AGRICULTURE

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AGRICULTURE:

ü  Agriculture means rising of crops and animals. 

ü  This is the most important primary activity.

ü  Agriculture depends on the environmental conditions of the area.

ü  The development of the agriculture is influenced by climate and soil conditions.

ü  The growth of the plants depends on temperature and moisture.

ü  Plants cannot be grown in very hot and very cold areas.

ü  Fertility of the soil is very important criteria.

ü  Does the agriculture is adopted in all the areas of the World? No, because of the variation in the climatic conditions.

ü  Tropical regions are the most important agricultural regions of the World.

ü  Do you remember what the tropical regions are? 23 ½ ⁰N and 23 ½ ⁰ S latitudes.

ü  Tropical regions have high temperature and also receive high rainfall.

ü  Even in the tropical regions the areas with very high precipitation are not suitable for agriculture because soil in these areas lose the fertility soon.

The major areas of crop farming in the World. ü  River valleys and delta of Asia ü  Prairies of North America ü  Steppes of Eurasia ü  Tropical moist regions of South America, Australia and Africa.

Farming (Agriculture) systems.

ü  This is also called tenure system.

ü  This is a system which refers to the 

relationship between the cultivator and the land.

INDIVIDUAL FARMING:

ü  In this system the farmer may own the land.

   

                  Or

ü  The owner of the land may lease the land to the farmer.

ü  This is also called share cropping or Metayage where the cultivator shares the fixed share with the owner of land.

ESTATE FARMING:

ü  These are the large cultivable areas.

ü  Estate farming is cultivated with the help of large number of farmers.

ü  Estate farming is called

·         Latifundia in Europe

·         Ranches in North America

·         Haciendas in Latin America

·         Fazendas in Latin America (Two different names in Latin America)

·         Stations in Australia

·         Plantations in India and other countries. 

CO-OPERATIVE FARMING:

ü  The individual farmers pool their lands, cultivate and share the return in proportion to their contribution to the farming.

ü  Co-operative planning is well known in countries like Sweden, Belgium and Denmark.

ü  In Soviet Union it is called collective farming.

ü  The collective farming is based on the principle of social ownership. (All are owners).

ü  In collective farming the managing committee is responsible to the government.

ü  In Israel it is called Kibbutz.

ü  Under the system of Kibbutz the formers do not get any share/payment but they are provided with food, housing, clothing etc.

ü  In India co-operative farming is practiced in Kerala. (It is highly successful in Kerala).

TYPES OF CULTIVATION:

ü  These are the various practices of agriculture in the World.

SEDENTARY CULTIVATION.

ü  This is the World’s largest cultivation practice.

ü  This is the most common and normal practice throughout the World.

ü  This is a practice of continued usage of land.

ü  The land is used year after the year continuously.

ü  This is also called settled cultivation. (The people settle here and practice agriculture, they do not move from one area to the other for the sake of agriculture).

SHIFTING CULTIVATION:

SHIFTING CULTIVATION

ü  It is also called burn and slash method.

ü  The land is used for few years.

ü  Once the fertility of the land is dropped the farmer moves to other area.

ü  The people who practice this use low or no technology in farming.

ü  Shifting cultivation is called by different names in different regions of the World.

v  Ladang in Malaysia

v  Humah in Indonesia

v  Taungya in Myanmar

v  Tamrai in Thailand

v  Milpa in Africa

ü  Shifting cultivation is called by different names in India.

v  Jhoom in Assam

v  Onam in Kerala

v  Podu in Andhra Pradesh

v  Podu in Odisha (It is called podu in 2 states).

v  Bewar, Masha, Penda in Madhya Pradesh.

ü   It is mainly practiced in tribal areas.

ü  It is less practiced in the advanced societies.

TERRACE CULTIVATION:

TERRACE CULTIVATION

ü  This is also called mountain cultivation.

ü  It is done on the terrace fields of mountains.

ü  It is adopted to conserve soil on steep slopes.

ü  Most of the beverage crops (coffee, Tea, Cacao etc)  fall under this category. 

WET CULTIVATION:

ü  It is practice in those areas where the rainfall is low.

ü  It is practiced where the rains are highly seasonal.

DRY CULTIVATION:

ü  Dry cultivation is practiced where there are no irrigation facilities.

ü  The amount of rainfall is also limited.

CROP ROTATION:

CROP ROTATION

ü  It is a method of growing different crops in succession.

ü  This is mainly practised to maintain the fertility of the soil.

ü  The crops are deliberately selected.

ü  The minor crops are cultivated in between major crops.

ü  The leguminous crops are grown in between the crops so that these will help the soil in enriching with Nitrogen.

ü  (Fallowing: Leaving land uncultivated for some time so that the fertility is maintained).

ü  Fallowing is also a part of crop rotation.

MIXED CROPPING:

MIXED CROPPING

ü  It is the equal emphasis on crops and animals.

ü  Many crops are cultivated on the same land at the same time.

ü  This is also called multiple cropping.

INTENSIVE FARMING:

ü  It is a method of cultivating small area of land with more inputs.

ü  The inputs are labour, fertilizers etc.

ü  It is mainly adopted in those areas where the population density (number of people living per Sq.km) is very high.

ü  In this type of farming usage of machines is very low.

EXTENSIVE FARMING:

ü  This is practiced in large farms.

ü  In this type of farming usage of machines is very high.

ü  The input of labour and other power is also very low.

CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE:

ü  This is also called Agriculture Typology.

ü  Depending on the variations in the cultivation methods it is classified into various types.

ü  For classification various factors like intensity of forming, combinations of crops and animals, scale of farming, level of mechanization etc are taken into consideration.

NOMADIC HERDING:

NOMADIC HERDING

ü  Nomadic means not settled in one place.

ü  The people keep on moving from one area to the other.

ü  This is a subsistence type of activity. (Production for their own usage and no commercial activity is involved).

ü  The animals are reared on the pastures (grass).

ü  The grazing is not enough throughout the year.

ü  Hence in search of pastures (grass) the people move from one area to the other.

ü  Livestock ranching:

ü  The farmers lead a settled life.

ü  This is mainly for the commercial activities.

ü  The animals are reared in large areas.

ü  Animals are reared mainly for meat and wool.

ü  The farms are called Ranches or Stations.

RUDIMENTARY SEDENTARY 

TILLAGE:

ü  The same land is cultivated continuously.

ü  Fallowing is practiced for maintenance of the fertility.

ü  Under this system of cultivation tree crops (Rubber) are also cultivated.

COMMERCIAL PLANTATIONS:

COMMERCIAL PLANTATION

ü  This is highly capital intensive. (More investment).

ü  In this type most of the crops are the tree crops.

MEDITERRANEAN FARMING:

ü  In the Mediterranean region Wheat, grapes and Citrus are the main crops.

ü  Along with this the small animals are also reared.

ü  The Mediterranean region is the important producer of fruit products and wine.

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