Improvement in Food Resources

Introduction

All living organisms essentially require the food to stay alive.
Food provides energy to perform various life activities and is required for growth, development and body repair.
Sources of Food:

1. Food from agriculture: Cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts, oilseeds, condiments and spices
2. Food from animal husbandry: Dairy products like milk, curd, butter; meat, egg, fish and other sea products.
Food Revolutions in India

With the increase in population, there needed a sufficient increase in food production, so as to meet the food related demands of growing population. This led to the rise of the following food revolutions in India:

1. Green Revolution: Introduced to increase the food grain production.
2. White Revolution: Introduced to increase production of milk.
3. Blue Revolution: Introduced to enhance fish production.
4. Yellow Revolution:  Introduced to increase oil production.

Different crops require different climatic conditions like temperature, moisture and photoperiods to grow well and complete their life cycle.
Two main crops are:

1. Kharif crops:

•    Grown in Summer season from the month of June to October, i.e., during rainy season.
•    Crops grown in this season require more water.
•    Examples of Kharif season crops are: Paddy, soyabean, pigeon pea, maize, black gram, green gram and rice are kharif season crops.

2. Rabi crops:

•    Grown in Winter season from the month of November to April.
•    Crops grown in this season require less water.
•    Examples of Rabi season crops are: Wheat, gram, peas, mustard and linseed are rabi season crops.

What are nutrients?
Plants require some nutrients in large quantities called macronutrients while some in smaller quantities known as micronutrients.
Deficiency of these nutrients inhibits the growth of plants, affects their life cycle, processes and decreases their immunity against diseases. Soil’s fertility can be increased by providing nutrients in the form of manure and fertilizers.

Nutrient management

Nutrient management refers to the efficient use of crops to improve productivity. It is necessary to balance the soil nutrient input with the crop requirement. If the nutrients are applied at the right time and in adequate quantities, optimum crop yield is obtained. If applied in huge amounts, it will harm the crop, and if applied in small quantities it limits the yield.

Manure:

•    Manure contains large quantities of organic matter and also supplies small quantities of nutrients to the soil. 
•    Manure is prepared by the decomposition of animal excreta and plant waste. 
•    Manure helps in enriching soil with nutrients and organic matter and increasing soil fertility. 
•    On the basis of the kind of biological waste used to make manure, it can be classified into three types:
(i) Compost (ii) Vermicompost (iii) Green manure.


(i) Compost: It can be farm waste material such as livestock excreta (cow dung etc.), vegetable waste, animal refuse, domestic waste, sewage waste, straw, eradicated weeds, etc. This material is decomposed in pits and this process of decomposition is also called composting. This compost is rich in organic matter and nutrients.

(ii) Vermicompost: The compost which is made by the decomposition of plant
and animal refuse with the help of redworm is called vermicompost.

(iii) Green manure: Prior to the sowing of the crop seeds, some plants like sun hemp or guar are grown and then mulched by ploughing them into the soil. These green plants thus turn into green manure which helps in enriching the soil in nitrogen and phosphorus.

Fertilizers: 

•    Fertilizers are commercially produced plant nutrients. 
•    Fertilizers supply nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. 
•    They are used to ensure good vegetative growth (leaves, branches and flowers), giving rise to healthy plants. 
•    Fertilizers are an important factor in the higher yields of high-cost farming.