Agricultural Practices

Why do we need food?

We need food because it gives us energy, keeps us healthy, and helps us to grow as well as repair and replace damaged and worn-out tissues.

We already know that:

• All living organisms require food.
• The energy from food is utilized by an organism for carrying out its various life processes such as digestion, respiration and excretion.
• Plants can make their food themselves but animals including humans cannot.
• We get our food from plants or animals, or both.
• People in the past ate raw fruits and vegetables and started hunting animals for food.
• Later, they could cultivate the land and produce rice, wheat and other food crops. Thus, was born agriculture.

How do plants and animals get their food?

What is a Crop?

Most plants make their own food through the process of Photosynthesis. Animals feed on plants or other animals to get energy. When we cultivate the same kind of plants on a large scale in one place, it is called ‘Crop’.

India is a vast country. Here climatic conditions like temperature, humidity and rainfall vary from one region to another region. There is a rich variety of crops grown in different parts of India. In India Crops can be classified on the basis of the season in which they grow:

• Kharif Crops:
  • The crops which are grown in the rainy season
  • From June to September
  • Eg: Paddy, Maize, Soyabean, Groundnut, Cotton etc.
• Rabi Crops:
  • The crops that are grown in the winter season
  • From October to March
  • Eg: wheat, gram, pea, mustard, linseed etc.
• Zaid Crops (or Summer Crops):
  • The crops are grown in the summer season
  • From March to June
  • Eg: Muskmelon, watermelon, cucumber, Moong etc.