Basic elements of crop production and Factors affecting crop production
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Basic elements of crop production
1. Plants
Plants are the primary factories of agriculture. Besides plantation, floriculture and vegetable crops, all the cultivated species of cereals and pulses are grown since ages in India. The mention of rice cultivation in India has been made in Susrutha Samhita dated ca. 1000 B.C.
2. Soil
The soil of Indo-Gangetic Plain zone, valleys of Brahma-putra in the North and the deltas of Narbada, Tapti, Krishna, Cauvery an Mahanadi ricers in central and South India are the most fertile tracts. During monsoon, when these ricers are in full swing, they deposit a thick layer of silt and this replenishes soil fertility besides providing irrigation water and power every year.
In these areas of exceptionally high and very high agricultural efficiency the alluvial soils are cultivated repeatedly with simple and sophisticated farm implements; the lands are heavily manured and the water resources are carefully husbanded, so much so that with irrigation, farmers fight drought and inconsistency of rainfall.
3. Climate
The Tropic Cancer passes through the middle of this country, thus the southern half of the country has a tropical climate where the wedge shaped peninsula surrounded by the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. There is also very slight variation in day-length and in temperature. The North Plain zones have sub-tropical climate where the duration of winter is for 3 to 4 months and the rest of the year remains hot and humid. The great Himalayas check the penetration of polar winds in the plains of India. These agro- climatic conditions favour raising of 2 to 3 crops throughout the year.
4. Rivers
In addition to favourable tropical and sub-tropical climates, India is blessed with a network of perennial rivers like Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra in the North and Krishna, Cauvery, Tapi, Godavari and Mahanadi in Central and South India and their tributaries Reservoirs of rivers could also become a source of inland fisheries farming which could provide additional employment to thousand of people besides providing nutritional food.
5. Labour
Indian agriculture with about 80 per cent of its people living in rural areas has one of the large working forces in the world. Because of old traditions, rural customs and exploitive attitudes of the landlords, the labour in rural areas do not get remunerative wages of their hard labour. In dry land areas generally only one crop is grown. In the developed states where intensive cropping systems is prevailing, in other parts of the country one or two crops are grown. Labourers hardly get 6 month`s work on the farmer`s field. Therefore, either with poor wages, or long idle periods in farming or with all these factors together, labourers are seen migrating towards urban areas such as big industrial cities.
