Sowing

Sowing is the most important part of crop production. Before sowing good quality seeds are selected. These are clean and healthy seeds of a good variety. Farmers prefer to use seeds that give a high yield.

Sowing

Which kind of seeds should farmers use?

Farmers should use good-quality seeds that are clean, healthy and give a high yield. The selection of the right variety of seeds depends on the soil, climate, irrigation method, and other regional factors.

The Ministry of Agriculture in India has set up a national-level organization called the National Seeds Corporation (NSCC) that tests the quality of seeds. State Seeds Corporations and Agricultural Universities have also set up seed testing laboratories throughout India.

These labs test seeds for their:

• purity,
• resistance to diseases and pests,
• germination and vigour,
• suitability to regional climatic conditions, and general seed health. (olympiad)

How to separate damaged seeds from healthy seeds?

Put the seeds in water. Damaged seeds are hollow and lighter and thus, float on water. Good and healthy seeds sink in water and settle down.

Agricultural Implements used for Sowing

What precautions should be taken while sowing?

While sowing seeds, it is essential to make sure that:

• Seeds are healthy and of high quality.
• They are planted at the correct distance from each other so that they can get proper light, water and nutrients from the soil.
• They must be sown deep enough to protect them from animals and birds (which might eat them) and wind (which might blow them away) but not so deep that they may not get enough air to germinate.

Why it is better to sow seeds uniformly?

Seeds should be planted at an appropriate distance to avoid overcrowding of plants. It allows plants to get proper sunlight as well as sufficient water and nutrients from the soil.

Why are plants kept in small bags in the nursery?

Few plants (like paddy, forest plants, and flowering plants) are first grown in a nursery into seedlings and then, transplanted to plants manually. Keeping the seedlings in bags makes it easier to transfer them to another place.

It is a tool shaped like a funnel used traditionally for sowing seeds. The seeds are filled into the funnel, passed down through two or three pipes having sharp ends. These ends pierce into the soil and place seeds there. Some of the crops are first grown in the nurseries and then transferred to the main field. This process is known as Transplantation.

Important tools used for sowing seeds are:

Nowadays seed drill is used for sowing with the help of tractors. With the help of this tool sows the seeds uniformly at proper distance and depths. It ensures that seeds get covered by the soil after sowing and prevents damage caused by birds. It saves time and labor.