Agricultural practices
Farmers perform various activities, like preparing the soil, sowing the seeds and watering the field (irrigation).
Once the crops are ready or mature, the farmer harvests them and stores and distributes the grains (harvesting and storage). All these activities of the farmers are called agricultural practices. Farmers use all kinds of machinery to make the job of growing crops easier. The tools required in carrying out the activities involved in the cultivation of plants are known as agricultural implements. To increase our food production we can sow good quality seeds and improve the methods of sowing. We can make the soil more rich and even use better techniques for harvesting the crops.
Agricultural products
Good agricultural practices leads to quality of food products
Some of the agricultural practices which scientists have developed and which our farmers perform to cultivate a crop are as follows :
- Preparation of soil (by ploughing, leveling)
- Sowing of seeds
- Application of manures and fertilizers (manuring)
- Irrigation
- Weeding (Removal of weeds)
- Crop protection (Control of pests and plant diseases)
- Harvesting, threshing and winnowing
- Preservation and storage
- Improvement of crops (Introduction of high–yielding and disease–resistant varieties)
- Crop rotation.