects of the design, construction and
operation of cold stores. It is in a form which may be used for technical and practical study of cold storage and it
can also be used commercially to make improvements in one of the most important links of the chain of
refrigeration, namely refrigerated storage.
14.1.4 Drying of Fish

Basic Principle of Drying
✓ Drying is the removal of water from fish.
✓ Normally the term 'drying' implies the removal of water by evaporation, but water can be removed
by other methods: for example, the action of salt and the application of pressure will remove
water from fish. Since water is essential for the activity of all living organisms its removal will slow
down, or stop, microbiological or autolytic activity and can thus be used as a method of
preservation.
14.1.4.1 Various drying methods

Natural Drying can be performed, or their can be other methods like Mechanical driers, Freeze Drying
and Solar Driers. What can be done to prevent spoilage of the fish?
✓ Fresh fish spoils very quickly.
✓ In the tropics, fish spoils within 12 hours after being harvested.
✓ This is due to the high ambient temperature that is ideal for bacterial growth.
✓ To prevent contamination of the fish, proper hygiene must be ensured.
✓ Contamination can come from people, soil, dust, sewage, surface water, manure, or spoiled foods.
✓ Poorly cleaned equipment, domestic animals, pets, vermin or unhygienically slaughtered animals
can also be the cause.
✓ To prevent spoilage of the harvested fish, either the bacteria present in them must be killed, or
their growth must be suppressed.
14.1.5 Different methods exist to suppress bacterial growth

✓ Salting: This is an inexpensive method when salt is cheap, as no electricity is necessary, and storage
can be at room temperature. Fish quality and nutritional value are reasonable after salting. Storage
life is long.
✓ Drying: It is also an inexpensive method as no electricity is required and little equipment is needed.
Dry and/or airtight storage is required. Quality and nutritional value are reasonable if storage is
good.
✓ Smoking: Inexpensive, little equipment and energy needed, but fuel must be available. Quality and
nutritional value are reasonable.
✓ Fermentation: This method is often inexpensive, but the fish taste and odour are radically changed.
Storage life varies depending on the product. Nutritional value is often high.
✓ Canning: This is a fairly expensive method because it is labour intensive and requires plenty of
energy, water and equipment, such as tins or jars with lids, sterilizers and canning machines.
Packaging is expensive. Storage is easy and possible for long periods (below 250 C or 770 F)
✓ Cooling and freezing: (We have discussed this method in detail): This is a very expensive method
because it involves high use of energy and large investments in equipment. Quality and nutritional
value of the product are good, and storage life is long.
Now we shall be having a look at the various by-products and the value addition in Fishes.
14.2 By-Products and Value Addition

✓ Fishes are consumed as food in fresh condition.
✓ Some of them are also utilized after the preservation.
✓ During preservation and processing, some materials of fish and prawn are discarded as waste.
✓ Similarly, some trash and distasteful fishes are unsuitable for human consumption.
✓ These waste material and above fishes become an important source to produce fish by-products,
which in turn are used to produce different useful fish by-products.
✓ Fish flesh on an average contains 15-20 per cent protein.
✓ Some species of fish contain very high amounts of body oil.
✓ Few species of fish like shark, cod etc. are good sources of liver oil.
✓ Fish processing and filleting industries turn out large quantities of fishery waste. All these are good
sources of high quality protein, fat, minerals etc.
14.3 The following is the list of the important by-products

By-Product Obtained from Use Remark
Gelatin Extracted from the It is used in the food Gelatin is a protein that lacks in an
skin and bones of fish industry as a gelling, essential amino acid tryptophan, and
stabilising, emulsifying, hence cannot be considered as a sole
dispersing or thickening source of protein in animal or human
agent. nutrition. But it is a relatively high
source of lysine and methionine, which
are deficient in cereal proteins
Insulin Insulin is a hormone used Fish insulin is more stable as it is not
for correcting the condition subjected to decomposition by protein
called diabetes mellitus in splitting enzymes of pancreas.
humans.
Fish It can be processed Fish albumin is widely used Fish albumin is a product similar to egg
Albumin out of proteinaceous in food and pharmaceutical albumin in physical and chemical
residue from fish products as whipping, properties.
scrap or fish waste. suspending or stabilizing Two grades of fish albumin are
agent. produced, the technical grade and the
Food grade albumin is an food and pharmaceutical grade.
additive in ice cream, soup
powder, puddings,
confectionery, bakery
products, mayonnaise,
custard powder etc.
Fish Protein Prepared from whole Though FPC is intended for The greater quantity of highly
Concentrate fish or other aquatic human consumption it is not digestible protein, available lysine and
(FPC) animals or parts relished for consumption as minerals makes FPC a highly nutritious
thereof. Protein such. It is therefore product.
concentration is incorporated as a protein
increased by removal supplement in human diet.
of water, oil, bones 5-10 per cent level FPC in
and other materials. bread and biscuit is
considered the acceptable
limit. 35 g per person per
day is a recommended level
of use of FPC.
Shark Fin It is a valuable Shark fin rays are an
Rays byproduct from the essential ingredient in some
shark fins. exotic soups.
Chitin and Chitin: produced from Several industrial and Chitin is the second most abundant
Chitosan the shell waste by medicinal uses biopolymer on earth next only to
deproteinisation and cellulose.
demineralization.
Chitosan: produced by In India, the single largest source of
the deacetylation of chitin is the shrimp shell and head
chitin waste.
Squalene Highly unsaturated The liver oil of these species

hydrocarbon present contain high percentage of
in the liver oil of squalene (90%) which can
certain species of be isolated and purified and
deep sea sharks can be used as a dietary
mainly Centrophorus supplement.
and Squalidae spp
Isinglass Prepared from fish Mainly used for the
maws (dried air clarification of wines.
bladder).
14.4 Fish as Food
14.4.1 Significance of Fish as Food

✓ Fish as a food is consumed by many animal species, including humans. It has been an important
part of the diet of humans in almost all countries in the world.
✓ Animal proteins are generally superior to plant proteins and fish is one of the cheapest sources of
animal proteins and availability and affordability is better for fish in comparison to other animal
protein sources.
✓ Fish serves as a health food for the affluent world owing to the fish oils which are rich in
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), at the same time, it is a health food for the people in the other
extreme of the nutrition scale owing to its proteins, oils, vitamins and minerals and the benefits
associated with the consumption of small indigenous fishes.
✓ Under nutrition, malnutrition and starvation and resultant mortality are major problems in
developing and underdeveloped countries.
✓ Two forms of child under nutrition. ‘Marasmus’ (chronic deficiency of calories) and ‘Kwashiorkor’
(chronic protein deficiency), often occurring together, are world health problems.
✓ In this context, fish, being one of the cheapest sources of animal proteins, is playing a big role and
can still play a bigger role in preventing the protein-calorie malnutrition.
14.4.2 Nutrient Profile of Fish

✓ Fish contains proteins and other nitrogenous compounds, lipids, minerals, and vitamins and very
low level of carbohydrates.
✓ The superior nutritional quality of fish lipids (oils) is well known. Fish lipids differ greatly from
mammalian lipids in that they include up to 40% of long chain fatty acids (c14-c22) that are highly
unsaturated and contain 5 or 6 double bonds; on the other hand, mammalian fats generally contain
not more than 2 double bonds per fatty acid molecule.
✓ Fish is generally a good source of vitamin B complex and the species with good amount of live oils
are good source of fat soluble vitamins A and D.
✓ Fish is particularly a good source of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper and trace
elements like selenium and zinc.
✓ Besides, saltwater fish contains high levels of iodine also.
✓ In fact, fish is a good source of all nutrients except carbohydrates and vitamin C.
✓ Some inland fish species like singhi (Heteropneustes fossilis), magur (Channa sp.) and koi (Anabus
testudineus) are known to be of therapeutic importance.
14.4.3 Proteins
✓ Protein content of fish varies from 15 to 20% of the live body weight.
✓ Fish proteins contain the essential amino acids in the required proportion and thus, improve the
overall protein quality of mixed diet.
14.4.4 Fatty acids/Fish Oils

✓ There are mainly three types of fatty acids; saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty
acids (MUFAs) and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
✓ The first two are synthesized endogenously, but the third one cannot be synthesized by the
humans and therefore must be obtained from the diet.
✓ The human body cannot synthesize n-3 fatty acids, but it can from 20-carbon.
15 Animal Classification – Overall (at the broader level)
15.1 Taxonomy of Fish

Fish are members of the Animalia Kingdom (animals) and are also classified into the Phylum Chordata.
In order to be a chordate an animal must:

✓ Have a notochord (a slim and flexible rod that supports the body) at some point in their lives;
✓ Have a tubular nerve chord along their back (dorsal surface) with the brain developing from a swelling
found at the anterior end (front) of this tube;
✓ Paired gill slits at some stage of their life history;
✓ Segmentation of at least part of their body;
✓ A post-anal tail at some stage in their life history;
✓ A ventral heart; and
✓ An endoskeleton
Fish are further classified into the Vertebrata Subphylum.
✓ In order to be a vertebrate, an animal must have a vertebral column, or backbone.

✓ This backbone encloses, supports and protects the spinal cord.
✓ Fish are vertebrates that live in water and breathe with gills.
✓ Fish are ectotherms, or cold-blooded.
✓ Fish have either backbone of cartilage or bone.
✓ Most fish are adapted to live in salt or fresh water. Most fish have fins and scales, which cover and protect
the body.
✓ The body systems of the fish, such as the digestive, circulatory are well developed.
The sub-phylum Vertebrata is further divided into the following:
Source: NCERT
15.1.1 Class – Cyclostomata

✓ All living members of the class Cyclostomata are ectoparasites on some fishes.
✓ They have an elongated body bearing 6-15 pairs of gill slits for respiration.
✓ Cyclostomes have a sucking and circular mouth without jaws.
✓ Their body is devoid of scales and paired fins. Cranium and vertebral column are cartilaginous.
✓ Cyclostomes are marine but migrate for spawning to fresh water.
✓ After spawning, within a few days, they die. Their larvae, after metamorphosis, return to the ocean.
Examples: Petromyzon (Lamprey) and Myxine (Hagfish).
15.1.2 Class – Chondrichthyes

✓ They are marine animals with streamlined body and have cartilaginous endoskeleton.
✓ Mouth is located ventrally.
✓ Notochord is persistent throughout life.
✓ Gill slits are separate and without operculum (gill cover).
✓ The skin is tough, containing minute placoid scales.
✓ Teeth are modified placoid scales which are backwardly directed.
✓ Their jaws are very powerful. These animals are predaceous.
✓ Due to the absence of air bladder, they have to swim constantly to avoid sinking.
✓ Heart is two-chambered (one auricle and one ventricle).
✓ Some of them have electric organs (e.g., Torpedo) and some possess poison sting (e.g., Trygon).
✓ They are cold-blooded (poikilothermous) animals, i.e., they lack the capacity to regulate their body
temperature.
✓ Sexes are separate. In males pelvic fins bear claspers. They have internal fertilization and many of
them are viviparous.
Examples: Scoliodon (Dog fish), Pristis (Saw fish), Carcharodon (Great white shark), Trygon (Sting ray).
15.1.3 Class – Osteichthyes

✓ It includes both marine and fresh water fishes with bony endoskeleton.
✓ Their body is streamlined.
✓ Mouth is mostly terminal.
✓ They have four pairs of gills which are covered by an operculum on each side.
✓ Skin is covered with cycloid/ctenoid scales.
✓ Air bladder is present which regulates buoyancy.
✓ Heart is two chambered (one auricle and one ventricle).
✓ They are cold-blooded animals.
✓ Sexes are separate. Fertilization is usually external. They are mostly oviparous, and development is
direct.
✓ Bony fish are again classified into ray finned group (perch, and catfish) and lobe finned group
(lungfish). Ray finned fish have thin, flexible skeleton rays. Lobe finned fish have muscular fins
supported by bones.
Examples: Marine – Exocoetus (Flying fish), Hippocampus (Sea horse); Freshwater – Labeo (Rohu), Catla
(Katla), Clarias (Magur); Aquarium – Betta (Fighting fish), Pterophyllum (Angel fish).
15.2 Difference between the two classes
15.3 Classification of fish Species According to their Feeding Habits

Phytoplankton-eaters
✓ Chinese silver carp
✓ Indian ‘catla’ carp
✓ Indian ‘rohu’ carp
✓ Milkfish
Water plant eaters
✓ Chinese grass carp
✓ Chinese ‘Wuchang’ bream
✓ Big gourami
✓ Tilapia
✓ Zill’s tilapia
Predatory fish species (fish eaters)

✓ Snakehead species
Omnivores (eat everything available)

✓ Barb species
✓ Crucian carp
✓ Chinese mud carp
✓ Common carp
✓ Catfish species
✓ Indian ‘mrigala’ carp
✓ Tilapia species
Larvivorous fishes
✓ Fishes which prefer mosquito larvae and feed on them throughout their life are known as larvicidal
fishes.
✓ The example are Carassius auratus, Lebistes, Gambusia affinis, Gambusia holbrooki, Tilapia,
Notopterus notpterus etc.
Transgenic fish
✓ A transgenic fish is one which carries one or more foreign genes.
✓ The foreign genes are selectively incorporated by microinjection into the eggs with a view to
produce transgenic fish lines carrying such foreign genes.
Predatory fishes
✓ Fishes which prey on smaller fishes or hatchlings i.e. Clupisoma garua, Silonia silondia, Rita rita,
Wallago attu, Nandus nandus, Channa striatus, Ailiaberg etc.
Weed fishes
✓ These fishes have good fecundity and attain sexual maturity in summer and breed even without
rain prior to the monsoon and therefore their young ones are abundant in number during monsoon.
✓ The examples are Ambassis, Barilius barila, Chela cochins, Gadusia chapra, Punius ticto, Oxygaster
bacaila etc.
Fecundity: The capacity of an individual fish to produce female reproductive cells is known as fecundity.
The fecundity is a quality of the species which ensures high rate of intraspecific competition and more
rapid rate of evolution i.e. the species with high fecundity have a greater biotic potentiality.
16 Important terminology of Fisheries
Term Meaning
Acoustic Survey A systematic method of gathering information on fish availability and abundance in a water body
with the help of sophisticated acoustic instruments, such as echo sounders and sonar, that
generate ultrasonic sound for the detection of fish.
Anadromous Fishes that migrate as juveniles from freshwater to saltwater and then return as adults to spawn
in freshwater; most Pacific salmon are anadromous.
Amphidromous Fish are born in freshwater/estuaries, then drift into the ocean as larvae before migrating back
into freshwater to grow into adults and spawn.
Examples: bigmouth sleeper, mountain mullet, sirajo goby, river goby, torrentfish, Dolly Varden
Bioaccumulation The buildup over time, within animal tissues, of substance (e.g. heavy metals) that cannot be
excreted by an organism.
Biomass Or standing stock. The total weight of a group (or stock) of living organisms (e.g. fish, plankton)
or of some defined fraction of it (e.g. spawners) in an area, at a particular time;
2. Measure of the quantity, usually by weight in pounds or metric tons (2,205 pounds or 1 metric
ton), of a stock at a given time
Bony Fishes Fishes with a calcified hard skeleton and belonging to Class Osteichthyes; includes most fish
species except sharks, rays, skates, hagfish, and lampreys
Bycatch Fish other than the primary target species that are caught incidental to the harvest of the
primary species. Bycatch may be retained or discarded. Discards may occur for regulatory or
economic reasons.
Carrying Capacity The maximum population of a species that an area or specific ecosystem can support indefinitely
without deterioration of the character and quality of the resource.
Catadromous Fishes that spend most of their life in freshwater and then migrate into saltwater to spawn.
Cohort In a stock, a group of fish generated during the same spawning season and born during the same
time period;
Commercial A term related to the whole process of catching and marketing fish and shellfish for sale. It refers
Fishery to and includes fisheries resources, fishermen, and related businesses
Crustaceans A group of freshwater and saltwater invertebrates with jointed legs and a hard shell of chitin.
Includes shrimps, crabs, lobsters, and crayfish.
Ebb Tide A falling tide, the phase of the tide between high water and the succeeding low water.
Euryhaline Organisms able to tolerate a wide range of salinity.
Eutrophication Generally, the natural or man-induced process by which a body of water becomes enriched in
dissolved mineral nutrients (particularly phosphorus and nitrogen) that stimulate the growth of
aquatic plants and enhances organic production of the water body. Excessive enrichment may
result in the depletion of dissolved oxygen and eventually to species mortality.
Fecundity The potential reproductive capacity of an organism or population expressed in the number of
eggs (or offspring) produced during each reproductive cycle. Fecundity usually increases with
age and size. The information is used to compute spawning potential.
Finfish Vertebrate and cartilanginous fishery species, not including crustaceans, cephalopds, or other
mollusks.
Finning The practice of removing fi ns and discarding the carcass, usually pertaining to sharks.
Fish Used as a collective term, includes mollusks, crustaceans and any aquatic animal which is
harvested.
Fishing Gear The equipment used for fishing (e.g. gillnet, hand line, harpoon, haul seine, long line, bottom
and midwater trawls, purse seine, rod-and-reel, pots and traps). Each of these gears can have
multiple configurations.
Food Chain The transfer of energy from the source in plants through a series of organisms with repeated
eating and being eaten. At each transfer, a large proportion of the potential energy is lost as
heat. The shorter the food chain (or the nearest the organism is from the beginning of the food
chain), the greater the available energy which can be converted in biomass.
Forage Species Species used as prey by a larger predator for its food. Includes small schooling fishes such as
anchovies, sardines, herrings, capelin, smelts, and menhaden, and invertebrates such as squid.
Ghost Fishing The accidental capture of aquatic organisms by fishing gear (usually gillnets, or traps, pots, etc.)
that has been lost or discarded into the sea and which continues to entangle or trap aquatic
animals.
Gillnet With this type of gear, the fish are gilled, entangled or enmeshed in the netting. These nets can
be used either alone or, as is more usual, in large numbers placed in line. According to their
design, ballasting and buoyancy, these nets may be used to fish on the surface, in midwater or
on the bottom.
Gonadosomatic A ratio of the weight of a fish’s eggs or sperm to its body weight, used to determine the spawning
Index (GSI) time of a species of fish.
Hypersaline Extremely salty, having much more salt than normal seawater.
Inshore Waters Waters of the shallower part of the continental shelf.
Invasive species An introduced species that out-competes native species for space and resources.
Invertebrate Animals without a backbone. In fishery management terms, refers to shellfish, including lobsters,
clams, shrimps, oysters, crabs, and sea urchins.
Isobath A line on a map connecting points of equal bathymetry, i.e. equal depth, in the ocean or another
water body.
Juvenile A young fish or animal that has not reached sexual maturity.
Lagoon Coastal water body entirely or almost entirely enclosed by a landmass with minimal connection
to the sea; a shallow, sheltered body of water separated from the open sea by coral reefs, sand
bars, or barrier islands.
Marginal Yield The increase in yield obtained by an increase in fishing effort (or fishing mortality) by one unit.
Maturity Refers to the ability, on average, of fish of a given age or size to reproduce. Maturity information,
in the form of percent mature by age or size, is often used to compute spawning potential.
Multispecies Fishery in which more than one species is caught at the same time. Because of the imperfect
Fishery selectivity of most fishing gears, most fisheries are “multispecies.” The term is often used to
refer to fisheries where more than one species is intentionally sought and retained.
Native Species A local species that has not been introduced.
Nearshore Shallow waters at a small distance from the shore
Non-Target Species not specifically targeted as a component of the catch; may be incidentally captured as
Species part of the targeted catch.
Nursery That part of a fish’s or animal’s habitat where the young develop and grow.
Oceanodromous fish are born near spawning grounds, then drift on ocean currents as larvae before settling as
juveniles to grow into adults before migrating back to spawning grounds. Examples: black
grouper, mutton snapper, goliath grouper
Offshore waters Waters located well beyond the shores (beyond the edge of the nearshore or inshore waters).
Part of the oceanic environment.
Phytoplankton Small, usually microscopic plants drifting in the upper layers of the ocean, consuming nutrients
and light energy to produce biomass. In particularly nutrient-rich conditions (including
eutrophication) phytoplankton blooms may occur and can be toxic.
Poaching Catching fish for which no quota is held. Illegally harvesting fish.
Post Larvae Fish that have changed from the larval form to the very first stages of juvenile or adult form.
Potadromous fish are born in upstream freshwater habitats, then migrate downstream (still in freshwater) as
juveniles to grow into adults before migrating back upstream to spawn. Examples: sicklefin
redhorse, lake sturgeon, robust redhorse, flathead catfish
Predation Relationship between two species of animals in which one (the predator) actively hunts and lives
off the meat and other body parts of the other (the prey).
Productivity Relates to the birth, growth and death rates of a stock. A highly productive stock is characterized
by high birth, growth, and mortality rates, and as a consequence, a high turnover and production
to biomass ratios (P/B). Such stocks can usually sustain higher exploitation rates and, if depleted,
could recover more rapidly than comparatively less productive stocks.
Red Tide Proliferation of marine plankton that is toxic and often fatal to fi sh. This natural phenomenon
is stimulated by phosphorus and other nutrients that are discharged into waterways by human
beings. The color of the tide can be red, yellow, green, or brown.
Reef Fish Fish that live mostly on or around reefs. Reef fish include snappers, groupers, grunts, porgies,
and others.
Riparian Living on or near the bank of a river or lake.
Salinity The total mass of salts dissolved in seawater per unit mass of water; generally expressed in parts
per thousands (ppt).
Sashimi Japanese term for sliced fish (especially tuna) and shellfish (scallop, abalone, lobster, squid,
octopus) served raw as a delicacy.
Sexual Pertains to systematic differences between males and females. Several species of tunas and
Dimorphism billfishes show sexual dimorphism in growth or mortality.
Shellfish Shellfish include both mollusks, such as clams, and crustaceans, such as lobsters.
Shoaling Fish Species of relatively small (usually pelagic) fish that congregate in large schools, such as
anchoveta and sardines.
Spawning Release of ova fertilized or to be fertilized.
Species Group of animals or plants having common characteristics, able to breed together to produce
fertile (capable of reproducing) offspring and maintaining their “separateness” from other
groups.
Stock A part of a fish population usually with a particular migration pattern, specific spawning grounds,
and subject to a distinct fishery. A fish stock may be treated as a total or a spawning stock. Total
stock refers to both juveniles and adults, either in numbers or by weight, while spawning stock
refers to the numbers or weight of individuals that are old enough to reproduce.
Thermocline Region below the surface layer of the sea or lake, where the temperature gradient increases
abruptly (i.e. where temperature decreases rapidly with increasing depth).
Trawling Fishing technique in which a net is dragged behind the vessel and retrieved when full of fish.
Watershed The areas which supplies water by surface and subsurface fl ow from rain to a given point in the
drainage system.
Zooplankton Non-photosynthetic, heterotrophic planktonic organisms, including protists, small animals, and
larvae, which exist within the water column.
For
Forestry

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Forest .................................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Function of forests ........................................................................................................................ 8
1.2 The structure of a forest ............................................................................................................... 8
1.2.1 The Emergent layer ............................................................................................................... 9
1.2.2 The Canopy ........................................................................................................................... 9
1.2.3 The Understory ..................................................................................................................... 9
1.2.4 The Forest Floor .................................................................................................................... 9
2 Forestry ................................................................................................................................................. 9
3 Classification of Forests based on National Commission of Agriculture (1976) in India ...................... 9
3.1 Protection Forests ......................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Production Forests ...................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.1 Commercial Forestry ........................................................................................................... 10
3.2.2 Industrial Forestry ............................................................................................................... 10
3.3 Social Forests .............................................................................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Social Forestry Practices ..................................................................................................... 10
3.3.2 Methods of Practice of Social Forestry ............................................................................... 10
3.3.3 Community Forestry ........................................................................................................... 11
3.3.4 Farm Forestry ...................................................................................................................... 11
3.3.5 Extension Forestry .............................................................................................................. 11
3.3.6 Agro-Forestry ...................................................................................................................... 11
3.3.7 Recreational Forestry .......................................................................................................... 12
3.3.8 Urban Forestry .................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.9 Benefits of Social Forestry .................................................................................................. 12
4 Branches of Forestry ........................................................................................................................... 12
4.1 Silviculture................................................................................................................................... 13
4.1.1 Objectives of Silviculture..................................................................................................... 13
4.2 Mensuration................................................................................................................................ 13
4.2.1 Areas of application ............................................................................................................ 14
4.3 Silviculture system ...................................................................................................................... 14
4.3.1 Classification of Silvicultural System ................................................................................... 15

4.3.2 High Forest Silvicultural Systems ........................................................................................ 15
4.3.3 Coppice Silvicultural Systems .............................................................................................. 16
4.4 Management ............................................................................................................................... 16
4.4.1 Forest Inventory .................................................................................................................. 16
4.4.2 Public input and awareness ................................................................................................ 17
4.4.3 Wildlife considerations ....................................................................................................... 17
4.4.4 Management intensity ........................................................................................................ 17
4.4.5 Forest Economics ................................................................................................................ 17
4.4.6 Analytical Framework ......................................................................................................... 18
4.4.7 Forest Renewal.................................................................................................................... 18
4.4.8 Other Issues ........................................................................................................................ 19
4.5 Utilization .................................................................................................................................... 19
5 Definitions and Terms used in Forestry .............................................................................................. 19
5.1 Forestry ....................................................................................................................................... 19
5.2 Silviculture................................................................................................................................... 19
5.3 Pollarding .................................................................................................................................... 19
5.4 Lopping........................................................................................................................................ 19
5.5 Pruning ........................................................................................................................................ 19
5.6 Taungya system........................................................................................................................... 19
5.7 Coppice ....................................................................................................................................... 20
5.8 Seed orchards ............................................................................................................................. 20
5.9 Seed Production areas or seed stands ........................................................................................ 20
5.10 Pricking out ................................................................................................................................. 20
5.11 Wind breaks ................................................................................................................................ 20
5.12 Shelter belts ................................................................................................................................ 20
5.13 Tending ....................................................................................................................................... 21
5.14 Felling .......................................................................................................................................... 21
5.15 Afforestation ............................................................................................................................... 21
5.16 Reforestation .............................................................................................................................. 21
5.17 Age crop ...................................................................................................................................... 21
5.18 Age classification ......................................................................................................................... 21

5.19 Basal area .................................................................................................................................... 21
5.20 Bole ............................................................................................................................................. 21
5.21 Breast height ............................................................................................................................... 21
5.22 Coupe .......................................................................................................................................... 21
5.23 Crown .......................................................................................................................................... 21
5.24 Canopy ........................................................................................................................................ 22
5.25 Canopy Density ........................................................................................................................... 22
5.26 Dendrology.................................................................................................................................. 22
5.27 Reserved forests ......................................................................................................................... 22
5.28 Protected forests ........................................................................................................................ 22
5.29 Unclassed forest.......................................................................................................................... 22
5.30 Log ............................................................................................................................................... 22
5.31 Logging ........................................................................................................................................ 22
5.32 Pole ............................................................................................................................................. 22
5.33 Raft .............................................................................................................................................. 22
5.34 Scrub ........................................................................................................................................... 22
5.35 Stand ........................................................................................................................................... 23
5.36 Succession ................................................................................................................................... 23
6 Classification of Forests ...................................................................................................................... 23
6.1 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Age ................................................................................ 23
6.1.1 Even Aged Forest ................................................................................................................ 23
6.1.2 Un-Even Aged Forests ......................................................................................................... 23
6.2 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Regeneration ................................................................ 23
6.2.1 High Forest .......................................................................................................................... 23
6.2.2 Coppice Forest .................................................................................................................... 23
6.2.3 Natural Forest ..................................................................................................................... 23
6.2.4 Man Made Forest ................................................................................................................ 23
6.3 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Composition ................................................................. 23
6.3.1 Pure Forests ........................................................................................................................ 24
6.3.2 Mixed Forests ...................................................................................................................... 24
6.4 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Management ................................................................ 24

6.4.1 Protection Forests ............................................................................................................... 24
6.4.2 Production Forests .............................................................................................................. 24
6.4.3 Social Forests....................................................................................................................... 24
6.5 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Ownership .................................................................... 24
6.5.1 Government Forests ........................................................................................................... 24
6.5.2 Private Forests .................................................................................................................... 25
6.5.3 Forests owned by Corporations, Panchayats, Societies and other Agencies ..................... 25
6.6 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Growing Stock............................................................... 25
6.6.1 Normal Forest ..................................................................................................................... 25
6.6.2 Abnormal Forest ................................................................................................................. 25
7 Agroforestry ........................................................................................................................................ 25
7.1 Objectives of Agro-forestry ......................................................................................................... 26
7.2 Classification of Agroforestry systems ........................................................................................ 26
7.2.1 Classification of Agroforestry system based on Structural basis ........................................ 26
Agrisilvicultural system (Agriculture + Silviculture) ............................................................................ 27
7.2.2 Classification of Agroforestry system based on functional aspects.................................... 29
7.2.3 Classification of Agroforestry system based on Socio economic aspects........................... 30
7.2.4 Classification of Agroforestry system based on ecological aspects .................................... 30
7.3 Choice of Species for Agro and Farm Forestry ............................................................................ 30
7.4 Scope of Agro-forestry In India ................................................................................................... 30
7.5 Benefits from Agro-forestry ........................................................................................................ 31
7.5.1 Economical Benefits ............................................................................................................ 31
7.5.2 Social Benefits ..................................................................................................................... 31
7.6 Limitations of Agro-forestry ........................................................................................................ 31
7.7 Socio-economic Aspect of Agroforestry ..................................................................................... 32
8 Joint Forest Management ................................................................................................................... 32
8.1 Nature of Committees ................................................................................................................ 32
8.2 Management of JFM areas ......................................................................................................... 32
8.3 Training ....................................................................................................................................... 32
8.4 Monitoring and Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 33
8.5 Salient features of the programme............................................................................................. 33

8.5.1 Constitution of Committee ................................................................................................. 33
8.5.2 Rights of Committee ........................................................................................................... 33
8.5.3 Duties of Committee ........................................................................................................... 34
9 Forest Policy and legislation in India ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
9.1 Indian Forest Act, 1927 .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
9.2 National Forest Policy, 1988 .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
9.3 The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and Amendment 1991 ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
9.4 The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
9.5 Forest-PLUS Program ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1 Forest
✓ The word "Forest" is derived from Latin word ‘foris’ meaning outside the village boundary or away
from inhabited land.
✓ Technically, forest is an area set aside for the production of timber and other forest produce or
maintained under woody vegetation for certain indirect benefits which it provides, e.g. climatic or
protective.
✓ Ecologically, it is defined as a plant community, predominantly of trees and other woody vegetation,
usually with a closed canopy.
✓ Legally, forest is an area of land proclaimed to be a forest under a forest law.
From the above definition, it is clear that the forest has five components, namely;
✓ It is an uncultivated land area
✓ The land area should be occupied by different kinds of natural vegetation essentially by trees or it
is proposed to establish trees and other forms of vegetation
✓ The trees should form a closed or a partially closed canopy
✓ The trees and other forms of vegetation should be managed for obtaining forest produce and / or
benefits and
✓ It should provide shelter to wildlife, birds-and other fauna
1.1 Function of forests

Particulars Functions
Productive They provide timer, fuel, charcoal, beedi, leaves, was and resins, fruits, tanning,
materials, manure leaves, grass, bamboo, gums, lac etc.
Protective Forests protect water sheds, catchments of rivers and streams against erosion.
Aesthetic Forests add good appearance, landscaping and a thrilling atmosphere to the locality.
Recreational Forest provides picnic resorts and opportunities for sport like hiking, trekking, wild
life watching, bird watching.
Scientific Study of ecological process can be made
Ameliorative Forests improve climate and reduce pollution
Hygienic Forests improve the environment and help in reduction of noise, purify the air and
give out oxygen to the atmosphere.
Industrial Forest meet the need for raw material for industrial development such as Paper pups,
developments rayon grade pulp, saw milk ply wood, hard board etc.
1.2 The structure of a forest

✓ Evergreen forests, such as the Amazon Rainforest and the tropical rainforests have a peculiar
structure, in terms of the layers in which the trees are organized.
✓ This organization is shaped mainly by abiotic factors such as humidity, sunlight, wind etc.
✓ There are four basic layers namely the Emergent, Canopy, Understory and Forest floor.

1.2.1 The Emergent layer
✓ The Emergent layer is made up of the tallest trees, spaced out, usually with straight branch-free
trunks (large trees are about 16ft in diameter), with a crown on the tops.
✓ They are about 100ft – 200ft tall with supporting buttress roots spreading up to about 20-30ft.
✓ Birds such as the hummingbird and parrots are common. Animals here tend to be lightweight, and
include the Sloth and the Spider Monkey. The Brazil Nut tree and Kapok Tree are common trees in
this emergent layer.
1.2.2 The Canopy

✓ The Canopy is the layer that stops sunlight and rainwater from getting to the layers below it. The
trees grow up to about 130ft and have broader leaves and drip spouts.
✓ Common animals include squirrels, monkeys, reptiles, bats, and a variety of birds.
✓ Visibility is low from the thickness of leaves and network of branches. As a result, animal sounds are
loudest in this layer because they communicate with sounds.
1.2.3 The Understory

✓ The Understory has fewer trees, but lots of shrubs and small trees growing up to about 12ft high.
The area is made up of buttress roots from taller trees, climbing plants, ferns and branches
extending downwards.
✓ This layer is home to many insects, frogs, snakes, beetles, butterflies and termites. The wet, humid
and dark nature of this layer makes it an ideal home for mosquitoes and bugs.
1.2.4 The Forest Floor

✓ The forest floor is the ground level of the structure. It has shallow soils of poor quality, with micro-
organisms and life-forms feeding on decaying matter on the floor.
✓ Animals are larger in size and heavier than animals in the other layers. They include scorpions,
armadillos, wild cats, mongoose, lizards, snakes and a variety of insects.
2 Forestry
✓ Forestry is defined as the theory and practice of all that constitutes the creation, conservation and
scientific management of forests and the utilization of their resources.
✓ In simpler terms, Forestry is the application of scientific, economic and social principles to attain
specific objectives in the care of a forest.
3 Classification of Forests based on National Commission of Agriculture (1976)

in India
National Commission of Agriculture (1976) proposed that forests can be classified into
3.1 Protection Forests

✓ The practices of managing the forests for their protection function are called Protection forestry.
✓ In protection forestry, the object is to protect the site due to instability of terrain, nature of soil,
geological formations, etc.

✓ The forests located on higher hill slopes, national parks and sanctuaries, preservation plots, biosphere
or nature reserves and wilderness areas may be included under protection forests.
✓ The practice of forestry with a view to conserving flora, fauna, soil and water, increasing water yields,
reducing floods and droughts, amelioration of climatic conditions, etc. is called Protection Forestry.
3.2 Production Forests

✓ The practice of forestry with object of producing maximum quantity of timber, fuel wood and other
forest produce is called Production Forestry.
✓ The production forestry can be further classified into
3.2.1 Commercial Forestry

Commercial forestry aims to get maximum production of timber, fuel wood and other forest products
as a business enterprise.
3.2.2 Industrial Forestry

Industrial forestry aims at producing raw material required for industry. In Production forestry, there is a
greater concern for the production and economic returns.
3.3 Social Forests

✓ The word Social forestry was coined by Westoby and used in the Ninth Commonwealth Forestry
Congress in 1968.
✓ Thus, social forestry aims at growing forests of the choice of the local population.
✓ Social forestry may be defined as the science and art of growing trees in and outside traditional
forest areas and managing like existing forest with intimate involvement of the people and more or
less integrated with other operation resulting in balanced and complementary land used with view to
provide wide range of goods and services to the individual as well as to the society.
✓ Social forestry is the greatest instrument of land transformation.
✓ Development of trees on agricultural and other waste lands has tremendous effect.
3.3.1 Social Forestry Practices

The objectives of Social forestry adopted by the Commission ( 1976) were based on the economic needs
of the community aimed at improving the conditions of living. The main objectives are
i) Fuel wood supply to the rural area and replacement of cowdung
ii) Small timber supply
iii) Fodder supply
iv) Protection of agricultural fields against wind and recreational needs
3.3.2 Methods of Practice of Social Forestry

Social forestry may sub divided into farm forestry, extension forestry and urban forestry. Practice of
forestry on farm lands is farm forestry. Practice of forestry outside the farm lands and outside the
reserve forests is extension forestry.
3.3.3 Community Forestry
✓ The practice of forestry on lands outside the conventional forest area for the benefit of local
population has been called Community forestry.
✓ Community forestry seeks the involvement of community in the creation and management of such
forests.
3.3.4 Farm Forestry

✓ Farm Forestry is defined (by NCA (1976)) as the practice of forestry in all its aspect on farms of village
lands generally integrated with other farm operations.
✓ Farm forestry is the name given to programmes which promote commercial tree growing by farmers
on their own land.
3.3.5 Extension Forestry

✓ Extension forestry which includes the activity of raising trees on farm lands, villages wastelands and
community forest areas and on lands along the sides of roads, canal banks and railway lines.
✓ More recently, there has been emphasis on dynamic land use planning and efforts are made to
maximize production on farmlands under agroforestry.
✓ It includes the following.
✓ i) Mixed forestry Mixed forestry is the practice of forestry for raising fodder grass with scattered
fodder trees, fruit trees and fuel wood trees on suitable wastelands, panchayat lands and village
commons
✓ ii) Shelterbelts Shelterbelt is defined as a belt of trees and or shrubs maintained for the purpose of
shelter from wind, sun, snow drift, etc.
✓ iii) Linear Strip plantations These are the plantations of fast growing species on linear strips of land
3.3.6 Agro-Forestry
Agro-forestry has been defined as a sustainable land management system which increases the yield of
the land, combines the production of crops and forest plants and/or animals simultaneously or
sequentially on the same unit of land and applies management practices that are compatible with the
cultural practices of the local population.
3.3.6.1 Difference between Social forestry and Agroforestry

✓ Social forestry is defined as “Forestry outside the conventional forests which primarily aims at
providing continuous flow of goods and services for the benefit of people. This definition implies that
the production of forest goods for the needs of the local people is Social forestry. Thus, social
forestry aims at growing forests of the choice of the local population.
✓ Agroforestry is termed as any sustainable land-use system that maintains or increases total yields
by combining food crops (annuals) with tree crops (perennials) and/or livestock on the same unit
of land, either alternately or at the same time, using management practices that suit the social and
cultural characteristics of the local people and the economic and ecological conditions of the area.
3.3.7 Recreational Forestry
✓ More recently, there has been considerable demand for Recreational forestry, which is defined as
the practice of forestry with the object of developing and maintaining forests of high scenic value.
Recreational forests are being developed near towns and cities.
✓ This type of forestry is also known as Aesthetic forestry which is defined as the practice of forestry
with the object of developing or maintaining a forest of high scenic value.
3.3.8 Urban Forestry

✓ Rising of tree crops in urban, areas as a forest or for amenity planting, to prevent and minimize
pollution.
3.3.9 Benefits of Social Forestry

✓ Achievement of self-sufficiency by the villages
✓ Betterment of environment
✓ Conservation of moisture
✓ Employment opportunities in rural and urban area
✓ Fullest utilization of land unsuitable for cultivation
✓ Improvement of rainfall by induction precipitation
✓ Prevention of soil erosion
✓ Protection from wind
✓ Provide shelter for insectivorous birds on the farms
✓ Providing raw materials for industries such as wood, wool, packing cases, slate frames, fiber,
tamarind extract, oil seeds, pulping and husking material
✓ Providing the basic needs of rural and urban people for fuel, small timber, manure leaf and other
economic products nearer to home
✓ Recreation
✓ Reduction of noise
✓ Reduction of pollution
✓ Reduction of pressure on national forests
4 Branches of Forestry
Forestry has five different branches
1. Silviculture
2. Mensuration
3. Silviculture system
4. Management
5. Utilization
4.1 Silviculture
✓ If refers to certain aspects of theory and practices of raising forests crops, methods of raising tree
crops, their growth and after care up to the time of final harvesting.
✓ Silviculture pertains to the raising, development, care, reproduction and overall management of
forest crops.
✓ Silviculture is that branch of forestry which deals with the establishment, development, care and
reproduction of stands of timber.
4.1.1 Objectives of Silviculture

✓ To derive environmental benefits: Soil and water conservation, control of air and noise pollution, wild
life conservation, regulation of climatic condition, regulation of water cycle.
✓ Raising species of more economic value: Industrial and economic growth through.
✓ Production of high-quality timer: Silviculture techniques help of avoid the problem of crooked,
malformed, disease or defective timber and thus help to produce goods quality timber.
✓ Production of more volume per unit area: Unmanaged forests may be too dense or too open, less
production, premature death of trees silviculture helps to solve these problems.
✓ Reduction of rotation period: In Unmanaged forests the rotation tends to be longer.
✓ Afforestation of blank areas: Waste lands can be used for forests
✓ Creation of plantation: Man made forests or plantations may be created in placed of natural forests.
✓ Introduction of exotics: Successful introduction of exotic species is possible.
✓ Employment potential: In any plantation operation, the labour component account for 60 to 70% of
the total financial input.
✓ Increase in the production of fuel and fodder: In development countries like India it is important
aspect.
✓ Forest Industries: Resin for resin and turpentine industry, pulp wood for paper industry, industrial
wood for match and timber industry, railway, etc, minor forests product-based industries.
4.2 Mensuration
✓ It deals with the measurement of forest produce ex. Dimension from volume, age and increment of
individual trees and forest crop.
✓ Forest Mensuration (also called forest measurements) has undergone a number of important changes
in recent years.
✓ Electronic measuring devices using laser or ultrasound emissions have become commonly used to
measure distances. These devices have reduced the time to measure tree heights considerably and
can be used to quickly obtain other tree parameter measures including spatial positions.
✓ Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that triangulate satellites to determine ground positions have
become widely used.
✓ Aerial photographs continue to be used in navigation, and for planning, forest inventory, and
management purposes. However, these are often digital or are converted to digital formats when
used in forestry today. Augmenting aerial photographs with other remotely sensed imagery has
become more common.
✓ Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), an active sensor to measure position from an aircraft to the top
of objects, is being tested for modelling crown structure and other features for inventory purposes.
✓ Other types of imagery (e.g., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) of NASA have
been used to estimate net primary productivity (NPP), leaf area index (LAI), and other productivity
measures related to forest function and growth.
✓ New methods of tree-ring analyses, including physical, chemical, and anatomic features, have
facilitated reconstructions of growth conditions and investigations of impacts of environmental
changes on forest growth. These data have improved studies of growth-environment relationships.
✓ Tree-level, distance dependent models that grow individual trees based on their competition with
neighbours are frequently used to model growth of complex stands with many species, and multiple
ages. A number of indices that reflect stand structure in vertical and horizontal dimensions have been
proposed, and are being tested for use in growth models, and in inventory applications.
✓ Changes in forest mensuration have been motivated by the need for greater information on forest
environments.
✓ The basis for all of these information needs is a forest inventory linked with models that forecast
changes in response to natural and human disturbances.
✓ Forest Mensuration plays an important role in the practice of forest management.
✓ Forest Mensuration has undergone a number of important changes in recent years. Among the most
notable are laser and ultrasound-based measuring devices, and use of drones, terrestrial and
airborne laser scanning, satellite imagery and other advanced remote sensing techniques that are
being used to measure and monitor trees and forests.
✓ These devices have reduced considerably the time needed for field measurements and can be used
to quickly obtain many tree characteristics including spatial positions.
4.2.1 Areas of application

✓ Advanced scientific methods for measuring and monitoring the impact of environmental conditions
such as climate change on forest productivity, structure and diversity
✓ Development of non-destructive sampling techniques for volume, biomass and wood quality
estimation
✓ Development of total and merchantable volume equations for estimating the biological asset value
of tree stands, and biomass tables for carbon estimation
✓ Forest observational networks for studying and analyzing ecosystem structure and dynamics
Growth & yield/productivity studies in natural and planted forests
4.3 Silviculture system

✓ Process by which the crops constituting a forest are tended, removal and replaced by new crops.
✓ Silvicultural system is defined as method of silvicultural procedures that workout in accordance with
accepted sets and silvicultural principles by which crops constituting forests are tendered, harvested
and replaced by new crops of distinctive forms or a planned Silvicultural treatment which is applied
to a forest crop, through-out its life, so that it assumes a distinctive form.
✓ It has following essential characteristics
• The pattern of felling to be adopted in harvesting a mature crop to be regenerated.
• The method of regeneration to be adopted
• The tending of new crops.
4.3.1 Classification of Silvicultural System

✓ There are number of ways for classification, but most common is on the basis of Mode of
Regeneration and further classified according to pattern of felling carried out in the crop.
✓ According to the method of regeneration, silvicultural systems are of following two types:
1. High Forest Silvicultural Systems
2. Coppice Silvicultural Systems
4.3.2 High Forest Silvicultural Systems

✓ Silvicultural systems in which regeneration is normally of seedling origin either natural or artificial
or combination of both and where rotation is generally long.
✓ The high forest systems are further classified on the basis of pattern of felling and mode of
regeneration as well.
A schematic classification of these systems is given.
4.3.2.1 Systems of concentrated regeneration
4.3.2.2 Systems of diffused regeneration
2. Accessory Systems
4.3.3 Coppice Silvicultural Systems
That silvicultural system in which the crop originates mainly from coppice and the rotation is short is
called coppice system.
Classification of coppice system (Low Forest System)
4.4 Management
✓ Practical application of sequence technique and economics to forest estate for the production of
certain desired results.
✓ Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, economic, legal,
and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and
forest regulation.
✓ This includes management for aesthetics, fish, recreation, urban values, water, wilderness, wildlife,
wood products, forest genetic resources, and other forest resource values.
✓ Management can be based on conservation, economics, or a mixture of the two. Techniques include
timber extraction, planting and replanting of various species, cutting roads and pathways through
forests, and preventing fire.
✓ The actions of humans in forests constitute forest management.
4.4.1 Forest Inventory

✓ Forest inventory is a process for obtaining information on the quality and quantity of forest
resources and forms the foundation of forest planning and forest policy.
✓ While early concepts of sustainable forest management and forest inventory focused on timber
production, modern forest inventory concepts support a holistic view of forest ecosystems
addressing not only timber production but also the multiple functions of forests as well as the need
to understand the functioning mechanisms of forest ecosystems.
✓ Forest resources assessment facilitates a multifaceted analysis and study of forests not only as an
important source of subsistence, employment, revenue earnings, and raw materials to a number of
industries but also for their vital role in ecological balance, environmental stability, biodiversity
conservation, food security, and sustainable development of countries and the entire biosphere.
✓ Forests have to be managed judiciously not only for environmental protection and other services
but also for various products and industrial raw material. In some parts of the world biological
resources are being depleted faster than they can regenerate.
✓ There is increasing recognition all over the world that forest ecosystem inventory and monitoring is
vital to the successful implementation of sustainable forest management.
✓ Reliable basic environmental information is needed for formulating effective land use and
conservation policy; valuation of forest services and benefits; planning management activities;
effectively implementing those activities; and following the result over time, to confirm the
sustainability of present practices or to guide modification of activities toward a more sustainable
state.
✓ This information directly supports reporting and assessing the status of criteria and indicators of
sustainability and serves as a knowledge base for supporting research and development.
✓ Planning efforts for sustainable forest development marked the beginning of the evolution of
organized forest management. Initially, the effort to secure a balanced flow of income for forest
landowners resulted in the regulation of forest products quantity.
4.4.2 Public input and awareness

✓ There has been increased public awareness of natural resource policy, including forest
management.
✓ Public concern regarding forest management may have shifted from the extraction of timber for
earning money for the economy, to the preservation of additional forest resources, including wildlife
and old growth forest, protecting biodiversity, watershed management, and recreation.
✓ Increased environmental awareness may contribute to an increased public mistrust of forest
management professionals.
4.4.3 Wildlife considerations

The abundance and diversity of birds, mammals, amphibians and other wildlife are affected by strategies
and types of forest management.
4.4.4 Management intensity

✓ Forest management varies in intensity from a leave alone, natural situation to a highly intensive
regime with silvicultural interventions.
✓ Management is generally increased in intensity to achieve either economic criteria (increased timber
yields, non-timber forest products, ecosystem services) or ecological criteria (species recovery,
fostering of rare species, carbon sequestration).
4.4.5 Forest Economics

✓ Forest economics is the application of economic principles to a wide range of subjects extending
from management of the various forest resources through the processing, marketing and
consumption of forest products.
✓ Forest economics address factors affecting the financial viability of a given operation, the industry in
general, and the objectives of society as a whole.
✓ Fiscal factors that affect the success of a particular operation include the revenues and costs involved
in licensing of public timberland; taxation; industrial legislation and regulation; costs of inputs and
prices of commodities; geographic distribution of customers (as it affects transportation costs);
marketing constraints; labor markets; and various federal and provincial policies.
✓ The forest economist must also be familiar with technical aspects of forest management and industrial
production, and should have at least some knowledge of forest ecology, the processing of timber
products, technological innovation and wildlife management.
✓ Forestry resembles agriculture in that both deal with CROPS, but the differences between them
point out some of the constraints that forest economists must consider. For example, agricultural
land is usually cropped annually; forests must be managed over several years (the shortest crop cycle
that of hybrid POPLAR for pulpwood is approximately 10 years).
4.4.6 Analytical Framework

✓ While forest economists apply general economic ideas such as supply and demand, and other market
factors like financial rates of return, capital investment, development, conservation, etc, they must
take great care when choosing the analytical framework they work with.
✓ For example, the relative costs and benefits of forest management differ depending on the length of
time under consideration; on whether the calculation involves indirect as well as direct effects; on
whether it is done from the perspective of an individual company, a province or a national economy.
✓ An experienced analyst can ensure the recognition of economic, social, environmental and political
linkages.
✓ One of the most important issues today is the apparent conflict among forestry investment criteria.
The traditional approach in professional forestry was to emphasize biological growth.
✓ A forest was said to be mature and ready for harvesting when timber of saw log size was available,
or when a timber stand ceased to add volume because annual growth was exceeded by disease,
decay and mortality. In recent decades, support has grown for the concept of financial rotation,
whereby the ideal harvest date is set by its calculated maximum value to the owner.
✓ Economics aside, the only politically and socially acceptable policy, for public and private forest
managers alike, is to replant promptly after harvest.
✓ Private industry and small woodlot owners apply a variety of measures to determine the level of forest
management, usually with a shorter time in mind than their public counterparts and with taxes playing
a key role.
✓ Forest economists may also play a crucial role in formulating public policy. Such policy is aimed at
maintaining the present harvest in perpetuity.
4.4.7 Forest Renewal

✓ The case for forest renewal is based on the need to stabilize existing forest industry employment.
✓ It is estimated that thousands of new jobs could be created in forest renewal alone, as well as in higher
value-added processing. In addition there is the generation of billions of dollars in tax revenue, foreign
exchange earnings, watershed and wildlife protection and the support of a multibillion dollar
recreation and tourism industry.
✓ The social costs of neglect are community dislocation, employee relocation and welfare. These costs
are probably much higher than those of maintaining the timber supplies of threatened forest-based
towns.
4.4.8 Other Issues

✓ Other issues for the forest economist are the social and economic impact of acid rain on forests, the
pricing of non-timber (ie, edible and non-edible plant and animal products and medicinal products)
forest products, and the trade-off between forestry and fishery values.
4.5 Utilization
Branch of forestry which deals with harvesting, marketing conservation and applying the forest produce
to a variety of uses eg. Timber, fuel, charcoal, pulp wood, ply wood.
5 Definitions and Terms used in Forestry
5.1 Forestry
Forestry has been defined as ‘the theory and practice of all that constitutes the creation, conservation
and scientific management of forests and the utilization of their resources.
5.2 Silviculture
The terms silviculture, commonly refers only to certain aspects of theory and practice of raising forests
crops. Silviculture pertains to the establishment, development, are and reproduction of forests crops.
5.3 Pollarding
✓ This is a process in which the branch of a plant is cut off in order to produce a flush of new shoots.
Pollarding is carried out at a height which is above the reach of browsing animals.
✓ It has been widely adopted on salix trees in Kashmir Valley. (Willow), Hard-wickia binata in A.P.
(Anjan), Grewia oppositifolia in U.P. Hills (Silver oak type)
5.4 Lopping
It pertains to the cutting of branches or even young stems. This leads to the development of new shoots.
It is carried out on Diospyros (Temburni) for bidi industry, also in number of broad leaved species for fuel
and fodder and as Quercus incana (Indiana oak), morus etc, for rearing silkworm.
5.5 Pruning
It means the cutting of branches from the bole in order to maintain the quality of timber.
5.6 Taungya system

✓ It was first evolved in Burma in 1850 as a mode of replanting vast teak areas. Taungya is a Burmas
word. (Toung hill, ya - cultivation).
✓ This is a modified form of shifting cultivation of which the labour has permission to raise crop on the
land, but, with this, they are responsible for planting, of the forest species, also for protection and
well being of the plantation.
✓ After about five years or so, they are required to move to another patch of land.
5.7 Coppice
When certain plants or seedling are cut from near ground level, they produce a flush of fresh shoots. This
is known as coppicing
5.8 Seed orchards

✓ They are plantations which may rise exclusively with the aim of producing seed. Seeds orchards may
be of two types:
o Clonal: raised by grafting clones of superior trees on 2-3-year-old seedlings
o Seedling raised from seeds of superior trees.
5.9 Seed Production areas or seed stands

✓ These are area set aside exclusively for the purpose
o To produce seed of high quality from genetically superior trees available in the stand
o To concentrate seed collecting operation in a small sphere or area. The seed stands are
established by removal of the inferior frees, seed orchards are plantation of genetically superior
trees isolated to reduce pollination from genetically inferior once.
5.10 Pricking out

When the seedlings have to be kept in the nursery for more than a year, it must be transferred to beds,
other than the seedling beds. This is known as pricking out or to transplant small seedlings individually in
to nursery beds or boxes.
5.11 Wind breaks

It Is a protective plantation in a certain area, against strong winds. It is usually comprised of a few rows
of trees (or shrubs) spaces at 0.5 to 2.5 m apart.
5.12 Shelter belts

It is a wide zone of trees, shrubs and grasses, planted in rows, usually at right angles to the direction of
the prevailing winds. Its aims are:
✓ To deflect the air current
✓ To reduce the velocity of prevailing winds
✓ To provide general protection
✓ To protect the leeward area from the desiccating effects of hot winds.
5.13 Tending
Tending is a broad term given to operation which are carried out for the well being of forest crops, at
any stage of it life, involving operation both on the crop itself and on its competing vegetation e.g.
weeding, cleaning, thinning, improvement feeling etc. However, tending does not include operation
concerning, regeneration such as regeneration feeling, soil working, control burning etc.
5.14 Felling
Felling comprise of removal of trees either singly or in small groups scattered all over the forest.
5.15 Afforestation
Establishing a forest by artificial means on an area on which no forest vegetation has existed for a long
time in the past.
5.16 Reforestation
Re-establishing a forest, by artificial means on an area which previously bore forest vegetation, and which
may have been felled or otherwise cleared in the recent past.
5.17 Age crop

The age of a regular crop corresponding to its crop diameters.
5.18 Age classification

The division of a crop according to difference in age OR the allotment of woods to age classes.
5.19 Basal area

The area of the cross section of a stem at breast height, when applied to a crop, the sum of basal areas
of all the stems or the total basal areas per unit area.
5.20 Bole
The main stem of a tree.
5.21 Breast height

Almost universally adopted as the standard height for measuring the girth, diameter and a basal area of
standing trees. India 4’6” (1.37m). In U.K. and most commonwealth countries 4’.3” (1.30m)
5.22 Coupe
A felling area, usually one of an annual series unless otherwise stated. Preferable numbered with Roman
numbers as, I, II, III etc.
5.23 Crown
The upper branchy part of the tree above the bole.
5.24 Canopy
✓ A tree canopy is the top portion of a tree composed of branches and leaves or needles. All trees
have canopies, and all trees cast shade.
✓ But trees with tall trunks and dense, wide-spreading lateral branches create canopies that cast
enough cooling shade to moderate the local environment, reducing temperatures in the shaded
area by as much as 20 degrees.
5.25 Canopy Density

Forest Canopy Density (FCD) refers to the proportion of an area in the field/ground that is covered by
the crown of trees and is expressed in percentage of the total area.
5.26 Dendrology
The identification and systematic classification of trees.
5.27 Reserved forests

It is an area so constituted under the Indian Forest Act or other Forests law.
5.28 Protected forests

A legal terms for an area subjected to limited degrees of protection under the provision of Chapter IV of
the Indian Forest Act.
5.29 Unclassed forest

Forest land owned by Government but not constituted in to a reserved, village or protected forest.
5.30 Log
The stem of a tree or a length of stem or branch after felling and trimming.
5.31 Logging
Operation comprising felling of trees, limbing, bucking and transportation of the resulting product out of
the forest timber harvesting (Bucking is the process of cutting a felled and delimbed tree into logs.)
5.32 Pole
A young tree from the time when the lower branches begin to fall off to the time when rate of height
growth begins to slow down and crown expansion becomes marked.
5.33 Raft
An assemblage of logs, timbers or bamboos tied together or enclosed within a boom for transport by
floating.
5.34 Scrub
Inferior growth consisting chiefly of small or stunted trees and shrubs.
5.35 Stand
An aggregation of trees or other growth possessing sufficient uniformity in composition, constitution,
age arrangement or condition, to be distinguished from adjacent crops and forming a silvicultural unit.
5.36 Succession
The gradual replacement of one community by another in the development of vegetation towards a
climax.
6 Classification of Forests
There are various types of forests based on various factors
6.1 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Age

As per the basis of age, forests can be classified into:
6.1.1 Even Aged Forest

✓ Even-aged forests, also called regular forests are those consisting of even - aged woods.
✓ Even - aged wood means trees of approximately the same age. True even - aged forests can be only
man - made forests.
✓ In case of forests, which regenerate naturally, some age difference is often allowed.
✓ Differences up to 25% of the rotation are usually allowed in cases where forest is not harvested for
100 years or more.
6.1.2 Un-Even Aged Forests

✓ A forest is called uneven aged or irregular when trees vary widely in age.
6.2 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Regeneration

As per the basis of regeneration, forests can be classified into:
6.2.1 High Forest

When regeneration is obtained from seed.
6.2.2 Coppice Forest

When regeneration is through coppice or some vegetative part of the tree.
6.2.3 Natural Forest

When the regeneration is obtained naturally, the forests are called natural forests.
6.2.4 Man Made Forest

When it is obtained artificially, the forests are called Man-made forests or Plantations.
6.3 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Composition

As per the basis of composition, forests can be classified into:
6.3.1 Pure Forests
Pure forests are composed almost entirely of one species, usually to the extent of not less than 50 per
cent.
6.3.2 Mixed Forests

Mixed forests are defined as forest composed of trees of two or more species intermingled in the same
canopy.
6.4 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Management

As per the basis of management, forests can be classified into:
6.4.1 Protection Forests

Protection forests are those which are managed primarily for ameliorating climate, checking soil erosion
and floods, conserving soil and water, regulating stream flow and increasing water yields and exerting
other beneficial influences.
6.4.2 Production Forests

Production forests are those which are managed primarily for their produce.
6.4.3 Social Forests

Social forests are where the produce is utilized by neighboring society.
6.5 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Ownership

As per the basis of ownership, forests can be classified into:
6.5.1 Government Forests

Owned by governments. On the basis of Legal status, Government forests are further classified into:
6.5.1.1 Reserved Forests

A Reserved forest is an area with complete protection, constituted according to chapter II of the Indian
Forests Act. 1927.
6.5.1.2 Protected Forests

A Protected forest is an area subject to limited degree of protection constituted under the provisions of
chapter IV of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
6.5.1.3 Village Forests

A Village forest is a state forest assigned to a village community under the provisions of chapter III of
Indian Forest Act.
6.5.2 Private Forests
A private forest (also private woodland or private wood) is a forest that is not owned by municipal
authorities (such as a corporate forest), church authorities or the state (e.g. a state forest or
national forest). It can refer to woodland owned by a natural or juridical person or a partnership.
6.5.3 Forests owned by Corporations, Panchayats, Societies and other Agencies

There are few forests that are owned by Corporations, Panchayats, Societies and other Agencies.
6.6 Classification of Forest On the Basis of Growing Stock

As per the basis of growing stock, forests can be classified into:
6.6.1 Normal Forest

A Normal forest is an ideal forest with regard to growing stock, age class distribution and increment and
from which the annual or periodic removal of produce equals to the increment and can be continued
indefinitely without endangering future yields.
6.6.2 Abnormal Forest

Abnormal forest is one which is not normal, i.e. growing stock, age, class, distribution of stems,
increment, etc. are either in excess or more usually in deficit than the normal forest.
We had earlier seen the branches of Forestry, these come under Basic Forestry, we also have other
branches that have references to other subjects but make the essence of forestry. They come under
Applied Forestry.
They are:
✓ Forest Soils
✓ Dendrology
✓ Forest Statistics
✓ Forest Ecology
✓ Forests Surveying
✓ Forest Economy
✓ Remote Sensing
✓ Forest Entomology
✓ Social Forestry
✓ Forest Fire
✓ Agroforestry
✓ Forest Genetics
✓ Forestry Extension
✓ Forest Pathology
✓ Afforestation
✓ Forest Seed technology
Recreation Forestry
7 Agroforestry
✓ Agroforestry is conspicuously and important part of Social forestry and it is a dual system of
production i.e. production of forest crops and food crops, fodders or medicinal plant becomes
possible. It meets simultaneously at least two requirements of the participating persons.
✓ Agroforestry is defined as a sustainable land management system which increase the overall yield
of land, combined with the production of crops (including tree crops) and forest plants and animal
simultaneously or sequentially on the same unit of applies management practices that are compatible
with the cultural practice of the local population.
✓ Thus in Agroforestry co-existence of farm and forestry is adopted on a scientific basis and
consequently, the total yield of land is raised significantly.
✓ Agro-forestry is an old concept. Trees, crops and animals have traditionally been raised together on
small farms throughout the World.
✓ This concept first derived in the temperate zone due to the small family farms, as a result trees,
crops and animals become separately managed on a large scale in modern agriculture and forestry.
In India also we exploited our natural resources and adopted this sectored policy.
✓ Agro-forestry is defined as an efficient, integrated and sustainable land use system that combines
Agricultural crops, Forest corps and / or Livestock together on the unit of farmland at the same time
or in sequential manner. In an Agroforestry there are both ecological and economical interactions
between the various components.
✓ Agro-forestry is collective name for land used systems involving trees combined with crops and / or
animals on the same unit of land.
7.1 Objectives of Agro-forestry

✓ To manage land efficiently so that its productivity is increased and restored.
✓ To use available resources efficiently and economically
✓ To generate employment opportunities for rural peoples.
✓ To provide raw material for small cottage industries in rural areas.
✓ To raise the supply of fuel in the rural areas at convenient distance for consumer
✓ Agro-forestry aims to raise the supply for small timber used by villages for agricultural implements,
house construction and other domestic purposes. In this way Agroforestry can meet this
requirement of the rural population and reduce pressure on forest.
✓ One of the main objectives of Agroforestry is to raise the production of food crops, legumes and
tuber to meet the rapidly growing food requirements of the Indian population.
✓ Agroforestry aims at promoting production of vegetables, pulses, milk and meat. Thus it can raise
the Nutritional value of food, which is urgently, require for mankind in our country.
✓ Agro-forestry program helps in obtaining an ecological balance in rural areas and thus it may be
consider a matter of great significance for a country like India.
7.2 Classification of Agroforestry systems

✓ Nair ( 1987) has classified the agroforestry systems based on the following four criteria.
1. Structural Basis
2. Functional basis
3. Socio economic Basis
4. Ecological basis
7.2.1 Classification of Agroforestry system based on Structural basis

A. Nature of Components
B. Arrangements of Components
7.2.1.1 Nature of Components
This includes the following
a. Agricultural systems
b. Silvopastoral systems
c. Agrosilvopastoral systems
d. Other systems
We shall study about them in detail
7.2.1.1.1 Agricultural systems

✓ Improved fallow species in shifting cultivation
✓ The taungia system
✓ Multispecies tree gardens
✓ Alley cropping
✓ Multipurpose trees and shrubs on farmlands
✓ Crop combinations with plantation crops
✓ Agroforestry fuel wood plantations
✓ Shelter belts
✓ Wind breaks
✓ Soil conservation hedges
Agrisilvicultural system (Agriculture + Silviculture)

✓ Agrisilvicultural System involves the conscious and deliberate use of land for the concurrent
production of agricultural crops including tree crops.
✓ In simpler words, it is defined as growing of trees and agriculture crops together in same land at the
same time. Examples: Plantation crops such as coffee, tea, use of woody perennials in soil
conservation and improved fallow.
7.2.1.1.2 Silvopastoral systems (Silviculture + Pastures)

✓ Silvopastoral system is defined as the intensive management and growing of perennial grasses or
grass-legume mixes in a forest stand for livestock pasture.
✓ It is one of the oldest and the most applicable agroforestry management practices that could be used
in most regions of the world for centuries.
✓ It is estimated that 15 percent of the world's grazing land uses silvopasture techniques.
✓ Examples: Silvopasture is compatible with fruit, nut, and timber production.
Silvopastoral system includes the following

Protein bank
✓ In this system various multipurpose trees (protein rich trees) are planted on or around farmlands
and rangelands
✓ For cut and carry fodder production to meet the fodder requirements of livestock during the fodder
deficit period in winter. These trees are rich in protein.
✓ The trees planted in protein banks are Grewia optiva, Bauhinia variegata, Morus alba, Artocarpus
spp., Anogeissus latifolia, Cordia dichotoma, Dalbergia sissoo, Eutralobium saman, Zizyphus jujube,
etc.
Live fence of fodder trees and hedges

✓ In this system, various fodder trees and shrubs are planted as live fences to protect the property
from stray animals. To protect the farm property from biotic influences.
✓ The following trees are generally used: Sesbania grandiflora, Gliricidia sepium, Erythrina abyssinica,
Euphorbia spp., Acacia spp. etc.
Trees and shrubs on pastures

✓ In this system various tree and shrub species are scattered irregularly or arranged according to some
systematic pattern.
7.2.1.1.3 Agrosilvopastoral systems

✓ Home gardens
✓ woody perennials for browse, mulch, green manure, soil conservation
AgrisilvoPastoral system (Agriculture + Silviculture + Pastures)

✓ Agro-silvopastoral system is a collective term for land-use systems, which combine a woody
component (trees or shrubs) with cattle on the same site.
✓ These systems represent a model of production and conservation based on silvi-culture, the practice
of growing trees, complementary to pre-existing agricultural activities.
7.2.1.1.4 Other systems

Apiculture with trees
✓ In this system nectar and pollen rich tree/shrubs are planted on the bunds of the farm.
✓ Mangifera indica, Vitex negundo, Melia azedarach, Azadirachta indica, Prunus salicina, Prunus
armeniaca, Rubus ellipticus, Eucalyptus spp., Callistemon lanceolatus, Berberis lycium, Toona
ciliata etc. are raised
✓ Main purpose of this system is production of honey.
Aquaforestry
✓ Aqua-forestry is very common in coastal regions (more evident along Andhra coast).
✓ Farmers are cultivating fish and prawn in saline water and growing coconut and other trees on
bunds of ponds.
✓ These trees help in producing litter-feed to fishery and generate extra income to farmers.
✓ Now fish culture in mangroves is also advocated which forms a rich source of nutrition to aquatic life
and breeding ground for juvenile fish, prawn and mussels.
✓ A well-balanced system of animal husbandry including goat, poultry, duck-farming, turtles and fishes
in the small ponds in home-gardens make a balanced system of high moisture, energy and nutrient-
use efficiency per unit area.
✓ The leaves of many leguminous trees viz. Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena, Moringa oleifera, Acacia
nilotica etc. have been found to serve as good fish feed when offered as pellets and improved its
productivity.
✓ Area is enclosed with earth embakements. Inside the embakement, system of ridges and canals is
created. Rain water is collected by making bunds which helps in growing of tree species.
Multipurpose wood lots

✓ In this system special location-specific MPTs are grown mixed or separately planted for various
purposes such as wood, fodder, soil protection, soil reclamation, etc.
7.2.1.2 Arrangement of components
7.2.1.2.1 Spatial arrangement

✓ Dense mixed stands e.g., home gardens
✓ Sparse mixed stands e.g., most systems of trees in pastures
✓ The species (or species mixture may be laid out in zones or strips)
✓ Zonal arrangement -microzonal, macrozonal
✓ A common example of the zonal pattern is hedge intercropping
7.2.1.2.2 Temporal arrangement

✓ Coincident: When two components woody and non woody occupy the land together as coffee
under shade tree and pasture under shade trees.
✓ Concomitant: When two components woody or non woody stays together for some part of life as in
taungya.
✓ Intermittent (Space dominated): When annual crops are grown with perennial crops such as paddy
with coconut
✓ Interpolated (Space and time dominant): When different components occupy space during
different time as in home garden. Examples: Overlapping Black pepper and rubber
✓ Separate (time-dominant): When components occupy space during separate time such as improved
fallow species in shifting cultivation
7.2.2 Classification of Agroforestry system based on functional aspects

7.2.2.1 Productive functions

Productive functions include Food, Fodder, Fuel, wood, Clothes, Shelter, NTFPs
7.2.2.2 Protective functions

Protective functions Wind breaks, Shelterbelts, Soil conservation, Soil improvement, Shade
7.2.3 Classification of Agroforestry system based on Socio economic aspects
✓ Commercial systems - aim at the production of a saleable output (for example, commercial tree
plantations with under planting of food crops)
✓ Intermediate systems - fall between commercial and subsistence scales of production and
management
✓ Subsistence systems - are directed toward satisfying basic needs, and are managed mostly by the
owner/occupant and his family. Cash crops, including sale of produce surplus are only
supplementary
7.2.4 Classification of Agroforestry system based on ecological aspects

It refers to the environmental condition and ecological suitability of systems, based on the assumption
that certain types of systems can be more appropriate for certain ecological conditions; i.e., there can
be separate sets of agroforestry systems. This includes the following
✓ Humid / sub humid
✓ Semiarid / arid
✓ Highlands
7.3 Choice of Species for Agro and Farm Forestry

Following considerations mainly motivate the selection of species in social forestry.
✓ Ability to regenerate
✓ Capacity to grow under wide range of environment, soil types, rainfall etc.
✓ Easy decomposition of litter or leaves
✓ Easy in establishment and ability to coppice
✓ Fast growth and easy establishment
✓ Fixation of Nitrogen
✓ For recreation and shade plants with quick growing and give shade and pleasing colour like
Spathodia, Gulmohar, Cassia, Jakaranda are selected.
✓ High yield of wood and fodder
✓ Multiple use of wood like Subabul
✓ No competition with field crop.
✓ Plant with deep tap root system
✓ Plant yielding small timber
✓ Rapid growth
7.4 Scope of Agro-forestry In India

✓ There is tremendous scope for Agroforestry because India has achieved self-sufficiency in food
production.
✓ Now its attention is becoming more focused on the ecological problems and shortage of fuel, fodder
and other outputs as well as unemployment.
✓ Agroforestry has vast scope in meeting this requirement through multipurpose tree species as:
o large area is available in the form of farm boundaries, bunds, waste lands where this system
can be adopted
o This system permits the growing suitable tree species in the field where most annual crops are
growing well
o By growing trees and crops on Agricultural or forest land, Resources are utilized efficiently
o System has potential generate employment.
o Provides raw material for the cottage industries
o Helps in maintaining ecological balance
o Soil and water conservation, soil improvement.
o Helps in meeting various needs of growing population.
7.5 Benefits from Agro-forestry

Combining trees with food crops on cropped farms yield certain environmental benefits such as,
7.5.1 Economical Benefits

Agro-forestry brings significant economic benefits to the farmers, the community, the region and the
nation such as:
✓ Increment in outputs of food, fodder, fuel wood, timber and organic matter.
✓ Reduction in incidence of total crop failure.
✓ Increase in levels of farm incomes due to improved and sustained productivity.
7.5.2 Social Benefits

✓ Improvement in rural living standards from sustained employment and higher income.
✓ Improvement in nutrition and health due to increased quality and diversity of food.
✓ Provides stability to rural peoples.
✓ Ecological balance.
✓ Pollution reduction.
7.6 Limitations of Agro-forestry

Agro-forestry does have Certain Negative Aspects
✓ Possible competition of trees with food crops for space, sunlight, moisture and nutrient which may
reduce crop yield.
✓ Damage to food crops during harvesting of trees.
✓ Potential of trees is serving as hosts to insects and birds.
✓ Rapid regeneration of profile trees may displace food crops and take over entire fields.
✓ Through skilled management practices any or all these aspects can be controlled. For example, once
it is known that trees complete with food crops and may reduce food yields, it is easy to adopt some
of the following strategies.
o Select legume trees that have small or light crowns so that sunlight will reach the food crops.
o Select trees that are deep-rooted so that they will also absorb moisture and nutrients from the
deeper subsoil.
o Space the trees further apart to reduce their competitive effect on the food crop.
7.7 Socio-economic Aspect of Agroforestry
✓ Requirement for more labor inputs, which may cause search at times in other farm activation.
✓ Competition between food or fore crops which could cause aggregate field, to be grown than those
of single crop.
✓ Longer period required for trees to grow to mature and acquire an economic value.
✓ Resistance by farmers to displace food crops with trees especially where land is scarce.
8 Joint Forest Management

✓ Involvement of rural communities living close to forests in protection and management of forest
resources is enshrined in the National Forest Policy 1988.
✓ Translation of policy found expression in the resolution of Government of India, Ministry of
Environment and Forests issued in June 1990.
✓ It envisaged that in lieu of the participation, the local communities will be entitled to sharing of
usufructs in a manner specified by the concerned State Forest Departments.
✓ This led to the initiation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme.
✓ Importance of the programme is evident from the fact that the Government of India has constituted
a "JFM Network" with the Inspector General of Forests, Government of India as the Chairman.
✓ The objectives of the network are
• To act as a regular mechanism of consultation between various agencies engaged in JFM work in
the country and
• To obtain constant feedback from various stakeholders on the JFM programme for proper policy
formulation and suitable direction to States.
8.1 Nature of Committees

✓ The Government Resolution makes provision for three kinds of committees i.e. Forest Protection
Committees (FPC) for protection of well-stocked forests, Village Forest Committees (VFC) for
rehabilitating the degraded forest areas and Eco-development Committees (EDC) in and around
Protected Areas (PAs) with a view to ensure biodiversity conservation in National Parks and
Sanctuaries.
✓ The Committees are to be constituted within a radius of 5 km from the periphery of forest.
8.2 Management of JFM areas

✓ For the management of JFM areas, Micro-plans are prepared.
✓ The views and aspirations of the villagers are incorporated in the preparation of these plans.
✓ Works related to forest management are conducted according to the micro-plan.
✓ The State Government has approved a JFM manual, which includes detailed instructions on
constitution of committees, preparation of micro plan and account keeping.
8.3 Training
✓ There are three modules of training for the members of JFM Committees.
✓ They are Orientation module, Micro-planning module and Accounts module.
8.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
✓ Monitoring and evaluation of the programme is being done quarterly.
✓ Monitoring reports reflects registration of new committees, meetings of the committees, money
spent, loan amount advanced/ recovered.
✓ To ensure transparency in the working of the committees, monthly accounts are to be displayed at
public places eg Panchayat Bhawan/community hall etc.
8.5 Salient features of the programme

The following are the salient features of the programme
8.5.1 Constitution of Committee

✓ All the eligible voters of the village shall be the members of the general body of the committee.
✓ Either the Chairperson or the Vice-Chairperson of the committee will necessarily be a woman.
✓ A minimum of 33% members of the Executive Committee will be women, in which one representative
from each women Self Help Group, if working in the village, will be included.
✓ A minimum of 2 members (1 male and 1 female) from landless families, if available, will be included.
✓ The Executive Committee shall also include members from Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and
Backward Classes in proportion to their population in the Gram Sabha of the village , as far as possible.
✓ In charge Forest Guard/Forester of the area will be ex-officio Secretary of the Committee.
✓ A member of the Committee will be appointed as Joint Secretary who, after two years, would take
over the role of the Secretary..
8.5.2 Rights of Committee

✓ All families of a committee would be entitled to royalty free Nistar.
✓ All types of forest committees are entitled to cent percent share of the produce obtained from the
thinning of timber coupes and cleaning of degraded bamboo forest executed according to the
provisions of the Microplan / Working plan.
✓ The Forest Protection Committee is entitled to 10% of the value of forest produce from final felling of
timber coupes and 20% of the bamboo coupes, after deduction of the harvesting cost.
✓ The share of the Eco-Development Committee in the forest produce would be equivalent to the share
of the adjoining FPCs.
✓ The Village Forest Committee is entitled to 100% of the value of forest produce from the final felling
of the planted area / forest produce from rehabilitation of degraded forest, after deduction of the
harvesting cost.
✓ From the year 2003-04, 100 % of the net profit accruing from the sale of timber and bamboo would
be distributed among all the Committees of the district. For computation of profit district will be taken
as a unit. The FPCs of the district in whose areas main felling coupes have been harvested would be
entitled to 20 % of the net profit. Of the remaining 80 % 1/5 amount would be provided for awareness,
extension, training, housing facility to the forest personnel of the committee etc. The remaining
amount would be distributed among all the committees of the district (vide G.O. dated 8.4.2003).
✓ During patrolling of forests the members of the committee would be treated as Public Servant under
different Acts similar to Foresters.
8.5.3 Duties of Committee
✓ The Committee shall protect forests from fire, illegal grazing, illicit felling, illegal transportation, illegal
mining, encroachments and poaching and render all such co-operation to the Forest Department.
✓ The Committee will inform the Forest Department about person(s) indulging in illegal activities
causing damage to forests and wildlife.
✓ The Committee would ensure safety of wild animals straying from forests by informing the nearest
forest officer.
✓ The Committee, in consultation with the Forest Department, will prepare a Micro-plan and annual
work plan. The Committee will execute the approved work plan. If the committee does not perform
the work satisfactorily or is not interested in carrying out the works then, in such case, the department
will carry out the work.
✓ The members of the Committee, on getting information of a forest offence in the area under the
committee or other forest area, shall immediately report the same to the concerned Beat
Guard/Game Guard and would assist in apprehending the forest offenders. They will also help in
enquiry of the offence.
✓ The Chairperson of the Committee will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the district level
forest officer or an officer authorized by him/her.
✓ The Committee would maintain account of funds received from various sources and the expenditure
would be audited by an agency appointed by the Forest Officer.
✓ During patrolling of forests, the members of the Committee would be treated as public servants
similar to forest staff under different Acts. In the event of injury or death during prevention of forest
offences, compensation would be provided as incase of forest staff.
✓ If the committee takes cognizance of a forest offence within its area and helps in apprehending the
forest offender, an amount equivalent to 50% of the compounding amount or compensation/fine as
decided by the Court and recovered from the offender would be deposited in the committee’s
account.
9 Forest Policy and legislation in India
9.1 Indian Forest Act, 1927

✓ The Division deals with legal issues on the matters related with the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
✓ The Indian Forest Act, 1927 provides legal framework for management of forests in the country. In
some States, the Act is applicable as it is, while some of the States have enacted their own which in
essence, are the adopted versions of the Indian Forest Act 1927.
✓ The implementation of the Forest Act is primarily the responsibility of concerned State/UT
Governments.
✓ The Forest policy Division also carry out the process of review and amendment to the Act, from time
to time, based on the changes required to meet new challenges for protection and management of
forests in the country.
✓ After amending Section 2(7) of Indian Forest Act, 1927, in the year 2017-18, bamboo is no longer a
tree and felled bamboo too is not timber. So any bamboo grown in private or homestead land by
millions of farmers does not require a felling permission or transit permission from any state forest
department.
9.2 National Forest Policy, 1988

✓ The current National Forest Policy was enunciated in 1988 with the principal aim to ensure
environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance which are vital for sustenance of all
life forms and the derivation of direct economic benefit must be subordinated to this principal aim.
✓ The Policy prescribes the national goal of having a minimum of one-third of the total land area of
the country under forest or tree cover. In the hills and in mountainous regions, the aim is to maintain
two-third of the area under such cover in order to prevent erosion and land degradation and to
ensure the stability of the fragile eco-system.
✓ The Policy recognizes symbiotic relationship between tribal people & forests and calls for to
associate tribal people in protection, regeneration & development of forests as well as to provide
gainful employment to people living in and around the forest.
✓ It lays great emphasis on safeguarding of customary rights & interests of tribals with special focus in
forestry programmes.
✓ The basic objectives are given below:
• Maintenance of environmental stability through preservation and restoration of the ecological
balance,
• Conserving the natural heritage of the country by preserving the remaining natural forests with
the biological diversity and genetic resources of the country.
• Checking soil erosion and denudation in the catchment areas of rivers, lakes, reservoirs in the
"interest of soil and water conservation,
• Checking the extension of sand-dunes in the desert areas and along the coastal tracts.
• Increasing substantially the forest/tree cover in the country through massive afforestation and
social forestry programmes,
• Meeting the requirements of fuel-wood, fodder, minor forest produce and small timber of the
rural and tribal populations.
• Increasing the productivity of forests to meet essential national needs.
• Encouraging efficient utilisation of forest produce and maximising substitution of wood.
• Creating a massive people's movement with the involvement of women, and to minimise
pressure on existing forests.
✓ The policy recognizes that the life of tribals & other poor living within and near forests revolves around
forests and calls for full protection of their rights and concessions making their domestic requirements
of fuel wood, fodder, minor forests produce and construction timber as the first charge on forest
produce.
✓ The Policy lays down that the forest-based industry should raise its raw material by establishment of
direct relationship between factory & individuals who can grow the raw material by supporting with
required inputs.
✓ A draft National Forest Policy was released in 2019. The basic thrust of the draft is conservation,
protection and management of forests along with safeguarding the interest of tribals and forest-
dependent people.
✓ The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has released the draft of India’s new National
Forest Policy (NFP), proposing the levy of a green tax.
✓ It has also touched upon the contentious issue of human-animal conflict.
✓ The government has made public its draft National Forest Policy, to replace the one crafted in
1988.
✓ Incorporating consequences of climate change but entirely ignoring one of the three forest
related laws, the Forest Rights Act, the policy brings new focus to plantations, growing trees
outside forest lands and wood industry.
✓ The policy continues with the national goal of a minimum of one-third of the geographical area
under forest or tree cover.
✓ But it does away with the goal for hill and mountainous regions to maintain two-thirds of the
geographical area under forest cover.
✓ Promising to set up a parallel arrangement to the Forest Rights Act, the policy proposes to launch
a new Community Forest Management Mission, bringing government, community and private
land under the new proposed management system.
✓ Drafted by the Indian Institute of Forest Management, the research arm of the environment
ministry, the policy moots that special communities at the gram sabha (village council) level be
created to take over management of forests.
✓ The plans prepared by the gram sabhas for their forestlands would also have to be vetted by the
forest department based on rules prepared for the same, such as wider management plans the
forest department prepares.
Note: Kindly refer EduTap’s ARD in news monthly Current Affairs magazine for all the updates
related to the news mentioned above.
9.3 The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and Amendment 1991
✓ The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and Amendment 1991 provides for the protection of birds
and animals and for all matters that are connected to it whether it be their habitat or the waterhole
or the forests that sustain them.
✓ The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, provided for the protection of the wild animals, birds and plants.
The Act was substantially amended in 2002.
✓ A major objective of this amendment was to update the law to deal with sharply escalating levels of
organized poaching. The Ministry of Environment and Forest formally notified this Amendment Act
on 1st April, 2003.
✓ The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 has come into force on 4th September 2006.
✓ The Act provides for creating the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other
Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau).
✓ The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013:
o According to the government, India is a party to the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and amendments to the Act are
necessary for India to fulfil its obligations under the CITES. The key amendments made by the
Bill are:
o The manufacture, sale, transport or use of animal traps except for educational and scientific
purposes (with permission) is prohibited.
o Under the Act, destruction, exploitation or removal of any wildlife including forest produce
from a sanctuary is not permitted, except with a permit. The amendment allows certain
activities such as grazing or movement of livestock, bona fide use of drinking and household
water by local communities, and hunting under a permit.
o Provisions to regulate international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora as per
the CITES have been inserted. A schedule listing out flora and fauna for purposes of regulation
of international trade under CITES has been added.
o The Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau has been changed to the Wild
life Crime Control Bureau.
o The term of punishment and fines for commission of offences under the Act have been
increased.
9.4 Forest-PLUS Program

✓ The Forest-PLUS programme aims to strengthen technical capacity of forestry professionals in
sustainable forest management and implementation of REDD+.
✓ The programme brings together Indian and U.S. expertise to develop technologies, tools and
methods of forest management to meet the technical challenges of managing forests for improved
ecosystem services, carbon stocks, biodiversity, and livelihoods.
✓ The Programme involves participation of State Forest Departments and Central Forestry Institutions
viz. Forest Survey of India, ICFRE, IGNFA, FRI, IFGTB etc. on different aspects of Sustainable Forest
Management e.g. Forest Inventory and Carbon assessment, Ecological Restoration, Forest fire,
Communication with forest communities, promoting livelihoods and sustainable use of NTFPs.
✓ Four Forest-PLUS Pilots are being implemented in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh,
and Sikkim in collaboration with respective State Forest Departments.
✓ The Forest-PLUS programme started in July 2012 and is for a period of 5 years.
✓ Some of the key highlights/outputs of the program so far are provided below:
• Forest-PLUS program has worked with Forest Survey of India and State Forest Departments to
develop an advanced version of a nationally integrated Inventory Data Management System (I-
DMS) that is able to receive data from many sources including remote sensing data, Tier 3 level
data from working plans, and carbon inventory data collected by local communities. The system
can process, analyze, and report these data as needed by local, state, and national forestry sector
stakeholders.
• Developed optical remote sensing model and analysis protocols to estimate forest carbon and
forest condition. These models give accurate, frequent, and higher resolution measurement of
forest carbon, allowing REDD+ activities to be more cost-effectively verified.
• Organized the first SAR Forestry Task Force meeting on June 2015 for development of an India-
specific SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) remote sensing protocol for forest carbon mapping.
The task force has members from Forest Survey of India, National Remote Sensing Centre, and
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing
• Designed in collaboration with the four SFDs and Forest Research Institute suitable techniques of
silviculture, NTFP management and grazing management, that apply an ecosystem approach to
increase forest carbon and ecological health in the Forest-PLUS landscapes.
• In the future targeted training program will be organized on ecosystem management and
advanced forest carbon inventory tools and techniques.
Global objectives on Forests

The four Global Objectives seek to:
✓ Reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management (SFM),
including protection, restoration, afforestation and reforestation, and increase efforts to prevent
forest degradation;
✓ Enhance forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, including by improving the
livelihoods of forest-dependent people;
✓ Increase significantly the area of sustainably managed forests, including protected forests, and
increase the proportion of forest products derived from sustainably managed forests; and
✓ Reverse the decline in official development assistance for sustainable forest management and
mobilize significantly-increased new and additional financial resources from all sources for the
implementation of SFM.
For
Important agronomic practices and Beneficial insects

Important Points
1. This Summary Sheet is similar to the Complete Concept Notes (

definitions/meanings/understanding of the terms) as the relevant
content has been already prepared precisely.


Table of Contents
1 What is an Agronomic practice? ........................................................................................................... 4

1 What is an Agronomic practice?

✓ Good agricultural practice is a certification system for agriculture, specifying procedures that must
be implemented to create food for consumers or further processing that is safe and wholesome.
✓ As per the crop, there are various agronomic operations/practices that need to be followed for
fruitful crop.
✓ The following are the important agricultural operations that are carried out in various crops.
NOTE: Kindly note, there might be few physiological issues in agricultural crops that have been
added to the list.
Crop Agriculture Meaning

Practice
Bajra Jerking ✓ Bajra jerking is one of the steps followed for the synchronization of
flowering in Bajra.
✓ It is done 20 – 25 days after transplanting or 30- 40 days before direct
sowing.
✓ In this process, the early formed earheads are removed which results in
the uniform flowering of all the heads
Tomato Staking ✓ To keep indeterminate tomato plants from gobbling up too much garden
space and to insure cleaner, healthier tomatoes, many gardeners support
their plants, train them to grow a certain way and regularly pinch off
unwanted growth.
✓ Staking is one popular way of supporting tomatoes.
✓ Put the stake on the prevailing downwind side so the plant will lean against
it when the wind is blowing hard.
✓ Six- to eight-foot-high stakes are good for most tomatoes, although you can
make do with shorter four- to five-foot stakes, if necessary.
✓ Put the stakes in the ground right after you've set out the plants. Drive them
about a foot into the soil, three to five inches away from the plant. Do not
put the stake on the root side of trench-planted tomatoes.
Tobacco Rabbing ✓ Rabbing is the process of burning of trashes, weeds or any organic refuse
on the soil surface.
✓ For rabbing 15-20 cm thick layer of leaves, weeds or paddy straw is
uniformly spread over the soil surface and then it is burnt.
✓ The rabbing burns established weeds, stubble's, weeds-seeds and kills the
insect-pests found on the surface-soil besides improving physical properties
of the soil.
Tobacco Curing ✓ Curing is a process by which the harvested tobacco leaf is made ready for
the market.
✓ It is a well standardized process especially in FCV tobacco to achieve the
desirable qualities in the cured leaf along with the removal of moisture.
✓ The process of curing has an intimate bearing on the quality of cured leaf.
Tea Curing ✓ Curing of tea leaves involves drying of leaves and losing green colour.

✓ It is an oxidation dry fermentation reaction in which water is driven off,
the green colour is lost and the leaves assume a tougher texture and
undergo chemical changes.
Banana Desuckering ✓ Removal of surplus and unwanted suckers from banana plant is known as
desuckering.
✓ Suckers are removed from the mother either by cutting the sucker at ground
level or by destroying the heart of the suckers without detaching the sucker
from the plant.
Tobacco Topping ✓ Removal of flower heads either alone or with few upper top leaves from
the plant to improve the size and quality of the leaves is called as Topping.
✓ When a tobacco plant is topped, especially when it's done very early when
the flower is but a bud, the tobacco plant concentrates its efforts on the
leaves, which are later rolled into cigars. More energy to the leaves means
more power, and stronger tobacco.
Tobacco Desuckering ✓ After topping, Auxillary buds grow. Removal of such lateral branches/
suckers/ auxillary buds is called as Desuckering. Suckers are to be removed
with proper care and chemical suckericide like decanol should be applied. In
the case of the flue-cured virginia tobacco only the flowerhead is removed,
leaving all the 20-24 leaves intact while in case of chewing tobacco only 7-8
leaves are retained on the plant.
Tobacco Priming ✓ "Cropping", "Pulling", and "Priming" are terms for removing mature leaves
from tobacco plants. Leaves are cropped as they ripen, from the bottom to
the top of the stalk.
✓ The higher the position of the leaf in the stalk, the more sun and nutrients it
would have received. This leads to the higher primings having the strongest,
richest tasting tobacco.
✓ The first crop of leaves located near the base of the tobacco stalk are called
"sand lugs" in more rural southern tobacco states. They are called "sand
lugs" because these leaves are close to the ground and get splashed with
sand and clay when heavy rains hit the soil.
Tea Skiffing ✓ You may term the lighter forms of cuts, which the planter gives to the tea
plants in between two consecutive prune years, as skiffing. Introduction of
skiffing has eliminated the necessity of light pruning every year.
✓ It is a lightest pruning. Here foliage is leveled off, only green stems are
removed. Here top 5 – 8 cm new growth is removed so as to obtain uniform
level of plucking surface. If the bushes are pruned about 75cm, it is referred
to as skiffing. In plains of north-east India, tea is pruned every year when
bushes enter the dormant phase.
Tea Tipping ✓ When the shoots (primaries) grow in a tea bush after pruning or skiffing,
they are tipped or decapitated at a predetermined height parallel to the
ground surface. This operation is called “Tipping”. Essentially the initial
few rounds of plucking are called tipping.
Sugar beet Stacking ✓ Beet stacking is the next step of direct delivery with the cleaning/loading
machine. Stacking takes place during the permanent piling stage of harvest
by growers placing sugarbeets in field piles briefly until the loader/cleaner
system delivers it to a receiving station stacker piler.

✓ The stacker piler is a simplified sugarbeet piler that conveys beets to a boom
for placement into a traditional long-term pile.
Sugarcane Trashing ✓ Sugarcane trash is the field residue remaining after harvesting the sugarcane
stalk while bagasse is the fibrous residue left over after milling of sugarcane
canes.
Sugarcane Marcotting ✓ Marcotting is a technique developed by the Sugarcane breeding Institute
which helps in controlled crossing in protected areas.
✓ In this technique rooting in canes that would flower later, is induced at the
nodal region by covering two to three nodes with mixture of sand, silt and
organic matter in a suitable container.
✓ The canes are then detached below marcotted portion and kept in pots and
made use of in crossing.
✓ Although the technique was developed at the Institute, it is not very much
used since field crosses give better seed set under Coimbatore conditions.
However in countries where it is difficult to make field crosses for various
reasons, the technique is being used extensively.
Sugarcane Ratooning ✓ cane propagation can be done by ratooning, in which, when the cane is
harvested, a portion of stalk is left underground to give rise to a succeeding
growth of cane, the ratoon or stubble crop.
Sugarcane Arrowing ✓ Sugarcane belongs to the family Poaceae (Gramineae) and its inflorescence
is a panicle called as arrow. In general each flowering stalk terminates into
single arrow.
✓ In simpler terms, arrowing is flowering in Sugarcane, which in fact is not
desirable from the growers and millers point of view.
Sugarcane Wrapping ✓ Tying, wrapping and propping are done in sugarcane just to provide
mechanical support to the growth up cane plants to prevent lodging.
✓ Wrapping of lower most leaves round the cane which hinder the distribution
of CO2
✓ By wrapping the distribution of CO2 become easy and proper to all the
plants throughout the field.
Rose Stenting ✓ STENTING is a method for the quick propagation of roses. Cutting
(soft/tender wood) and grafting (Whip/tongue) is performed in one action.
✓ In Dutch the word "stenting" means "to stem". It is a combination "stekken"
meaning "to strike a cutting" and "enter" meaning "to graft".
Potato Earthing up ✓ Potatoes will grow very quickly under warm and moist conditions. When
they are 10cm tall, the leafy shoots can be mounded around with soil to
their full height, a process known as 'earthing up'. Earthing up potatoes will
increase the length of underground stems that will bear potatoes.
Sugarcane Earthing up ✓ Earthing-up operation is also known as "hilling-up".
✓ This operation is carried out in two or three stages. The first earthing-up
operation is known “partial earthing-up” and the second/third operation is
known as "full earthing-up".
✓ The partial earthing-up is done at 45 days after planting. In partial earthing-
up, little amount of soil from either side of the furrow is taken and placed
around the base of the shoots.

✓ Full earthing-up is done after 120 days after planting coinciding with the
peak tiller population stage. During full earthing-up the soil from the ridge in
between is fully removed and placed near the cane on either side.
✓ This operation converts the furrows into ridges and ridges into furrows.
Potato Dehaulming ✓ Dehaulming, in potato production refers to the act of detaching the
vegetative part of the potato plant, found above the ground, from the root
tubers.
✓ Dehaulming is one of the pre-harvest practices which are aimed at
hardening the skin of the tubers and therefore reduce injuries during post-
harvest handling.
Potato Suberization ✓ Wounding of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers results in suberization,
apparently triggered by the release of some chemical factor(s) (Suberin) at
the cut surface.
✓ conversion of the cell walls into corky tissue by infiltration with suberin.
Paddy Parboiling ✓ Parboiling involves partial boiling of the paddy before milling in order to
increase its nutritial value, to change the texture of cooked rice, and reduce
the breakage in milling.
✓ Parboiling is done in three steps: Soaking, steaming and drying.
Paddy Bushening ✓ In general, under broadcast Biasi method, rice seeds are broadcast in a
ploughed field immediately after the onset of monsoon. After about 30 to 45
days when sufficient water is impounded in the field, the fields are ploughed
in the standing crop. This is called Biasi or bushening.
✓ Generally followed in Odisha, Bihar, Chattisgarh and few NE states
Paddy Dapog/Mat ✓ In Mat nursery seedlings are established in a layer of soil mix, arranged on a
nursery firm surface (Concrete floor/ polythene sheet/ seedling trays). Seedlings are
ready for planting within 14-20 days after seeding (DAS). In few cases, even
9-15 DAS.
✓ Required nursery area is 100 m2 / ha (or) 2.5 cent / ha – 1cent / acre
Peas Picking ✓ Its similar to harvesting.
✓ A combination of planting time, growing conditions and type of pea leads to
picking peas at the best time.
✓ While picking peas for the pea seeds, pods should be plump and have a
swollen appearance.
Maize Silking ✓ About 2 to 3 days after the tasseling stage, the silking stage begins. Thready
strands called silks start to emerge and become visible. This is one of the
most critical stages in the development of the corn crop.
✓ silks emerge from the ear to receive pollen and begin the fertilization
process.
Maize Tasseling ✓ Simply put, the tassel is the top most part of a corn plant. The corn tassel is
the part of the plant where the pollen comes from. The pollen pollinates
the ear of corn, which causes the ear of corn to grow.
✓ This stage takes place when the plant reaches its full height and begins to
shed its pollen. At this point the tassels of the plant are completely visible.
Tassels emerge fully about 2 to 3 days prior to the silking stage.
Maize Detasseling ✓ Detasseling corn is removing the immature pollen-producing bodies, the
tassel, from the tops of corn plants and placing them on the ground.

✓ It is a form of pollination control, employed to cross-breed, or hybridize, two
varieties of corn. Fields of corn that will be detasseled are planted with two
varieties of corn.
Lucerne Lopping ✓ Lopping is the indiscriminate cutting of tree branches to stubs or lateral
branches that are not large enough to assume the terminal (main growth
point) role.
✓ The process of lopping can remove up between 50% to 100% of the foliage
(leaf) bearing crown of a tree.
Jute Retting ✓ Retting is a process in which the tied bundles of jute stalks are taken to the
tank by which fibres get loosened and separated from the woody stalk.
✓ The bundles are steeped in water at least 60 cm to 100 cm depth. The
retting process is completed in 8 to 30 days, when the barks separate out
easily from the stick or wood and the fibres are ready for extraction.
✓ There are two types of retting: stem and ribbon. In ribbon retting, ribbons
are stripped out mechanically from the stem of mature jute plants, coiled
and allowed to ret under water. Ribbon retting reduces time of normal
retting by 4–5 days.
✓ After the retting process, stripping begins; women and children usually do
this job
Jute Stripping ✓ Jute stripping (fibre extraction) is the process of removing the fibers from
the stalk after the completion of retting. Fibers are removed from the stalk
by any one of the following methods - Single plants are taken and their
fibers are taken off; Taken off a handful of stalks, breaking it in a to and
fro motion in water; Washing the stalks first by standing in waist-deep water
and then stripping afterward.
Groundnut Pegging ✓ “Pegging” is a Unique Feature in groundnut.
✓ This budding ovary is called a “peg.” The peg enlarges and grows down and
away from the plant forming a small stem which extends to the soil. The
peanut embryo is in the tip of the peg, which penetrates the soil.
Gram Nipping ✓ It is a special cultivation practice of plucking the apical buds of the crop at
about 30-40 days after sowing. Nipping stops the apical growth and
promotes the lateral branching, thus the plants become more vigorous and
produce more flowers and pods and yield per plant is increased.
Cotton Topping ✓ Cotton topping is an agricultural technique in which the shoot tips of
cotton plants are cut off by farmers. The cotton topping should be done as
early as possible from 100 to 120 days from the planting. Cutting the shoots
of cotton plants (topping) at about 10–20 cm from the top of plants is a
cultural practice, which may offer advantages to improve yield and yield
components in cotton production.
Coffee Scuffling ✓ In established coffee fields, scuffling is done towards the beginning of the
dry period. Scuffling during post-monsoon (Oct.-Nov.) from 2nd to 4th year
of planting helps in for conservation of soil moisture. Avoid scuffling in slopy
terrain.
✓ It is also called soil stirring.
✓ It controls weeds and also conserves soil moisture.
Cotton Ginning ✓ Ginning is the process of removing the seeds and debris from cotton. The
term comes from the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1794. In modern

ginning, the cotton is first dried to remove moisture, then cleaned to remove
any burs, stems, leaves, or other foreign matter.
✓ Determine the moisture content of each lot of seed cotton to be ginned by
using moisture meter. Gin only that cotton with moisture content of 6 to
8.5% at the feeder apron.
Cauliflower Blanching ✓ Blanching is the simple practice of binding large outer leaves together over
and around developing cauliflower heads, to prevent them from yellowing
or browning and developing a bitter flavor due to an overabundance of sun
exposure. Some older white varieties can even turn shades of blotchy
purple.
Banana Propping ✓ At the time of bunch emergence, pseudostem requires support from props.
✓ Tall varieties which produce heavy bunches need propping.
✓ Bamboo or casuarinas poles which have effective life of 3-4 years are
commonly used for propping.
✓ Coir or polythene wire can also be used for propping
Sugarcane Propping ✓ The operation of tying the leaves together using the bottom dry and green
leaves is known as propping.
✓ It is done to check lodging of cane. Usually the trash without removing from
the cane is twisted to form a sort of rope and cane stalks are tied together.
Carrot Forking ✓ Carrots fork because the growing tip of the root has been impeded or
damaged by someone or something.
✓ The someone may be a soil insect or nematode that has nibbled on the tip of
the root. The somethings are likely obstacles in the soil like small pebbles or
stones
Opium Lancing ✓ The scoring of the pods (also called "lancing," "incising," or "tapping") begins
about two weeks after the flower petals fall from the pods.
✓ A set of three or four small blades of iron, glass, or glass splinters bound
tightly together on a wooden handle is used to score two or three sides of
the pod in a vertical direction.
✓ A depth of about one millimeter is desired for the incision. Using a blade-
tool designed to cut to that depth, scoring ideally starts in late afternoon so
the white latex-like raw opium can ooze out and slowly coagulate on the
surface of the pod overnight
Grapes Girdling/ ✓ For grapes girdling or cincturing is used to make the grapes large and
Cincturing sweeter on the grape canopy and are sold as girdled grapes.
✓ Flowering and fruit setting is a problem on some trees; girdling may improve
yield in the same way.
Oil Palm Stripping ✓ Stripping or threshing involves separating the sterilized fruits from the bunch
stalks.
✓ Sterilized FFBs (fresh fruit bunches) are fed into a drum stripper and the
drum is rotated, causing the fruits to be detached from the bunch. The
bunch stalks are removed as they do not contain any oil.
Tobacco Flopping ✓ Soils that stay wet for an extended period are detrimental to tobacco and
standing water can cause tobacco to “flop or drown. Leaves on “flopped”
tobacco droop toward the ground.
✓ Heavy rainfall can stress a tobacco crop at any stage of growth, creating a
poor root system if it occurs early in the season.

Banana/ Logging ✓ It is a method followed in plant analysis for assessing requirements for
Sugarcane nutrients for crop production. Commonly followed in Banana and Sugarcane.
Rose and Pulsing ✓ Pulsing is ‘supplying a solution through transpiration stream’. Term pulsing
other cut means placing freshly harvested flowers for a relatively short time from
flowers few seconds to hours in a solution specially formulated to extend their
vase life.
✓ This process is also called as hydration and it can be facilitated by addition of
wetting agent to water like sucrose etc.,.
✓ Cut flowers are pulsed with sugars, such as sucrose. Sucrose pulsing involves
concentration of 5 -20% treated for overnight at 20C or at warm
temperature of 210C for 10 minutes.
✓ Cut flowers are also pulsed with dyes, such as the food grades blue used on
white carnation to give interesting visual effects like blue coloured petal
veins and margins.
Rose and Drying ✓ Cut flowers and foliages reserved for desiccation/drying can be pulsed for
other cut one to a few days with humectants, such as 20-30% glycerol. This process is
flowers known as “uptake preservation”.
✓ This retains suppleness (flexible), associated with the humectants chemical
attracting water vapour from the atmosphere into the tissue.
✓ During pulsing with humectants, often brown, red, green, blue and others
dyes are frequently supplied along with the humectants.
Humectants are ingredients found in lotions and cleansers that hydrate anything by attracting water
molecules like a magnet. Chemically speaking, humectants are hygroscopic substances that form hydrogen
bonds with water molecules.
For
Agriculture Extension

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 Types of Education ........................................................................................................................ 6
1.1.1 Informal Education................................................................................................................ 6
1.1.2 Non-formal Education ........................................................................................................... 6
1.1.3 Formal Education .................................................................................................................. 6
1.2 Differences between Formal and Extension education ................................................................ 7
1.3 Concept of Extension Education process ...................................................................................... 7
1.3.1 Situation and Problems ......................................................................................................... 7
1.3.2 Objectives and Solutions ....................................................................................................... 7
1.3.3 Teaching plan of work ........................................................................................................... 8
1.3.4 Evaluation.............................................................................................................................. 8
1.3.5 Reconsideration .................................................................................................................... 8
1.3.6 Objectives of Extension ......................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Extension teaching methods ......................................................................................................... 8
1.4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8
1.5 Classification of Extension Teaching Methods.............................................................................. 9
1.5.1 According to use ................................................................................................................... 9
1.5.2 According to form ................................................................................................................. 9
1.6 A brief description of some of the extension methods which are commonly used by extension
professionals ........................................................................................................................................... 10
1.6.1 Farm & home visit ............................................................................................................... 10
1.6.2 Method demonstration....................................................................................................... 10
1.6.3 Result demonstration ......................................................................................................... 10
1.6.4 Group discussion ................................................................................................................. 10
1.6.5 Exhibition ............................................................................................................................ 10
1.6.6 Campaign ............................................................................................................................ 10
1.6.7 Field tour ............................................................................................................................. 11
1.6.8 Print media .......................................................................................................................... 11
1.6.9 Radio ................................................................................................................................... 11
1.6.10 Television ............................................................................................................................ 12
1.7 Agriculture extension .................................................................................................................. 12

1.8 What is the need of Agriculture extension? ............................................................................... 12
1.8.1 Old and New models of Agriculture extension systems ..................................................... 13
1.9 Importance of Agriculture Extension .......................................................................................... 14
1.10 Why Agricultural Extension is Important? .................................................................................. 14
1.11 Evolution of the Extension System in Indian Agriculture............................................................ 14
1.11.1 During Green revolution ..................................................................................................... 14
1.11.2 Late 1970s ........................................................................................................................... 14
1.11.3 Launch of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) .............................................................................. 15
1.11.4 In the 1990s......................................................................................................................... 15
1.11.5 ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency)...................................................... 15
1.11.6 Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATIC) .......................................................... 16
1.11.7 Other Extension services ..................................................................................................... 16
2 Agricultural Extension in India: Institutional Framework & Policy Measures .................................... 16
2.1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) ........................................................................... 16
2.1.1 Contribution of ICAR ........................................................................................................... 16
2.2 National Agricultural Research Project (NARP)........................................................................... 17
2.3 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) ........................................................................................................ 17
2.4 Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms (ATMA Scheme) .................... 18
2.5 Mass Media Support to Agricultural Extension .......................................................................... 18
2.6 Community Radio Stations (CRS) ................................................................................................ 18
2.7 Establishment of Agri-Clinics & Agri-Business Centres (ACABC)................................................. 19
2.7.1 Objectives of the Scheme ................................................................................................... 19
2.8 Kisan Call Centres (KCC) .............................................................................................................. 19
2.9 Extension Education Institutes (EEIs) .......................................................................................... 19
2.9.1 Objectives of creating EEI ................................................................................................... 20
3 National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology ............................................................. 20
4 Evaluation of Extension Programmes ................................................................................................. 20
4.1 Need of Extension Evaluation? ................................................................................................... 21
4.2 Some trends in focus of agricultural extension and implications for evaluation ....................... 21
4.3 Various Methods of Evaluation of Extension Programmes ........................................................ 22
4.3.1 Formative and summative evaluation ................................................................................ 22

4.3.2 Process evaluation and outcome evaluation ...................................................................... 22
4.3.3 Goal-based and needs-based evaluation ............................................................................ 22
4.3.4 Quantitative and qualitative data analysis ......................................................................... 22
4.4 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK).......................................................................................................... 23
4.4.1 KVK System: Mandate and Activities .................................................................................. 23
4.4.2 Krishi Vigyan Kendras Portal ............................................................................................... 24
5 Indian Council of Agricultural Research Vision-2050 .......................................................................... 24
5.1 Farmers FIRST.............................................................................................................................. 24
5.2 ARYA ............................................................................................................................................ 24
5.3 Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav ............................................................................................................ 25
5.4 Roadmap for modernizing national extension system ............................................................... 25

1 Introduction
✓ The word ‘Extension’ is derived from the Latin roots, ‘tensio’ meaning stretching and 'ex' meaning
out.
✓ Extension education means that type of education which is stretched out into the villages and fields
beyond the limits of the schools and colleges to which the formal type of education is normally
confined.
✓ We can define extension as the increased dissemination of useful knowledge for improving rural life.
✓ Extension education is a science which deals with the creation, transmission and application of
knowledge designed to bring about planned changes in the behavior complex of people; with a view
to help them to live better by learning the ways of improving their vocations, enterprises and
institutions.
1.1 Types of Education
1.1.1 Informal Education

It is the life long process by which every person acquires knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from
daily experiences and exposure to the environment at home, at work, at play etc.
1.1.2 Non-formal Education

It is an organised, systematic educational activity carried on outside the framework of the formal system
to provide selected types of learning to particular sub-groups in the population, including adults and
children. E.g.: adult education, vocational education, functional literacy, continuing education, extension
education etc.
1.1.3 Formal Education

It is highly institutionalized, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured, education starting from
primary school and reaching upto university education
The different concepts of Extension may be studied as
✓ Extension service: An organization and or a programme for agricultural development and rural
welfare which employs the extension process as a means of programme implementation.
✓ Extension process: The extension process is that of working with rural people through out of school
education, along those lines of their current interests and needs which are closely related to gaining
a livelihood, improving the physical level of living of rural families, and fostering rural community
welfare.
✓ Extension Job: The job of extension in agriculture and home economics is to assist people engaged
in farming and home making to utilise more fully their own resources and those available to them, in
solving current problems and in meeting changing economic and social conditions.

1.2 Differences between Formal and Extension education
1.3 Concept of Extension Education process
1.3.1 Situation and Problems

✓ The first step consists of collection of facts and analysis of the situation. Facts about the people and
their enterprises; the economic, social, cultural, physical and technological environment in which
they live and work. These may be obtained by appropriate survey and establishing rapport with the
people.
✓ For example, after a survey in a community and analysis of the data, the problem was identified as
low income of the farm family from their crop production enterprise.
1.3.2 Objectives and Solutions

✓ The next step is deciding on realistic objectives which may be accomplished by the community. A
limited number of objectives should be selected by involving the local people.
✓ The objectives should be specific and clearly stated, and on completion should bring satisfaction to
the community.
✓ Objectives should state the behavioural changes in people as well as economic and social outcomes
desired.
✓ In the example, the problem was identified as low income from the crop production enterprise. A
deeper probe into the date revealed that low income was due to low yield of crops, which was
attributed to the use of local seeds with low yield potential, application of little fertilizer and lack of
protection measures.

1.3.3 Teaching plan of work
✓ The third step is teaching, which involves choosing what should be taught (the content) and how the
people should be taught the methods and aids to be used.
✓ It requires selecting research findings of economic and practical importance relevant to the
community, and selection and combination of appropriate teaching methods and aids.
✓ Based on the problems identified in the particular example, technologies like use of HYV seeds,
application of fertilizer and plant protection chemicals were selected as teaching content.
✓ Result demonstration, method demonstration, farmers' training and farm publications were chosen
as teaching methods, and tape recorder and slides were selected as teaching aids.
1.3.4 Evaluation
✓ The fourth step is evaluating the teaching i.e, determining the extent to which the objectives have
been reached.
✓ To evaluate the results of an educational programme objectively, it is desirable to conduct a re-
survey. The evidence of changed behavior should be collected, which shall not only provide a
measure of success, but shall also indicate the deficiencies, if any.
✓ In the example, the re-survey after the fixed period of time, indicated that the crop yield had
increased by 10 percent. It, therefore, indicated that there was a gap of 10 per cent in crop yield in
comparison to the target (objective) of 20 per cent fixed earlier.
1.3.5 Reconsideration
✓ The fifth step is re-consideration of the entire extension educational programme on the light of the
results of evaluation. The problems identified in the process of evaluation may become the starting
point for the next phase of the extension educational programme, unless new problems have
developed or new situations have arisen.
✓ After re-consideration of the results of evaluation with the people, the following teaching objectives
were again set up. For example, they were, training the farmers on proper water management
practices and putting up demonstrations on water management.
1.3.6 Objectives of Extension

Objectives are expression of the ends towards which our efforts are directed.
Fundamental objective: The fundamental objective of extension is the development of the people or
the "Destination man". In other words, it is to develop the rural people economically, socially and
culturally by means of education. Example: To increase socio-economic status and standard of living of
Indian farming Community.
1.4 Extension teaching methods
1.4.1 Introduction
✓ Extension teaching methods are the tools & techniques used to create situations in which
communication can take place between the rural people & the extension professionals.

✓ These are the methods of imparting new knowledge & skills to the rural people by drawing their
attention towards such technologies, thereby arousing their interest and helping them to have a
successful experience of the new practice.
✓ A proper understanding of these methods and their selection for a particular type of work is
necessary.
1.5 Classification of Extension Teaching Methods
1.5.1 According to use

One way of classifying the extension methods is according to their use & nature of contact vis-a-
vis interpersonal, group and mass communication. Based upon the nature of contact, they are classified
into following categories:
Classification of extension-teaching methods according to their use
Individual contacts Group contacts Mass contacts
Farm & home visits Method and result demonstration Print media (viz. Newspapers,
magazines, leaflets, posters,
pamphlets, circular letters
bulletins)
Office calls Group meetings, discussions Electronic media (viz. Radio,
television, cell-phones)
Telephone calls Conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. Internet-based media
Personal letters Field trips, field days, campaign Exhibitions, dairy mela
1.5.2 According to form

Extension teaching methods are also classified according to their forms, such as written, spoken & audio-
visual. Some of the important methods under each of these 3 categories are listed.
Classification of extension-teaching methods according to their form
Written Spoken Object or visual

Bulletins General & special meetings Result demonstrations
Leaflets, folders, news Farm & home visits Demonstration plots
articles
Personal letters Official calls Motion-pictures or movies,
charts
Circular letters Telephone calls, radio Slides & film-strips, models,
exhibits

1.6 A brief description of some of the extension methods which are commonly used
by extension professionals
1.6.1 Farm & home visit

Farm & home visit constitutes the direct or face-to-face contact by an extension professional with the
farmer or the members of his family. During these visits, information is exchanged or discussed. The visits
may be to get acquainted with the problems of the farmers. Such visits provide an opportunity for a two-
way communication.
1.6.2 Method demonstration

It is used to show the technique of doing things or carrying out new practices e.g. clean milk production,
paneer making, ghee making, etc. This method is usually used for groups of people.
1.6.3 Result demonstration

Result demonstration is meant for proving the advantages of recommended practices and to demonstrate
their applicability to the local conditions. It is conducted by a farmer under the direct supervision of an
extension professional. It is designed to teach others, in addition to the person who conducts the
demonstration. It helps the farmers to learn by seeing & doing. This method can be used to show the
superiority of practices, such as dahi culture, value addition, hygienic handling of animals, etc.
1.6.4 Group discussion

All the farmers cannot be contacted by extension professionals individually because of their large number.
It is convenient & feasible to contact them in groups. This method is commonly known as group discussion.
It is used to encourage & stimulate the people to learn more about the problems that concern the
community through discussion. It is a good method of involving the local people in developing local
leadership & in deciding on a plan of action in a democratic way.
1.6.5 Exhibition
An exhibition is a systematic display of information, actual specimens, models, posters, photographs, and
charts, etc. in a logical sequence. It is organised for arousing the interest of the clientele in the things
displayed. It is one of the best media for reaching a large number of people, especially illiterate & semi-
literate people. Exhibitions are used for a wide range of topics, such as planning a model village, showing
high-yielding breeds of cattle and buffaloes, new agricultural implements and the best products of village
industries.
1.6.6 Campaign
Campaign is used to focus the attention of the people on a particular problem, e.g. milk adulteration,
vaccination and prevention of animal diseases, tick control etc. Through this method, maximum number
of farmers can be reached in the shortest possible time. It builds up community confidence and involves
the people emotionally in a programme.
1.6.7 Field tour

Conducted tours for farmers are used to convince them and to provide them with an opportunity of seeing
the results of new practices and products, skills, etc. and to give them an idea regarding the suitability &
application of these things in their own area. Such tours may also be arranged to enable the rural people
to visit places & institutions (connected with the problems of rural life), such as research institutions,
training institutions, agricultural universities, model villages, areas of advanced developments, leading
private farms, exhibitions, and agricultural & cattle fairs/dairy mela.
1.6.8 Print media

Newspapers, magazines, bulletins, leaflets, folders, pamphlets and wall news-sheets are another set of
mass media for communicating information to a large number of literate people. They are used for
communicating general & specific information on a programme of technology or a practice. Small folders,
leaflets & pamphlets are used to give specific recommendations about a practice, such as clean milk
production, vaccination schedule, detection of milk adulterants, etc.
1.6.8.1 Leaflet
A leaflet is a single sheet of paper used to present information on only one developmental idea in a concise
manner, using simple language.
1.6.8.2 Folder
A folder is a single piece of paper folded once or twice, and, when opened, the material is presented in
sequence.
1.6.8.3 Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides, printed in colours with action
photographs, giving full information about a topic in greater length than in folders or leaflets.
1.6.8.4 Bulletin
A bulletin is a publication of around 20 pages, with the primary objective of giving complete information
which the intended readers can apply to their own situation.
1.6.8.5 Booklet
When the extension material exceeds 20 pages and is less than 50 pages, it is called booklet.
1.6.9 Radio
It is one of the most powerful media of communication. It is a mass medium of communication and can
reach a large number of people at any given time involving the least expense. Extension professionals use
the radio for communicating information on new methods & techniques, giving timely information about
the control of animal diseases such as foot & mouth disease (FMD), animal pests, weather, market news,
etc. For this purpose, talks, group discussions, folk-songs, dialogues & dramas are usually broadcast. There
are radio programmes broadcast by All India Radio (AIR), FM (frequency modulated) radio, community
radio, etc.
1.6.10 Television
It combines both audio & visual impact and is very suitable for the dissemination of agriculture & dairy
information. It is more useful in teaching to do a specific job. A beginning has been made in India for using
this medium for development programmes and it is expected that its use will become more extensive in
the coming years. At present, along with the Government-owned channel (Doordarshan), several other
private channels are telecasting various kinds of entertainment and developmental programmes to reach
the viewers.
1.7 Agriculture extension

✓ Agriculture extension can be viewed as an educational programme to be undertaken by public
agencies to activate the process of transferring knowledge, science and technology from
laboratories to people or farmer and to help them in farm planning, decision making, record keeping,
use of inputs, storage, processing and marketing, ensure supplies and services, increase their
production, develop people and their leaders, improve their occupation, family, and community life.
✓ Agricultural extension comprises of professional methods of non–formal education aimed at
inducing behavioral changes in the farmers for increasing their income through increased
production and productivity by establishing firm linkages with research for solving farmer’s problems
ensuring adequate and timely supply of inputs and usage proven methods of communication for
speeding of the process of diffusion and adoption of innovations.
✓ Agricultural extension is known as the application of scientific research and new knowledge to
agricultural practices through farmer education.
The following areas indicate the scope of agricultural Extension work

✓ Increasing the efficiency in agricultural production
✓ Increasing the efficiency in marketing, distribution and utilization of agricultural inputs and outputs
✓ Conservation, development and use of natural resources
✓ Proper management on the farm and at home
✓ Better family living
✓ Youth development
✓ Leadership development
✓ Community development
✓ Improving Public affairs for all round development
1.8 What is the need of Agriculture extension?

✓ Farmers require a diverse range of information to support their farm enterprises.
✓ Information is needed not only on best practices and technologies for crop production, which the
traditional public-sector extension system provided during the Green Revolution, but also information
about post harvest aspects including processing, marketing, storage, and handling.
✓ Farmers require access to timely, reliable, and relevant information that can support the complexity
within which their farm enterprises operate.
✓ In principle, agricultural extension receives relevant information from the agricultural education
system and feeds back field observations to this system.
✓ Extension is also professionally linked to the agricultural vocational and higher education systems in
the sense that these systems also produce the agents who work in extension.
✓ The relationship between agricultural extension and agricultural research is even closer, because the
knowledge that agricultural extension transfers is usually generated by agricultural research through
applied and adaptive agricultural research development.
Different models of the Extension Services

✓ Technology transfer – the traditional model of the transfer of advice, knowledge and information
in a linear manner
✓ Advisory – the use by farmers of a cadre of experts as a source of advice in relation to specific
problems faced by them
✓ Facilitation – the aim of this model is to help farmers to define their own problems and develop
their own solutions.
✓ Traditional extension systems focus on increasing agricultural productivity, use a top-down approach
and often emphasize the transfer of technology.
✓ This model for extension, however, is becoming out-dated in the more competitive, market-oriented
climate of today’s agriculture.
✓ Alternative models have emerged that recognize other actors than traditional public extension
services – including agribusiness companies, NGOs, agro-dealers, producer organisations and farmer
to farmer exchanges.
1.8.1 Old and New models of Agriculture extension systems
1.9 Importance of Agriculture Extension
✓ Agricultural extension is taking a new dimension because of a global movement for reforming the
national extension systems in developing countries that started late in the twentieth century.
✓ New learning needs of farming communities are emerging as the world enters into an era of
globalization, democracy, privatization and decentralization, affecting the farmers of both
developed and developing countries – albeit in different ways.
✓ There is a fresh and firm resolve worldwide to fight the menaces of hunger and rural poverty.
✓ Extension workers, no matter whether they belong to government departments, NGOs, private
institutions or farmer’s associations, could constitute a formidable force in this fight.
✓ Extension in the developing countries indeed has a very new role to play and needs the serious
attention of policy-makers for its meaningful reform and modernization.
1.10 Why Agricultural Extension is Important?

✓ It helps in adoption of innovations.
✓ Extension helps in studying and solving the rural problems.
✓ Increases farm yields and improve the standard of living of farmers
✓ Increasing efficiency in agricultural production.
✓ Increasing efficiency in marketing, distribution and utilization of agricultural inputs and outputs
✓ Conservation, development and optimum use of natural resources.
✓ Community and rural development.
✓ Extension uses democratic methods in educating the farmers.
1.11 Evolution of the Extension System in Indian Agriculture

The evolution of agricultural extension system in India has a long history.
1.11.1 During Green revolution

✓ Its contribution to productivity enhancement during the Green Revolution era has been well
documented.
✓ During this period, the public extension system played the key role in conducting field
demonstrations of high-yielding varieties and improving the input delivery that ensured timely
availability of quality seeds, fertilizers and agricultural chemicals at affordable prices.
✓ By the end of 1970s, the Green Revolution type of extension system had largely achieved its major
goal of increasing the area under high-yielding varieties.
1.11.2 Late 1970s

✓ In the late-1970s, the agricultural extension system became mostly involved in the distribution of
agricultural inputs through the state agricultural depots and handling of the subsidies that were
provided through various agricultural development programs.
✓ The public-sector extension system as a whole seemed to have become a monolithic organization
without specific goals to achieve.
✓ Sustaining such a large system without added benefits to agricultural productivity became a big
challenge for agriculture ministries at both the central and state levels.
✓ Therefore, reforming of the system towards goal orientation and better operational efficiency was
sought.
✓ A Training and Visit (T&V) system was introduced in extension services on a pilot scale in Rajasthan
in 1974 with World Bank funding support and was scaled up to several other states in 1977.
✓ While impressive results were documented by the studies that evaluated the T&V system, the issues
related to sustainability of funding, high requirement of staffing, and the quality of staff became the
key concerns.
1.11.3 Launch of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)

✓ The 1970s also witnessed the launch of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) or Farm Science Centres, Lab-
to-Land programmes, and Operational Research Programmes by the ICAR. Krishi Vigyan Kendras
(KVKs) were begun by ICAR to provide need-based and skill-oriented vocational training to farmers,
field-level extension workers and other self-employed persons.
✓ KVKs were meant to bridge the gap between technology developed at research institutions and its
adoption at the field level.
✓ Their role was to feed proven technologies to the main extension system.
✓ The KVK programme began in 1974. As of January 2020, there were approximately 721 KVKs
throughout India.
✓ Low manpower resources restrict the reach of KVKs to a limited number of farmers.
✓ Many KVKs are constrained by financial, infrastructural, and human resource limitations and unable
to reach the farming community of a district.
1.11.4 In the 1990s

✓ Agricultural extension witnessed a qualitative change in the 1990s, with a new focus on privatisation
and the withdrawal of support to the state-led extension system.
✓ Reduced spending by government weakened the public-sector extension system. Other non-
governmental agencies stepped in to fill the vacuum.
1.11.5 ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency)

✓ About a decade ago, in order to introduce reforms in the public sector agricultural extension system
and increase its relevance, accessibility, and efficiency of knowledge sharing among various actors,
players, and stakeholders, the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) was introduced
as a pilot (1998-2003) in 28 districts.
✓ Following a positive feedback from the pilot implementation, the ATMA model was scaled up across
614 rural districts in 28 states and 3 of the country.
✓ The ATMA model was meant to make the extension system a demand-driven, market-oriented, and
farmer-accountable system.
✓ ATMA was to be the nodal point at the district level for technology dissemination, integrating
research and extension activities, and decentralizing day-to-day management of the public
agricultural extension system.
✓ Field-level activities are coordinated through Farm Information and Advisory Centres (FIAC) at the
block level. It also has provisions for public-private partnership in the district.
1.11.6 Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATIC)
✓ In 2000, ICAR introduced Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATIC) in selected ICAR
institutes and State Agricultural Universities to function as a single window to disseminate
technologies developed in the Universities and Institutes.
1.11.7 Other Extension services

✓ Many new service providers and institutional arrangements in agricultural extension have emerged
over the last two decades.
✓ These include private extension agencies, input agencies, agri-business firms, farmers’
organisations, producer cooperatives, financial agencies involved in rural credit delivery, and
consultancy.
✓ The establishment of Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres (AC & ABC) Scheme was an explicit move
by government to support private sector initiatives in extension.
✓ Under the AC and ABC scheme, unemployed farm graduates were provided training for two months
each and given access to credit to start their own ventures.
2 Agricultural Extension in India: Institutional Framework & Policy Measures

Recognizing the importance of Agricultural Extension in Indian Scenario, various Instutions have been
setup and policy measures initiated by the government. They are broadly discussed as follows
2.1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

✓ The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the
Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of
India.
✓ Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a
registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal
Commission on Agriculture.
✓ The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi.
✓ The Council is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in
agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
✓ With 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the
largest national agricultural systems in the world.
✓ The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in
agriculture in India through its research and technology development that enabled the country to
increase the production of food grains by 5 times, horticultural crops by 9.5 times, fish by 12.5 times
, milk 7.8 times and eggs 39 times since 1951 to 2014, thus making a visible impact on the national
food and nutritional security.
✓ It has played a major role in promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture.
2.1.1 Contribution of ICAR

✓ Initiation of the first All-India Co-Ordinated Research Project on Maize in 1957
✓ Establishment of the first State Agricultural University on land grant pattern at Pantnagar in 1960.
✓ Placement of different agricultural research institutes under the purview of ICAR in 1966.
✓ Creation of Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) in the Ministry of Agriculture
in 1973.
✓ Opening of first Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at Puducherry (Pondicherry) in 1974.
✓ Launching of Lab-to-Land Programme and the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) in 1979.
✓ Initiation of Institution-Village Linkage Programme (IVLP) in 1995.
✓ Establishment of National Gene Bank at New Delhi in 1996.
✓ The ICAR was bestowed with the King Baudouin Award in 1989 for its valuable contribution in
ushering in the Green Revolution. Again awarded King Baudouin Award in 2004 for research and
development efforts made under partnership in Rice Wheat Consortium.
✓ Launching of National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) in 1998.
✓ Launching of National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) in 2005.
* King Baudouin International Development Prize. The King Baudouin Foundation is an independent and
pluralistic foundation based in Brussels whose aim is to serve society. The Foundation was created in 1976,
to mark the 25th anniversary of King Baudouin's reign.
2.2 National Agricultural Research Project (NARP)

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had added a new dimension to agricultural research in
India by launching in 1979 the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) with World Bank assistance
to strengthen the research capabilities of the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) to conduct need-
based, location-specific and production-oriented research as an important means of finding solutions
to the location specific problems in different agro-climatic zones in their respective service areas.
For this purpose, intensification of research efforts was envisaged in respect of

✓ Cereals, millets, pulses and oilseeds, particularly those that are grown under rainfed conditions
✓ Farming systems involving crop-livestock and crop-fish production systems
✓ Agronomic practices
✓ Soil and water conservation techniques
✓ Land use patterns for more efficient use of natural resources and ecological potential.
The objectives were sought to be achieved through

✓ Rationalization of university research programmes and research organizations
✓ Strengthening the infrastructural facilities of the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) to undertake
research on location specific problems.
2.3 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK)

The ICAR mooted the idea of establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agricultural Science Centres) as
innovative institutions for imparting vocational training to the practicing farmers, school dropouts and
field level extension functionaries.
Note: They have been covered in detail in subsequent part of this lesson.
2.4 Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms (ATMA Scheme)
✓ Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms” was
launched in the year 2005 - 06.
✓ This concept was pilot tested under the World Bank assisted National Agricultural Technology
Project (NATP) from 1999 to 2005.
✓ The scheme aims at promoting decentralized, demand - driven and farmer - accountable extension
system through a new institutional arrangement for technology dissemination in the form of
Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA).
✓ ATMA provides an institutional mechanism for coordination and management of Agricultural
Extension System in the district.
✓ Under the Scheme, sustained efforts are being made to provide fillip to major extension reforms
such as bottom - up planning, broad - based extension delivery, involvement of multi - agency
extension service providers, farmer - centric extension services and main - streaming gender concerns
in agriculture by introducing innovative and progressive arrangements at different levels viz. State,
District and Block.
2.5 Mass Media Support to Agricultural Extension

✓ The “Mass Media Support to Agricultural Extension” scheme was initially launched on 21st January
2004.
✓ The objective of the scheme is to disseminate information and knowledge to the farming community
in local language/dialect for strengthening the agricultural extension system. Under this scheme
existing infrastructure of Doordarshan and All India Radio is being utilized to make the farmers aware
about modern farm technologies.
✓ Farm related programmes of 30-minute duration are being telecast 6 days a week through 1 National,
18 Regional Kendras and 180 High Power/Low Power Transmitters of Doordarshan.
✓ Similarly, 96 Rural FM Radio Stations of All India Radio are being utilized to broadcast 30 minutes of
programme for farmers 6 days a week.
✓ The Free Commercial Time (FCT) available under Krishi Darshan and Kisanvani programme is being
utilized for dissemination of Advisories during Rabi / Kharif and popularizing the central scheme like
contingency plan developed by State Governments, emergent issues like drought, flood, credit and
insurance and popularization of schemes like Kisan Call Centre, Kisan Credit Card, National Food
Security Mission (NFSM) and Minimum Support Price (MSP)
2.6 Community Radio Stations (CRS)

✓ CRS would make a major contribution to agricultural extension by utilizing the reach of radio
transmitter for disseminating information & knowledge produced locally or having relevance for a
specific area.
✓ In order to give further boost to this initiative it is essential to consider funding of private institutions
along with Government and Quasi - government organizations for setting up CRS.
✓ Accordingly, the guidelines for funding of private institutions under Scheme “Support to State
Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms” have been revised.
2.7 Establishment of Agri-Clinics & Agri-Business Centres (ACABC)
✓ The Central Sector Scheme “Establishment of the Agri-clinics and Agri-business Centres (ACABC)” is
under implementation since 2002.
✓ The scheme promotes the involvement of agri-preneurs to supplement the efforts of public extension
system by way of setting -up of agri-ventures in agriculture and allied areas. These agri-preneurs are
actively involved in providing advisory, extension services including know-how to the farmers at grass
root level besides input infrastructure, processing and machinery support.
2.7.1 Objectives of the Scheme

✓ To create gainful self-employment opportunities to unemployed agricultural graduates, agricultural
diploma holders, intermediate in agriculture and science graduates with PG in agri related courses.
✓ To support agriculture development
✓ To supplement efforts of public extension by necessarily providing extension and other services to
farmers on payment basis or free of cost as per business model of agri-preneur, local needs and
affordability of target group of farmers.
2.8 Kisan Call Centres (KCC)

✓ To harness the potential of ICT in agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture took the initiative of launching
an innovative scheme “Kisan Call Centers” on 21st January, 2004 aimed at offering solutions to
farmers’ queries on a telephone call and to leverage the extensive telecommunication infrastructure
in the country to deliver extension services to the farming community.
✓ These Kisan Call Centres (KCCs) are presently operating in 25 locations covering all the States & UTs
with 144 Call Center Agents engaged therein answering farmers’ queries in their language.
✓ At each KCC location the Kisan Call Centre Agents are first level respondents answering farmers’ KCC
agents are B.Sc. (Ag)/ Postgraduate in Agriculture and work at first level queries instantly.
✓ Majority of the questions are answered by the KCC agents at their own level.
✓ Only a small percentage (2 per cent) of questions is escalated to higher - level experts (L-II experts)
for answering the queries, which are not answered by KCC Agents.
2.9 Extension Education Institutes (EEIs)

✓ Training and capacity building of extension functionaries was always given a priority status in the
national extension system.
✓ Establishment of Extension Education Institutes (EEIs) is aimed at imparting higher training in
extension education.
✓ EEIs were specifically established to meet the training requirement in the field of Communication
Technology, Extension Methodology, Training Management, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA),
Management of Agricultural Information System, etc. extension functionaries of State Development
Departments on a continuing basis.
Four Extension Education Institutes (EEIs) have been established on regional basis as detailed below:
✓ EEI, Nilokheri (Northern Region) started in 1959
✓ EEI, Hyderabad (Southern Region) started in 1962
✓ EEI, Anand (Western Region) started in 1962
✓ EEI, Jorhat (East & North East Region) started in 1987
2.9.1 Objectives of creating EEI

✓ To provide in - service training to the staff of the State/Regional Training Centers in extension and
communication methodology.
✓ To organize workshops on training methods / communication techniques for master
✓ trainers.
✓ To conduct training programmes in specialized fields like monitoring and evaluation
✓ supervision and extension management for middle level extension functionaries.
✓ To conduct subject matter and extension education training programmes.
3 National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology

✓ National Mission on Agricultural Extension shall support the state governments, local bodies &
institutions for enhancing their capacity and institutionalizing structures & mechanisms for a
knowledge - driven, accountable, decentralized, broad - based & participatory programme planning
& implementation to facilitate farmers, farmwomen & youth to achieve economic, food, nutritional
& environmental security and thus achieve Plan objective of faster, sustainable and more inclusive
agricultural growth .
✓ Mission shall, on priority, develop the capacity of ATMA and other local institutions in formulating
CDAP (Comprehensive District Agricultural Plan), preparation of competitive projects based on local
needs and constraints, selection of best projects and their implementation.
✓ The systems and processes shall promote flow of ideas and innovations to incentivize & empower
the institutions and enforce their accountability for the outcomes.
✓ ATMA and KVK shall be the fulcrum of activities.
✓ Agricultural Technology, including the adoption/ promotion of critical inputs, and improved
agronomic practices were being disseminated under 17 different schemes.
✓ The National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) has been envisaged as the
next step towards this objective through the amalgamation of these schemes.
Sub-missions: This mission has four sub-missions as under:
✓ Sub Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE)
✓ Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
✓ Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)
✓ Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP)
4 Evaluation of Extension Programmes

✓ An "extension programme" is the sum total of all the activities and undertakings of a county
extension services.
✓ It includes: (i) programme planning process; (ii) written programme statement; (iii) plan of work; (iv)
programme execution; (v) results; and (vi) evaluation.
✓ An "extension programme" is arrived at co-operatively by the local people and the extension staff
and includes a statement of:
• The situation in which the people are located;
• The problems that are a part of the local situation;
• The objectives and goals of the local people in relation to these problems; and
• The recommendations or solutions to reach these objectives on a long-time basis (may be
several years) or on a short-time basis (may be one year or less).
✓ Evaluation is the process by which the effectiveness of extension is assessed. It is more than simply
finding out what happened; it involves passing judgement on what happened. Was the outcome of the
programme good enough? Was it better or worse than expected? Could more have been achieved?
✓ The evaluation of agricultural extension programs implies the systematic collection of information about
the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of a program to make judgments about the program,
improve its effectiveness, and/or inform decisions about future programming.
4.1 Need of Extension Evaluation?

Extension programmes are evaluated to
✓ Ascertain for the extension organization how well executing staff performed, so that their suitability
for promotion may be assessed;
✓ Satisfy the government that public money spent on extension is being used effectively
✓ Permit the executing staff to learn from what has happened.
✓ Evaluation is a waste of time unless the results have an influence on future extension decisions.
4.2 Some trends in focus of agricultural extension and implications for evaluation
4.3 Various Methods of Evaluation of Extension Programmes
4.3.1 Formative and summative evaluation

✓ Formative evaluation is conducted to provide program staff with judgements useful in improving
the program.
✓ Summative evaluation is generally conducted after completion of the program (or when a program
has stabilized) and for the benefit of some external audience or decision-maker. The findings from a
summative evaluation could be used to decide whether to continue a program or not, or to justify
program spending.
✓ The main difference is that the aim of a summative evaluation is to report on the program, whereas
a formative evaluation reports to the program.
4.3.2 Process evaluation and outcome evaluation

✓ Process evaluation focuses on the process of a program rather than the outcome and is generally
carried out during the implementation of a program.
✓ It involves the collection of information about program activities and about the delivery of a
program.
✓ Process evaluation is generally formative in nature, but can also be summative, for example when
the stakeholders need to know about the actual delivery of a program for justification of program
spending.
✓ Outcome evaluation is carried out towards the end of a program’s life and is aimed at assessing the
program to establish whether the desired outcomes have been reached. Outcome evaluation is
generally summative but may be formative when the findings are used to improve future or other
existing programs.
4.3.3 Goal-based and needs-based evaluation

✓ Goal (or objective) based evaluations are carried out to judge whether the stated goals or objectives
of a program have been achieved.
✓ In this approach goals are taken as given and decisions about the success of a program are based on
the extent to which the goals are reached.
✓ In needs-based evaluation the evaluator does not concentrate solely on the stated objectives of a
program but also evaluates the impact of the program with regard to the needs of the stakeholder
group and the needs of society in general.
4.3.4 Quantitative and qualitative data analysis

✓ Quantitative data analysis in evaluation usually refers to approaches involving heavy use of
numerical measurement and data analysis methods, from social science or from accounting (e.g.
cost–benefit analysis).
✓ Quantitative research emphasizes standardization, precision, objectivity and reliability of
measurement. Quantitative research is characterized by generating data that can be analyzed
statistically.
✓ Qualitative data analysis in evaluation refers to the part of evaluation that cannot be usefully
reduced to quantitative measures.
✓ A large part of contemporary evaluation is qualitative, meaning that description and interpretation
make up most of it.
✓ The use of qualitative methods can provide evaluators with rich, first-hand information on questions
such as how a program is implemented, the patterns of interaction between stakeholders, the kind
of day-to-day problems that are confronted by program staff, and so on. It also tends to focus on
social processes rather than outcomes.
4.4 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)

✓ The ICAR mooted the idea of establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agricultural Science Centres) as
innovative institutions for imparting vocational training to the practicing farmers, school dropouts
and field level extension functionaries.
✓ It was considered that the establishment of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was of national importance
which would help in accelerating the agricultural production as also in improving the socio-economic
conditions of the farming community, the assistance of all related institutions should be taken in
implementing this scheme.
✓ The first KVK, on a pilot basis, was established in 1974 at Puducherry (Pondicherry) under the
administrative control of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
✓ At present there are 668 KVKs, out of which 458 are under State Agricultural Universities (SAU) and
Central Agricultural University (CAU), 55 under ICAR Institutes, 100 under NGOs, 35 under State
Governments, and the remaining 17 under other educational institutions.
✓ The KVK scheme is 100% financed by Govt. of India and the KVKs are sanctioned to Agricultural
Universities, ICAR institutes, related Government Departments and Non-Government Organizations
(NGOs) working in Agriculture.
✓ KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) and aims at assessment
of location specific technology modules in agriculture and allied enterprises, through technology
assessment, refinement and demonstrations.
✓ KVKs have been functioning as Knowledge and Resource Centre of agricultural technology
supporting initiatives of public, private and voluntary sector for improving the agricultural economy
of the district and are linking the NARS with extension system and farmers.
4.4.1 KVK System: Mandate and Activities

✓ The mandate of KVK is Technology Assessment and Demonstration for its Application and Capacity
Development.
✓ To implement the mandate effectively, the following activities are envisaged for each KVK:
▪ On-farm testing to assess the location specificity of agricultural technologies under various
farming systems.
▪ Frontline demonstrations to establish production potential of technologies on the farmers’
fields.
▪ Capacity development of farmers and extension personnel to update their knowledge and
skills on modern agricultural technologies.
▪ To work as Knowledge and Resource Centre of agricultural technologies for supporting
initiatives of public, private and voluntary sector in improving the agricultural economy of the
district.
▪ Provide farm advisories using ICT and other media means on varied subjects of interest to
farmers
In addition, KVKs produce quality technological products (seed, planting material, bio-agents, and
livestock) and make it available to farmers, organize frontline extension activities, identify and document
selected farm innovations and converge with ongoing schemes and programs within the mandate of KVK.
4.4.2 Krishi Vigyan Kendras Portal

✓ The Government has launched Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) Portal which will help in monitoring the
functioning of KVKs at the National level and in providing timely information and advisory to the
farmers.
✓ The aim of the portal is to transfer the technologies developed by the agricultural scientists to the
farmers in a fast and effective manner using web and mobile technology as well as to monitor the
activities of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
5 Indian Council of Agricultural Research Vision-2050

✓ Vision: Lead India to attaining sustainable food, nutritional, environmental and livelihoods security
through agricultural research and education.
✓ M i ssi o n : Harness the power of science and innovation for food security, food safety, farmer
prosperity and enhance natural resources base to promote inclusive g r o w t h and sustainable
development.
✓ The project-wise details are as follows:
5.1 Farmers FIRST

✓ The objectives of the 'Farmer FIRST' initiative is to move beyond the production and productivity and
to privilege the complex, diverse & risk prone realities of the farmers through enhancing farmers-
scientists contact with multi-stakeholders participation for technology development and application.
✓ The project has been conceptualized with focus on Enriching Farmers –Scientist interface;
Technology Assemblage, Application and feedback; Partnership and Institutional Building and Content
Mobilization.
5.2 ARYA
✓ The ICAR has initiated a program on “Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)” in
selected districts through KVKs with an objective for entrepreneurial development of Youth in Rural
Areas to take up various Agriculture, allied and service sector enterprises for sustainable income and
gainful employment.
✓ The identified youth are trained on entrepreneurship development skills by providing a basket of
options to start agriculture ventures for self employment.
5.3 Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav
✓ An innovative initiative “Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav” has been planned to promote the direct interface
of scientists with the farmers to hasten the lab to land process.
✓ The objective of this scheme is to provide farmers with required information, knowledge and
advisories on regular basis by adopting villages.
✓ Under this scheme, scientists will select villages as per their convenience and will remain in touch
with the selected villages and provide information to the farmers on technical and other related
aspects in a time frame through personal visits or on telephone.
✓ Being a resource person for the village, the scientists are also expected to monitor the process of
adoption of agricultural technologies by the farmers.
✓ The scientists may make use of community radio, local newspapers, mobile messages, video,
exhibition and local media and make initiatives to have dialogue with the farmers in their local
language.
✓ The cooperation of KVKs, ATMA, etc. will be effective in demonstration of technologies to the
farmers.
✓ Besides providing information to farmers on market rates, market trends, the information on various
agricultural organisations associated with agriculture may also be given so that the farmers can
contact these organisations for finding solutions to their agriculture related problems.
✓ Scientists will also create awareness among farmers about climate change, other customized
services, protective measures and other issues of local and national importance.
✓ In this process of social transformation, scientists may involve local Panchayats, development
agencies, NGOs and private organisations.
✓ In addition, scientists may encourage the ideology of clean and good agricultural techniques for
producing good quality agricultural products and can link this to Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
5.4 Roadmap for modernizing national extension system

To modernize and further improve our extension systems the following roadmap needs to be followed:
✓ Assess the existing extension organization against farmer’s needs and determine whether to
strengthen or restructure it.
✓ Decentralize extension but not before capacity-building of the staff and orientation of relevant
elected officials.
✓ Broaden the technical mandate of extension to aim at broader development of rural human
resources.
✓ Formulate national policy on extension in order to ensure political and financial commitment.
✓ Promote pluralism in extension by involving public, private and civil society institutions.
✓ Privatize extension partially or fully where it is socially and economically feasible.
✓ Develop and apply information technology tools to facilitate the work of extension workers.
✓ Develop original, location-specific, participatory, gender-sensitive and inexpensive extension
methodologies and materials instead of applying those methodologies which are promoted as
universally suitable.
✓ Orient extension staff to major food security related global developments that could eventually affect
rural livelihoods.
✓ Encourage the extension services to empower farmers through organizing them into legal
associations to constitute a strong lobby for themselves and for extension.
✓ Encourage bottom-up, grassroots extension programme planning by farmers in order to make
extension demand-driven, but also exercise supply-driven, top-down modality for promoting common
public good practices such as conservation of natural resources and environment protection. If the
extension function is to be performed with relatively small number of extension staff, follow
appropriate strategies for getting maximum output.
✓ Ensure effective operational linkages between extension and research and other key relevant
institutions.
For
Agriculture Economics

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Factors of Production in Economics...................................................................................................... 6
2 Laws of Production ............................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Law of Diminishing Returns .......................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 STAGE I .................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1.2 STAGE II ................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1.3 STAGE III ................................................................................................................................ 7
3 Agriculture Finance Basics .................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Purpose ................................................................. 7
3.1.1 Development credit or Investment Credit ............................................................................ 7
3.1.2 Production credit .................................................................................................................. 7
3.1.3 Marketing credit ................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.4 Consumption credit............................................................................................................... 7
3.2 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Repayment Period................................................. 7
3.2.1 Short-Term Credit ................................................................................................................. 7
3.2.2 Medium-Term Credit ............................................................................................................ 8
3.2.3 Long-Term Credit .................................................................................................................. 8
3.3 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Security.................................................................. 8
3.3.1 Farm Mortgage Credit ........................................................................................................... 8
3.3.2 Collateral Credit or Chattel Credit......................................................................................... 8
3.3.3 Personal Credit ...................................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Generation of Surplus Funds................................. 8
3.4.1 Self Liquidating Credit ........................................................................................................... 8
3.4.2 Non-Self-Liquidating Credit ................................................................................................... 8
3.5 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Creditor or Lender wise Credit .............................. 8
3.5.1 Non - Institutional Agencies .................................................................................................. 8
3.5.2 Institutional Agencies............................................................................................................ 9
3.6 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Number of Activities Served ................................. 9
3.7 Co-operative Credit Institutions.................................................................................................... 9
3.7.1 Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) ........................................................................... 9
3.7.2 District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs) ........................................................................ 9

3.7.3 State Co-operative Bank (SCB) ............................................................................................ 10
3.7.4 Land Development Banks ................................................................................................... 10
3.8 Some other cooperative finance institutions ............................................................................. 10
3.8.1 Large-Sized Adivasi Multi-Purpose Co-operative Societies (LAMPS) .................................. 10
3.8.2 Farmers' Service Society (FSS)............................................................................................. 11
3.8.3 National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) .................................................. 11
3.8.4 National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) ....................................................................... 11
4 Agriculture Marketing Basics .............................................................................................................. 12
4.1 Types of Market .......................................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Market Structure – Meaning....................................................................................................... 13
4.3 Components of Market Structure ............................................................................................... 13
4.3.1 Concentration of Market Power ......................................................................................... 13
4.3.2 Degree of Product Differentiation ...................................................................................... 13
4.3.3 Conditions for entry of Firms in the Market ....................................................................... 13
4.3.4 Flow of Market Information................................................................................................ 14
4.3.5 Degree of Integration .......................................................................................................... 14
4.4 Marketing Functions and their Classification ............................................................................. 14
4.4.1 Kohls and Uhl have classified marketing functions as follows ............................................ 14
4.4.2 Huegy and Mitchell marketing functions classification ...................................................... 15
4.5 Producers Surplus ....................................................................................................................... 15
4.5.1 Marketable Surplus ............................................................................................................. 15
4.5.2 Marketed Surplus ................................................................................................................ 16
4.5.3 Relationship between marketed surplus and marketable surplus ..................................... 16
5 Basics of Farm Management............................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Classification of Farming Systems ............................................................................................... 17
5.2 Farm Planning ............................................................................................................................. 19
5.2.1 Objective of Farm Planning ................................................................................................. 19
5.2.2 Characteristics of a Good Farm Plan ................................................................................... 19
5.3 Farm Budgeting ........................................................................................................................... 20
5.3.1 Partial budgeting ................................................................................................................. 20
5.3.2 Enterprise budgeting........................................................................................................... 20

5.3.3 Cash flow budgeting............................................................................................................ 21
5.3.4 Complete Budgeting ........................................................................................................... 21
6 Terminology ........................................................................................................................................ 21
6.1 Net Capital Ratio ......................................................................................................................... 21
6.2 Current ratio................................................................................................................................ 22
6.3 Acid test ratio .............................................................................................................................. 22
6.4 Debt Equity ratio ......................................................................................................................... 22
6.5 Total Assets Turnover ratio ......................................................................................................... 22
6.6 Net Income to Total Assets Ratio................................................................................................ 22
6.7 Equity Value ratio ........................................................................................................................ 22
6.8 Crop Yield Index .......................................................................................................................... 23
6.9 System Index ............................................................................................................................... 23
6.10 Operating ratio ............................................................................................................................ 23
6.11 Fixed ratio ................................................................................................................................... 23
6.12 Gross Ratio .................................................................................................................................. 23

1 Factors of Production in Economics

Sl no. Factor Description
1 Land Dr. Alfred Marshall defined land is meant no merely land in the strict sense of
the word, but whole of the materials and forces which nature gives freely for
man’s aid in land, water, in air and light and heat.
2 Labour Any type of work performed by a labourer with an intention to earn income.
3 Capital Capital has been as that part of person’s wealth, other than land, which yields an
income or which aids in the production of further wealth.
4 Enterprise It means to bring the factors i.e. land, labour and capital together to undertake
a business or production process.
2 Laws of Production
✓ Utility is a term used by economists to describe the measurement of "useful-ness" that a consumer
obtains from any good.
✓ Marginal utility is the additional satisfaction a consumer gains from consuming one more unit of a
good or service
✓ Keeping in mind the meaning of term utility in economic terms observe the table given a above, You
will find that as you keep on eating bread slices its utility meaning its usefulness to you goes on
decreasing and a time comes when it becomes negative.
Keeping in view the above context we will study most important law i.e., law of diminishing return in
Agriculture:
2.1 Law of Diminishing Returns

Alferd Marshall defines it as:
“An increase in the capital and labour applied in the cultivation of land causes in general a less than
proportionate increase in the amount of produce raised unless it happens to coincide with an
improvement in the arts of agriculture.”

Three Important phases in LDMR
2.1.1 STAGE I
Here each unit of input leads to Productive returns, the rate of return is increasing. For example, if you
apply more of fertilizer in the farm your production will increase with increasing rate.
2.1.2 STAGE II
Here are for each unit of input leads to productive return but at decreasing rate not increasing rate. For
each additional unit of fertilizer though productivity increases but at decreasing rate.
2.1.3 STAGE III

Here productivity do not increase at all, it starts decreasing and becomes negative at certain point of time.
A farmer should not operate in this zone. Adding excess fertilizer will only decrease the yield not increase
it.
3 Agriculture Finance Basics

Classification of Agricultural credit
✓ Agricultural credit can be classified based on purpose, time (repayment period), security, generation
of surplus funds, creditor and number of activities for which credit is provided.
3.1 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Purpose

Based on the purpose for which loan is granted, agricultural credit is categorized into:
3.1.1 Development credit or Investment Credit

This is provided for acquiring durable assets or for improving the existing assets.
3.1.2 Production credit

This is given for crop, production: Here, the loan amount is used for purchasing inputs and for paying
wages.
3.1.3 Marketing credit

It is essential to carry out the marketing functions and to get higher prices for the produce.
3.1.4 Consumption credit

It is the credit required by the farmer to meet his family expenses.
3.2 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Repayment Period

Based on the period for which the borrower require credit, it is divided into:
3.2.1 Short-Term Credit

It is given to farmers for periods ranging from 6 to 18 months and is primarily meant to meet cultivation
expenses viz., purchase of seed, fertilizer, pesticides and payment of wages to labourers. It serves as the
working capital to operate the farm efficiently and is expected to be repaid at the time of harvesting /
marketing of crops. It. should be repaid in one instalment.

3.2.2 Medium-Term Credit
Repayment is for the period of 2 to 5 years, It is for the purchase of pump-sets, farm machineries and
implements, bullocks, dairy animals and to carry out minor improvement in the farm. It can be repaid
either in half- yearly or annual installments.
3.2.3 Long-Term Credit

It is advanced for periods more than 5 years and extends even unto twenty-five years against mortgage
of immovable property for undertaking development works viz., sinking wells, purchase of tractor, and
ranking permanent improvements in the farm. It has to be repaid in half-yearly or annual instalments.
3.3 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Security

Credit is provided to farmers based on the security offered by them.
3.3.1 Farm Mortgage Credit

It is secured against mortgage of land.
3.3.2 Collateral Credit or Chattel Credit

It is given against the security of livestock, crop or warehouse receipt.
3.3.3 Personal Credit

It is given based on the character and repaying capacity of the person and not on any tangible assets. In
general, LT credit is usually advanced against security of land while MT and ST loans are sanctioned against
personal and. collateral security.
3.4 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Generation of Surplus Funds

Based on generation of surplus funds, credit can be classified as self-liquidating and non-self -liquidating
credit.
3.4.1 Self Liquidating Credit

In this case, loan amount gets absorbed in the production process-in one year or production period and
the additional income generated is sufficient to repay the entire loan amount.
3.4.2 Non-Self-Liquidating Credit

Here the resources acquired with the borrowed funds are not consumed in the production process during
the project period. The investment is spread over a period of several years. The additional income
generated in one year is not sufficient to repay the entire loan amount and hence the repayment is spread
over to number of years.
3.5 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Creditor or Lender wise Credit

Credit can be classified from the point of view of creditor.
3.5.1 Non - Institutional Agencies

They include money lenders, traders, commission agents, friends and relatives. This kind of loan is
generally exploitative.

3.5.2 Institutional Agencies
They include co-operative’s, commercial bank and regional rural bank.
3.6 Classification of Agricultural credit based on Number of Activities Served

Based on the number of activities for which amount the loan can be used, credit can be categorized into
a) single purpose loan and b) composite loan.
3.7 Co-operative Credit Institutions

The co-operative credit structure in India is characterized by two types of institutions: one, involved in
the dispensation of short and medium-term credit and the other in the provision of long term credit.
✓ The Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) / Primary Agricultural Co-operative Bank (PACB) is the
foundation stone on which the whole co-operative credit structure is built up.
✓ These societies are federated to District Central Co-operative Bank (DCCB), generally at the district
level. The DCCBs are federated to State Co-operative Bank (SCB) which is an apex institution at the
state level having close link with the RBI and NABARD.
✓ Long term credit is provided by Land Development Banks (LDBs).
✓ The State / Central Land Development Bank (now renamed as State Co-operative Agricultural Rural
Development Banks (SCARDBs) is the apex institution which operates through Primary Land
Development Banks (PLDBs) (now renamed as Primary Co-operative Agricultural Rural Development
Banks (PCARDBs) at district / taluk / block level in some states or through its own branches where
PCARDBs do not exist.
3.7.1 Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS)

✓ The formation of these societies dates back to 1904 when the first Co-operative Credit Societies Act
was passed.
✓ The objective was to provide cheap credit to the farmers in order to relieve them from the clutches
of money lenders.
✓ Many PACS also undertake multiple activities like sale of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs and
several act as distributors of ration items under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
✓ The main functions of the PACS are:
• to promote economic interests of the members in accordance with the co-operative principles;
• to provide short and medium-term loans;
• to promote savings habit among members;
• to supply agricultural inputs like fertilizers, seeds, insecticides and implements;
• to provide marketing facilities for the sale of agricultural produces; and
• to supply domestic products requirements such as sugar, kerosene, etc.
3.7.2 District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs)

✓ CCB / DCCBs form an important link between PACS and SCBs.
✓ The main functions of the DCCBs are
• to meet the credit requirements of member societies;

• to perform banking business; to act as balancing centres for the PACS by diverting the surplus
funds of some societies to those which face shortage of funds;
• to guide and supervise the PACS; and
• to undertake non-credit activities.
3.7.3 State Co-operative Bank (SCB)

✓ It is the apex institution at the state level which links widely scattered PACS with the money market,
Reserve Bank of India and the Cooperative movement.
✓ The main objective of the bank is to link the widely scattered PACS with the money market and the
RBI and to co-ordinate the work of CCB / DCCBs.
✓ The main Functions of SCBs are:
• to act as bankers' bank to DCCBs and to supervise, control and guide them;
• to mobilize financial resources needed by the PACS and deploy them properly among the various
sectors of the movement;
• to co-ordinate the various development agencies and he1p the government in drawing plans for
co-operative development and their implementation;
• to formulate and execute uniform credit policies for co-operative movement;
3.7.4 Land Development Banks

✓ The advent of new innovations in agricultural technology, increasing demand for food with population
explosion, profitability in commercial agriculture, attractive price for exportable agricultural
commodities, etc., made the farmers to realize that agriculture could also be taken up as an industry
by effecting improvement on land for increasing its production potential through more capital
investment, which led to the raising demand for long term credit.
✓ Farmers required larger amount to acquire durable farm assets such as machineries and livestock and
undertake permanent land improvements, construction of wells, buildings, erection of pump – sets,
redemption of old debts, etc.
✓ Since the amount is large, it is difficult for them to repay the loan amount in lump sum. The amount
has to be repaid in installments and distributed to a longer period of even 20 years.
3.8 Some other cooperative finance institutions
3.8.1 Large-Sized Adivasi Multi-Purpose Co-operative Societies (LAMPS)

✓ LAMPS have been set up on the recommendations of the study team (Committee on Cooperative
Structure in Tribal Areas) under the Chairmanship of Shri. Bawa appointed by the government of India
in 1971.
✓ These societies operate mainly in hill and tribal areas.
✓ The main objectives of LAMPS are:
• to provide all types of credit, including those for meeting social obligations and consumer
requisites under single roof;
• to provide technical guidance in the intensification and modernization of agriculture;
• to supply of inputs and essential commodities; and
• to arrange for the marketing of agricultural and minor forest products besides the products of the
subsidiary occupations of the tribals.
3.8.2 Farmers' Service Society (FSS)

✓ By early 1970s, it was found that the multi-purpose PACS had not succeeded much in diversifying their
operations, especially commodity marketing and processing, in reaching the weaker sections and in
becoming viable.
✓ They mostly under the control of the better-off sections of the society and the small and marginal
farmers were not able to get access to the society or its services.
✓ The societies were not able to provide a variety of services like funding infrastructural development
such as godowns and agro-service centre as well as providing finances for processing industries in
their localities other than credit, and supply of inputs.
✓ Hence, based on the recommendation of National Commission on Agriculture, the scheme of setting
up FSS to cater to the credit and non-credit needs of farmers at a single point was launched in 1973.
✓ A Group constituted by the Union Cabinet in July 1974 under the leadership of T.A. Pai recommended
the organization of FSS to meet the credit needs of rural area.
✓ The study Team head by T.A.Pai recommended the setting up of 'Farmers Service Co-operatives'. FSS
has been evolved to change the power structure in favour of weaker sections in rural areas and at the
same time it will strengthen the co-operative movement through adoption of commercial banking
principles in the management of its finances.
3.8.3 National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)

✓ The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was established by an Act of Parliament
in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture.
✓ The main objectives of NCDC:
• Planning, promoting and financing programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage,
export and import of agricultural produce, food stuffs, certain other notified commodities e.g.
fertilizers, insecticides, agricultural machinery, lac, soap, kerosene oil, textile, rubber etc., supply
of consumer goods and collection, processing, marketing, storage and export of minor forest
produce through cooperatives, besides income generating stream of activities such as poultry,
dairy, fishery, sericulture, handloom etc
3.8.4 National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI)

✓ The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), the apex organization of the Indian Cooperative
Movement, can trace back its origin in 1929 when All India Provincial Cooperative Institutes’
Association came into being with Shri Lallubhai Samal Das Mehta as its first President.
✓ Having been reorganized as Indian Cooperative Union, it was renamed later as All India Cooperative
Union in 1954 and re-christened as National Cooperative Union of India in 1961.
4 Agriculture Marketing Basics
4.1 Types of Market

On the basis of location Village markets
Primary markets
Secondary wholesale markets
Terminal markets
Sea-board markets
On the basis of area or coverage Local/village markets

Regional markets
National markets
World/international markets
On the basis of time span Short period markets

Periodic markets
Long period markets
Secular markets
On the basis of volume of transactions Wholesale markets

Retail markets
On the basis of nature of transactions Spot/cash markets

Forward markets
On the basis of number of commodities transacted General markets

Special markets
On the basis of degree of competition Perfect markets

Monopoly markets
Duopoly markets
Oligopoly markets
Monopolistic competitive markets
On the basis of nature of commodities Commodity markets

Capital markets
On the basis of stage of marketing Producing markets

Consuming markets
On the basis of extent of public intervention Regulated markets

Un-regulated markets
On the basis of type of population served Urban markets

Rural markets
On the basis of market functionaries and accrual of Farmers markets
marketing margins Co-operative markets
General markets
4.2 Market Structure – Meaning

✓ The term structure refers to something that has organization and dimension – shape, size and
design; and which is evolved for the purpose of performing a function.
✓ A function modifies the structure, and the nature of the existing structure limits the performance of
functions.
✓ By the term market structure, we refer to the size and design of the market. It also includes the
manner of the operation of the market.
Some of the expressions describing the market structure are
✓ Market structure refers to those organizational characteristics of a market which influence the nature
of competition and pricing, and affect the conduct of business firms
✓ Market structure refers to those characteristics of the market which affect the traders' behaviour and
their performances.
✓ Market structure is the formal organization of the functional activity of a marketing institution.
✓ An understanding and knowledge of the market structure is essential for identifying the imperfections
in the performance of a market.
4.3 Components of Market Structure

The components of the market structure, which together determine the conduct and performance of the
market, are
4.3.1 Concentration of Market Power

✓ The concentration of market power is an important element determining the nature of competition
and consequently of market conduct and performance.
✓ This is measured by the number and size of firms existing in the market.
✓ The extent of concentration represents the control of an individual firm or a group of firms over the
buying and selling of the produce.
✓ A high degree of market concentration restricts the movement of goods between buyers and sellers
at fair and competitive prices and creates an oligopoly or oligopsony situation in the market.
4.3.2 Degree of Product Differentiation

✓ Homogeneous or other nature of the product affects the market structure. If products are
homogeneous, the price variations in the market will not be wide.
✓ When products are heterogeneous, firms have the tendency to charge different prices for their
products.
✓ Everyone tries to prove that his product is superior to the products of others.
4.3.3 Conditions for entry of Firms in the Market

✓ Another dimension of the market structure is the restriction, if any, on the entry of firms in the market.
✓ Sometimes, a few big firms do not allow new firms to enter the market or make their entry difficult
by their dominance in the market.
✓ There may also be some government restrictions on the entry of firms.
4.3.4 Flow of Market Information

✓ A well-organized market intelligence information system helps all the buyers and sellers to freely
interact with one another in arriving at prices and striking deals.
4.3.5 Degree of Integration

✓ The behaviour of an integrated market will be different from that of a market where there is no or
less integration either among the firms or of their activities.
✓ Firms plan their strategies in respect of the methods to be employed in determining prices, increasing
sales, coordinating with competing firms and adopting predatory practices against rivals or potential
entrants.
✓ The structural characteristics of the market govern the behaviour of the firms in planning strategies
for their selling and buying operations.
4.4 Marketing Functions and their Classification

The marketing functions may be classified in various ways. For example, Thomsen has classified the
marketing functions into three broad groups. These are:
Primary Functions ✓ Assembling or Procurement

✓ Processing
✓ Dispersion or Distribution
Secondary Functions ✓ Packing or Packaging

✓ Transportation
✓ Grading, Standardization and Quality Control Storage and
Warehousing
✓ Determination or Discovery of Prices
✓ Risk Taking
✓ Financing
✓ Buying and Selling
✓ Demand Creation
✓ Dissemination of Market Information
Tertiary Functions ✓ Banking

✓ Insurance
✓ Communications – Posts & Telecommunication
✓ Supply of Energy – Electricity
4.4.1 Kohls and Uhl have classified marketing functions as follows

Physical Functions ✓ Storage and Warehousing
✓ Grading
✓ Processing
✓ Transportation
Exchange Functions ✓ Buying

✓ Selling
Facilitative Functions ✓ Standardization of Grades

✓ Financing
✓ Risk Taking
✓ Dissemination of Market Information
4.4.2 Huegy and Mitchell marketing functions classification

Physical Movement Functions ✓ Storage
✓ Packing
✓ Transportation
✓ Grading
✓ Distribution
Ownership Movement Functions ✓ Determining Need

✓ Creating Demand
✓ Finding Buyers and Sellers
✓ Negotiation of Price
✓ Rendering Advice
✓ Transferring the Title to Goods
Market Management Functions ✓ Formulating Policies

✓ Financing Providing Organization
✓ Supervision
✓ Accounting
✓ Securing Information
4.5 Producers Surplus

✓ In any developing economy, the producer's surplus of agricultural product plays a significant role.
This is the quantity which is actually made available to the non-producing population of the country.
✓ The producer's surplus is the quantity of produce which is, or can be, made available by the farmers
to the non-farm population.
✓ The producer's surplus is of two types:
4.5.1 Marketable Surplus

✓ The marketable surplus is that quantity of the produce which can be made available to the non-farm
population of the country. It is a theoretical concept of surplus.
✓ The marketable surplus is the residual left with the producer-farmer after meeting his requirements
for family consumption, farm needs for seeds and feed for cattle, payment to labour in kind, payment
to artisans – carpenter, blacksmith, potter and mechanic – payment to landlord as rent, and social
and religious payments in kind.
✓ This may be expressed as follows:
MS = P – C
Where
MS = Marketable surplus
P = Total production, and
C = Total requirements (family consumption, farm needs, payment to labour, artisans, landlord and
payments for social and religious work).
4.5.2 Marketed Surplus

✓ Marketed surplus is that quantity of the produce which the producer-farmer actually sells in the
market, irrespective of his requirements for family consumption, farm needs and other payments.
✓ The marketed surplus may be more, less or equal to the marketable surplus.
✓ Whether the marketed surplus increases with the increase in production has been under continual
theoretical scrutiny.
✓ It has been argued that poor and subsistence farmers sell that part of the produce which is necessary
to enable them to meet their cash obligations.
✓ This results in distress sale on some farms. In such a situation, any increase in the production of
marginal and small farms should first result in increased on-farm consumption.
4.5.3 Relationship between marketed surplus and marketable surplus

The marketed surplus may be more, less or equal to the marketable surplus, depending upon the
condition of the farmer and type of the crop.
The relationship between the two terms may be stated as follows:
✓ The marketed surplus is more than the marketable surplus when the farmer retains a smaller quantity
of the crop than his actual requirements for family and farm needs.
✓ This is true especially for small and marginal farmers, whose need for cash is more pressing and
immediate. This situation of selling more than the marketable surplus is termed as distress or forced
sale.
✓ Such farmers generally buy the produce from the market in a later period to meet their family and/or
farm requirements.
✓ The quantity of distress sale increases with the fall in the price of the product.
✓ A lower price means that a larger quantity will be sold to meet some fixed cash requirements.
The marketed surplus is less than the marketable surplus when the farmer retains some of the surplus
produce.
This situation holds true under the following conditions:
✓ Large farmers generally sell less than the marketable surplus because of their better retention
capacity. They retain extra produce in the hope that they would get a higher price in the later period.
Sometimes, farmers retain the produce even up to the next production season.
✓ Farmers may substitute one crop for another crop either for family consumption purpose or for
feeding their livestock because of the variation in prices. With the fall in the price of the crop relative
to a competing crop, the farmers may consume more of the first and less of the second crop.
The marketed surplus may be equal to the marketable surplus when the farmer neither retains more
nor less than his requirement. This holds true for perishable commodities and of the average farmer
5 Basics of Farm Management

✓ Farm management is of the recent origin.
✓ The term “Farm Management” conveys different meanings by different people.
✓ Some take it to be another name of production economics or agricultural economics, while others
consider farm management as nothing more than the farmer’s art of carrying out the daily work of
supervision of farm
✓ The farm management study is undertaken with the following objectives:
• To study the input output relationship in agriculture and determine the relative efficiency of
various factor combinations.
• To determine the most profitable crop production and livestock raising methods.
• To study the cost per hectare and per quintal.
• To evaluate the farm resources arid land use.
• To study the comparative economics of different enterprises.
• To determine the relation of size of farm to land utilization, cropping pattern, capital investment
and labour employment.
• To study the impact of technological changes on farm business.
• To find out ways and means for increasing the efficiency of farm business through better input-
output relationship and proper allocation of resources among different uses.
5.1 Classification of Farming Systems

✓ Many farms have a general similarity in size, products sold, and methods followed is called a type of
farming or when farms are quite similar in kind and production of the crops and livestock that are
produced and methods and practices used in production, the group is called as type of farming.
✓ On the basis of the share of gross income received from different sources and comparative advantage,
the farming systems may be classified as follows:
Classification of Farming Systems:
A) According to the Size of the Farm:
a) Collective farming.
b) cultivation farming: i) small scale farming ii) large scale farming.
B) According to the Proportion of Land, Labour and Capital Investment:
a) Intensive cultivation.
b) Extensive cultivation.
C) According to the Value of Products or Income or on the basis of Comparative Advantages:
i) Specialized farming
ii) Diversified farming
iii) Mixed farming
iv) Ranching
v) Dry farming
D) According to the Water Supply:
i) Rained farming
ii) Irrigated farming
E) According to: Rotation
I) Type of Rotation:
a) ley system:
i) unregulated ley farming
ii) regulated ley system
b) Field system
c) Perennial crop system
II) Intensity of the Rotation:
a) Shifting cultivation.
b) Ley or fallow farming.
c) Permanent cultivation.
d) Multiple cropping.
F) Classification According to Degree of Commercialization:
a) Commercialized farming.
b) Partly commercialized farming.
c) Subsistence farming.
G) Classification According to Degree of Nomadic:
a) Total nomadic.
b) Semi nomadic.
c) Partial nomadic.
d) Transhumant.
e) Stationary animal husbandry.
H) Classification According to Cropping and Animal Activities:
I) Classification According to Implements Used for Cultivation:
a) Spade farming.
b) Hoe farming.
c) Mechanized or tractor farming.
5.2 Farm Planning

✓ Farm planning is a process to allocate the scare resources of the farm to organize the farm
production in such a way as to increase the resource use efficiency and the income of the farmer.
✓ A farm plan is a programme of total farm activities of a farmer drawn out in advance. An optimum
farm plan will satisfy all the resource constraints at the farm level and yield the maximum profit.
5.2.1 Objective of Farm Planning

✓ The immediate objective of farm planning is to maximize the annual net income sustained over a
long period of time.
✓ The maximization of net income through improved resource use planning.
✓ The ultimate objective of farm planning is improvement in the Standard of living of the farmer.
5.2.2 Characteristics of a Good Farm Plan

A good farm plan generally should have the following characteristics:
✓ An element of flexibility in a farm plan is essential to account for changes in the environment around
the farm.
✓ A farm plan should maximize the resource use efficiency at the farm.
✓ It should provide for the attainment of the objectives of profit maximization through optimum
resource use and balanced combination of farm enterprises.
✓ Risk and uncertainty can be accounted for in a good farm plan.
✓ The plan helps in timely acquisition and repayment of farm credit.
5.3 Farm Budgeting

Budgeting is a method of analyzing plans for the use of agricultural resources at the command of the
decision maker. Farm plan is a programme of the total farm activity of a farmer drawn up in advance.
Farm plan serves as the basis of farm budgeting. Therefore farm plan can be prepared without a budget
but budgeting is not possible without farm plan.
Types of farm budgeting: There are four types (methods) of farm budgeting.
a) Partial budgeting b) Complete budgeting c) Enterprise budgeting d) Cash flow budgeting
5.3.1 Partial budgeting

✓ It refers to estimating costs and returns and net income of a particular enterprise. It refers to
estimating the returns for a part of the business i.e. one or few activities for example
✓ To estimate additional cost and returns from growing one hectare of hybrid Jowar in place of local
Jowar.
✓ To estimate additional cost and returns by adopting foliar application of chemical fertilizers instead
of soil application.
✓ All the changes in farm plan that can be appropriately adapted with the help of a partial budget can
be grouped into three types.
✓ They are as given below:
5.3.1.1 Enterprise substitution

✓ This indicates a complete or partial substitution of one enterprise for another. E.g. substituting one
acre of paddy for one acre of sugarcane.
5.3.1.2 Input substitution

✓ Changes involving the substitution of one input for another or the total amount of input to be used
are easily analyzed with a partial budget. E.g. substituting machinery for labour.
5.3.1.3 Size or scale of operation

✓ Included in this category would be changes in total size of the farm business or in the size of a single
enterprise. E.g. Buying or renting additional land or machinery.
5.3.2 Enterprise budgeting

✓ Enterprise is defined as a single crop or livestock commodity. Most farms consist of a combination of
several enterprises.
✓ An enterprise budget is an estimate of all income and expenses associated with a specific enterprise
and an estimate of its profitability.
✓ An enterprise budget lists down all the expected output, both in physical as well as value terms, for
a unit of a particular activity (i.e., per hectare, per animal or per 100 birds) on the farm.
5.3.3 Cash flow budgeting

✓ A cash flow budget is a summary of the cash inflows and outflows for a business over a given time
period.
✓ As a forward planning tool, its primary purpose is to estimate future borrowing needs and the loan
repayment capacity of the business. Cash flow budgeting is to assess the whole farm plan.
✓ Cash Flow Statement: It summarizes the magnitude of cash inflows and outflows over a period of
time. 2) Importance of cash flow Statement: It helps to assess: i) whether cash would be available in
correct quantity at right time; ii) whether the surplus could be profitably diverted and iii) timing and
magnitude of borrowings required.
✓ The cash flow statement may be constructed over annually, quarterly, monthly and weekly
depending upon the nature of business.
✓ Cash inflows represent the amount of cash received during the particular time period. It includes: a)
the beginning cash balance, b) receipts through sales of farm and non-farm assets and c) receipts of
short term (operating), intermediate and long term loans.
✓ Cash Outflows represents the expenses incurred in a given period of time. It includes: a) Cash
expenses (variable cash expenses, fixed cash expenses, non-farm investment, and personal
expenses), b) Repayment on operating (crop) loans and c) repayment on intermediate and longterm
loans.
5.3.4 Complete Budgeting

✓ It is also called as total budgeting. It refers to preparing budget for the farm as a whole.
✓ Complete budgeting considers all the crops, livestock, methods of production and aspects of
marketing in consolidated form and estimates costs and returns for the farm as a whole.
✓ Complete and partial budgeting are mutually complementary, i.e., the partial budgeting should be
used at various stages of complete budgeting in order to decide the changes to be effected in the
farm organization.
✓ The process of complete budgeting involves: i) appraisal of existing farm resources, their uses and
efficiency, ii) appraisal of alternatives or opportunities or various production activities that can be
included and their resource requirements and iii) preparing and evaluating the alternative plans for
their feasibility and profitability.
6 Terminology
6.1 Net Capital Ratio

✓ This is a measure of degree of financial safety over a period of time by comparing the present
position of the business with that on some previous date.
✓ Higher the ratio, safer will be the position of the farmer.
NCR = Total Assets/Total liabilities
6.2 Current ratio
✓ It measures the ability of the farm to meet its current liabilities.
✓ Higher the current ratio, the greater the short term solvency
CR = Current Assets/Current liabilities
6.3 Acid test ratio

✓ Quick assets are defined as current assets excluding inventories.
✓ Acid test ratio is also known as quick ratio, which is a stringent measure of liquidity.
✓ It is based on those current assets, which are highly liquid, i.e., inventories are excluded from
current assets, as they are the least liquid component of current assets.
ATR = Quick Assets/Current liabilities
6.4 Debt Equity ratio

✓ Lower the debt, the higher degree of protection enjoyed by the creditors. The lower this ratio, the
more desirable it is. It is also known as Debt to Net Worth ratio.
✓ The net worth indicates the solvency of the business. But this is the ultimate solvency rather than
intermediate solvency.
✓ Ultimate solvency is meant that total resources are equal to or greater than total liability, in case the
entire business is closed out and all the liabilities are met with. Net worth is greater than zero,
when business is solvent.
✓ When total liabilities are not covered by total resources, the business is insolvent or bankrupt.
✓ The intermediate solvency is meant the relationship between current liabilities and liquid assets,
which can be used to clear them off, if demanded.
DER = Debt (Total liabilities)/Owner’s equity or networth
6.5 Total Assets Turnover ratio

✓ This measures how efficiently assets are employed over all. It is similar to output-capital ratio used
in economic analysis.
✓ The higher their ratio, the greater the turn -over of assets.
TATR = Net sales/Total Assets
6.6 Net Income to Total Assets Ratio

✓ It also measures how efficiently the capital is employed.
✓ The higher this ratio, the more sound the capital use on the farm.
NITAR = Net income/Total Assets
6.7 Equity Value ratio

✓ Higher the ratio, better will be the financial position of the farm business.
EVR = Networth/Total Assets
6.8 Crop Yield Index

✓ It is a measure by which the yields of all crops on a given farm are compared with the average yields
of these crops in the locality.
✓ The yield index is a convenient measure because it represents a combined index of yields of all the
crops on a farm.
✓ A figure greater than 100 indicates that the farm in question is more efficient than an average farm
in the area.
6.9 System Index

✓ This index is used for determining the rationality by which various enterprises on a certain farm are
combined.
✓ It is obtained by expressing the potential net income per hectare on a farm as a percentage of the
average standard net income per hectare in the area.
✓ If the system index is more than 100, it indicates a higher level of efficiency in combining
enterprises on the farm in comparison to that by an average farm in the area and vice versa.
✓ However, major difficulty may be encountered in calculating this index, when the selected farm
grows crops which are not usually grown in the locality
6.10 Operating ratio

✓ It represents the proportion absorbed by operating expenses out of the gross income.
OR = Total operating expenses/Gross income
6.11 Fixed ratio

✓ This is calculated by dividing the total fixed costs by the gross income.
6.12 Gross Ratio

✓ This ratio expresses the percentage of gross income absorbed by the total costs
GR = Total expenses/Gross Income
For
Ecology and Climate change

Important Points
1. This Summary Sheet shall only be used for Quick Revision after you have read
the Complete Notes
2. For Building Concepts along with examples/concept checks you should rely only
on Complete Notes
3. It would be useful to go through this Summary sheet just before the exam or
before any Mock Test
4. Questions in the exam are concept based and reading only summary sheets shall
not be sufficient to answer all the questions

Table of Contents
1 Ecology ........................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Categories of Ecology .............................................................................................................................. 7
1.1.1 Terrestrial environment ................................................................................................................... 7
1.1.2 Freshwater environment.................................................................................................................. 7
1.1.3 Oceanic marine environment ........................................................................................................... 7
1.1.4 Oceanic region ................................................................................................................................. 7
1.2 Two major subdivisions of modern ecology ............................................................................................. 7
1.3 Applied ecology ....................................................................................................................................... 7
1.3.1 Positive interactions......................................................................................................................... 8
1.3.2 Negative interactions ....................................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Succession ............................................................................................................................................... 9
1.4.1 Causes of succession ........................................................................................................................ 9
1.4.2 Types of succession .......................................................................................................................... 9
1.4.3 General Process of succession ........................................................................................................ 10
2 Agro-ecology ................................................................................................................................................. 10
3 What is a Climate change? ............................................................................................................................ 11
3.1 Global warming ..................................................................................................................................... 11
3.1.1 Causes of Global Warming ............................................................................................................. 12
3.1.2 Green house effect ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.1.3 Causes of the green house effect ................................................................................................... 12
3.2 El Nino................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.3 La Nina .................................................................................................................................................. 13
3.4 Adaptation and Mitigation..................................................................................................................... 13
3.4.1 Mitigation ...................................................................................................................................... 13
3.4.2 Adaptation..................................................................................................................................... 14
3.5 Impact of climate change to agriculture and rural livelihood in India ..................................................... 14
4 Sustainable development: What is it?............................................................................................................ 14
4.1 Three pillars of sustainable development............................................................................................... 14
4.2 Terminology .......................................................................................................................................... 14
4.2.1 Convention .................................................................................................................................... 14

4.2.2 Protocol ......................................................................................................................................... 15
4.2.3 Carbon credits ............................................................................................................................... 15
4.2.4 Sustainable agriculture .................................................................................................................. 15
5 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)....................................................... 16
5.1 Major issues addressed in the summit ................................................................................................... 16
6 Agenda 21 ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
7 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ....................................................................................................... 16
7.1 Meeting of the parties to the convention (Important Conference of Parties) ......................................... 17
8 Cartagena Protocol ....................................................................................................................................... 17
9 Nagoya Protocol............................................................................................................................................ 18
10 UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ........................................................ 18
10.1 Meeting of the parties to the convention (Important Conference of Parties) ......................................... 19
10.2 Important articles under UNFCCC .......................................................................................................... 19
10.3 Criticisms of the UNFCCC ....................................................................................................................... 19
11 Kyoto protocol .......................................................................................................................................... 20
11.1 Commitment period of Kyoto Protocol .................................................................................................. 20
11.2 Classification of Parties: Kyoto Protocol ................................................................................................. 20
The Kyoto Protocol emission target gases include: ............................................................................................ 21
11.3 Flexible Market Mechanisms – Kyoto Protocol....................................................................................... 21
11.4 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – Kyoto Protocol ....................................................................... 22
11.5 Joint Implementation (JI) – Kyoto Protocol ............................................................................................ 22
11.6 International Emissions Trading ............................................................................................................. 22
11.7 Non-Compliance of Kyoto and Penalties ................................................................................................ 22
11.8 Benefits of Flexible Market Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 23
11.9 Criticism of Kyoto Protocol .................................................................................................................... 23
12 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)................................................................................... 23
13 IPCC Assessment Reports (AR) ................................................................................................................... 24
13.1 Special Reports ...................................................................................................................................... 24
14 Other Important Organizations.................................................................................................................. 24
14.1 The World Wide Fund for Nature........................................................................................................... 24
14.2 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ............ 24

14.3 TRAFFIC – The Wildlife trade monitoring network.................................................................................. 24
14.4 India's National Action Plan On Climate Change (NAPCC) ....................................................................... 25
14.4.1 National Solar Mission ................................................................................................................... 25
14.4.2 National Mission For Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) ............................................................ 25
14.4.3 National Mission On Sustainable Habitat........................................................................................ 26
14.4.4 National Water Mission (NWM) Mission ........................................................................................ 26
14.4.5 National Mission For Sustaining The Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) ............................................. 26
14.4.6 National Mission For A Green India ................................................................................................ 26
14.4.7 National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) .................................................................... 26
14.4.8 The National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC) ................................. 27
15 Constitutional Provisions ........................................................................................................................... 27
16 Pollution Related Acts ............................................................................................................................... 28
16.1 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and Amendment, 1988 ............................ 28
16.2 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act of 1977 ......................................................... 28
16.3 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 and amendment, 1987 .................................. 28
17 Environment & Biodiversity Acts ............................................................................................................... 29
17.1 Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.................................................................................................... 29
17.2 Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) ................................................................................. 30
17.3 Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 and Amendment, 1982...................................................................... 30
17.4 The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 .................................................................................. 31
The Act provides for creating ............................................................................................................................ 31
17.4.1 Functions of NTCA.......................................................................................................................... 31
17.5 Animal Welfare Board of India ............................................................................................................... 31
17.5.1 Functions ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Let us study Project Tiger in detail:.................................................................................................................... 32
17.6 Project Tiger – Tiger Conservation ......................................................................................................... 32
17.6.1 Reasons for falling number of tigers ............................................................................................... 33
17.6.2 Problems involved with Project Tiger ............................................................................................. 33
17.6.3 Reasons for slightly increased tiger population recently ................................................................. 33
17.6.4 Estimation of Tiger Populations...................................................................................................... 33
17.7 Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980.......................................................................................................... 34

17.8 Biodiversity Act 2000 ............................................................................................................................. 34
17.9 The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ... 35
17.9.1 For the first time Forest Rights Act recognizes and secures ............................................................ 36
17.9.2 Salient Features ............................................................................................................................. 36
17.10 National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 ..................................................................................................... 36
17.10.1 Origin ......................................................................................................................................... 37
17.10.2 Members ................................................................................................................................... 37
17.10.3 Jurisdiction................................................................................................................................. 37
18 Acts for Protecting Coastal Environment and Wetlands ............................................................................. 37
18.1 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) ............................................................................................................... 37
18.2 Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 ......................................................................... 37

1 Ecology
✓ Ecology is the science that deals with the relationships between living organisms with their physical
environment and with each other.
✓ An ecosystem has physical, chemical, and biological components along with energy sources and pathways of
energy and materials interchange.
✓ The environment in which a particular organism lives is called its habitat.
✓ The role of an organism in a habitat is called its niche.
1.1 Categories of Ecology

✓ For the study of ecology it is often convenient to divide the environment into four broad categories.
1.1.1 Terrestrial environment

✓ The terrestrial environment is based on land and consists of biomes, such as grasslands, one of several kinds of
forests, savannas, or deserts.
1.1.2 Freshwater environment

✓ The freshwater environment can be further subdivided between standing-water habitats (lakes, reservoirs)
and running-water habitats (streams, rivers).
1.1.3 Oceanic marine environment

✓ The oceanic marine environment is characterized by saltwater and may be divided broadly into the shallow
waters of the continental shelf composing the neritic zone
1.1.4 Oceanic region

✓ The deeper waters of the ocean that constitute the oceanic region.
1.2 Two major subdivisions of modern ecology

✓ Ecosystem ecology - which views ecosystems as large units.
✓ Population ecology - which attempts to explain ecosystem behavior from the properties of individual units.
1.3 Applied ecology

✓ The branch of ecology that deals with predicting the impacts of technology and development and making
recommendations such that these activities will have minimum adverse impacts, or even positive impacts,
on ecosystems may be termed as Applied Ecology.
✓ It is a multidisciplinary approach.
✓ Interactions among living organisms are grouped into two major groups viz.,
o Positive interactions
o Negative interactions

1.3.1 Positive interactions
Here the populations help one another, the interaction being either one way or reciprocal. These include (i)
Commensalism, (ii) Proto co-operation and (iii) mutualism.
1.3.1.1 Commensalism
✓ In this one species derives the benefits while the other is unaffected.
✓ Examples: (i) Cellulolytic fungi produce a number of organic acids from cellulose which serve as carbon
sources for non-cellulolytic bacteria and fungi. (ii) Growth factors are synthesised by certain microorganisms
and their excretion permits the proliferation of nutritionally complex soil inhabitants.
1.3.1.2 Proto cooperation

✓ It is also called as non-obligatory mutualism. It is an association of mutual benefit to the two species but
without the co-operation being obligatory for their existence or for their performance of reactions.
✓ Examples: N2 can be fixed by Azotobacter with cellulose as energy source provided that a cellulose
decomposer is present to convert the cellulose to simple sugars or organic acids.
1.3.1.3 Mutualism
✓ Mutually beneficial interspecific interactions are more common among organisms. Here both the species
derive benefit. In such association there occurs a close and often permanent and obligatory contact more or
less essential for survival of each.
✓ Examples: (i) Pollination by animals: Bees, moths, butterflies etc. derive food from hectar, or other plant
product and in turn bring about pollination. (ii) Symbiotic nitrogen fixation: Legume - Rhizobium symbiosis.
Bacteria obtain food from legume and in turn fix gaseous nitrogen, making it available to plant.
1.3.2 Negative interactions

Member of one population may eat members of the other population, compete for foods, excrete harmful wastes
or otherwise interfere with the other population. It includes (i) Competition, (ii) Predation, (iii) Parasitism and (iv)
antibiosis.
1.3.2.1 Competition
✓ It is a condition in which there is a suppression of one organism as the two species struggle for limiting
quantities of nutrients O2 space or other requirements.
✓ Examples: Competition between Fusarium oxysporum and Agrobacterium radiobacter.
1.3.2.2 Predation
✓ A predator is free living which catches and kills another species for food. Most of the predatory organisms are
animals but there are some plants (carnivorous) also, especially fungi, which feed upon other animals.
✓ Examples: (i) Grazing and browsing by animals on plants. (ii) Carnivorous plants such as Nepenthes,
Darligtoria, Drosera etc. consume insects and other small animals for food. (iii) Protozoans feeding on
bacteria.

1.3.2.3 Parasitism
✓ A parasite is the organism living on or in the body of another organisms and deriving its food more or less
permanently from its tissues. A typical parasite lives in its host without killing it, whereas the predator kills its
upon which it feeds.
✓ Examples: Species of Cuscuta (total stem parasite) grow on other plants on which they depend for
nourishment.
✓ Parasitism may occur even with in the species. Hyperparasites which are chiefly fungi growing parasitically on
other parasites, (i.e.,) Parasite on a parasite.
✓ Examples: Cicinnobolus cesatii is found as hyperparasite on a number of powdery mildew fungi.
1.3.2.4 Antibiosis
✓ The phenomenon of the production of antibiotic is called as antibiosis. Antibiotic is an organic substance
produced by one organism which in low concentration inhibits the growth of another organism.
✓ Examples: Streptomycin - S. griseus, Penicillin - P. notatum, Trichoderma harzianum inhibits the growth of
Rhizoctonia sp.
1.4 Succession
✓ Environment always keeps on changing over a period of time due to (1) variations in climatic and
physiographic factors, (2) the activities of the species of the communities themselves.
✓ It occurs in a relatively definite sequence. This orderly change in communities is referred as succession.
Odum called this orderly process as ecosystem development/ecological succession.
✓ Succession is an orderly process of community development that involves changes in species structure and
community processes with time and it is reasonably directional and therefore predictable. Succession is
community controlled even though the physical environment determines the pattern.
1.4.1 Causes of succession

Succession is a series of complex processes, caused by (I) Initial/initiating cause: Both climatic as well as biotic.
(II) Ecesis/continuing process ecesis, aggregation, competition reaction etc. process of successful establishment
of a species in the bare area. Example: The seeds or spores that reached the new area due to migration will
germinate, grow and reproduce (III) Stabilizing cause: Cause the stabilization of the community. Climate is the
chief cause of stabilization and other factors are of secondary value.
1.4.2 Types of succession
1.4.2.1 Primary succession

✓ Starts from the primitive substratum where there was no previously any sort of living matter.
✓ The first group of organisms establishing there are known as the pioneers, primary community/primary
colonizers.
✓ Very slow is the series of community changes that takes place in disturbed areas that have not been totally
stripped their soil and vegetation.

1.4.2.2 Secondary succession
✓ Starts from previously built up substrata with already existing living matter.
✓ Action of and external force, as a sudden change in climatic factors, biotic intervention, fire etc, causes the
existing community to disappear.
✓ Thus area becomes devoid of living matter but its substratum, instead of primitive is built up. Such successions
are comparatively more rapid.
1.4.2.3 Autogenic succession

✓ Community - result of its reaction with the environment, modified its own environment and thus causing its
own replacement by new communities. This course of succession is autogenic succession.
1.4.2.4 Allogenic succession

✓ Replacement of the existing community is caused largely by any other external condition and not by the
existing organisms.
1.4.2.5 Autotrophic succession

✓ Characterized by early and continued dominance of autotrophic organisms like green plants. Gradual increase
in organic matter content supported by energy flow.
1.4.2.6 Heterotrophic succession

✓ Characterized by early dominance of heterotrophs, such as bacteria, actinomyces, fungi and animals. There is
a progressive decline in the energy content.
1.4.3 General Process of succession
1.4.3.1 Nudation
✓ Development of barren area without any form of life.
✓ Cause of nudation: It may be (a) Topographic soil erosion by wind (b) Climatic - storm, frost etc. (c) Biotic -
man, disease and epidemics.
1.4.3.2 Invasion
✓ Successful establishment of a species in a barren area.
✓ This species actually reaches this new site from any other area by (i) Migration, (ii) Ecesis and (iii) Aggregation.
2 Agro-ecology
✓ Agroecology is an applied science that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems.
Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems.
FAO defines Agroecology as an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social
concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems.
10 elements of Agroecology
In guiding countries to transform their food and agricultural systems, to mainstream sustainable agriculture on a
large scale , and to achieve Zero Hunger and multiple other SDGs, the following 10 Elements emanated from the
FAO regional seminars on agroecology. They are
✓ Diversity; synergies; efficiency; resilience; recycling; co-creation and sharing of knowledge (describing
common characteristics of agroecological systems, foundational practices and innovation approaches)
✓ Human and social values; culture and food traditions (context features)
✓ Responsible governance; circular and solidarity economy (enabling environment)
The 10 Elements of Agroecology are interlinked and interdependent.
3 What is a Climate change?

✓ Climate change describes a change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region
over a long period of time.
✓ Global climate change refers to the average long-term changes over the entire Earth.
✓ Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events,
whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time,
typically decades or more.
✓ A combination of the following happenings can be noticed during a climate change.
o Rapid emission of greenhouse gases from mass utilization of transportation & heavy industrial economic
activities.
o Clearing of land leaving an exposed idle barren land.
o Chemical composition of atmosphere altered.
o Natural disasters of frequent volcanic eruptions.
✓ The above happenings will result in
o pH, light intensity, wind speed and globe temperature distorted.
o Change in wind direction cause for alteration in the world's seasonal climates
o Concentration of the extremes of temperatures could cause a build up of air and ocean currents
o Allocation and shift of these currents to different continents from its original location
o Activities are rapid and instantaneous, which can leave lots of damages and lost of lives
o Corrosive to land surfaces and mountain ice-capped which can lead to erosions and melting of ice cap due
to distortion from climate pattern
✓ This will finally cause
o Global warming
o El Nino & La Nina
3.1 Global warming

✓ Global warming is the extraordinary increase of Earth's surface temperature due to the increase of
greenhouse gases concentration on the atmosphere.
✓ Greenhouse gases are the heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere (carbondioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and
CFC).
✓ They are the fundamental parts of the greenhouse effect, the role played by the atmosphere to continually
warm the earth, by trapping some portions of heat that came from the solar energy (sun radiation) from
reflecting back to space --- just like the work of a greenhouse.
3.1.1 Causes of Global Warming
✓ Rapid use of fossil fuel: Rapid use of fossil fuel will emit large amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon
dioxide.
✓ Deforestation/clearing of lands: The increase of human population coincidentally demands for more lands to
use. This leads to clearance of forest area in many regions. By eliminating forests, carbon dioxide that actually
should be photosynthesized is left in the atmosphere and accumulate to contribute to the increase.
✓ The use of CFC in electronic appliances: CFC, or chlorofluorocarbon is a gas that decreases ozone (O3) in the
atmosphere, causing ozone depletion that increase the amount of solar radiation arriving to the Earth.
✓ Open burning of trash: Open burning of trash worldwide emits greenhouse gases.
✓ Vehicle and industrial emissions
✓ Volcanic eruptions.
3.1.2 Green house effect

✓ The greenhouse effect is the process which warms up the planet’s surface. The name comes from incorrect
analogy with the warming of inside a greenhouse compared to the air outside the greenhouse.
✓ The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the
atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun.
✓ Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth’s average temperature would be about
60ºF colder. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as greenhouse gases.
3.1.3 Causes of the green house effect

✓ The main reason for greenhouse effect is the emission of gases such as nitrous-oxide, carbon dioxide,
methane, ozone and water vapour.
✓ One of the major reasons for the greenhouse effect is deforestation, with the increase in population, more
and more forests are being cut down to provide some accomodation and other things for people. This is the
main reason for carbon dioxide emissions.
✓ Electrical appliances are also among the main contributors to the greenhouse effect, refrigerators, air
conditioners and some other electrical appliances emit gases, which are known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
which have added to the greenhouse effect.
✓ Automobiles are also one of the main contributors to the greenhouse effect, whether they run on diesel or
petrol, they create pollution and release harmful gases into the atmosphere. And the increasing use of
automobiles is only adding to the problem of the greenhouse effect.
✓ The high rate of population growth is mostly responsible for the greenhouse effect, with the increase of the
number of people, the need for things such as accomodation, clothes, cars etc has increased too, this results
in more industries, more automobiles and more deforestation etc.
3.2 El Nino
✓ According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), El Nino is described as the "disruption
of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around
the globe".
✓ This involves the unusual warm conditions that appear in the coastal areas near Peru and Ecuador, South
America.
✓ Actually El Nino is a term used to describe the warm southward current of the Pacific Ocean, that appears every
December of the year.
✓ However, it's now become more intense and severe over the past years, especially in the 1982 and 1983 season,
and once occurring, it affects the climate for one year around the globe.
✓ It's now happening every 3 to 7 years.
✓ El Nino's disturbance to the weather system is identified by the reversal of the normal weather conditions
in the eastern and western Pacific caused by the sufficiently warm and persistent ocean currents.
✓ During this event, the trade winds that usually blow from east to west is collapsed and even reversed to
blow from west to east, thus changing the climatic pattern of the western Pacific and the eastern Pacific.
✓ The western Pacific that usually moist, warm and high in rainfall is changing to an arid and low rainfall
condition thus bringing droughts to south-eastern Asia, India, and southern Africa.
✓ While the eastern Pacific that usually arid, cold and low in rainfall is reversed to a moist, warm and high in
rainfall, leading to heavy rainfall in the areas.
3.3 La Nina
✓ La Nina is a contrary to El Nino, described as unusual cold condition in the eastern Pacific.
✓ During this event, the coastal areas of Peru and Ecuador are dominated by arid and cool weather, making it
drier and cooler than ever.
✓ While in the western Pacific, the condition is warmer and more moisture, leading to high rate of rainfall.
✓ La Nina always come after El Nino, but not every El Nino episode will be followed by La Nina.
✓ The name La Nina means "a little girl." A slight opposite to El Nino.
3.4 Adaptation and Mitigation

✓ In 2013, the daily level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time
in human history. The last time levels were that high was about three to five million years ago, during the
Pliocene Epoch.
✓ Because we are already committed to some level of climate change, responding to climate change involves
a two-pronged approach:
o Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere (“mitigation”)
o Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline (“adaptation”).
3.4.1 Mitigation
✓ Mitigation – reducing climate change – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for
electricity, heat or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these gases (such as the
oceans, forests and soil).
✓ The goal of mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with the climate system, and “stabilize
greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change,
ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a
sustainable manner”.
3.4.2 Adaptation
✓ Adaptation – adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate.
✓ The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change (like sea-level encroachment,
more intense extreme weather events or food insecurity).
✓ It also encompasses making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate
change (for example, longer growing seasons or increased yields in some regions).
✓ As our climate changes, we will have to learn to adapt. The faster the climate changes, the harder it could be.
✓ While climate change is a global issue, it is felt on a local scale. Cities and municipalities are therefore at the
frontline of adaptation. In the absence of national or international climate policy direction, cities and local
communities around the world have been focusing on solving their own climate problems.
3.5 Impact of climate change to agriculture and rural livelihood in India

✓ Existing threats to food security and livelihoods will be exacerbated by climate change due to a combination
of factors that include; the increasing frequency and intensity of climate hazards, diminishing agricultural
yields and reduced production, rising sanitation and health risks, increasing water scarcity, and intensifying
conflicts over scarce resources.
✓ These impacts of climate change on food insecurity will lead to new humanitarian crises as well as increasing
displacement.
4 Sustainable development: What is it?

✓ Sustainable natural resources conservation is a process of rational use and skilful management
and preservation of the natural environment with all its resources.
✓ Natural resources are finite, limited, and capable of being destroyed by unsustainable use and this can be a
limiting factor on sustainable development.
✓ Sustainable development recognizes that growth must be both inclusive and environmentally sound to reduce
poverty and build shared prosperity for today’s population, and to continue to meet the needs of future
generations.
4.1 Three pillars of sustainable development

✓ The three pillars of sustainable development – economic growth, environmental stewardship, and social
inclusion – carry across all sectors of development, from cities facing rapid urbanization to agriculture,
infrastructure, energy development and use, water availability, and transportation.
✓ Cities are embracing low-carbon growth and public transportation. Farmers are picking up the practices of
climate-smart agriculture.
✓ Countries are recognizing the value of their natural resources, and industries are realizing how much they can
save through energy and supply chain efficiency.
4.2 Terminology
4.2.1 Convention
Usually a treaty or international agreement between two parties, members or even nations.
4.2.2 Protocol
A document that is legally binding that allows alterations and amendments to the main treaty. It usually
addresses specific issues.
4.2.3 Carbon credits

✓ A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that provides the holder of the credit the right to emit one
ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas – it’s essentially an offset for producers of
such gases.
✓ The main goal for the creation of carbon credits is the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases from industrial activities to reduce the effects of global warming.
✓ Carbon credits are market mechanisms for the minimization of greenhouse gases emission. Governments or
regulatory authorities set the caps on greenhouse gas emissions.
4.2.4 Sustainable agriculture

✓ The FAO definition of sustainable agricultural development is "the management and conservation of the
natural resource base, and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to
ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations.”
✓ The principles that guide the agricultural sector toward the sustainability and efficiency are the following:
1. Improving the efficiency in the use of the resources are crucial for the sustainability of the agriculture.
✓ Agricultural production is growing up, therefore, it’s necessary that the actual practices are oriented toward
intelligent production systems which allow water and energy saving and reduce emissions of gases and
fertilizers.
2. The sustainable requires direct activities to preserve, protect and improve the natural resources.
✓ Natural resources are the base of the agricultural production which means that for agricultural production to
be sustainable, the explotation of natural resources have to be too. Therefore, actions should be development
to reduce negative impacts and to improve natural resources condition.
3. Agriculture that doesn’t achieve to protect and to improve the rural lifestyle and the social welfare is
unsustainable.
✓ Agriculture is a way of life to 2.500 millions of people in the world and a lot of this rural homes are connected
to the poverty. In order to the agricultural sector to be sustainable, it have to offer healthy, safe and decent
conditions.
4. Strengthening the resilience of people, communities and ecosystems is essential for sustainable agriculture.
✓ Climate change, price volatility and the civil conflicts affect all the society and also to agricultural production.
So, to achieve a sustainable agriculture is necessary to work the resilience in natural and human dimensions.
5. Sustainable agriculture and alimentation need responsible and effective governance mechanism
✓ In order to exist and sustainable agricultural sector, the public and private estates have to work together,
developing politics that guarantee the equity, transparency and rule of law.
✓ Whit these five principles, FAO aims to create national, regional and global systems that promote
sustainability at the social, economic and ambiental levels.
5 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
✓ The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit
was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
✓ 172 governments participated, with 116 sending their heads of state or government.
✓ As a follow-up, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+10) was held in 2002 in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
✓ In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was also held in Rio, and is also
commonly called Rio+20 or Rio Earth Summit 2012.
✓ IARC launched the RIO Program (2012-2022) during the Rio+20 Earth Summit on June 20, 2012. The main
campaign was called, One Million Rios. The launch was underpinned by the idea “Bringing Rio Home.”
5.1 Major issues addressed in the summit

✓ Systematic scrutiny of patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components, such as lead
in gasoline, or poisonous waste including radioactive chemicals.
✓ Alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate change.
✓ New reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the
health problems caused by polluted air and smoke.
✓ The growing scarcity of water.
The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:

✓ Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
✓ Agenda 21
✓ Forest Principles
The following Conventions (Rio Convention) were opened for signature:

✓ Convention on Biological Diversity
✓ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
✓ United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
6 Agenda 21
✓ Agenda 21 is an action plan of the United Nations (UN) related to sustainable development.
✓ The number 21 refers to an agenda for the 21st century.
✓ It is a comprehensive blue print of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN,
governments, and major groups in every area in which humans directly affect environment.
7 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

✓ Biodiversity knows no political boundaries and its conservation is therefore a collective responsibility of all
nations.
Biological diversity:
✓ Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it
forms. The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes
and, increasingly, by the influence of humans.
✓ It forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend.
✓ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a step towards conserving biological diversity or biodiversity with the
involvement of the entire world.
✓ The historic Convention on Biological Diversity (Biodiversity Convention - a multilateral treaty) was opened for
signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into in 1993.
✓ The convention called upon all nations to take appropriate measures for conservation of biodiversity and
sustainable utilization of its benefits.
The Convention has three main goals:

✓ Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity)
✓ Sustainable use of its components
✓ Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
✓ It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development.

✓ The Convention is legally binding; countries that join it ('Parties') are obliged to implement its provisions.
✓ 195 UN states and the European Union are parties to the convention.
✓ All UN member states—with the exception of the United States—have ratified the treaty.
7.1 Meeting of the parties to the convention (Important Conference of Parties)

Conference of Parties (CoP):
Conference of Parties is the governing body of the Convention and advances the implementation of the convention
through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings.
✓ The meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity takes place every two years.
✓ On 29 January 2000, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a
supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
✓ At the 2010 10th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in October in Nagoya,
Japan, the Nagoya Protocol was adopted.
✓ The 2012 11th Conference of Parties (COP) was held in Hyderabad, India.
8 Cartagena Protocol
✓ The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), the first international regulatory framework for safe transfer,
handling and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
✓ The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by genetically modified
organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
✓ The Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary
principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits.
✓ Protocol has 170 parties, which includes 167 United Nations member states, the State of Palestine, and the
European Union.
Living Modified Organism (LMO):

Living modified organism is defined as any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material
obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.
9 Nagoya Protocol
✓ The Nagoya Protocol is about “Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits
Arising from their Utilization”, one of the three objectives of the CBD.
✓ The Protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force on 12 October 2014. It
has been ratified by 60 parties.
✓ The Nagoya Protocol is intended to create greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and
users of genetic resources by:
✓ Establishing more predictable conditions for access to genetic resources.
✓ Helping to ensure benefit-sharing when genetic resources leave the contracting party providing the genetic
resources.
✓ By helping to ensure benefit-sharing, the Protocol creates incentives to conserve and sustainably use genetic
resources, and therefore enhances the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being.
Genetic resources (GRs)
Genetic resources (GRs) refer to genetic material of actual or potential value. Genetic material is any material of
plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity. Examples include material of plant,
animal, or microbial origin, such as medicinal plants, agricultural crops and animal breeds.
Related to the benefit-sharing and access to genetic resources, we have one more treaty in place The International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
10 UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

✓ The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental
treaty.
✓ The objective of the treaty is:
✓ To "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system“.
✓ Legal Effect: Treaty is considered legally non-binding: The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas
emissions for individual countries.
✓ But UNFCCC provides a framework for negotiating specific international treaties (called "protocols") that aim to
set binding limits on greenhouse gases.
✓ As of March 2014, UNFCCC has 196 parties (almost all countries).
10.1 Meeting of the parties to the convention (Important Conference of Parties)
✓ The parties to the convention have met annually since 1995.
✓ The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995.
✓ In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol (3rd COP) was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed
countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
✓ The 2010 Cancun agreement stated that future global warming should be limited to below 0 °C (3.6 °F) relative
to the pre-industrial level.
✓ The 21st COP (2015) was held in Paris in 2015.
✓ The 22nd COP (2016) will be held at Marrakesh, Morocco.
10.2 Important articles under UNFCCC

✓ Article 2 states that GHG concentrations are stabilized in the atmosphere at a level where ecosystems can adapt
naturally to climate change, food production is not threatened, and economic development can proceed in a
sustainable fashion.
✓ Article 3(1) states that Parties should act to protect the climate system on the basis of "common but
differentiated responsibilities", and that developed country Parties should "take the lead" in addressing climate
change.
✓ Article 4 states that all Parties make general commitments to address climate change through, for example,
climate change mitigation and adapting to the eventual impacts of climate change.
Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR):

✓ It puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are
historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
✓ CBDR divides countries into two categories.
✓ Historically biggest polluting developed countries like US, UK, France, Japan, Russia etc. (they are
polluting the earth since Industrial Revolution).
✓ Recently polluting developing countries like China, India, Brazil, etc. (polluting since 1950s).
✓ “Common” in Common But Differentiated Responsibility means every country (both developing and
developed) must take part in the fight against climate change.
✓ “But differentiated responsibilities” means historically biggest polluters should do more compared to
the recent polluters that is responsibilities proportional to pollution caused.
✓ So under CBDR, developed countries like US, UK, Russia etc. must contribute more to reduce GHGs
(greenhouse gases).
✓ They must accept to certain binding limits on GHG emissions.
✓ They must contribute funds towards reducing GHG emissions in developing and least developed
countries.
✓ On the other hand, developing and least developed countries should do everything possible to cut down
their GHG emissions. But nothing is binding and every initiative is voluntary.
10.3 Criticisms of the UNFCCC

✓ Nothing except Kyoto Protocol made any binding limits on GHG emissions.
✓ Never achieved its stated goals of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide.
✓ Negotiations are governed by consensus and small group of countries often block the negotiations.
✓ It is easy for the developed countries to escape from their responsibility: United States, one of the biggest
polluters never ratified Kyoto Protocol. Canada pulled out of Kyoto Protocol citing wealth transfers out the
country due to binding limits.
✓ Treaty doesn’t cover developing countries which now include the largest CO2 emitters (India and China).
✓ Japan, Russia didn’t sign second Kyoto term because it would impose restrictions on it not faced by its main
economic competitors, China, India and Indonesia.
11 Kyoto protocol
✓ The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.
✓ Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in
the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden
on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
✓ The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February
2005.
✓ The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh, Morocco, in
2001, and are referred to as the "Marrakesh Accords."
✓ There are currently 192 Parties to the protocol. USA never ratified Kyoto Protocol. Canada withdrew in 2012.
11.1 Commitment period of Kyoto Protocol

✓ There are two commitment periods of Kyoto Protocol:
✓ The first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol was from 2008-2012.
✓ The second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol or Doha Amendment for 2013-2020 period was adopted
in 2012. (In Doha, Qatar, on 8 December 2012, the "Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol" was adopted.)
✓ The amendment includes new commitments for parties to the Protocol who agreed to take on commitments in
a second commitment period and a revised list of GHGs to be reported on by Parties.
India has ratified the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol in August 2017:
✓ India has ratified the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that commits countries to contain the
emission of greenhouse gases, reaffirming its stand on climate action.
✓ India deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol under the UN
Convention on Climate Change.
✓ With this, India became the 80th country to accept the amendment relating to the second commitment period
of the Kyoto Protocol, the international emissions reduction treaty.
✓ India’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol will encourage other developing countries also to undertake this
exercise.
11.2 Classification of Parties: Kyoto Protocol

✓ Annex I: Developed countries (US, UK, Russia etc) + Economies in transition (EIT) (Ukraine, Turkey, some eastern
European countries etc)
✓ Annex II: Developed countries. Annex II is a subset of Annex I. Required to provide financial and technical
support to the EITs and developing countries to assist them in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
✓ Annex B: Annex I Parties with first or second-round Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions targets. The first-round
targets apply over the years 2008–2012 and the second-round Kyoto targets, which apply from 2013–2020.
They have compulsory binding targets to reduce GHG emissions.
✓ Non-Annex I: Parties to the UNFCCC not listed in Annex I of the Convention are mostly low-income developing
countries. No binding targets to reduce GHG emissions.
✓ LDCs: Least-developed countries. No binding targets to reduce GHG emissions.
✓ Developing countries may volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.
The Kyoto Protocol emission target gases include:

✓ Carbon dioxide (CO2),
✓ Methane (CH4),
✓ Nitrous oxide (N2O),
✓ Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6),
✓ Groups of hydro fluorocarbons (HCFs) and
✓ Groups of Per fluorocarbons (PFCs).
11.3 Flexible Market Mechanisms – Kyoto Protocol

✓ Countries bound to Kyoto targets have to meet them largely through domestic action— that is, to reduce their
emissions onshore.
✓ But they can meet part of their targets through three “market-based mechanisms”.
The Kyoto Flexible Market Protocol mechanisms
✓ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

✓ Emission Trading
✓ Joint Implementation (JI)
11.4 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – Kyoto Protocol
✓ The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), defined in the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission-
reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an
emission-reduction project in developing countries.
✓ Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2,
which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.
✓ Developed countries emit more and lose carbon credits. They provide financial assistance to developing and
least developed countries to create clean energy (solar, wind energy etc.) and gain some carbon credits to meet
their Kyoto Quota (Kyoto units) of emissions without violations.
✓ Suppose a developed country has a Kyoto Quota of 100 Carbon Credits. It can emit 100 tonnes of CO2.
✓ Due to negligence it emits 110 tonnes of CO2. So, 10 carbon credits lost and Kyoto Quota violation takes place.
✓ Now the country has to make up for its lost carbon credits to avoid penalty.
✓ So it invests some money (equal to 10 carbon credits) in developing and LDCs to build clean energy infrastructure
like solar plants, wind farms etc. and will make up for its 10 lost carbon credits and avoid penalty.
Let us take a hypothetical example to explain CDM:

Australia takes up or finances some environment benefitting project in India (solar power projects, wind power
projects, afforestation etc.) and earns some carbon credits (certified emission reduction credits). Now it shows
these earned carbon credits to the world and tells them how it is working towards meeting its Kyoto targets.
11.5 Joint Implementation (JI) – Kyoto Protocol

✓ The mechanism known as “joint implementation,” allows a country with an emission reduction commitment
under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction
project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting
its Kyoto target.
✓ Joint implementation offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of fulfilling a part of their Kyoto
commitments, while the host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer.
11.6 International Emissions Trading

✓ Emissions trading, allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted to them but not
"used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets.
✓ Thus, a new commodity was created in the form of emission reductions or removals.
✓ Since carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas, people speak simply of trading in carbon.
✓ Carbon is now tracked and traded like any other commodity. This is known as the "carbon market.
11.7 Non-Compliance of Kyoto and Penalties

✓ If a country does not meet the requirements for measurements and reporting said country loses the privilege
of gaining credit through joint implementation projects.
✓ If a country goes above its emissions cap, and does not try to make up the difference through any of the
mechanisms available, then said country must make up the difference plus an additional thirty percent during
the next period.
✓ The country could also be banned from participating in the 'cap and trade' program.
11.8 Benefits of Flexible Market Mechanisms

✓ Stimulating green investment in developing countries.
✓ Including the private sector in this endeavor to cut and hold steady GHG emissions at a safe level.
✓ It also makes "leap-frogging" –– possibility to skip older, dirtier technology for newer, cleaner infrastructure and
systems, with obvious longer-term benefits.
✓ Strengthen the Protocol's environmental integrity, support the carbon market's credibility and ensures
transparency of accounting by Parties.
11.9 Criticism of Kyoto Protocol

✓ Under Kyoto Protocol, Annex 1 countries can meet their targets by cutting emissions or buying unused
allowances (carbon credits, carbon trading) from other countries.
✓ This kind of approach ignores long term social and economic costs. It is like committing only half of what one
needs to commit.
✓ Kyoto Protocol is based on the “common but differentiated responsibility” approach to global warming. Under
CBDR, many countries were allowed to increase pollution.
✓ It excluded most polluting countries like China and India, which have since become the world's largest and fourth
largest polluters.
12 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

✓ It is a scientific intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations.
✓ It was set up at the request of member governments.
✓ It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
✓ Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP.
✓ The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).
✓ IPCC reports cover all relevant information to understand the risk of human-induced climate change, its
potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
✓ The IPCC does not carry out its own original research.
✓ Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute on a voluntary basis.
✓ The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared, in two equal parts, between the IPCC and an American
Environmentalist.
The aims of the IPCC are to assess scientific information relevant to:
✓ Human-induced climate change,
✓ The impacts of human-induced climate change,
✓ Options for adaptation and mitigation.
13 IPCC Assessment Reports (AR)
In accordance with its mandate, the IPCC prepares at regular intervals comprehensive Assessment Reports of
scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of human induced climate
change, potential impacts of climate change and options for mitigation and adaptation.
13.1 Special Reports

Special Reports have been prepared on topics such as aviation, regional impacts of climate change, technology
transfer, emissions scenarios, land use, land use change and forestry, carbon dioxide capture and storage and on
the relationship between safeguarding the ozone layer and the global climate system.
14 Other Important Organizations
14.1 The World Wide Fund for Nature

✓ The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded on April
29, 1961, and is working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment.
✓ It is the world's largest conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more
than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects.
✓ The group's mission is "to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in
which humans live in harmony with nature."
14.2 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES)
✓ CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international
agreement between government entered into force in 1975.
✓ It is the only treaty to ensure that international trade in plants and animals does not threaten their survival in
the wild.
✓ CITES is administered through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
✓ Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 29,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against overexploitation
through international trade.
✓ CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls.
✓ All import, export, re-export and introduction covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a
licensing system.
14.3 TRAFFIC – The Wildlife trade monitoring network

✓ TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, is an international organization dedicated to ensuring that trade
in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
✓ TRAFFIC is a joint programme of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
✓ TRAFFIC also works in close co-operation with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
✓ Founded in 1976, TRAFFIC’s headquarters are now located in Cambridge, United Kingdom
14.4 India's National Action Plan On Climate Change (NAPCC)
✓ India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was launched in 2008.
✓ Government is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with a view to enhance the
ecological sustainability of India’s development path and address climate change.
✓ The National Action Plan hinges on the development and use of new technologies.
✓ The implementation of the Plan includes public private partnerships and civil society action.
✓ The focus will be on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency
and natural resource conservation.
There are Eight National Missions which form the core of the National Action Plan:
1. National Solar Mission

2. National Mission For Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE)
3. National Mission On Sustainable Habitat
4. National Water Mission (NWM)
5. National Mission For Sustaining The Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)
6. National Mission For A Green India
7. National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)
14.4.1 National Solar Mission

✓ The National Solar Mission is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing
India's energy security challenge.
✓ At the end of each plan there will be an evaluation of progress
The Mission will adopt a 3-phase approach:
• Spanning the remaining period of the 11th Plan and first year of the 12th Plan (up to 2012-13) as Phase 1,
• The remaining 4 years of the 12th Plan (2013-17) as Phase 2 and
• The 13th Plan (2017-22) as Phase 3.
14.4.1.1 Objectives
✓ To establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the
country as quickly as possible.
✓ To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 100,000 MW of solar power by 2022.
✓ To create favorable conditions for solar manufacturing capability, particularly solar thermal for indigenous
production and market leadership.
14.4.2 National Mission For Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE)

✓ NMEEE seeks to strengthen the market for energy efficiency by creating conducive regulatory and policy regime.
✓ NMEEE has been envisaged to foster innovative and sustainable business models to the energy efficiency sector.
✓ The NMEEE seeks to create and sustain markets for energy efficiency in the entire country which will benefit
the country and the consumers".
14.4.3 National Mission On Sustainable Habitat

✓ "National Mission on Sustainable Habitat" seeks to promote sustainability of habitats through improvements in
energy efficiency in buildings, urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste, modal shift
towards public transport and conservation through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory framework.
✓ It also seeks to improve ability of habitats to adapt to climate change by improving resilience of infrastructure,
community based disaster management and measures for improving advance warning systems for extreme
weather events.
14.4.4 National Water Mission (NWM) Mission

✓ Ensuring integrated water resource management for conservation of water, minimization of wastage and
equitable distribution both across and within states.
✓ Developing a framework for optimum water use through increase in water use efficiency by 20% through
regulatory mechanisms with differential entitlements and pricing, taking the National Water Policy (NWP) into
consideration.
✓ Ensuring that a considerable share of water needs of urban areas is met through recycling of waste water.
✓ Meeting water requirements of coastal cities through the adoption of new and appropriate technologies such
as low-temperature desalination technologies allowing use of ocean water.
✓ Revisiting NWP to ensure basin-level management strategies to deal with variability in rainfall and river flows
due to climate change.
✓ Developing new regulatory structures to optimize efficiency of existing irrigation systems.
14.4.5 National Mission For Sustaining The Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)
14.4.5.1 Primary objectives

✓ Develop a sustainable National capacity to continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan Ecosystem
✓ Assist States in the Indian Himalayan Region with their implementation of actions selected for sustainable
development.
14.4.6 National Mission For A Green India

✓ Increased forest/tree cover on 5 million hectares (ha) of forest/non-forest lands and improved quality of forest
cover on another 5 million ha of non-forest/forest lands (a total of 10 million ha)
✓ Improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services, and carbon sequestration from the
10 million ha of forest/ non-forest lands mentioned above
✓ Increased forest-based livelihood income of about 3 million households, living in and around the forests
✓ Enhanced annual CO2 sequestration by 50 to 60 million tons in the year 2020.
14.4.7 National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

The NMSA has identified key dimensions for
✓ Adaptation and mitigation:
✓ Improved Crop Seeds, Livestock and Fish Culture
✓ Water Efficiency
✓ Pest Management
✓ Improved Farm Practices
✓ Nutrient Management
✓ Agricultural Insurance
✓ Credit Support
✓ Markets
✓ Access to Information
✓ Livelihood Diversification
14.4.8 The National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)
✓ Formation of knowledge networks among the existing knowledge institutions engaged in research and
development relating to climate science.
✓ Establishment of global technology watch groups with institutional capacities to carry out research on risk
minimized technology selection for developmental choices
✓ Development of national capacity for modeling the regional impact of climate change on different ecological
zones within the country for different seasons and living standards
✓ Establishing research networks and encouraging research in the areas of climate change impacts on important
socio-economic sectors like agriculture, health, natural ecosystems, biodiversity, coastal zones, etc.
15 Constitutional Provisions
The forty second amendment of our constitution has added Clause (g) to Article 51A of the Indian constitution and
has thus made it a fundamental duty to protect and improve the natural environment.
Fundamental Duty:
Clause (g) to Article 51A of the Indian constitution states “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and have compassion for living
creatures.”
There is a directive, given to the State as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy regarding the protection and
improvement of the environment.
Directive Principles of State Policy:

Article 48A states “The State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests
and wildlife of the country”.
16 Pollution Related Acts
Among all the components of the environment, air and water are necessary to fulfill the basic survival needs of all
organisms. So, to protect them from degradation the following acts have been passed.
Water Acts
Air Acts
Environment Act
A few important legislations of each category with brief description are given below:
16.1 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and Amendment, 1988
The main objective of this act is to provide prevention and control of water pollution.
✓ The Act vests regulatory authority in State Pollution Control Boards to establish and enforce effluent standards
for factories.
✓ A Central Pollution Control Board performs the same functions for Union Territories and formulates policies
and coordinates activities of different State Boards.
✓ The Act grants power to SPCB and CPCB to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis.
✓ Prior to its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions
initiated by the Boards.
✓ The 1988 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
16.2 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act of 1977
✓ The Water Cess Act was passed to generate financial resources to meet expenses of the Central and State
Pollution Boards.
✓ The Act creates economic incentives for pollution control and requires local authorities and certain designated
industries to pay a cess (tax) for water effluent discharge.
✓ The Central Government, after deducting the expenses of collection, pays the central board and the states such
sums, as it seems necessary.
✓ To encourage capital investment in pollution control, the Act gives a polluter a 70% rebate of the applicable cess
upon installing effluent treatment equipment.
16.3 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 and amendment, 1987
✓ To implement the decisions taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at
Stockholm in June 1972, Parliament enacted the nationwide Air Act.
✓ The main objectives of this Act are to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control and abate air pollution
in the country.
Important provisions of this Act are given below
✓ The Air Act’s framework is similar to that of the Water Act of 1974.
✓ The Air Act expanded the authority of the central and state boards established under the Water Act, to include
air pollution control.
✓ States not having water pollution boards were required to set up air pollution boards.
✓ Under the Air Act, all industries operating within designated air pollution control areas must obtain a “consent”
(permit) from the State Boards.
✓ The states are required to prescribe emission standards for industry and automobiles after consulting the central
board and noting its ambient air quality standards.
✓ The Act grants power to SPCB and to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis from
any chimney, fly ash or dust or any other.
✓ Prior to its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions
initiated by the Boards.
✓ The 1988 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
✓ Notably, the 1987 amendment introduced a citizen’s suit provision into the Air Act and extended the Act to
include noise pollution.
17 Environment & Biodiversity Acts

✓ The most important legislation in this category is The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
✓ Through this Act Central Government gets full power for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality
of the environment.
17.1 Environment (Protection) Act of 1986

✓ In the wake of the Bhopal tragedy, the government of India enacted the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
✓ The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment of 1972, in so far as they relate to the protection and improvement of the human environment
and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.
✓ The Act is an “umbrella” for legislations designed to provide a framework for Central Government, coordination
of the activities of various central and state authorities established under previous Acts, such as the Water Act
and the Air Act.
✓ In this Act, main emphasis is given to “Environment”, defined to include water, air and land and the inter-
relationships which exist among water, air and land and human beings and other living creatures, plants, micro-
organisms and property.
✓ “Environmental pollution” is the presence of pollutant, defined as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present
in such a concentration as may be or may tend to be injurious to the environment.
✓ “Hazardous substances” include any substance or preparation, which may cause harm to human beings, other
living creatures, plants, microorganisms, property or the environment.
The main provisions of this Act are given below:
✓ The Act empowers the center to “take all such measures as it deems necessary”.
By virtue of this Act, Central Government has armed itself with considerable powers which include:
1. coordination of action by state,
2. planning and execution of nationwide programmes,
3. laying down environmental quality standards, especially those governing emission or discharge of environmental
pollutants,
4. Placing restriction on the location of industries and so on.
5. Authorities to issue direct orders, including orders to close, prohibit or regulate any industry.
6. Power of entry for examination, testing of equipment and other purposes and power to analyze the sample of
air, water, soil or any other substance from any place.
✓ The Act explicitly prohibits discharges of environmental pollutants in excess of prescribed regulatory standards.
✓ There is also a specific prohibition against handling hazardous substances except those in compliance with
regulatory procedures and standards.
✓ The Act provides provision for penalties. For each failure or contravention the punishment included a prison
term up to five years or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh, or both.
✓ The Act imposed an additional fine of up to Rs. 5,000 for every day of continuing violation.
✓ If a failure or contravention occurs for more than one year, offender may be punished with imprisonment which
may be extended to seven years.
✓ Section 19 provides that any person, in addition to authorized government officials, may file a complaint with a
court alleging an offence under the Act.
✓ This “Citizens’ Suit” provision requires that the person has to give notice of not less than 60 days of the alleged
offence of pollution to the Central Government.
17.2 Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

✓ The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body constituted in the Ministry of
Environment and Forests under 'Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous
Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989', under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
✓ Aim of ‘Rules 1989’ is to protect environment, nature and health in connection with application of gene
technology and micro-organisms.
✓ These rules cover areas of research as well as large scale applications of GMOs and their products including
experimental field trials and seed production.
✓ The Rules 1989 also define the competent authorities and composition of such authorities for handling of
various aspects of the Rules.
17.3 Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 and Amendment, 1982

✓ In 1972, Parliament enacted the Wild Life Act (Protection) Act.
The Wild Life Act provides for:

1. state wildlife advisory boards,
2. regulations for hunting wild animals and birds,
3. establishment of sanctuaries and national parks,
4. regulations for trade in wild animals, animal products and trophies, and
5. judicially imposed penalties for violating the Act.
✓ Harming endangered species listed in Schedule 1 of the Act is prohibited throughout India.
✓ Hunting species, like those requiring special protection (Schedule II), big game (Schedule III), and small game
(Schedule IV), is regulated through licensing.
✓ A few species classified as vermin (Schedule V), may be hunted without restrictions.
✓ Wildlife wardens and their staff administer the act.
✓ An amendment to the Act in 1982, introduced a provision permitting the capture and transportation of wild
animals for the scientific management of animal population.
17.4 The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006
The Act provides for creating

1. National Tiger Conservation Authority and
2. Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau).
✓ NTCA was set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests.
✓ The Authority will have eight experts having qualifications in wildlife conservation and welfare tribals, 3 MPs,
the Inspector General of Forests, in charge of project Tiger, will be ex-officio Member Secretary and others.
17.4.1 Functions of NTCA

✓ The Authority lays down standards, guidelines for tiger conservation in the Tiger Reserves, National Parks and
Sanctuaries.
✓ It would provide information on protection measures including future plan for conservation.
✓ The Authority would facilitate and support tiger reserve management in the States through eco-development
and people's participation.
✓ The Tiger Conservation Authority would be required to prepare an Annual Report, which would be laid in the
Parliament along with the Audit Report.
✓ State level Steering Committees will be set up in the Tiger States under the Chairmanship of respective Chief
Ministers. This has been done with a view for ensuring coordination, monitoring and protection of tigers in the
States.
✓ A provision has been made for the State Governments to prepare a Tiger Conservation Plan.
✓ Provision will be made for the States to establish a Tiger Conservation Foundation, based on the good practices
emanating from some tiger reserves.
17.5 Animal Welfare Board of India

✓ Statutory advisory body advising the Government of India on animal welfare laws, and promotes animal welfare
in the country of India.
✓ It works to ensure that animal welfare laws in the country are followed; provides grants to Animal Welfare
Organizations; and considers itself "the face of the animal welfare movement in the country."
✓ It was established in 1960 under Section 4 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
✓ The subject of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is under Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Important update:
✓ The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), will now be permanently chaired by a senior MoEF official, according
to a notification made public by the government.
✓ The notification specifies that for the next three years, the Board would be chaired by the Director-General
(Forests) for its term.
✓ In its 55-year history the organization has always been chaired by somebody outside government, such as
veterinarians, animal welfare activists or retired judges. This is the first time that a government official is chairing
the body.
17.5.1 Functions
✓ The board is highly concerned about “abuse of animals in research” and “cruelty involved when animals were
used in entertainment”.
✓ The Board oversees Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs) by granting recognition to them if they meet its
guidelines.
✓ The Board provides financial assistance to recognized Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs)
✓ The Board suggests changes to laws and rules about animal welfare issues.
✓ The Board issues publications to raise awareness of various animal welfare issues.
Indian government has also started some conservation projects for individual endangered species like Hungal (1970),
Lion (1972), Tiger (1973), Crocodiles (1974), Brown-antlered Deer (1981) and Elephant (1991-92).
India Rhino Vision 2020: It is a partnership the Assam Forest Department, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF),
Bodoland Territorial Council, International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Its goal is to attain
a wild rhino population of at least 3,000 in the Indian state of Assam by the year 2020.
Let us study Project Tiger in detail:
17.6 Project Tiger – Tiger Conservation

✓ Indian tiger population at the end of the 20th century was estimated at 20,000 to 40,000 individuals.
✓ The first country-wide tiger census conducted in 1972 estimated the population to comprise a little more than
1,800 individuals, an alarming reduction in tiger population.
✓ In 1973, Project Tiger was launched in the Palamau Tiger Reserve, and various tiger reserves were created in
the country based on a ‘core-buffer’ strategy.
✓ India has more than 80 national parks and 441 Sanctuaries of which some have been declared as Tiger reserves.
✓ Tiger reserves are governed by the Project Tiger (1973).
✓ It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
✓ It is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
✓ Aim: Protect tigers from extinction by ensuring a viable population in their natural habitats.
✓ Government has set up a Tiger Protection Force under PT to combat poachers.
✓ PT funds relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.
17.6.1 Reasons for falling number of tigers
✓ Pressure on habitat, Habitat fragmentation and Habitat destruction: Caused due to large-scale development
projects such as dams, industry, mines, railway lines etc.
✓ Incessant poaching: Tigers are killed so their body parts can be used for Traditional Chinese Medicine.
✓ Invasive species: Destroy the local producers. This has a cascading effect on the food chain. Tigers are the worst
hit as they are at the end of the food chain. [Tigers represent an “Umbrella Species” that indicate the health of
the ecosystem.]
17.6.2 Problems involved with Project Tiger

✓ The Forest Rights Act passed by the Indian government in 2006 recognizes the rights of some forest dwelling
communities in forest areas. This has led to controversy over implications of such recognition for tiger
conservation.
✓ The project overlooks the role of abuse of power by authorities in the tiger crisis.
17.6.3 Reasons for slightly increased tiger population recently

✓ Wireless communication systems and outstation patrol camps have been developed within the tiger reserves,
due to which poaching has declined considerably.
✓ Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive and control measures.
✓ Voluntary Village relocation has been done in many reserves.
✓ Livestock grazing has been controlled to a great extent in the tiger reserves.
✓ Various compensatory developmental works have improved the water regime and the ground and field level
vegetation.
✓ Stringent punishments for violators.
✓ GIS based digitized database development to evaluate tiger population.
17.6.4 Estimation of Tiger Populations

✓ The process of estimating the number of tigers in a given area is called ‘Tiger census’.
✓ It is conducted at regular intervals to know the current tiger populations and population trends.
✓ Besides estimating the number of tigers the method also helps to gather information on the density of the tiger
populations and associated prey.
✓ The most commonly used technique in the past was ‘Pugmark Census Technique’.
✓ In this method the imprints of the pugmark of the tiger were recorded and used as a basis for identification of
individuals.
✓ Now it is largely used as one of the indices of tiger occurrence and relative abundance.
✓ Recent methods used to estimate the numbers of tigers are camera trapping and DNA fingerprinting.
✓ In camera trapping, the photograph of the tiger is taken and individuals are differentiated on the basis of the
stripes on the body.
✓ In the latest technique of DNA fingerprinting, tigers can be identified from their scats.
Important update:
✓ Uttarakhand has recorded the second highest tiger count in India:
✓ Tiger population in Uttarakhand has risen from 227 to 340 since the last census, becoming the second State in
the country after Karnataka with the highest number of tigers (406).
✓ In addition, 11 cubs were also found in the two tiger reserves, the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger
Reserve, in the state.
✓ Around 535 cameras installed in Corbett Tiger Reserve played a key role in collecting the recent data.
✓ As per the latest census, Corbett Tiger Reserve has also improved its position on conservation assessm ent
trajectory going up from good to very good.
✓ According to the latest census, the tiger population in the country is estimated to be around 2,226, a rise of over
30 per cent since the last count in 2010.
Note: For all other updates, kindly refer EduTap’s ESI in news monthly current affairs magazine.
17.7 Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980

✓ First Forest Act was enacted in 1927.
✓ Alarmed at India’s rapid deforestation and resulting environmental degradation, Centre Government enacted
the Forest (Conservation) Act in 1980.
✓ It was enacted to consolidate the law related to forest, the transit of forest produce and the duty livable on
timber and other forest produce.
✓ Forest officers and their staff administer the Forest Act.
✓ Under the provisions of this Act, prior approval of the Central Government is required for diversion of
forestlands for non-forest purposes.
✓ An Advisory Committee constituted under the Act advises the Centre on these approvals.
✓ The Act deals with the four categories of the forests, namely reserved forests, village forests, protected forests
and private forests.
Reserved forest: A state may declare forestlands or waste lands as reserved forest and may sell the produce from
these forests. Any unauthorized felling of trees quarrying, grazing and hunting in reserved forests is punishable with
a fine or imprisonment, or both
Village forests: Reserved forests assigned to a village community are called village forests.
Protected forests: The state governments are empowered to designate protected forests and may prohibit the felling
of trees, quarrying and the removal of forest produce from these forests. The preservation of protected forests is
enforces through rules, licenses and criminal prosecutions.
17.8 Biodiversity Act 2000

✓ India’s richness in biological resources and indigenous knowledge relating to them is well recognized.
✓ The legislation aims at regulating access to biological resources so as to ensure equitable sharing of
benefits arising from their use.
✓ The Biological Diversity Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2000 and was passed in 2002.
Salient features of the biodiversity legislation are:
✓ The main intent of this legislation is to protect India’s rich biodiversity and associated knowledge against their
use by foreign individuals and organizations without sharing the benefits arising out of such use, and to check
biopiracy.
✓ This bill seeks to check biopiracy, protect biological diversity and local growers through a three-tier structure of
central and state boards and local committees.
✓ The Act provides for setting up of a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards
(SBBs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in local bodies. The NBA will enjoy the power of
a civil court.
✓ BMCs promote conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biodiversity.
✓ NBA and SBB are required to consult BMCs in decisions relating to use of biological resources.
✓ All foreign nationals or organizations require prior approval of NBA for obtaining biological resources and
associated knowledge for any use.
✓ Indian individuals/entities require approval of NBA for transferring results of research with respect to any
biological resources to foreign nationals/organizations.
✓ Collaborative research projects and exchange of knowledge and resources are exempted provided they are
drawn as per the policy guidelines of the Central Government.
✓ However, Indian citizens/entities/local people including vaids and hakims have free access to use biological
resources within the country for their own use, medicinal purposes and research purposes.
✓ While granting approvals, NBA will impose terms and conditions to secure equitable sharing of benefits.
✓ Before applying for any form of IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) in or outside India for an invention based on
research on a biological resource obtained from India, prior approval of NBA will be required.
✓ The monetary benefits, fees, royalties as a result of approvals by NBA will be deposited in National Biodiversity
Fund.
✓ NBF will be used for conservation and development of areas from where resource has been accessed, in
consultation with the local self-government concerned.
✓ There is provision for notifying National Heritage Sites important from standpoint of biodiversity by State
Governments in consultation with local self-government.
✓ There also exists provision for notifying items, and areas for exemption provided such exclusion does not violate
other provisions. This is to exempt normally traded commodities so as not to adversely affect trade.
17.9 The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006
✓ Forest Rights Act, 2006 provides for the restitution of deprived forest rights across India.
✓ The Act is provides scope of integrating conservation and livelihood rights of the people.
FRA is tool
✓ To empower and strengthen the local self-governance
✓ To address the livelihood security of the people
✓ To address the issues of Conservation and management of the Natural Resources and conservation governance
of India.
17.9.1 For the first time Forest Rights Act recognizes and secures
✓ Community Rights in addition to their individual rights
✓ Right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which the communities
have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.
✓ Right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity
✓ Rights of displaced communities & Rights over developmental activities
17.9.2 Salient Features

✓ Nodal Agency for the implementation is Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).
✓ This Act is applicable for Tribal and Other Traditional Forest Dwelling Communities.
✓ The Act provides for recognition of forest rights of other traditional forest dwellers provided they have for at
least three generations prior to 13.12.2005 primarily resided in and have depended on the forests for bonafide
livelihood needs.
✓ The maximum limit of the recognizing rights on forest land is 4 ha.
✓ National Parks and Sanctuaries have been included along with Reserve Forest, Protected Forests for the
recognition of Rights.
✓ The Act recognizes the right of ownership access to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce by tribals.
✓ Minor forest produce includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin, including bamboo, brush wood,
stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tubers and the like.
✓ The rights conferred under the Act shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable.
✓ As per the Act, the Gram Sabha has been designated as the competent authority for initiating the process of
determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights.
17.10 National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

✓ Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation of NGT to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases
pertaining to environmental issues.
✓ It was enacted under India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures the citizens of India the right
to a healthy environment.
✓ The specialized architecture of the NGT will facilitate fast track resolution of environmental cases and provide
a boost to the implementation of many sustainable development measures.
✓ NGT is mandated to dispose the cases within six months of their respective appeals.
17.10.1 Origin
✓ During the Rio de Janeiro summit of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992,
India vowed the participating states to provide judicial and administrative remedies for the victims of the
pollutants and other environmental damage.
17.10.2 Members
✓ The sanctioned strength of the tribunal is currently 10 expert members and 10 judicial members although the
act allows for up to 20 of each.
✓ The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also serves as a judicial member.
✓ Every bench of tribunal must consist of at least one expert member and one judicial member.
✓ The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of
the Supreme Court of India.
17.10.3 Jurisdiction
✓ The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction on matters of “substantial question relating to environment” (i.e. a
community at large is affected, damage to public health at broader level) & “damage to environment due to
specific activity” (such as pollution).
✓ The term “substantial” is not clearly defined in the act.
✓ Notable orders: Ban on decade old Diesel vehicles at Delhi NCR. NGT cleared three-day World Culture Festival
(Art of Living) on the floodplains of the Yamuna in March but imposed a fine of Rs 5 crores as an interim
compensation.
18 Acts for Protecting Coastal Environment and Wetlands
18.1 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

✓ The coastal stretches of seas, bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers and back waters which are influenced by tidal action
are declared "Coastal Regulation Zone" (CRZ) in 1991.
✓ India has created institutional mechanisms such as National Coastal Zone Management Authority
(NCZMA) and State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) for enforcement and monitoring of the CRZ
Notification.
✓ These authorities have been delegated powers under Section 5 of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 to
take various measures for protecting and improving the quality of the coastal environment and preventing,
abating and controlling environmental pollution in coastal areas.
18.2 Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010

✓ MoEF has notified the rules in order to ensure that there is no further degradation of wetlands.
✓ The rules specify activities which are harmful to wetlands such as industrialization, construction, dumping of
untreated waste and reclamation and prohibit these activities in the wetlands.
✓ Other activities such as harvesting and dredging may be carried out in the wetlands but only with prior
permission from the concerned authorities.
✓ Central Wetland Regulatory Authority has been set up to ensure proper implementation of the Rules.
For
Rural Development

Important Points



Table of Contents
1 Rural Development ............................................................................................................................... 8
2 Concept of Rural Area ........................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Important data (as per Census 2011) ........................................................................................... 8
2.2 Number of Rural Units (or Villages) in India ................................................................................. 9
2.3 Top/Bottom three states in India: In terms of Rural population .................................................. 9
3 Structure of the Indian Rural Economy................................................................................................. 9
3.1 Features of the Indian Rural Economy ........................................................................................ 10
3.1.1 Low per capita income ........................................................................................................ 10
3.1.2 Excessive dependence of agriculture and primary producing: ........................................... 11
3.1.3 High rate of population growth .......................................................................................... 11
3.1.4 Chronic unemployment ...................................................................................................... 11
3.1.5 Poor rate of capital formation ............................................................................................ 12
3.1.6 Inequality in the distribution of wealth .............................................................................. 12
3.1.7 Poor quality of human capital ............................................................................................. 12
3.1.8 Low level of technology ...................................................................................................... 12
3.1.9 Under-utilisation of natural resources ................................................................................ 13
3.1.10 Lack of infrastructure .......................................................................................................... 13
3.1.11 Low level of living ................................................................................................................ 13
3.2 Demographic Characteristics of the Indian Rural Economy ....................................................... 15
3.2.1 Sex Composition of Rural Population ................................................................................. 15
3.2.2 Census 2011 related data ................................................................................................... 15
3.2.3 Child Sex Ratio..................................................................................................................... 15
3.2.4 Age Composition of Rural Population ................................................................................. 17
3.2.5 Literacy Rate........................................................................................................................ 18
3.2.6 Census 2011 related data ................................................................................................... 18
3.3 Social Characteristics of the Indian Rural Economy .................................................................... 19
3.3.1 Rural Social Structure .......................................................................................................... 19
3.3.2 The structure is formed out of the following units ............................................................. 19
4 Importance and Role of the Rural sector in India ............................................................................... 20
4.1 Role of Agriculture and Allied Sector in the development of the nation ................................... 20

4.1.1 Agriculture Sector ............................................................................................................... 20
4.1.2 Fertilizer Industry ................................................................................................................ 21
4.1.3 Seed Industry ...................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.4 Pesticide Industry ................................................................................................................ 21
4.2 Allied Sectors............................................................................................................................... 21
4.2.1 Livestock Sector .................................................................................................................. 21
4.2.2 Fisheries Production............................................................................................................ 22
4.2.3 Food Processing .................................................................................................................. 22
4.3 Non-Farm Sector ......................................................................................................................... 22
4.3.1 Small and Cottage Industries .............................................................................................. 22
4.3.2 Forest Based Small Scale Manufacturing ............................................................................ 23
4.3.3 Consumers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Durable Goods ........................ 23
5 Causes of Rural Poverty in India: ........................................................................................................ 23
5.1 Geographical factor..................................................................................................................... 23
5.2 Personal factors .......................................................................................................................... 24
5.3 Biological factors ......................................................................................................................... 24
5.4 Economic factors......................................................................................................................... 24
6 Classification of Workers based on Census 2011 ............................................................................... 24
6.1 Data regarding Workers as per Census 2011 .............................................................................. 25
6.2 Classification of farm workers in India ........................................................................................ 25
6.2.1 Meaning of Agricultural Labourers ..................................................................................... 26
6.2.2 Definition of Agricultural Labourers ................................................................................... 26
6.2.3 Other Allied activities included under Agricultural Labourer ............................................. 26
6.2.4 Agricultural Household: (According to the National Sample Survey Organization) ........... 26
6.2.5 Classification of Agricultural labourers ............................................................................... 27
6.2.6 Problems of Agricultural Labourers .................................................................................... 27
6.2.7 Causes for the Growth of Agricultural Labourers ............................................................... 28
6.2.8 Suggestions for the Improvement of Agricultural Labourers ............................................. 29
6.3 Landholding pattern in India: (As per Agriculture Census 2015-16) ........................................... 29
6.4 SECC – 2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data on Farmers and Agricultural Labourers ...... 30
7 Definition of an Artisan ....................................................................................................................... 31

7.1 The importance of Handicrafts Sector ........................................................................................ 31
7.2 Nodal Agency for Handicrafts in India ........................................................................................ 32
7.3 Export of Handicrafts .................................................................................................................. 32
7.4 Significance of Handicraft Industry ............................................................................................. 32
7.5 Issues of Rural Artisans ............................................................................................................... 33
7.5.1 Solutions.............................................................................................................................. 33
7.6 Government Initiatives ............................................................................................................... 34
7.7 Schemes through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) ........................................... 34
7.7.1 Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) ...................................... 34
7.7.2 Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) ................................ 34
7.7.3 A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE) ....... 34
7.7.4 Market Promotion Development Assistance (MPDA) ........................................................ 35
7.7.5 Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC) Scheme.......................................................... 35
7.7.6 Workshed Scheme for Khadi Artisans ................................................................................. 35
7.7.7 Strengthening infrastructure of weak Khadi institutions and assistance for marketing
infrastructure. ..................................................................................................................................... 35
7.8 Schemes implemented through the Coir Board ......................................................................... 36
7.8.1 Coir Vikas Yojana ................................................................................................................. 36
7.8.2 Scheme for the Development of Production Infrastructure ............................................... 36
7.8.3 Coir Udyami Yojana (formerly known as REMOT Scheme)................................................. 36
7.9 Schemes under Ministry of Textile implemented by Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)
36
7.9.1 Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana - AHVY ....................................................... 36
7.9.2 Design & Technical Up-gradation Scheme .......................................................................... 37
8 How important is Handloom Sector?.................................................................................................. 37
8.1 Features of the Handloom Sector: .............................................................................................. 37
8.2 Important parts of the textile sector in India ............................................................................. 37
8.3 Important terminology ............................................................................................................... 37
8.3.1 Loom ................................................................................................................................... 37
8.3.2 Hand Loom .......................................................................................................................... 38
8.3.3 Power Loom ........................................................................................................................ 38

8.4 Demographic Profile of Handloom Worker Households: (Source: The fourth Handloom Census,
2019-20) .................................................................................................................................................. 38
8.4.1 Regional Distribution .......................................................................................................... 38
8.4.2 Rural Urban Distribution ..................................................................................................... 38
8.4.3 Distribution of handloom worker households by social groups ......................................... 39
8.4.4 A caste-wise distribution of such households..................................................................... 39
8.5 Handloom Exhibitions in India .................................................................................................... 39
8.6 Handloom Boards in India........................................................................................................... 40
8.7 Problems faced by the Indian Handloom Industry: .................................................................... 40
8.7.1 Rising input costs ................................................................................................................ 40
8.7.2 Credit problem .................................................................................................................... 40
8.7.3 Marketing bottlenecks ........................................................................................................ 40
8.7.4 Lack of modernization......................................................................................................... 40
8.7.5 Migration to other fields ..................................................................................................... 41
8.7.6 Poor infrastructure.............................................................................................................. 41
8.7.7 Inadequate research and development .............................................................................. 41
8.7.8 Lack of Reliable data ........................................................................................................... 41
8.8 Government Initiatives to Power Handloom Sector ................................................................... 41
8.8.1 Integrated Handloom Development Scheme ..................................................................... 41
8.8.2 Marketing and Export Promotion Scheme ......................................................................... 42
8.8.3 Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme ....................................................... 42
8.8.4 Mill Gate Price Scheme ....................................................................................................... 42
8.8.5 Diversified Handloom Development Scheme ..................................................................... 42
8.8.6 Revival Reform and Restructuring Package (RRR) .............................................................. 42
8.8.7 Marketing Assistance .......................................................................................................... 43
8.8.8 Handloom Mega Cluster Scheme........................................................................................ 43
8.8.9 Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana ......................................................................... 43
9 Panchayati Raj ..................................................................................................................................... 44
9.1 The major recommendations of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee ............................................... 45
9.2 Ashok Mehta Committee ............................................................................................................ 45
9.3 Hanumanth Rao Committee ....................................................................................................... 46
9.4 GVK Rao Committee.................................................................................................................... 46

9.5 LM Singhvi Committee ................................................................................................................ 46
9.6 The scene before the constitutional recognition of Panchayats ................................................ 46
9.7 The New Panchayati Raj System: 73rd Amendment and After .................................................. 47
9.8 The salient features of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act .............................................. 47
9.9 Functions of PRIs ......................................................................................................................... 49
9.10 Critical appreciation of PRI’s ....................................................................................................... 49
The Panchayati Raj has many achievements to its credit ........................................................................... 49
9.11 The Failures of Panchayati Raj .................................................................................................... 50
10 PESA - Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 ........................................................ 50
10.1 The salient feature of the Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act,
1996 (PESA) ............................................................................................................................................. 51
10.2 Provisions of PESA ....................................................................................................................... 51

1 Rural Development
✓ The term “rural development”, has no universally accepted definition but can be broadly
understood as the overall development of rural area with a special focus on improving the quality
of lives of the people residing in rural areas.
2 Concept of Rural Area

✓ Rural - Urban classification holds a prominent place in framing various economic policies in any
country. It forms the basic framework for collection and compilation of population data.
✓ According to NSSO, National Sample Survey Office, the term rural is defined as
o An area comprising a population density of 400 people per square kilometre.
o An area with no municipal board but has a clear surveyed boundary.
o A minimum of 75% of male working population involved in agriculture and allied activities.
✓ According to the Planning Commission, an area with a maximum population of 15,000 is considered
rural in nature.
✓ According to the RBI, based on the size of the population, a centre, where bank branch is located,
the term rural area may be defined as an area with population less than 10000.
As per the Census 2011, the rural sector means any place which meets the following criteria;
✓ A population of less than 5,000
✓ Density of population less than 400 per sq km and
✓ more than "25 per cent of the male working population" is engaged in agricultural pursuits.
✓ Census data have always been presented for rural and urban areas separately.
✓ The basic unit for rural areas is the revenue village which has definite surveyed boundaries.
✓ The revenue village may comprise several hamlets but the entire village has been treated as one unit
for presentation of data.
✓ In unsurveyed areas, like villages within forest areas, each habitation area with locally recognized
boundaries within each forest range officer's beat, was treated as one unit.
2.1 Important data (as per Census 2011)
✓ For the first time since Independence, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas that
in rural areas.
✓ Rural – Urban distribution: 68.84% & 31.16%
✓ Level of urbanization increased from 27.81% in 2001 Census to 31.16% in 2011 Census.
✓ The proportion of rural population declined from 72.19% to 68.84%.

2.2 Number of Rural Units (or Villages) in India
Census 2001 6,38,588
Census 2011 6,40,867
Increase 2,279
We see that the growth in rural population is steadily declining since 1991.
Population Growth Rate: The rate at which a population is increasing (or decreasing) in a given year due to
natural increase/ decrease and net migration, expressed as a percentage of the base population.
2.3 Top/Bottom three states in India: In terms of Rural population
3 Structure of the Indian Rural Economy

3.1 Features of the Indian Rural Economy
3.1.1 Low per capita income

✓ The Per Capita Income in real terms (at 2011-12 Prices) during 2019-20 is estimated to attain a level
of ₹ 94,954 as compared to ₹ 92,085 in the year 2018-19, resulting in growth of 3.1 percent during
2019-20, as against 4.8 per cent in the previous year.
✓ The Per Capita Income at current prices during 2019-20 is estimated to be ₹ 134,226, showing a rise
of 6.1 percent as compared to ₹ 1,26,521 during 2018-19.
✓ The per capita income for 2011-12 in the country for urban areas was Rs.1,01,313 and for rural
areas it was Rs 40,772.
✓ Here we see a big gap between the two.
Per Capita Income:
Per capita income, also known as income per person, is the mean income of the people in an economic unit
such as a country, state or District. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the
aggregate (such as GDP or Gross national income) and dividing it by the total population of country, state
or District.
How can the gap be reduced?

✓ There is a need to help the people diversify the agriculture production.
✓ People in agriculture sector should be encouraged to grow multiple crops spanning different sowing
seasons.
✓ People forming a part of the rural economy should be encouraged to take up activities other than
agriculture also like bee-keeping, handicrafts etc.
✓ There needs to be a concentrated effort in skilling the people of rural India.
3.1.1.1 Commercialization of Agriculture

Commercialization of agriculture is a phenomenon where agriculture is governed by commercial
consideration i.e. certain specialized crops began to be grown not for consumption in village but for sale
in national and even in international market.
Commercialization of agriculture in India began during the British rule.
✓ In the present days, a large part of rural economy has been opened up, which has made
commercialization of agriculture possible.
✓ The extent of commercialization of agriculture in rural economy marks the stage of its development.
Rural Society under the Impact of Urbanism (this is one of the changing features of the rural society):
✓ The rural society of India is getting exposed to the waves of urbanism.

✓ Most of the features of urban areas have been modified and diluted into the rural society.
✓ This has led to a new way of urbanism called rural-urbanism.
✓ Urbanism has induced the disintegration of traditional joint family, disappearance of neighbourhood,
sophistication, emergence of individualism, etc.
✓ Urbanism also created new social institutions, which were absent in the traditional rural set up.
✓ It has also brought about modernization.
✓ Contacts between the rural and urban areas have been increased due to the development of the
means of transportation.
✓ Similarly, the means of communication such as radio, transistor, television and telephones have
brought the remote villages nearer to the urban towns.
✓ Increase in the contacts between the rural and urban areas has enabled a quick assimilation of rural
areas with the mainstream of urban life.
✓ Earlier, the demand of rural India to the industrial goods was limited only to the basic necessities.
✓ However, the situation has changed now.
✓ Today, rural India is seen as the potential market to the industrial goods.
✓ Observing such a situation, many industries have been flourished in rural areas, which are rich in the
resources needed for the setting up of industries.
3.1.1.2 Institutional Participation

✓ After independence, the state had taken the responsibility of rural reconstruction and development.
✓ It had brought about important changes in the production relations.
✓ Abolition of intermediaries, security of tenancy, ceiling on holdings, etc., were some of the important
legislations made, which improved the relations of production.
✓ A number of rural development programmes were taken up.
✓ These programmes also contributed in bringing about modernization in villages.
3.1.2 Excessive dependence of agriculture and primary producing:

✓ Indian economy is characterised by too much dependence on agriculture and thus it is primary
producing and 72.4 per cent of workforce resides in rural areas.
✓ But times are changing, though there's a long way to go. As per various studies conducted recently, it
is now evident that about two third of rural income is generated in non agricultural activities.
✓ Similarly, its a fact that more than half of the value added in manufacturing sector in India is
contributed by rural areas.
3.1.3 High rate of population growth

✓ India is maintaining a very high rate of growth of population since 1950. Thus the pressure of
population in our country is very heavy.
✓ For the first time since Independence, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas that
in rural areas.
✓ One of the major factors for the decrease in the growth rate of rural areas is urbanization and
migration.
3.1.4 Chronic unemployment

✓ Rapid growth of population coupled with inadequate growth of secondary and tertiary occupations
are responsible for the occurrence of chronic unemployment in the rural sector.
Chronic Unemployment occurs when unemployment tends to be a long-term feature of a country.
✓ It is due to this reason there exists the issue of disguised unemployment in India.
Disguised unemployment in India:
✓ A disguisedly unemployed person is the one who seems to be employed but actually he is not.
✓ His contribution to the total output is zero or negligible.
✓ When more people are engaged in a job than actually required, a state of disguised unemployment is
created.
✓ It is mostly seen in rural areas.
3.1.5 Poor rate of capital formation

✓ To achieve an Optimum rate of economic growth, the rate of capital formation should be above 40%
of GDP.
✓ The low level of capital formation in India is also due to weakness of the inducement of invest and
also due to low propensity and capacity to save.
✓ But considering the heavy population pressure and the need for self sustained growth, the present
rate of saving needs to be increased thus decreasing the dependency on external sources to maintain
the rate of capital formation.
3.1.6 Inequality in the distribution of wealth

✓ India is one of the most unequal region in the world.
✓ The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system.
The growing divide undermines democracy and promotes corruption and cronyism.
✓ Maldistribution in income is the result of inequality in the distribution of assets in the rural areas.
✓ As per the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) survey, a staggering 92% of rural households
reported their maximum income below Rs 10,000 per month.
✓ SECC reports that only about 10% of rural households have salaried jobs. Of these, about two thirds
are in public sector, and a third, 6.4 lakh in all, work regular private sector jobs.
✓ Moreover, less than 5% of the rural households pay income tax or professional tax. This is mainly
because agricultural income is not taxed and with over 92% households earning less than Rs.10,000,
most don't qualify.
3.1.7 Poor quality of human capital

✓ Indian economy is suffering from its poor quality of human capital. Mass illiteracy is the root of this
problem and illiteracy at the same time is retarding the process of economic growth of our country.
As per 2011 census,74.04 percent of the total population of India is literate of which 67.8 per cent of
the total rural population and 84.1 percent of the total urban population is literate.
✓ In most of the developed countries like U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Australia etc. the level of illiteracy is even
below 3 per cent. Moreover, the problem of illiteracy in India makes way for conservatism and this is
going against the rural economy of the country.
3.1.8 Low level of technology

✓ The rural economy of our country is suffering from technological backwardness. Obsolete techniques
of production are largely being applied in both the agricultural and industrial sectors of our country.
✓ Employment growth is critical in low-productivity agriculture, which accounts for nearly three-
quarters of the poor population. But automation threatens to create more unemployment. Also, it
would be very much difficult to adopt modern technology in Indian productive system with its
untrained, illiterate and unskilled labour.
✓ Through its Digital India programme, GOI is working to transform the country's rural economy and
create skilled jobs in rural areas. For the estimated 156 million Indian rural households, most living in
poverty according to India’s National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), there is need for
investment in transportation, power, and internet access to create more employment for women and
youth in rural areas.
3.1.9 Under-utilisation of natural resources

✓ In respect of natural endowments India is considered as a very rich country. Various types of natural
resources, viz., land, water, minerals, forest and power resources are available in sufficient quantity
in the various parts of the country.
✓ But due to its various inherent problems like inaccessible region, primitive techniques, shortage of
capital and small extent of the market such huge resources remained largely under-utilised. A huge
quantity of mineral and forest resources of India still remains largely unexplored.
3.1.10 Lack of infrastructure

✓ Lack of infrastructural facilities is one of the serious problems from which the Indian economy has
been suffering till today. These infrastructural facilities include transportation and communication
facilities, electricity generation and distribution, banking and credit facilities, economic organisation,
health and educational institutes etc.
✓ The two most vital sectors, i.e. agriculture and industry could not make much headway in the absence
of proper infrastructural facilities in the country.
✓ Moreover, due to the absence of proper infrastructural facilities, development potential of different
regions of the country largely remains under-utilised.
✓ The following are the 10 infrastructural developments rural area needs now in order to raisethe
standard of overall economy of india.
o Waste management system
o Availability of Power
o Roads
o Bridges
o Schools
o Hospital
o Affordable housing
o Telecom
o water supply
o Sanitation facilities
3.1.11 Low level of living

✓ The standard of living of Indian people in general is considered as very low. Nearly 25 to 40 per cent
of the population in India suffers from malnutrition. The average protein content in the Indian diet is
about 49 grams only per day in comparison to that of more than double the level in the developed
countries of the world.
✓ The present calorie level in India is just above the minimum caloric level required for sustaining life
which is estimated at 2100 calories.
✓ Some of the major causes for malnutrition in India are Economic inequality. Due to the low social
status of some population groups, their diet often lacks in both quality and quantity.
✓ Based on data collected between 2011 and 2013(SECC, Socio Economic and Caste Census), it
showed that One in three rural families was landless and dependent on manual labor for its
livelihood.
✓ In around 75 percent of rural households, the highest-earning member earned less than 5,000
rupees ($79, or 71 euros) per month. Barely one in 10 homes has a refrigerator, the report showed.
✓ Although living standards in some Indian cities and towns have improved rapidly in the past two
decades, rural areas are still lagging behind.
✓ A balanced diet should provide around 50-60% of total calories from carbohydrates, preferably from
complex carbo-hydrates, about 10-15% from proteins and 20-30% from both visible and invisible fat.
✓ In addition, a balanced diet should provide other non-nutrients such as dietary fibre, antioxidants
and phytochemicals which bestow positive health benefits. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E,
beta-carotene, riboflavin and selenium protect the human body from free radical damage. Other
phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavones, etc., also afford protection against oxidant damage.
Spices like turmeric, ginger, garlic, cumin and cloves are rich in antioxidants.
✓ The recommended dietary allowance of protein for an average Indian adult is 0.8 to 1 gm per kg
body weight, however, the average intake is about 0.6 gm per kg body weight.
3.2 Demographic Characteristics of the Indian Rural Economy
What is Demography? Demography is the scientific and statistical study of population and in particular the
size of various types of population, their development and structure.
Census is a valuable and authentic source and can provide information at the lowest possible aggregation.
In addition to the age-sex-marital status of the various types of population, it provides information about
their socio-economic characteristics such as literacy and education, religion of the head of the household,
occupation and industrial classification of the labour force, the available household and community amenities
(health facilities, post offices, banks, schools etc.) and housing conditions.
3.2.1 Sex Composition of Rural Population

Sex Ratio: Number of females per 1000 males in the population.
✓ It is an important social indicator used to measure the extent of the prevailing equity between males
and females in a society at a given point in time.
✓ It is an outcome mainly of the interplay of sex differentials in mortality, sex-selective migration, sex
ratio at birth and at times the sex differential in population enumeration.
3.2.2 Census 2011 related data

✓ The rural sex ratio in India stands at 947 females per 1000 males, which is an improvement of 1 points
over 946 recorded in the 2001 census.
✓ The overall Sex Ratio in the country has risen from 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011.
✓ In 10 States & UTs Urban Sex Ratio is higher than the Rural Sex Ratio in Census 2011. This includes
Tamil Nadu, Kerala and NCT Delhi.
3.2.3 Child Sex Ratio

Child Sex Ratio:
In India, the Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males in the age group 0–6
years in a human population.
✓ In contrast to the overall sex ratio, the sex ratio of the child population (0-6 age group) in rural areas
fell from 934 in 2001 to 919 in 2011.
Some of the important reasons for this declining trend, specific to our country, are:
✓ Neglect of the girl child resulting in their higher mortality at younger ages;
✓ High maternal mortality;
✓ Sex selective female abortions and
✓ Female infanticide.
Census 2011 related data

✓ The Child Sex Ratio (0-6) in the country in Census 2011 has recorded as the lowest since 1961 Census
at 914.
✓ It has declined by 13 points from 927 in 2001.
✓ The Child Population in India declined by 5.0 million (–3.0 %) between 2001 and 2011.
✓ This is due to the sharp decline of 8.9 million (–7.0%) in child population in Rural areas.
✓ In 28 States/UTs there is a decline in the proportion of Child Population in Rural Areas between 2001
& 2011 Censuses.
3.2.4 Age Composition of Rural Population
✓ The age composition is another basic characteristic of a population.
✓ It not only influences the rate of growth but also enables us to determine the proportion of labour
force in the total population as well as the dependency ratio.
Dependency Ratio:
The number of children (aged under 14) and old people (aged 60 or 65 and over) in a population as a ratio of
the number of adults (aged 15-59/64).
Labour force:
Labor force (also called work force) is the total number of people employed or seeking employment in a
country or region. (Thus labour force constitutes of both employed and unemployed).
One is classified as ‘not in labour force’; if he or she was engaged in relatively longer period in any one of the
non-gainful activities or we can say those who are neither seeking nor available for work.
✓ Basically the age composition of a population is determined by three factors, i.e. fertility, mortality
and migration.
✓ These factors are interdependent and any change in one of these may influence the other two.
3.2.5 Literacy Rate
✓ Literacy is an important driving force behind economic and social development and it is a powerful
influence that tends to reduce the birth rate, thereby reducing the pressure of population.
Crude Birth Rate : Number of births in a year per 1000 population.

Who is a literate?
According to Census, a person aged seven years or more than seven years who can read and write with
understanding in any language is called a literate person. A person who can merely read but cannot write is
not classified as literate. Any formal education or minimum educational standard is not necessary to be
considered literate.
Literacy Rate:
The total percentage of the population of an area at a particular time aged seven years or above who can read
and write with understanding is called literacy rate.
3.2.6 Census 2011 related data

✓ According to 2011 census, the literacy rate in the population seven years and above stands at 74% for
the country as a whole against 64.8% in 2001.
✓ The improvement in literacy rate in rural area is two times that in urban areas.
✓ The rural urban literacy gap which was 21.2 percentage points in 2001, has come down to 16.1
percentage points in 2011.
✓ Improvement in female literacy is more than males in both rural and urban areas.
✓ The gender gap in literacy has come down from 24.6 in 2001 to 19.8 in 2011 in rural areas and from
13.4 in 2001 to 9.8 in 2011 in urban areas.
✓ Pace of increase in Female Literacy Rate is perceptibly higher in Rural areas.
✓ It has increased from 46.13% in 2001 to 58.75% in 2011.
3.3 Social Characteristics of the Indian Rural Economy
3.3.1 Rural Social Structure

✓ Every society has certain units. It is these units that form the social set up or social structure.
✓ These units are inter-related and through their study, it is possible to study the behavior patterns of
the society.
✓ In Indian Rural Society, different villages are the units and they have geographical, moral and other
types of structures.
✓ Their behavior pattern, there believes ideas, faiths etc. are also different from one another.
✓ These villages have their own structure.
3.3.2 The structure is formed out of the following units

✓ Family
✓ Caste System
✓ Internal Organization
✓ Religion
3.3.2.1 The family

✓ Family is the basic unit of Indian social structure. It occupies an important place in the Rural Society.
✓ Apart from performing various basic and important tasks, the family also brings about socialization,
social control and also performs various basic and important tasks.
✓ It is the agency that controls the religion activities particularly in the Rural Society.
It has the following characteristics

✓ Patriarchal family structure;
✓ Joint family system;
✓ Extended family structure.
3.3.2.2 Caste-System
✓ Through this institution, the functions, status, occupation role and social position are determined.
✓ The origin of Indian caste system sometimes is traced from the penetration of the Aryans, who devised
the system for the division of labor in their society.
3.3.2.3 The Internal Organization

✓ This internal organization governs and determines the social and individual life of the people living in
a particular village.
✓ Normally every village has a Panchayat and its head; it is elected with the consent of almost all the
adult members of the village.
✓ These villagers are responsible for maintaining the religious customs and traditions and they play a
vital role in determining the internal organization and working of the village.
3.3.2.4 Religion and religious Organization

✓ Like caste, family internal organization etc, religion is an important unit of the village social structure
of organization.
✓ In fact religion means worship of the super natural power. This super natural power means god and
other gods and deities, worship of supernatural power and the ditties form an important part of village
life. Villages have there own gods and deities.
✓ In fact all those patrons of behaviors that are helpful in removing uncertainties of man’s everyday life
are known as religion.
4 Importance and Role of the Rural sector in India

✓ Rural economy of India is so dominant that almost all the activities of the Indian people bear its stamp.
✓ The most important thing about the rural economy is that it is very large, almost co-terminus with the
Indian Economy.
✓ Rural India has 68.84% or 83.3 crore people, living in 638,365 villages and earn one-third of the
national income.
✓ It epitomizes diversity that cuts across geographic conditions to agro-economic, cultural and social
contexts.
Following are the components of rural sector that contribute towards the development of Indian
economy:
✓ Agriculture and its allied sector
✓ Non farm sector comprising of Small Scale & cottage industries
✓ Rural consumer from the perspective of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) & Durable goods
industries.
4.1 Role of Agriculture and Allied Sector in the development of the nation
4.1.1 Agriculture Sector

✓ From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is not only self-sufficient
in grain production but also has a substantial reserve and also earn a quantum of foreign currency via
agriculture exports.
✓ The progress made by agriculture in the last four decades has been one of the biggest success stories
of free India.
✓ This increase in agricultural production has been brought about by bringing additional area under
cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, the use of improved high-yielding variety of seeds,
better techniques evolved through agricultural research, water management, and plant protection
through judicious use of fertilizers, pesticides and cropping practices.
✓ The farm sector plays a very vital role in the fostering growth to the Indian economy.
✓ Not only it provides employment to more than 2/3rd of the Indian population either directly or
indirectly but also subsequently contributes to the growth in the non-farm sector since the income
earn by the people in rural areas through the farm sector is spent on purchasing various commodities
of essential and comfort nature.
✓ Thus the relationship between agricultural income and economic growth is almost direct.
4.1.2 Fertilizer Industry

✓ Green revolution in the late sixties gave an impetus to the growth of Fertilizer industry in India.
✓ The Fertilizer industry in India has grown tremendously in the last 40 years.
✓ The Government is keen to see that fertilizer reaches the farmers in the remote and hilly areas.
✓ It has been decided to decontrol the prices, distribution and movement of phosphatic and potassic
fertilizers.
4.1.3 Seed Industry

✓ Seed industry in India has been making great strides since independence.
✓ The government through its policy initiatives has helped in the development and growth of this
nascent industry.
✓ As a result Indian seeds market is one of the biggest in the world.
4.1.4 Pesticide Industry

✓ India produces 90,000 metric tonnes of pesticides a year.
✓ India’s pesticide industry is the largest in Asia and the twelfth largest in the world.
4.2 Allied Sectors
4.2.1 Livestock Sector

✓ Livestock production and agriculture are intrinsically linked, each being dependent on the other, and
both crucial for overall food security.
✓ Livestock sector is an important subsector of the agriculture of Indian economy.
✓ It forms an important livelihood activity for most of the farmers, supporting agriculture in the form
of critical inputs, contributing to the health and nutrition of the household, supplementing incomes,
offering employment opportunities etc.
India has vast resource of livestock and poultry, which play a vital role in improving the socio-economic
conditions of rural masses.
4.2.1.1 Dairy/Milk Production
• India continues to be the largest producer of milk in world.
• Several measures have been initiated by the Government to increase the productivity of livestock,
which has resulted in increasing the milk production significantly.
4.2.1.2 Egg Production

• Poultry production in India has taken a quantum leap in the last four decades, emerging from an
unscientific farming practice to commercial production system with state-of-the art
technological interventions.
4.2.2 Fisheries Production

• The Country has vast potential for fisheries in view of our long coastline of about 8,118 kms apart
from the inland water resources.
• India is the second largest producer of fish and also second largest producer of fresh water fish
in the world.
4.2.3 Food Processing

✓ India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables.
✓ A strong and dynamic food processing industry is important for diversification and
commercialization of agriculture.
✓ It ensures value addition to the agricultural products, generates employment, enhances income of
farmers and creates surplus for export of agro foods.
✓ Food processing covers a spectrum of products from sub-sector comprising agriculture, horticulture,
plantation, animal husbandry and fisheries.
✓ India has abundant availability of a wide variety of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers, live-stock and
seafood.
✓ Indian Food Processing Industry can be further sub divided into various food processing sectors such
as grain processing, meat processing, poultry & egg processing, milk & milk products, fish processing,
fruit & vegetable processing, consumer food industries.
4.3 Non-Farm Sector
4.3.1 Small and Cottage Industries

What does the village and small industries (VSI) sector comprise?
✓ It comprises both traditional and modern small industries; it is constituted by eight specific groups’
viz. Handloom, Handicrafts, Coir, Sericulture, Khadi, Village Industries, Small-Scale Industries and
Powerlooms.
✓ Cottage industries are of a traditional nature, catering mainly to the local populations and depend
upon local raw materials.
✓ They are located usually at the homes of the producers hence the name cottage industries.
✓ It is estimated that about 50 million people are employed in cottage industries. They require little
capital investment and so many such units can be developed.
✓ They help in solving unemployment problems and are major contributors to the country’s economic
growth.
✓ They provide main components for large-scale industries.
✓ Farmers can supplement their income and provide themselves with a better source of livelihood.
✓ They help in preservation and promotion of traditional culture and national heritage.
✓ They earn foreign exchange for India and are acknowledged all over the world.
✓ Next to agriculture, the VSI sector provides the greatest employment opportunities, a considerable
portion of which is in rural and semi-rural areas.
4.3.2 Forest Based Small Scale Manufacturing

✓ Among the village industries scheduled for development by KVIC are the following forest based
industries: collection of forest plants and herbs for (mostly medicinal purposes); cane and bamboo
processing; gums and resins; katha manufacturing; and shellac industry.
✓ These industries utilize minor forest produce which are under the control of State Forest
Departments.
4.3.3 Consumers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Durable Goods
FMCG or Non-Durable Goods:
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) or consumer packaged goods (CPG) are products that are
sold quickly and at relatively low cost.
Examples include non-durable goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, over-the-
counter drugs and many other consumables.
Durable Goods:
It is a category of consumer products that do not need to be purchased frequently because they are
made to last for a long time (usually lasting for three years or more).
They are also called consumer durables or durables.
✓ The number of middle and high income households in rural India is expected to grow.
✓ With a pickup in income in these areas, the demand for goods and services will increase and that
should contribute to the overall growth in economy.
✓ Increased income in farm sector impacts the entire economy; however it has an almost immediate
impact on some sectors like consumer durables and non-durables, tractors and motorcycles.
✓ A buoyant economy and growing disposable income have presented several opportunities before the
FMCG sector.
✓ Rural areas, where nearly 70 percent of Indians live, have witnessed rapid market growth in recent
times, driven largely by agricultural growth, income redistribution, and inroads made by audio-visual
media.
5 Causes of Rural Poverty in India:

Let us discuss some of the major causes of rural poverty in India:
5.1 Geographical factor

✓ In certain rural areas geographical factors create conditions which lead to poverty.
✓ One of the most prominent geographical factors in India is unpredictable monsoons and weather
which impact the crop production and yield.
✓ Natural calamities like flood, drought, cyclones etc take their own toll and damage the crop, livestock
and land.
✓ Heavy loss is caused by these results in poverty.
5.2 Personal factors

✓ There are many personal factors that lead to poverty. One of these is sickness.
✓ Due to poverty families do not get enough food to eat and thus lack in immunity.
✓ They become prone to many diseases. So whatsoever they earn is utilized in the treatment of the
same.
✓ Sickness in turn leads to more poverty. It is rightly said that “Poverty and sickness form a vicious
partnership each helping the other to add to the miseries of most unfortunate of mankind.”
✓ Laziness and not willing to work is another major reason of poverty in India. People just do not want
to work. Even in urban areas you might have come across beggars who are in good health but are not
willing to work even if given some. They need easy money.
✓ Addiction to drinking, drugs and other social evils add to rural poverty. These are enough to make the
entire family poor.
5.3 Biological factors

✓ Rapid growth in population also leads to poverty in rural India.
✓ Much developed medical and healthcare facilities in India have reduced the overall death rate but yet
birth rate has not been controlled with effectiveness.
✓ Big families and limited resources result in poverty.
5.4 Economic factors

✓ Rural India depends upon agriculture for everything.
✓ But most of the farmers still rely on primitive methods of agriculture.
✓ With this the annual produce is often very less. Moreover agriculture sector in India is still
underdeveloped to provide enough jobs.
✓ Faulty supply chain and mismanagement cause the farmers to suffer the most.
✓ People at the top of the supply chain earn the maximum benefit of the farmer’s hard work. But it
should be another way round to uplift the rural India.
6 Classification of Workers based on Census 2011

✓ The Census classifies Workers into two groups namely, Main workers and Marginal workers.
✓ Main Workers are those workers who had worked for the major part of the reference period i.e. 6
months or more.
✓ Marginal Workers are those workers who had not worked for the major part of the reference period
i.e. less than 6 months.
The Main workers are classified on the basis of Industrial category of workers into the following four
categories:
✓ Cultivators (CL)
✓ Agricultural Labourers (AL)
✓ Household Industry Workers and
✓ Other Workers (OW)
6.1 Data regarding Workers as per Census 2011

✓ Proportion of Agricultural labourers and Cultivators: In Census 2011 out of 362.5 million total main
workers, 118.7 million are cultivators and another 144.3 million are agricultural labourers. Thus,
nearly 21.7 per cent that is 263.02 million are engaged in agricultural activities compared to 22.9 per
cent in Census 2001.
✓ Of the remaining workers, 18.3 million are in household industries and 200.4 million are other
workers.
✓ During the decade 2001-11, the Census results show a fall of about 9 million in cultivators and an
increase of about 38 million in agricultural labourers. The household industries have shown an
increase of 1.4 million and other workers have increased by nearly 49 million.
✓ Among the States/UTs, Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest numbers in all the categories of
workers, with 19.1 million cultivators, 19.9 million agricultural labourers, 3.9 million in household
industries and 22.9 million as other workers.
6.2 Classification of farm workers in India

From the classification mentioned in the above section, we see that the farm workers in India are classified
into two: Cultivators and Agricultural Labourers.
Cultivators are those who work in their own land;

Agricultural Labourers are those who work on the land of others for wages. An agricultural labourer has no
right of lease or contract on land on which she/he works.
Thus, Workers engaged in the agricultural sector = The cultivators and agricultural labourers (except
those engaged in plantation activities).
✓ Agricultural labourers and Cultivators, which constitutes a major part of the rural labour in the
country, are the most disadvantageous section of the population as they have not benefited much
from the social-economic development witnessed after independence.
✓ They are unorganized and hence deprived of the benefits of most of the labour enactments.
Following are the inferences that can be made

✓ Agricultural workers as fraction of India’s total population have decreased only marginally since in
1951. While 27% of the people were agricultural workers in 1951; their fraction stands 21.7% as per
Census 2011 data.
✓ Out of the total agricultural workers; the fraction of cultivators has gradually gone down from 72% in
1951 to 45.1% in 2011.
✓ On the other hand, the fraction of Agricultural Labourers has gradually gone up from 28% in 1951 to
54.8% in 2011.
✓ This hints towards a disturbing trend that more and more people of India are losing their land and
they are either becoming farm labourers or moving to other sectors.
✓ Since most of these people are either low skilled or unskilled, they have not many options but to
become labourers either under private / unorganized sector or under government schemes such as
MGNREGA.
✓ That is where; skill development gets importance as one of the biggest challenges in our country.
✓ The above data also demystifies the false notion that half of India’s population is involved in
agriculture.
6.2.1 Meaning of Agricultural Labourers

✓ Agricultural labourers who are mostly landless and form a significant section of rural society mainly
depend on wage employment in agriculture.
✓ Majority of them belong to the category of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and are among
the worst exploited section of the society.
✓ Their income has always been meagre, resulting in poor living and heavy indebtedness.
6.2.2 Definition of Agricultural Labourers

✓ According to the Census of India 2001 "A person who works on another persons land for wages in
cash or kind or share will be regarded as agricultural labour".
✓ She or he has no risk in the cultivation but merely works on another land for wages.
✓ An agricultural labourer has no right of lease or contract on land which she/he works.
✓ For a major part of year they should work on the land of other on wages.
6.2.3 Other Allied activities included under Agricultural Labourer

✓ The Second Agricultural Labour Enquiry Committee (1956-57) made the definition broader and
viewed agricultural labour to include not only labour employed in crop production but also engaged
in allied activities like animal husbandry, poultry and dairy.
✓ Thus several more categories of workers were brought within the scope of the term, "Agricultural
labour" in the second enquiry.
6.2.4 Agricultural Household: (According to the National Sample Survey Organization)

Households which derived more than 50 per cent of their total income during the last 365 days preceding
the date of survey from agricultural labour occupations only will be regarded as agricultural labour
households.
Agriculture labourers can be classified into two broad categories
6.2.5 Classification of Agricultural labourers
✓ Landless Agricultural Labourer: The labourers don’t posses land and can be further sub-divided into:
1. Permanent Labourers attached to cultivating households: Permanent or attached labourers

generally work on some sort of contract. The wages are determined by custom or tradition.
2. Temporary or Casual Labourers: Casual labourers are engaged only during peak period for work. The
employment is temporary and labourers are paid at the market rate. These labourers are not attached
to any landlords.
✓ Small and Marginal Land-Owners: These are very small cultivators whose main source of earnings
due to their small and marginal holdings is wage employment. These labourers can again be divided
into three subgroups:
1. Cultivators: Cultivators are small farmers, who possess very little land and therefore, have to devote
most of their time working on the lands of others as labourers.
2. Share croppers: A sharecropper is a tenant farmer, someone who works on land that is rented from
its owner. Typically, a share cropper will pay the landowner with part of the harvest, rather than
money.
3. Lease holders: Lease holders are the tenants who not only work on the leased land but also work as
labourers.
6.2.6 Problems of Agricultural Labourers

✓ Agricultural Labourers are Scattered: Agricultural labour in India is being widely scattered over large
number of villages in the country and so cannot be effectively organized.
✓ Unskilled and Lack Training

o Agricultural labourers, especially in smaller villages are generally unskilled workers carrying on
agricultural operation at a very low wage.
o Majority of them are generally conservative and tradition bound.
o There is hardly any motivation for change or improvement. Since there is no alternative
employment, the agricultural labourer has to do all types of work- both farm and domestic for
landlord.
✓ Unorganized
o Agricultural labourers are not organized like industrial labourers.
o These labourers are illiterate and ignorant.
o They live in villages scattered all over the country. Hence they could not be organized in unions.
o Accordingly, it is difficult for them to bargain with the land owners and secure good wages.
✓ Low Social Status
o Most agricultural workers belong to the depressed classes, which have been neglected for ages.
o In some parts of India, agricultural labourers are migratory, moving in search of jobs at the time
of harvesting with a lot of dislocation of family life, dislocation of education of children and
numerous other handicaps.
✓ Abundance of Labour
o The agricultural labourers are abundant in supply in relation to their demand.
o It is only during the sowing and harvesting seasons that there appears to be meaningful
employment.
o But, once these seasons are over, majority of agricultural workers are jobless especially in areas,
where there is single cropping pattern.
o The problem is further aggravated due to the fact that these labours are generally unskilled and
so couldn’t find alternative employment.
✓ Low Bargaining Power
o Due to all the above mentioned factors, the bargaining power and position of agricultural
labourers in India is very weak.
o In fact, quite a large number of them are in the grip of village money lenders, landlords and
commission agents, often the same person functioning in all the three capacities.
o The agricultural labour is the most exploited class of people of India.
o Thus partly because of factors beyond their control and partly because of their inherent
bargaining weakness, the farm labourers have been getting very low wages and have therefore
to live in a miserable sub-human life.
6.2.7 Causes for the Growth of Agricultural Labourers

There are a number of factors responsible for the continuous and enormous increase in the number of
agricultural labourers in India. Let us have a look at the important ones
✓ Increase in Rural Population

o The increase in population is the major cause of sub-division and uneconomic land holding in the
rural area as the same piece of land gets distributed among large number of persons in the family
which becomes inadequate for their own basic requirements.
o Thus the rural families have to search for the employment to fulfil their economic needs.
✓ Decline of Cottage Industries and Handicrafts
o The rural industries are on the decline due to increased competition from modern industries.
o In the absence of the alternative employment opportunities for workers engaged in these village
industries there is an increase of agriculture labour in India.
✓ Uneconomic Land Holdings
o The vast inequality in the distribution of land-holding has resulted in the need to search for the
rural employment.
✓ Increase in Indebtedness
o A very large proportion of rural population is in the grip of non-institutional source of credit
especially money-lenders that charge huge interest.
o In order to pay these debts, poor farmers have to sell their land and look for the employment on
other’s farms.
✓ Break-up of Joint Family System
o The economic support system has been reduced with the break-up of the joint family system. This
has increased the need to work outside the family’s land-holding.
6.2.8 Suggestions for the Improvement of Agricultural Labourers
✓ Improvement in the Bargaining Position
o The agricultural labourers may be organized so that they can effectively bargain for better working
conditions and enable better enforcement of legislations.
✓ Efficient implementation of land reforms
o The schemes of land redistribution to small and landless labourers needs to be strengthened so
as raise their income level and social status.
✓ Creating Alternative Employment
o The training and skill improvement programmes are required to be developed to allow alternative
employment opportunities for rural workers.
o The public works schemes should be for longer period in the year so as to provide useful
employment throughout the year.
o Non-agricultural industries should be developed so as to absorb surplus labour.
✓ Improvements in Agricultural Sector
o The rural infrastructure development like better irrigation facilities, warehousing, easy access to
agricultural inputs etc, effective implementation of land reforms and spread of farm
mechanization can help to improve economic well-being of agricultural labourers.
✓ Better Credit Availability
o The financial assistance at cheaper rates of interest and on easy terms of payment for undertaking
subsidiary occupation should be provided.
✓ Cooperative Farming
o The cooperative farming by pooling of land by small and marginal farmers may be developed. This
measure would provide better incentive to improve productivity of farm as these farmers will
continue to be owners of their land and share the fruits of their efforts.
o Government should facilitate the smooth working of these cooperatives by providing cheap
credit, marketing and inputs.
✓ Introduction of Skill development and Employment Schemes
6.3 Landholding pattern in India: (As per Agriculture Census 2015-16)

✓ The total number of operational holdings in the country has increased from 138 million in 2010-11
to 146 million 2015-16 i.e. an increase of 5.33%.
✓ The data for 2015-16 Agriculture Census reveals that in a total of 146 million operational holdings in
the country, the highest number of operational holders belonged to Uttar Pradesh (23.82 million)
followed by Bihar (16.41 million), Maharashtra (14.71 million).
✓ As regards operated area, out of a total of 157.14 million ha, the highest operated area was
contributed by Rajasthan (20.87 million ha), followed by Maharashtra (19.88 million ha), Uttar
Pradesh (17.45 million ha).
✓ At all India level, percentage increase in number of operational holdings in 2015-16 as compared to
Agriculture Census 2010-11 worked out to 5.33% among states, the highest variation was found in
the case of Madhya Pradesh (12.74%) followed by Andhra Pradesh (11.85%), Rajasthan (11.12%).
✓ There is a decrease in the operated area from 159.59 million ha. in 2010-11 to 157.14 million ha. in
2015-16 showing a decrease of 1.53%.
✓ Some states also showed decline in number of operational holdings. The sharpest fall has been in
Goa (28.17%) and lowest in Manipur (0.09%). However, operated area has shown declining trends in
most of the states.
✓ The average size of operational holding has declined to 1.08 ha. in 2015-16 as compared to 1.15 in
2010-11.
✓ The percentage share of female operational holders has increased from 12.79% in 2010-11 to 13.87%
in 2015-16 with the corresponding figures of 10.36% and 11.57% in the operated area. This shows
that more and more females are participating in the management and operation of agricultural
lands.
✓ The small and marginal holdings taken together (0.00-2.00 ha) constituted 86.21% in 2015-16
against 84.97% in 2010-11 while their share in the operated area stood 47.34% in the current census
as against 44.31% in 2010-11.
✓ Semi-medium and Medium operational holdings (2.00-10.00 ha) in 2015-16 were only 13.22% with
43.61% operated area. The corresponding figures for 2010-11 census was 14.29% and 44.82%.
✓ The large holdings (10.00 ha & above) were merely 0.57% of total number of holdings in 2015-16
and had a share of 9.04% in the operated area as against 0.71% and 10.59% respectively for 2010-11
census.
6.4 SECC – 2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data on Farmers and Agricultural
Labourers
✓ Only 30% of rural households depend on cultivation as their main source of income.
✓ Whereas, 51.14% derive sustenance from manual casual labour (MCL).
✓ Fragmentation of landholdings has made it difficult for even farmers to support themselves, let alone
those dependent on MCL.
✓ Therefore, getting people out of farms will spur mechanization and consolidation of land holdings,
leading to increased agricultural productivity in the long run.
✓ In nearly 75 per cent of the rural households, the main earning family member makes less than
Rs.5,000 per month (or Rs.60,000 annually).
✓ In just eight per cent of households does the main earning member makes more than Rs 10,000 per
month.
✓ 56.25% of rural households hold no agricultural land.
✓ The numbers also point to the subsistence level of farming that rural India currently practices.
✓ Therefore, creation of gainful non-farm employment should receive top priority in policy making.
National Policy For Farmers (NPF) 2007:

Government of India has approved the National Policy for Farmers, 2007 taking into account the
recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers and after consulting the State Governments.
The National Policy for Farmers, among other things, has provided for a holistic approach to development
of the farm sector. The focus will be on the economic well being of the farmers in addition to improved
production and productivity.
The broad areas of its coverage include:
✓ Asset reforms: To ensure that a farmer household in villages either possesses or has access to a
productive asset or marketable skill.
✓ Water use efficiency: the stress on awareness and efficiency of water use will be given.
✓ New technologies like biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable
energy technology, space applications and nano-technology would be encouraged for improving
productivity per unit of land and water on a sustainable basis.
✓ National Agricultural Bio-security System would be established to organize a coordinated agricultural
biosecurity programme.
✓ Seeds and Soil Health: Quality seeds, disease free planting material and soil health enhancement hold
the key to raising small farm productivity. Every farmer is to be issued with a soil health passbook
containing integrated information on farm soils with corresponding advisories.
✓ Support services for women: Appropriate support services like crèches, child care centres and adequate
nutrition needed by women working in fields would be funded.
✓ Credit & Insurance: The financial services would be galvanized for timely, adequate and easy reach to
the farmers at reasonable interest rates.
✓ Gyan Chaupals will promote learning of farmers thereby strengthening extension services.
✓ Necessary steps would be taken to put in place an appropriate social security scheme for farmers.
✓ Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism to be implemented effectively across the country so as to
ensure remunerative prices for agricultural produce.
✓ Food Security basket is to be enlarged to include nutritious millets such as bajra, jowar, ragi and millets,
mostly grown in dry land farming areas.
7 Definition of an Artisan
(Note: This definition is as per the National Sample Survey – NSS)
A skilled worker and handicraftsman working on own-account is an artisan. Persons engaged in the
following occupations are to be considered as artisans:
✓ weavers, knitters, carpet makers, etc.
✓ dress makers, upholsters, etc.
✓ shoe-makers and other leather workers.
✓ blacksmiths, goldsmiths, coppersmiths and other metal workers.
✓ carpenters, painters, etc.
✓ stone carvers, brick layers, plasterers, glazers, cement finishers, etc.
✓ printers (paper and textile), engravers, block makers, etc.
✓ potters, glass and ceramic workers, etc.
✓ basketry and mat weavers and related workers.
✓ makers of musical instruments, toys, sports goods, etc
7.1 The importance of Handicrafts Sector

✓ The Handicrafts Sector plays a significant & important role in the country’s economy.
✓ It provides employment to a vast segment of crafts person in rural & semi urban areas and generates
substantial foreign exchange for the country, while preserving its cultural heritage.
✓ Handicrafts have great potential, as they hold the key for sustaining not only the existing set of millions
of artisans spread over length and breadth of the country, but also for the increasingly large number
of new entrants in the crafts activity. Presently, handicrafts contribute substantially to employment
generation and exports.
✓ The Small Scale and Cottage Sector helps to solve social and economic problems of the artisans, by
providing employment to over 7 millions artisans (including those in the Carpets trades) which include
a large number of women and people belonging to weaker sections of the society.
7.2 Nodal Agency for Handicrafts in India

✓ The Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) under Ministry of Textiles, Government of
India is the nodal agency in the Government of India for craft and artisan-based activities.
✓ It assists in the development, marketing and export of handicrafts, and the promotion of craft forms
and skills.
✓ The assistance is in the form of technical and financial support, including in the form of schematic
interventions implemented through its field offices.
7.3 Export of Handicrafts

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH)
✓ The EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRAFTS (EPCH) is the apex government body and operates
under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
✓ EPCH has the distinction of being considered a ‘model council’, a self-sustaining body that self-finances all
its promotional activities.
✓ Handicrafts is a labor-intensive sector with high potential of employment for poorer section of the
society in rural areas. It is economically important because of low capital investment, high value
addition and negligible import content and high potential for export earnings.
✓ The emergence of handicrafts sector, as one of the sources of foreign exchange earnings for the
country, is evident from the data of exports of all India's handicrafts from India.
No. of Artisans: As per census of Handicrafts being conducted in the 11th Plan the major highlights are
as under:
SC 20.8%
Total 68.86 Lakhs
ST 7.5%
Male 30.25 Lakhs (43.87 %)
OBC 52.4%
Female 38.61 Lakhs (56.13 %)
General 19.2%
7.4 Significance of Handicraft Industry
✓ Economic growth
o Providing Employment opportunity as it is labour intensive industry, earn foreign exchange by
export and increasing the purchasing power of the artisans.
✓ Environmental benefits
o Production processes used in crafts typically have a low carbon footprint and promote the use of
locally available materials as well as natural and organic materials where possible.
✓ Social empowerment
o Crafts production represents an opportunity to provide a source of earning and employment for
otherwise low-skilled, home-based women, improving their status within the household.
7.5 Issues of Rural Artisans

✓ Neglect by State and Central Governments
✓ Non-Coverage under Agricultural Relief Programmes
✓ Non-Involvement in Rural Developmental Programmes
✓ Lack of Skill Improvement and Technology Up-gradation
✓ Lack of Specialized Markets
✓ Non-existence of Infrastructural Facilities
✓ Non-Availability of Quality Raw Materials
✓ Weak Financial Power
✓ Inability to Get Bank Loans
✓ Poor Access to Information
✓ Lack of Linkages with Different Developmental Institutions
✓ Need of Social Security Mechanism
7.5.1 Solutions
✓ Certifying products and standardizing processes: Designing minimum acceptable benchmarks for the
production of various crafts, and assisting artisans with process standardization to help them easily
adhere to certification standards.
✓ Improving design, product development and quality control: Providing design inputs and product
development assistance from the beginning of the value chain to ensure that the end product matches
the preferences of contemporary markets.
✓ Strengthening artisan institutions: Providing business support, training and up-skilling to help
artisans establish sustainable crafts businesses.
✓ Conducting research, documentation and dissemination: Collecting, documenting and disseminating
information on craft preservation, the state of the craft sector and best practices to raise awareness
about the sector and create a reliable database on artisans.
✓ Influencing government policy and spending: Advocating with the government to improve
occupational health and welfare, safeguarding intellectual property rights, creating conducive legal
entities and promoting financial inclusion.
✓ Handholding the artisan through the value chain: Strengthening individual artisans engaged in
production by generating awareness among artisans about the value of their skill, and training artisans
continuously to upgrade their skills and product offerings.
✓ Increasing demand for crafts and strengthening market linkages: Reviving consumer interest in
crafts, and making crafts relevant to increasingly urban lifestyles; strengthening branding efforts to
enable Indian crafts to compete in global markets, and developing new business models that blend
social and commercial goals.
✓ Strengthening the decentralized production model: To overcome the fragmented supply chain, lack
of organization and seasonal production nature of the crafts sector, there is a need to provide business
support and leverage technology for information and process innovations to increase efficiencies in
craft production and enable artisans to produce more.
✓ Building a multi-stakeholder approach: The crafts sector needs increased participation by different
stakeholders such as government, financial institutions, non-profits and academia in their areas of
specialization. Building a collaborative ecosystem will align the roles of different stakeholders, each
of whom can support artisans in different ways.
7.6 Government Initiatives

Schemes to promote work of Rural Artisans: To generate rural employment and to promote the
entrepreneurs in the rural areas of the country, Ministry of MSME is implementing the following schemes
through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board:
7.7 Schemes through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
7.7.1 Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

✓ It is a credit linked subsidy scheme, for setting up of new micro-enterprises and to generate
employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas of the country.
✓ General category beneficiaries can avail of margin money subsidy of 25% of the project cost in rural
areas and 15% in urban areas.
✓ For beneficiaries belonging to special categories such as SC/ST/Women/PH/Minorities/Ex-
Servicemen/NER, the margin money subsidy is 35% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas.
✓ The maximum cost of projects is Rs.25 lakh in the manufacturing sector and Rs.10 lakh in the service
sector.
7.7.2 Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)

It was launched in 2005-06 for making Traditional Industries more productive and competitive by
organizing the Traditional Industries and artisans into clusters.
Adopting Cluster based approach:

Why?
Due to lack of capital, the MSEs are generally not in a position to get access to latest tools and techniques,
thereby compromising on the quality of their end product.
How does this approach help?
• Cluster Development programs aim at the creation of tangible assets like Common Facility Centers
(CFC), getting access to latest tools, technology, designs, testing facilities etc for such enterprises.
• This encourages co-operative behavior, yet infuses a sense of competition amongst the firms
present at the cluster level for doing business.
7.7.3 A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE)
It was launched in 2015 by the MSME Ministry.
Planned outcomes of the scheme are:

✓ Setting up Technology Business Incubators (TBI)
✓ Livelihood Business Incubators (LBI)
✓ Creation of fund of funds for such initiatives with SIDBI
So, a fund of funds of Rs.60 Crore has been created by SIDBI.
The fund would invest in various venture capital funds with investment focus on start-ups and early stage
enterprises in the areas of Rural and Agro Industries.
7.7.4 Market Promotion Development Assistance (MPDA)

✓ MDA scheme of KVIC has been modified as MPDA scheme formulated as a unified scheme by
merging different schemes/ sub-schemes/components of different heads implemented in the 11th
Plan, namely, Market Development Assistance, Publicity, Marketing and Market Promotion.
✓ A new component of Infrastructure namely setting up of Marketing Complexes /Khadi Plazas has
been added to expand the marketing net worth of Khadi & VI products.
✓ Under the erstwhile MDA scheme financial assistance was distributed amongst Producing Institutions
(30%), Selling Institutions (45%) and Artisans (25%).
✓ Under the Modified MDA (MMDA) financial assistance is distributed amongst Producing Institutions
(20%), Selling Institutions (40%) and Artisans (40%).
7.7.5 Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC) Scheme

✓ It provides credit at concessional rate of interest through Banks as per the requirement of the Khadi
institutions.
✓ The institutions are required to pay interest of only 4%, any interest charged by banks over 4% will be
paid by Central Government through KVIC.
7.7.6 Workshed Scheme for Khadi Artisans

✓ It was introduced in 2008-09 to provide financial assistance for construction of workshed to khadi
artisans belonging to BPL category through the khadi institutions with which the khadi artisans are
associated.
✓ This empowers khadi spinners and weavers to chart out a sustainable path for growth, income
generation and better work environment.
7.7.7 Strengthening infrastructure of weak Khadi institutions and assistance for marketing
infrastructure.
✓ This scheme provides need-based support towards the Khadi sector for nursing the sick/problematic
institutions elevated from “D” to “C” category as well as those whose production, sales and
employment have been declining while they have potential to attain normalcy and to support creation
of marketing infrastructure in other identified outlets.
✓ Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to existing weak Khadi institutions for
strengthening of their infrastructure and for renovation of selected khadi sales outlets.
7.8 Schemes implemented through the Coir Board
7.8.1 Coir Vikas Yojana

✓ Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojana: Under the scheme programmes like Entrepreneurship
Development Programme, Awareness Programme, Workshop, Seminar, Exposure Tour, etc. are
implemented for attracting more entrepreneurs to start coir processing units.
✓ In order to create skilled man power required for the industry, Coir Board is implementing training
programmes in value added products.
✓ The candidates undergoing training programmes are given stipend amounting to Rs. 1000/- per
month.
✓ Under the ‘Mahila Coir Yojana’ Scheme which is exclusively for rural women artisans training in
spinning of coir yarn/various coir processing activities is provided to rural women.
✓ The scheme envisages distribution of motorized ratts/motorized traditional ratts and other coir
processing equipments to women at subsidised rates after completion of training.
✓ During the training period, the women artisans are given stipend amounting Rs.1000 per month. The
trained women are given ratts and other coir processing equipments at 75% subsidy subject to a
maximum of Rs.7500/-.
7.8.2 Scheme for the Development of Production Infrastructure

✓ Under the scheme financial assistance is extended for setting up of coir units and modernization of
existing units.
✓ Under the scheme subsidy to the tune of 25% of the cost of equipments and other infrastructural
facilities subject to a maximum of Rs.6 lakh for setting up of defibering unit, Rs. 4 lakh for Automatic
Spinning Unit and Rs.5 lakh for others.
✓ For a composite or a multiple unit the maximum ceiling of assistance would be Rs.9 lakh.
✓ In the case of modernization of existing unit the subsidy will be limited to 25% of the cost of
equipments and infrastructural facilities subject to a maximum of Rs.2 lakh.
7.8.3 Coir Udyami Yojana (formerly known as REMOT Scheme)

✓ It is a credit linked subsidy scheme providing assistance for setting up of coir units.
7.9 Schemes under Ministry of Textile implemented by Development Commissioner

(Handicrafts)
7.9.1 Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana - AHVY

✓ This scheme aims to promote Indian handicrafts by developing artisans’ clusters into professionally
managed and self-reliant community enterprise on the principles of effective member participation
and mutual cooperation.
✓ The thrust of the scheme is on a project based; need based integrated approach for sustainable
development of handicrafts through participation of craftspersons.
✓ This would lead to their empowerment.
7.9.2 Design & Technical Up-gradation Scheme
✓ The scheme aims to upgrade artisan’s skills through development of innovative designs and
prototypes products for overseas market revival of languishing crafts and preservation of heritage etc.
8 How important is Handloom Sector?

✓ The Handloom Sector is one of the largest unorganized economic activities after agriculture and
constitutes an integral part of the rural and semi-rural livelihood.
✓ Handloom weaving constitutes one of the richest and most vibrant aspects of the Indian cultural
heritage.
✓ The sector has an advantage of being less capital intensive, minimal use of power, eco-friendly,
flexibility of small production, openness to innovations and adaptability to market requirements.
✓ It is a natural productive asset and tradition at cottage level, which has sustained and grown by
transfer of skill from one generation to other.
8.1 Features of the Handloom Sector:

✓ Handloom weaving is largely decentralized, and the weavers are mainly from the vulnerable and
weaker sections of the society, who weave for their household needs and also contribute to the
production in the textile sector.
✓ The weavers of this industry are keeping alive the traditional craft of different States.
✓ The level of artistry and intricacy achieved in the handloom fabrics is unparalleled and certain
weaves/designs are still beyond the scope of modern machines.
✓ Handloom sector can meet every need ranging from the exquisite fabrics, which takes months to
weave, to popular items of mass production for daily use.
As per 4th Handlooms Census, carried out in 2019-20, more than 35.22 lakh people are engaged in weaving
and allied activities which was 43 lakh as per 3rd handloom census conducted during 1995-96.
8.2 Important parts of the textile sector in India

✓ Modern textile mills
✓ Power looms (Independent)
✓ Handlooms and
✓ Apparel sector
8.3 Important terminology
8.3.1 Loom
✓ A loom is a device for weaving threads for getting cloth.
✓ This machine produces fabric by interlacing a series of lengthwise, parallel yarns width a series of
width wise parallel yarns.
✓ The development of this machine-made cloth much more affordable and available to a greater
number of people. It is only used for weaving.
8.3.2 Hand Loom
✓ A hand loom is a simple machine used for weaving. In a wooden vertical-shaft looms, the heddles are
fixed in place in the shaft.
✓ This loom is powered by hand. The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle, and through a
space between the heddles (the shed), so that raising the shaft raises half the threads (those passing
through the heddles), and lowering the shaft lowers the same threads—the threads passing through
the spaces between the heddles remain in place.
8.3.3 Power Loom

✓ Power loom is a type of loom that is powered mechanically instead of using human power to weave
patterns or thread into cloth.
✓ The power loom is an invention that combined threads to make cloth.
✓ Power looms were assembled in the weaving shed of a mill and driven by a steam engine by belts
from overhead shafting.
✓ Power looms were a major advance over the hand looms used before.
8.4 Demographic Profile of Handloom Worker Households: (Source: The fourth

Handloom Census, 2019-20)
8.4.1 Regional Distribution

✓ It is of interest to note the geographical location of people engaged in this sector to know where the
skills and potentials are largely concentrated, so that due focus and incentives could be channeled
into building up the industry.
✓ According to the Fourth All India Handloom Census, the total number of households in India engaged
in handloom activities (weaving and allied activities) is 31.45 lakhs. This is an increase over the Third
census where the count was 27.83 lakhs.
✓ The total number of weavers enumerated in this round are 26,73,891. Four States of India account
for 18 lakhs of all weaver households in the country. These States are Assam (10.9 lakhs) households,
West Bengal (3.4 lakhs), Manipur (2.1 lakhs) and Tamil Nadu (1.7 lakhs).
8.4.2 Rural Urban Distribution

• Nearly 35.22 lakh handloom workers have been enumerated across 29 states and Union
Territories of India.
• Of this, nearly 86.6 per cent are in rural areas and remaining 13.4 per cent in urban areas.
• The average family size of households engaged in handloom related activities is 1.12 persons (1.11
in rural areas and 1.18 for urban areas).
8.4.3 Distribution of handloom worker households by social groups
✓ Across all social configurations, handloom work is primarily undertaken by Other Backward Castes
(OBC) households, and OBCs (33.6%) are found to be the dominant caste group among handloom
worker households.
✓ A good proportion is found to be from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, and this proportion is high
especially in the North-Eastern states.
✓ Scheduled Castes (SC) households form a relatively small proportion of handloom worker households,
and almost one-fourth of all handloom households belong to the other category.
8.4.4 A caste-wise distribution of such households
Handloom: A State Subject

✓ Handloom, being a state subject, its development is primarily the responsibility the State
Governments.
✓ The Central Government through various developmental schemes and interventions plays the role of
supplementing the efforts of state governments from time to time.
8.5 Handloom Exhibitions in India

✓ Surajkund Crafts Mela, Faridabad
✓ Pushkar Fair, Pushkar (Rajasthan)
✓ Goa Carnival, Goa
✓ Dushera Mela, Kota (Rajasthan)
✓ Baisakhi Mela, Punjab
✓ Kubh Mela, Haridwar
✓ Kutch Desert Festival, Gujarat
✓ Indian International Trade Fair (New Delhi)
8.6 Handloom Boards in India
Government of India has set up various Handloom Boards to look after the production level, export and
import facet, making schemes effective & providing necessary funds for the growth of Handloom Industry.
These are:
✓ All India Handloom Board
✓ Cotton Advisory Board
✓ Central Wool Development Board
✓ Jute Advisory Board
✓ Central Silk Board
8.7 Problems faced by the Indian Handloom Industry:

The present age of modernization and globalization has posed a number of challenges for the handloom
industry in India. The issues of concern to this industry are discussed below.
8.7.1 Rising input costs

✓ The prices of yarn, dyes, chemicals and other inputs have increased sharply in the recent period.
✓ This has resulted into cost disadvantage to the weavers. In spite of more than 700 yarn depots being
operated in the country; the weavers are not able to obtain the necessary inputs at reasonable prices.
✓ The problem is more acute for the individual weavers who need small quantities of yarn and
chemicals.
✓ This situation is affecting the level of output in the handloom industry.
8.7.2 Credit problem

✓ The poor financial condition and independent functioning of weavers has made it difficult to obtain
credit from the institutional sources.
✓ Hence they have to depend on the mercy of private money lenders, and their exploitation continues.
✓ In many cases the weavers have to divert the loan amount towards consumption needs.
✓ The lack of rudimentary financial literacy further aggravates the problem.
8.7.3 Marketing bottlenecks

✓ The largely unorganized handloom industry suffers from a number of marketing problems due to
poor financial and managerial resources.
✓ There is no easy availability of handloom products in tier-II and tier-III towns.
✓ The prices are also high and not within the reach of common people.
✓ There is also problem of genuineness of the products available in the handloom emporiums.
✓ The problem of stiffness and limited designs also adds to the marketing difficulties.
✓ Foreign markets remain under exploited due to the limited access and funds.
8.7.4 Lack of modernization

✓ The handloom industry has been using age old technology and looms.
✓ These results into low productivity and high cost.
✓ Again the continuous and repetitive movements of production process adversely affect the health of
weavers in various ways such body pain, pulmonary problems, chronic bronchitis, decrease in hand-
grip strength and eye-strain.
8.7.5 Migration to other fields

✓ Due to the lower income and instable work the younger generation of weavers has been migrating
to other occupations.
✓ This has reduced the weaver community.
8.7.6 Poor infrastructure

✓ Since “handloom” manufacturing is carried on in the houses of weavers spread over a vast
geographical area, it lacks the necessary infrastructure which is available in industrial estates. There
are no separate sheds, water and power supply, technology support effluent treatment plants and
waste management arrangements.
✓ The poor infrastructure affects the productivity, quality and cost.
8.7.7 Inadequate research and development

✓ Due to the vulnerable financial condition, the weavers, individually, are not able to set research and
development facility and spend money on it.
✓ The state provisions are also not sufficient.
✓ Modern designs are not developed in sufficient number and in tune with the changing taste of the
public.
8.7.8 Lack of Reliable data

✓ Lack of reliable data with respect to number of crafts person, their socio -economic conditions,
livelihood conditions, details of families and their productivity, is a major shortcoming that affects the
planning and policy formation of Handloom Sector.
✓ Absence of data hinders the growth of Handloom sector due to non-possibility of inter- sectoral
comparison.
8.8 Government Initiatives to Power Handloom Sector

✓ Recognizing the socio-economic importance of the handloom industry in the India's economy, policies
should be formulated in such a manner that they benefit the dis-advantaged sectors of the society on
one hand and ensure the flourishing growth of the industry on the other hand in and outside the
country.
✓ Besides, state help and intervention, private participation, modern outlook and induction of younger
generation is required to faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth of the handloom industry.
8.8.1 Integrated Handloom Development Scheme

✓ It provides need based inputs to clusters of 300 – 500 handlooms or Groups of 10 – 100 weavers for
making them self-sustainable by providing them financial assistance for margin money, new looms
and accessories, skill upgradation, marketing opportunities and for construction of worksheds etc.
8.8.2 Marketing and Export Promotion Scheme
✓ It provides platform to the weavers and their organizations to participate in the domestic as well as
international trade events and sell their products directly to the buyers.
Handloom Export Promotion Council:

The Handloom Export Promotion Council, itemized under the Companies Act, 1956, was established in 1965
by the Government of India as the nodal agency for export promotion efforts related to the cotton handloom
textiles.
8.8.3 Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme

✓ This comprises of two separate schemes viz. the Health Insurance Scheme (HIS) for providing Health
Insurance to the Handloom weavers and Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY) for
providing Life insurance cover in case of natural/ accidental death, total/partial disability due to
accident.
8.8.4 Mill Gate Price Scheme

✓ This scheme makes available all types of yarn at mill gate price to the eligible handloom agencies to
facilitate regular supply of basic raw material to the handloom weavers and to optimize their
employment potential.
✓ Under the scheme, the Government of India reimburses the transportation expenses involved in the
supply of yarn from mill to godown of the user agencies.
8.8.5 Diversified Handloom Development Scheme

✓ This scheme provides assistance for technological and skill-upgradation of weavers for design and
product development through 25 Weavers’ Service Centres and 5 Indian Institutes of Handloom
Technology all over the country to improve the productivity and earnings of the handloom weavers.
8.8.6 Revival Reform and Restructuring Package (RRR)

✓ In order to open the choked credit lines to enable access to fresh credit for handloom sector, GOI has
approved RRR package for waiver of overdue loan for eligible apex and primary weaver cooperative
societies and individual weavers.
✓ The Government has also approved weaver credit card under institutional credit component,
providing margin money assistance @ Rs. 4200/- per weaver, 3% interest subvention for three years
and credit guarantee for 3 years by Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises.
✓ Focus is on assisting weavers with designs, marketing and improved wages.
✓ National Institute of Fashion Technology and leading members of the fashion industry have been
roped in for design support to weavers.
✓ At the same time equipment and raw material for producing clothes for the high end customers and
niche market are also being provided.
✓ Higher wage coming from high value production and reducing level of transactions in marketing would
enhance the wage of the handloom weavers substantially.
8.8.7 Marketing Assistance
✓ In order to provide better marketing reach, the Ministry has launched an E-commerce initiative
Flipkart.
✓ This will strengthen the existing Primary Weaver Cooperative Society by assisting entrepreneur from
the weavers families for taking up production and supply directly to the customers.
✓ Synergy of handloom, handicraft with tourism has been worked out in consultation with Ministry of
Tourism. State Chief Secretaries have been requested for identifying traditional handloom
weavers/handicraft artisans villages for development as “Adarsh Gram” as tourists destination.
8.8.8 Handloom Mega Cluster Scheme

✓ Development of Tassar handloom products like sarees, dress material and wide range of home
furnishing fabric for exports typical to Bhagalpur in Bihar has been initiated under Handloom Mega
Cluster Scheme.
✓ Another mega cluster is being developed at Trichy, Tamilnadu. Over 15,000 handloom weavers will
be directly benefited under each these two clusters.
✓ The remaining new mega clusters at Surat, Bareilly, Lucknow, Kutch and Mysore announced in the
Budget Speech are at various stages of implementation.
8.8.9 Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana

✓ The scheme has been in operation since 2000.
✓ This is a scheme that was specially launched for the rich handloom sector of the country and
undertakes things like development of products, support in infrastructure, support at the
institutional level, weaver’s training, Supporting in technical and marketing terms etc.
✓ The scheme takes care of this and many other things at both Micro as well as Macro levels and
provides support to the weavers and their craft.
✓ This is aimed at increasing the efficiency of these weavers so that they may meet the rising demands
of their products in India and globally.
✓ The scheme further aims to provide technical assistance and also support in several other aspects of
their art which would channelize their creative energies into transforming their arts.
8.8.9.1 Objectives of the Scheme

✓ To ease the channel of marketing for the weavers so that they access the wide and global market.
Also, to make them competent by providing them assistance in various avenues like product
development, technical assistance, etc.
✓ To provide more power to the Handloom Association so that they work for the betterment of
weavers and help them to reach a wider market.
✓ To make sure that proper facilities and infrastructure is made available to the weavers so that they
make better products.
✓ To awaken the weavers to the needs of the market and to further provide them assistance to
publicize their products efficiently.
✓ To improve the availability of remote states like Jammu and Kashmir and North East by providing
easy mobility to the products.
✓ To advertise enough and to attract buyers towards the handloom products.
Declaration of National Handloom Day

✓ It has been decided to observe 7th August as National Handloom Day every year.
✓ The first Handloom Day observed was observed in the year 2015.
✓ The Main objective of declaring National Handloom Day is to create awareness among public in general
and in younger generation in particular about importance of the sector, about our rich cultural heritage
and about its contribution to socio-economic development of the handloom weavers.
✓ This step will also enhance pride of millions of weavers and at the same time it will also boost tourism.
India Handloom Brand

✓ With a view to promote handloom industry on a sustainable basis “India Handloom” Brand was launched
(by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 7th August, 2015, the first National Handloom Day) so as to endorse the
quality of handloom products in terms of raw material, processing, embellishment, weaving, design and
other parameters besides social and environment compliance for earning the trust of customers.
✓ The main objective of launching the brand is to ensure the production of quality product with new
designs for winning the trust and confidence of customers by giving particular attention to the defect
free, hand woven, authentic niche products with zero defect and zero impact on environment.
Benefits of the BRAND:’INDIA HANDLOOM’

✓ The handloom products with the premium India Handloom Brand would be differentiated from other
products in terms of quality.
✓ Through the brand, the customer will be assured that the product quality is high because of proper
texture, use of good quality yarns and dyeing with safe non-carcinogenic dyes which are free from banned
amines and have good fastness properties.
✓ Bulk buyers and exporters will be able to source quality branded fabrics as per their designs.
✓ Weavers will be able to get bulk orders and higher wages by interacting directly with the market.
✓ Ministry of Textiles will actively promote the brand through media campaigns to raise awareness
among customers and create demand for products with the India Handloom Brand.
✓ Customers will be able to easily verify the producers through a list of registered users of the Brand
hosted on www.textilescommittee.gov.in, www.handlooms.nic.in and
www.indiahandloombrand.gov.in.
Note: Kindly keep an update regarding the latest National Handloom Day.
9 Panchayati Raj
✓ Strong and vibrant local governments ensure active participation purposeful accountability,
meaningful economic development and achievement of social justice.
✓ Decentralization is also a political and administrative imperative.
✓ Self-governing village communities existed in India from the earliest times in the form of 'sabhas'
(village assemblies). In the course of time, these bodies took the shape of Panchayats.
✓ In modern times, elected local government bodies created after 1882.
✓ In 1882, Lord Ripon issued a resolution hailed as the Magna Carta of local self-government.
✓ Lord Ripon- Father of local self-government in India.
✓ Government of India Act, 1919 - village panchayats were established in a number of provinces.
✓ Trend continued after the Government of India Act 1935.
✓ Nearly one-third of the villages of India had traditional Panchayats the time of independence.
✓ When the Constitution was prepared, the subject of local government was assigned to the States.
✓ It was also mentioned in the DPSPs under Article 40 (one of the Gandhian Principles).
✓ After independence, the story of Panchayati Raj in India has been a story of ups and downs and has
passed through four distinct phases in its short span of life.
o The phase of ascendancy (1959-1964),
o the phase of stagnation (1965-1969),
o the phase of decline (1969-1983) and the
o phase of revival (1983 onwards).
✓ In 1952, Programme of Community Development was started for economic planning and social
reconstruction. Block Advisory Committees were established, which were later redesigned as the
Block Development Committees.
✓ In January 1957, Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was appointed to review the working of the
Community Development Programme. Report submitted in1957
9.1 The major recommendations of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

✓ Three-tier structure of local self-government -
o gram panchayat at the village level,
o panchayat samiti at the block level and
o zila parishad at the district level
✓ Village panchayat to be directly elected whereas the panchayat samiti and the zila parishad should be
indirectly elected.
✓ Panchayat samiti to be the executive body while the Zila parishad to be advisory, coordinating and
supervising body.
✓ Genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these institutions
✓ All programmes of social and economic development to be channeled through these institutions;
✓ Adequate resources to be transferred to these bodies
✓ The National Development Council accepted these recommendations in 1958. Various states in India
started the implementation of the scheme of Panchayati Raj.
✓ NDC left it to the states to evolve their own patterns suitable to local conditions.
9.2 Ashok Mehta Committee

✓ Set up in 1977, this committee on panchayati raj institutions recommended:
✓ The 3 tier system should be replaced by a 2 tier system i.e. Zila Parishad at the district level and
Mandal Panchayat consisting of a group of villages with a total population of 15000 to 20000
✓ Zila Parishad to be the executive body and made responsible for planning at the district level.
✓ Official participation of political parties at all levels of panchayat elections.
✓ The panchayati raj institutions to have compulsory powers of taxation
✓ PR elections should be conducted by Chief Election Officer of the State in consultation with the Chief
Election Commissioner;
✓ All the development functions relating to a district to be placed under the Zilla Parishads;
✓ Mandal Panchayats to be responsible for implementation of the schemes and projects assigned by
the Zilla Parishad;
✓ All developmental staff with the Zilla Parishad should be placed under the officer designated as the
Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad.
✓ Seats for SCs, STs should be reserved on the basis of their population
✓ The state government should not supersede the panchayati raj institutions. In case of imperative
supersession, elections should be conducted within 6 months from the date of supersession.
✓ No action could be taken on these recommendations as the Janta government collapsed before the
completion of its term
9.3 Hanumanth Rao Committee

✓ Set up in 1984, it recommended decentralization of functions, powers and finances; setting up of
district planning bodies and district planning cells.
9.4 GVK Rao Committee

✓ Appointed by the Planning Commission in 1985. It recommended:
✓ The district level body i.e. the Zila Parishad should be of pivotal importance in the scheme of
decentralization.
✓ Some of the planning functions at the state level should be transferred to the district level planning
units.
✓ Elections to the local bodies must be held regularly.
✓ A post of District Development Commissioner should be created. He should act as the CEO of Zila
Parishad and be in charge of all the development departments at the district level.
9.5 LM Singhvi Committee

✓ Appointed in 1986, it recommended:
✓ Panchayati raj institutions should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved.
✓ Constitutional provisions to ensure regular, free and fair elections to local bodies must be made.
✓ Emphasised the importance of Gram Sabha and called it as the embodiment of direct democracy.
✓ Judicial tribunals to be set up in each state to adjudicate controversies about election to the PRIs.
9.6 The scene before the constitutional recognition of Panchayats

✓ Lack of conceptual clarity as to the real role of these local bodies.
✓ Weak Political Will: The activities of PRIs were meager, their resource base weak and the overall
attention given to them niggardly.
✓ State governments postponed the holding of elections or superseded some of the important tiers of
PRIs
✓ MPs and MLAs perceived it as threat to their position.
✓ Role of Bureaucracy: Bureaucracy also not too enthusiastic about these institutions.
✓ Disillusionment on structural-functional front: PRIs were dominated by economically or socially
privileged sections of society
✓ Political factionalism, Corruption, inefficiency, and scant regard for procedures, political interference
in day-to-day administration, parochial loyalties, motivated actions, and power concentration instead
of service consciousness limited the utility of PR.
9.7 The New Panchayati Raj System: 73rd Amendment and After
✓ Unsuccessful attempts by the Rajiv Gandhi government and V.P Singh government to bring in
constitutional amendment
✓ P.V. Narsimha Rao Government introduced the Constitutional Amendment Bill in 1991
✓ Passed as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.
✓ Act came into force w.e.f April. 24, 1993 and mandated all states of the Indian union, of course, to the
exclusion of J & K, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland as well as some scheduled areas of other
states, that they should either make new laws or make suitable amendments to their existing laws to
ensure their being in consonance with the Act.
9.8 The salient features of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act

✓ A new Part IX consisting of 16 Articles (Article 243 to 243 O) and a new schedule -the Eleventh
Schedule added to the Constitution.
✓ Article 243A: Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level
as the legislature of a State may by law provide.
✓ Gram Sabha is envisaged as the foundation of the PR System.
✓ Gram Sabha is a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village comprised
within the area of a Panchayat at the village level.
✓ Article 243B provides that in every state there shall be constituted Panchayats at the village,
intermediate and district levels.
✓ Small states having a population not exceeding 20 lakh have been given an option not to constitute
the Panchayats at the intermediate level.
✓ Article 243C: Legislature of a State may by law make provisions with respect to the composition of
Panchayats.
✓ However, all the members at the village, intermediate and district levels shall be elected directly.
✓ The chairperson of panchayats at the intermediate and district levels shall be elected indirectly.
✓ Chairperson of the panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such a manner as the state
legislature determines
✓ Article 243D: Reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every panchayat in proportion of their population
to the total population in the panchayat area
✓ Reservation of not less than one third of the total number of seats for women
✓ Not less than one third of the total number of offices of chairpersons in the panchayats at each level
shall be reserved for women.
✓ Panchayat bodies to have an assured duration of 5 years, with elections mandatory before the
expiration of 5 years or in case of dissolution, before the expiry of a period of 6 months from the date
of dissolution.
✓ State Election Commission for the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of
electoral rolls and conduct of all elections to the panchayats.
✓ State election commissioner to be appointed by the Governor.
✓ Finances: The state legislature may (a) authorize a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes,
duties, tolls and fees (b) assign to panchayat taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied by the state
government; (c) provide for making grants in aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the
state; (d) provide for constitution of funds for crediting all moneys of the panchayats
✓ Finance Commission: The governor of a state shall, after every 5 years, constitute a finance
commission to review the financial position of panchayats.
✓ Disqualifications for Membership:
o A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of Panchayats:
o If he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purposes of
elections to the legislature of the State concerned;
o If he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the legislature of the State.
o But no person shall be qualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age, under
clause (a), if he has attained the age of 21 years.
✓ Eleventh schedule:
o It contains 29 functional items placed within the purview of the panchayats
o Some items are: agriculture, land improvement, minor irrigation, water management, rural
housing, drinking water, social forestry, women and child development, etc
✓ On the basis of the report of the Bhuria Committee submitted in 1995, the Parliament enacted the
Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution
with certain modifications and exceptions to the Scheduled V areas.
✓ Scheduled Areas are areas identified by the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
✓ Scheduled Areas are found in ten states of India which have predominant population of tribal
communities.
✓ The Scheduled Areas, were not covered by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment or Panchayati Raj Act
of the Indian Constitution as provided in the Part IX of the Constitution.
✓ PESA was enacted on 24 December 1996 to extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution to
Scheduled Areas, with certain exceptions and modifications.
✓ At present Scheduled V areas exist in 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
✓ The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is the nodal Ministry for implementation of the provisions of PESA in
the States.
Compulsory Provisions of the Act:
✓ Organization of Gram Sabha
✓ Establishment of panchayats at the 3 levels
✓ Direct elections to all seats at the 3 levels
✓ Indirect elections to the post of chairperson at the intermediate and district level
✓ 21 years to be minimum age for contesting elections
✓ Reservations of seats for SCs, STs and women
✓ Fix tenure of 5 years and regular elections
✓ Establishment of State Election Commission
✓ Establishment of State Finance Commission
Voluntary Provisions of the Act:

✓ Giving representation to the members of Parliament (both Houses) and the state legislature (both
Houses) in the Panchayats at the different levels falling within their constituencies
✓ Providing reservation of seats for backward classes in panchayats at any level (OBC reservation)
✓ Granting power and authority to the panchayats to enable them to function as institutions of self-
government
✓ Devolution of powers and responsibilities to prepare plans for economic development and social
justice; to perform some or all of the 29 functions listed in the XIth Schedule
✓ Granting financial powers to the panchayats
9.9 Functions of PRIs
Registration of births and deaths Sanitation and drinking water
Execution of SC/ST upliftment plans Development of Village infrastructure
Support in providing agri inputs by various agencies Schools and libraries
Conduct Census surveys Health centres / hospitals/vaccination drives
Endorse new agriculture technology Maintain shalas for adivasis/hostels for SCs/BCs
Development of Cottage, SSI and, Cooperatives

Implementation of Central Rural schemes
Implementation of State Rural schemes
9.10 Critical appreciation of PRI’s

The Panchayati Raj has many achievements to its credit
✓ Changed the power equations significantly. Elections to the Panchayats in most states are being held
regularly.
✓ Through over 600 District Panchayats, 6000 Intermediate Panchayats and 2.3 lakh Gram Panchayats,
more than 28 lakh people now have a formal position in the representative democracy.
✓ Disappearance of the fear of the officials from the minds of the village people.
✓ Process of decision-making has been brought closer to the people through Panchayati Raj.
9.11 The Failures of Panchayati Raj

✓ Lack of effective devolution: PRIs exist as over structured but under empowered organizations.
✓ Lack of effective devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to carry out their mandated role.
✓ Existence of para statals: The state governments have created a large number of functional bodies in
the form of development authorities, housing boards, water and sanitation boards, etc, weakening
the authority of local bodies
✓ Delay in elections: States often postpone the subsequent elections on some pretext or the other
✓ State government, legislators as well as civil servants are in general reluctant to effectively empower
the local government.
✓ Internal resource generation at the Panchayat level is weak and PRIs are dependent on grants from
the Union and State government. Panchayats are themselves reluctant in collecting revenue and
because of the tight fiscal position of the States, the state governments are not keen to devolve funds
to the Panchayats.
✓ Panchayats continue to function within the framework of what may be called a 'permissive functional
domain' since very limited functional areas have been withdrawn from the line departments of State
governments and transferred to local bodies
✓ Personnel management: In most states, PRIs do not have the power to recruit their staff and
determine their salaries, allowances and other conditions of service. The PRIs, thus, have to depend
on the officials of the state government for staff support.
✓ This also results in dual control of the employees thereby causing problems of coordination.
✓ Constitution Day, also known as “Samvidhan Divas”, is celebrated every year on 26th November to
commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India and to honour and pay tribute to the
invaluable contribution of Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and other founding fathers of the
Constitution.
10 PESA - Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996

✓ It is a law enacted by the Government of India for ensuring self governance through traditional Gram
Sabhas for people living in the Scheduled Areas of India.
✓ Article 243M of the Constitution, while exempting the Fifth Schedule areas from Part IX of the
Constitution, provides that Parliament may by law extend its provisions to the Scheduled and Tribal
Areas subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in such law and no such law
shall be deemed to be an amendment to the Constitution.
✓ On the basis of the report of the Bhuria Committee submitted in 1995, the Parliament enacted the
Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution with
certain modifications and exceptions to the Scheduled V areas.
✓ Scheduled Areas are areas identified by the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
✓ Scheduled Areas are found in ten states of India which have predominant population of tribal
communities.
✓ The Scheduled Areas, were not covered by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment or Panchayati Raj Act
of the Indian Constitution as provided in the Part IX of the Constitution.
✓ PESA was enacted on 24 December 1996 to extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution to
Scheduled Areas, with certain exceptions and modifications.
✓ PESA sought to enable the Panchayats at appropriate levels and Gram Sabhas to implement a system
of self-governance with respect to a number of issues such as customary resources, minor forest
produce, minor minerals, minor water bodies, selection of beneficiaries, sanction of projects, and
control over local institutions.
✓ At present Scheduled V areas exist in 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The Ministry
of Panchayati Raj is the nodal Ministry for implementation of the provisions of PESA in the States.
10.1 The salient feature of the Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA)
✓ Legislation on Panchayats shall be in conformity with the customary law, social and religious practices
and traditional management practices of the respective community resources.
✓ Habitation or a group of habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a community and
managing its affairs in accordance with traditions and customs; and shall have a separate Gram Sabha.
✓ Every Gram Sabha to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of people, their cultural
identity, community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution.
✓ The Gram Sabhas have roles and responsibilities in approving all development works in the village,
identify beneficiaries, issue certificates of utilization of funds; powers to control institutions and
functionaries in all social sectors and local plans.
✓ Gram Sabhas or Panchayats at appropriate level shall also have powers to manage minor water
bodies; power of mandatory consultation in matters of land acquisition; resettlement and
rehabilitation and prospecting licenses/mining leases for minor minerals; power to prevent alienation
of land and restore alienated land; regulate and restrict sale/consumption of liquor; manage village
markets, control money lending to STs; and ownership of minor forest produce.
10.2 Provisions of PESA

✓ State legislation to be in conformity with customary law, social and religious practices, and customary
modes of dispute resolution
✓ Hamlet level villages and Gram Sabhas ensures deepening of democratic decentralization
✓ Every Gram Sabha shall be competent to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of the
people, their cultural identity, community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution.
✓ Approval of Plans and Projects and selection of beneficiaries by Gram Sabha.
✓ Ownership of Gram Sabhas over Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
✓ Reservations for Scheduled Tribes in the appropriate Panchayats (not less than half)
✓ Power to prevent land alienation and restore illegally alienated land viz., no land can be transferred
from a tribal to a non-tribal persons.

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Summary Sheet – Helpful for Retention

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2. For Building Concepts along with examples/concept checks you should

3. It would be useful to go through this Summary sheet just before the

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Agriculture can be termed as a science, an art and business altogether. How?

1.2 History of Agriculture

1.3 Where does Agriculture stand today?

1.4 What about Agriculture in India?

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1.5 Branches of Agriculture

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1.5.3 Forestry (Silviculture):

1.5.4 Animal Husbandry:

1.5.5 Fishery science (Pisciculture):

1.5.6 Agricultural Engineering:

1.5.7 Home Science:

2 Important Chronological Events and Research Institutes

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2.3 Important Agricultural Research Institutes

2.3.1 Deemed Universities - 4

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2.3.3 National Research Centres - 15

2.3.4 National Bureaus - 6

2.3.6 All India Coordinated Research Projects – 59

S No Location of AICRPs in India

2.3.8 Some Important Horticulture Research Institutes in India

Name of the Institute Location

2.4 Important International Institutions on Agricultural Research

2.5 Fathers of Important Agriculture Disciplines

3 Agriculture revolutions in India

Agronomy and Field crops

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1.1 Definition or meaning

Pietro de'Crescenzi is the father of Agronomy.

1.2 Branches of Agronomy

✓ Crop Science (Only field crops)

The central theme of agronomy is “Soil-Crop-Environment relationship”.

1.3 Dimensions of Agronomy

1. Physical dimension – includes Soil, Water, nutrients, and Solar radiation

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1.4 Scope of Agronomy

✓ Identification of proper season for cultivation

2.1 Definition or Meaning of Crops

2.2 Classification of Crop plants

2.2.1 Garden Crops

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2.2.3 Field Crops

3.1 Definition or Meaning of Field Crops

Examples: Cotton, Cereal, Pulses etc., are field crops

3.2 Classification of Field Crops