Improvement Of Food Resources

PRESENTED BY: RIYA GAUTAM

iX – ‘A’K.V. No.2 D.C. (second shift)

Introduction For their existence all living organisms essentially require food. Among all living beings only green plants are autotrophs. In contrast to plants, animals and human beings are heterotrophs. Since time immemorial, human beings have been doing farming and rearing animals to meet their food requirements. Plants as food are the gift of nature to humans and most animals.

With 1.04 billion people, our country ranks second in population growth around the world. According to estimate, by the year 2020, Indian population would rise to 1.343 billion. To feed such a huge population, we will require at least 241 million tones of grain production per annum. Therefore, it is necessary increase production of both, plants and animals.

Simply increasing the grain production for storage in warehouses cannot solve the problem of malnutrition and hunger. People should have money to purchase food. Food security depends on

both availability of food and access to it. The majority of our population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Increasing the income of the people working in agriculture is therefore is necessary to combat the problem of hunger.

Improvement of crop yields• TYPES OF CROPS Crops are plants which are cultivated by human for food, fodder, fiber, flowers,

timber, etc. there are about 2000 plant species cultivated for eating purposes. Following parts of the plants are eaten as food :

Seeds. Not all seeds of the plants are edible. For example, large seeds like that of lemon pose a chocking hazard, whereas apple and cherry seeds have poisonous cyanide. Edible seeds include

a. Cereals, e.g., wheat, rice, barley, maize, etc.b. Pulses, e.g., legumes such as green gram, pea, lentil, etc. c. Oil seeds, e.g., sunflower, olive oil, mustard, sesame, etc.d. Nuts (dry fruits), e.g., almond, fig, cashew, pistachio , etc.

Fruits. Essentially fruits are the ripened ovary of plants. They include apple, orange, berries, grapes, star apple, watermelon, pear etc.

Green gram, a legume (seed) crop

Sunflower, an oil cropFruits

Vegetables. They are the edible parts of the herbaceous plants. They are eaten in raw or cooked form. Vegetables are of following types:a. Roots, e.g., carrot, radish, turnip, sweet potato etc.

b. Stem, e.g., mustard, bamboo, asparagus, etc. certain plants have modified underground stem that are eaten, e.g., onion, potato, ginger, garlic etc.

c. Leafy vegetables, e.g., spinach, lettuce, fenugreek, pigweed, curry leaf etc. d. Fruit vegetables, e.g., tomato, pumpkin, cucumber, okra, tamarind, beans, etc.

Spices. Certain parts of some plants (e.g., leaves, stems, flower, fruits and seeds) are used to enhance the palatability of food. They include chilly, turmeric, black pepper, cardamom, fennel, cinnamon, clove, etc.

Fodder crops. They provide fodder to cattle. They include oat, Sudan grass, Berseem, sorghum, etc.

Other crops. Crop plants also yield fibers, tobacco, coffee, chocolate ,etc.

Bamboo, a stem crop

Spinach, leafy vegetable

Pumpkin, fruit vegetable Spices

Cotton, a fiber crop

• CROP SEASON

Different crops require different climatic conditions, temperature and photoperiod for their growth and maturity. Sunlight is required by plants for photosynthesis. Photoperiods are the duration of sunlight that influences plant in their growth, flowering, formation of storage organs, leaf fall, etc. in India there are two main seasons of crop growth : Kharif and Rabi.

b) Rabi crops. These drops grow from November to April. Rabi crops are also called winter crops. The chief Rabi crops include wheat, barley, gram, mustard, pea, apple, pomegranate, cauliflower, carrot, radish etc.

a) Kharif crops. These drops grow during rainy seasons (June - October). They are also called summer crops. The chief Kharif crops include paddy, maize, millet, groundnut, garlic, okra, watermelon, mango etc.

TABLE: Differences between Kharif and Rabi crops

Kharif crops Rabi crops

1. They are monsoon or rainy season crops.

1. They are non-monsoon season crops.

2. These crops are grown in hot and wet conditions.

2. These crops are grown in cold and nearly dry conditions.

3. These crops are sown in the beginning of rainy season in June – July.

3. These crops are sown in October – November when monsoon is retreated.

4. These crops are harvested during September - October at the end of Monsoon.

4. These crops are harvested in March - April before the advent of hot season.

5. Examples: Rice, Maize, Groundnut, Soybean, Green gram, Cotton, Black gram.

5. Examples: Wheat, Barley, Gram, Mustard, Linseed, Pea.

• IMPROVEMENT IN YEILDS Following three scientific approaches are adopted in India to obtain high yields

from our agricultural farms : a) Crop variety improvement b) Crop production management c) Crop protection management

A) Crop variety improvement The art of recognizing valuable traits and incorporating them into future

generations is very important in plant breeding. Breeders search for individual plants that exhibit desirable traits. The two main qualities of food plants are high yield and natural resistance to disease. Such traits occasionally arise spontaneously through a process called mutation, but the natural rate of mutation too slow and unreliable to produce all the plants that breeders would like to see.

Plant breeders select plant varieties with desired characters and cross them. The developed offspring combine the attributes of both parents. These varieties are multiplied and supplied to farmers.

Need of higher crop yield

1) Higher yield. The main aim of crop improvement is the productivity of economic produce, e.g. grains, vegetables and fodder. Quality seeds of improved varieties are used for their commercial production.

2) Improved quality. Quality consideration varies from crop to crop, e.g. baking quality of wheat, preserving quality of fruits and vegetables, oil quality of oil seed etc.

3) Biotic and abiotic resistance. Crop production can go down due to biotic (diseases, insects and nematodes) and abiotic (drought, heat, cold and frost) stresses under different situations. varieties resistant to these stresses can improve crop production.

4) Changes in maturity duration. In some of the short duration crops, early maturing varieties can make the crop fit into double and multiple cropping system. This will also reduce the crop’s cost of production.

5) Wider adaptability. Developing varieties for wider adaptability will help in establishing the crop production under different environmental conditions. One variety can then be grown under different conditions in different areas.

5) Desirable agronomic characters. Tallness and profuse branching are desirable characters for fodder crops. Dwarfness is desired in cereals, so that less nutrients are consumed by these crops. Thus developing varieties of desired agronomic help give higher productivity.

Crop variety improvement is manipulation of crop plants for increasing their yield, improving quality, suitability to varied conditions and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Genetic manipulation is incorporating of new genes for various traits from other genotypes into the crop varieties so to bring out desired changes. It is carried out through hybridization, mutation, breeding, polyploidy and DNA recombination technology.

The bumper increase in the yield of food grain (especially the wheat crop) as during 1970s, is often termed as green revolution. The 1970 Noble laureate, American scientist Dr. N.E. Borlaug was the person behind triple dwarf Mexican wheat varieties. Their color was changed to Indian liking through gamma irradiations (by M.S. Swaminathan, Father of Green Revolution in India).Green revolution has made our country self-sufficient in food, increased the buffer stock of food grains and improved the economic conditions of Indian farmers as well as provided employment avenues to large number of peoples.

B) Crop production management India is an agriculture based country. In this country, agriculture sector engages about 70% of its population and accounts for 40% of the Gross National Products (GNP). Crop production management refers to controlling the various aspects of production to obtain the maximum and best yield. it has following three aspects:

i) Nutrient management Nutrient management means controlling the selection, timing and amount of

nutrient supply to the crops. Like other living organism, plants also require inorganic elements for building their structure and maintaining their metabolic processes. These inorganic elements are called nutrients which are supplied to plants by air, water and soil. There are about 40 elements found in plant ash, but only 16 of those elements are essential for plant growth and development. Out of these elements, two elements, carbon and oxygen are supplied by air and hydrogen is supplied by water. The remaining 13 are supplied by soil. The nutrients taken from air and water are very important because they constitute 94 to99.5% of the total plant tissue.

Types of Essential Nutrients

ii) Micronutrients (Microelements). They are those essential elements which are present in plants in small quantities. All of them are mineral element. Micronutrients are mostly involved in the functioning of enzymes. Out of 13 essential mineral elements, 7 are micronutrients, i.e., iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum and chlorine.

i) Macronutrients (Macro elements). They are essential elements which are present in plants in easily detectable quantities. Macronutrients take part in synthesis of organic molecules and development of osmotic potential. Carbon and oxygen (from air) and hydrogen (from water), are non-mineral micronutrients. Out of 13 essential mineral elements, 6 are macronutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

Soil is the most important reservoir of the plant nutrients. Crop plants regularly withdraw minerals from the soil. Unless and until minerals are replenished at regular intervals, the crop plants develop disorders in structure, growth, functioning and susceptibility to diseases. Mineral replenishment is done through the addition of manure and fertilizers to the crop.

TABLE: 16 essential nutrients of plants, their source, types.

Source Nutrients Type 1. Air Carbon (C), Oxygen (O) Macronutrient (= 2)2. Water Hydrogen (H) Macronutrient (= 1)3. Soil • Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P),

Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sulphur (S)• Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Boron (B), Zinc (Z), Copper (Cu), Molybdenum (Mo), Chlorine (Cl)

Macronutrient (= 6)

Macronutrient (= 7)

Manures and Fertilizers

The deficiency of plant nutrients and organic matter in the soil is made up by adding manures and fertilizers to the soil of crop-fields. Both manures and fertilizers are major source of nutrients of plants, so they are used in crop production.

MANURE

ADVANTAGES OF MANURE :-• They replenish the general deficiency in the soil.• The manure add organic matter to the soil which restores the soil texture

for better reaction of water and for aeration of soil.

Compost Manure

Manures are natural fertilizers. They are bulky source of organic matter which supply nutrient in small quantities and organic matter in large quantities. Manures prepared by the decomposition of animal excreta and plant waste. Manures include farmyard manures (FMY), compost, green manures, vermicompost etc.

Thus, organic manures help to improve the physical prosperities of soil, reduce soil erosion, increase the moisture holding capacity of soil and above all these advantages, they are low cost nutrient carriers. Using biological waste material is a way of recycling the farm waste. Manures also protect our environment from synthetic chemicals.

Vermicomposting

The degradation of organic waste through the consumption by the earthworms is called vermicomposting. An earthworm is physically an aerator, crusher, and mixer, chemically it is a degrader and biologically a stimulator of decomposition. In India, following species of earthworms are used in vermicomposting: Dichogaster bolani, Drawida willsi, Perionxy excavatus (Indian species) and Eisenia foetida, Eudrilus eugeniae (Exotic species). An earthworm

FERTILIZERS Fertilizer are source of plant nutrients, manufactured commercially from chemicals. Fertilizers supply Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK). They are used for good vegetative growth. They are one of the major component for obtaining higher yields especially in expensive farming. On the availability of nutrient from them, fertilizers are divided into following four groups:i. Nitrogenous fertilizers, e.g. Urea, CO(NH2)2; Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4; Sodium nitrate NH4NO3 etc.ii. Phosphoric fertilizers, e.g. Dicalcium phosphate; Triple super phosphate; single super phosphate etc. iii. Potassic fertilizers, e.g. Potassium nitrate, KNO3; Potassium sulphate, NAO3; Muriatic potassium chloride, KCl etc.iv. Complex fertilizer, e.g. Nitro phosphate; Ammonium phosphate; Urea

ammonium phosphate etc.

Fertilizers being sprinkled on the crop plants

TABLE: Differences between manure and fertilizers. Manure Fertilizers 1. Manure is a natural substance. It is obtained by the decomposition of animal waste and plant residue.

1. Fertilizer is a human-made substance. It is inorganic salt or an organic composition.

2. A manure contains small amount of essential plant nutrient.

2. Fertilizers are very rich in plant nutrients.

3. A manure adds a great amount of organic matter in the form of humus in the soil.

3. A fertilizer does not add any humus to the soil.

4. Manure is insoluble in water and thus the nutrients present in manure is absorbed slowly by plant.

4. Being soluble in water, a fertilizer is readily absorbed by the crop plants.

5. A manure is not nutrient specific and tends to remove the general deficiency from the soil.

5. A fertilizer is nutrient specific. It can specifically provide nutrient to the soil according to the crop need.

6. A manure is voluminous and bulky so it is inconvenient to store, transport, handle and apply to the crops.

6. A fertilizer is compact and concentrated so it is easy to store, transport and apply to the crop.

7. A manure is cheap and is prepared in rural homes or field.

7. A fertilizer is costly and is prepared in factories.

ii) Irrigation The process of supplying the water to the crop plants in regular intervals of

time is called irrigation. Water is key input for crop production. The process of supplying water to crop plants by means of canals, reservoirs, etc. is known as irrigation. Irrigation is necessary for the survival and proper development of the crop plant. Thus, in agriculture, irrigation fulfills the following goals:

Crop plants are irrigated with freshwater to supply two essential elements to them- hydrogen and oxygen.

Irrigation provide sufficient moisture for the germination of the seed. This is because seeds do not germinate in dry soils.

Irrigation is necessary to increase the number of aerial branches (called tillers) in crop plants so as to get good crop yield.

Different kinds if irrigation systems are used to supply water to agricultural land. They are wells, canals, rivers, tanks, check dams etc.

i) Wells :- There are two types of wells called dug wells and tube wells. In dug wells water is collected from water bearing strata. In tube wells water is collected from deeper strata.

.

ii) Canals :- In this system, canals receive water from reservoirs or rivers and distributes it to fields.

iii) River lift systems :- In this system water is lifted from rivers to irrigate fields close to rivers.

iv) Tanks :- These are small storage reservoirs which supply water to fields.v) Check dams :- These are used to stop rain water from flowing away and

helps to increase groundwater levels and reduce soil erosion.vi) Sprinkler system :- It is mostly used in canal irrigated areas of Haryana,

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In this system water is sprinkled throughout the radius of the sprinkler. Sprinkler is a horizontal pipe raising form its pipeline with a nozzle fitted at the top of it which rotates sprinkling the water in the area evenly.

Sprinkler system

ii) Cropping Pattern

These are the models of raising crops which help in obtaining maximum benefit from the same piece of land, reduce risk of crop failure, disease and infestation. Three common types of cropping patters are mixed cropping, intercropping and crop rotation.

i) Mixed cropping Farming is an agricultural process of harvesting solar energy in the form of economic produce to plants and animals. The Indian farmers depend a great deal on the monsoon for water and monsoon sometimes brings flood and sometimes cause drought. Therefore, the small and marginal farmers, particularly in rain fed regions can’t take risk of growing specialized crops. They prepared a farming system called mixed farming which is practice of growing two or more plants simultaneously on the same piece of land.Advantages of mixed cropping The risk of total crop failure due to uncertain monsoon is reduced. Fertility of the soil is improved by growing two crops simultaneously.

. Farmers tend to harvest a variety of crops such as cereal, pulses or vegetables.

Chances of pest infestation are greatly reduced.Objective of mixed cropping The basic objective of mixed farming is to minimize the risk and insure

against the crop failure due to abnormal weather conditions.Crop combination used in mixed cropping In India following combinations of the crops are used by farmers in

mixed cropping: Maize + Urad bean Wheat + Mustard Barley + Chick pea Cotton + Moong (Green gram) Wheat + Chick pea etc.

ii) Intercropping Intercropping is a practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously

in a same piece of land in a definite row patterns. The practice of intercropping is adopted by small farmers and where farmers have less access to irrigation. Intercropping is an improved version of mixed cropping. All the crop combinations in mixed cropping can also be practiced in the intercropping. But row patterns are definite, i.e., 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3. it means after one row main crop, one, two or three rows of intercrops can be grown.

Advantages of mixed cropping It makes better use of the natural resources of sunlight, air and water. Soil erosion is effectively arrested. The produce of each crop can be marketed and produced separately. Since the seeds of two crops are not mixed before sowing, fertilizers

can be placed as per the need of the crop.

Objective of intercropping The objective of this farming is to increase productivity per unit area.

Crop combination used in mixed cropping The crop combinations used in the inter cropping are same as the mixed

cropping.

Intercropping

TABLE: A comparison between mixed cropping and intercropping.

Mixed cropping Intercropping

1. It aims to minimize risk of crop failure. 1. It aims to increase productivity per unit area.

2. Seeds of tow crops are mixed before sowing.

2. Seeds of two crops are not mixed.

3. It involves no set pattern of rows of crops.

3. It involves set patterns of rows of crops.

4. In this method there is difficulty of fertilizer application to individual crop.

4. In intercropping fertilizers can be placed as per need of the crops.

5. Spraying for pest control to individual crop is difficult.

5. Pesticides can easily be applied to individual crop.

6. Harvesting and threshing of crop separately not possible.

6. Both crops can be easily harvested and threshed separately.

7. Marketing and consumption of only mixed produce is possible.

7. Product of each crop can be marketed and consumed separately.

iii) Crop rotation

Crop rotation can be defined as the practice of growing of different crops on a piece of land in a pre planned succession. Growing leguminous crops after growing cereal crops helps to increase soil fertility. If crop rotation is done properly, two or three crops can be grown in a year profitably.

Fig. Crop rotation

Depending upon the duration of the time, crop rotation can be of following three types (listed in table).

Selection of crops for rotation Most commonly the legumes are included in crop rotation program as they

increase the soil fertility. While making the for the other crops. Following points should be considered:

Availability of moisture through rain or irrigation. Status of nutrient in soil. Duration of crop- long or short Marketing and processing facilities. Availability of inputs such as labor, fertilizers, pesticides, machine power etc.

Type of crop rotation Component crops involved in rotation 1. One year rotation 1. Maize - Mustard

2. Rice - Wheat

2. Two year rotation 1. Maize - Mustard - Sugarcane - Fenugreek 2. Maize - Potato - Sugarcane - Peas

3. Three year rotation 1. Rice - Wheat - Moong - Mustard - Sugarcane - Berseem 2. Cotton - Oat - Sugarcane - Peas - Maize - Wheat

Advantages of crop rotation By alteration between deep and shallow rooted crops, the soil may be

utilized more completely. Several crop can be grown in a succession with only one soil preparation. Crop rotation reduces the need of the fertilizers. It also controls pests and weeds.

The Norfolk RotationThis is one of the best known crop rotation. It involves the growing of four crops in a given over a period of four years. These crops are Wheat (cereal), clover or bean (legume), barley(another cereal) and turnip or sugarcane (a rootcrop).

The Norfolk Crop Rotation

C) Crop protection managementCrops in the field are damaged by weeds, insect pests , pathogens and diseases. If pests are not controlled at appropriate time they cam damage 50 to 70% of the crops.

i) Weed Control Weeds are unwanted plants which grow in the field. E.g. :- Xanthium,

Parthenium, Cyperinus rotundus etc. They compete with the crop for food, space and sunlight and use nutrients and reduce crop yield. Therefore removal of weed plants from cultivated field in early stage of crop is essential to harvest high input returns in term of high yields.

Types of weeds Infestation of weeds is more during ‘Kharif’ season than in ‘Rabi’ season.

Based on the morphology of plants, weeds are classified into a. narrow-leaf weeds and b. broad-leaf weeds.

Classification of weeds

Weeds

Narrow leaf weed (monocot weeds)

Kharif season weeds

Examples: - Cyperis rotundus

- Wild sorghum

Rabi season weeds

Examples:- Phalaris - Wild oat

Broad leaf weed (dicot weeds)

Kharif season weeds

Example:- Trianth

- Xanthium strumarium

Rabi season weeds

Examples:- Chaenopodium

album- Parthenium

hysterophorus

Methods of weed control

1. Mechanical Method. These includes uprooting, weeding with trowel or harrow, hand hoeing (scraping), burning, ploughing and flooding.

2. Chemical methods. Chemical weed killers, called herbicides, or weedicides, are sprayed on weeds to destroy them.

3. Biological control. Biological control of weeds involves the use of organism which consume and specifically destroy the weed plants. For example, aquatic weeds are controlled by the fish grass crap.

ii) Insect Pest Control Insect pests cause damage to the root, stem and leaves, suck cell sap and bore into stems and fruits. They can reduce crop yield. Diseases in plants are caused by pathogens like virus, bacteria and fungi and reduces crop yield.

Painted bug, common Indian pest

of crop plants

TABLE: Diseases of crop plants and their symptoms.Name of crop Disease Symptoms

1. Rice (paddy) Blast Brown boat-shaped lesions appear on the margins of leaves.

2. Wheat Rust Yellow, brown or black elongated spots appear on leaves and straws.

3. Chick pea Wilt The leaves become yellow and dry up. Roots turn black and decompose.

4. Pigeon pea Stem rot Development of brown to dark brown lesions on the stem near soil surface. These lesions girdle the stem and plant dies.

5. Mustard White rust White or cream yellow scatter pustules appear on the lower surface of leaves.

Red Rot Of Sugarcane Tikka disease of groundnut Leaf rust in wheat

iii) Storage of GrainsStorage losses in agricultural produce can be very high. Factors responsible for such losses are biotic- insects, rodents, fungi, mites and bacteria, and abiotic- inappropriate moisture and temperature in the place in storage. These factors cause degradation in quality, loss in weight and lead to poor marketability. Preventative and control measures are used before grains are stored for future use. They include strict cleaning of the produce before storage, proper drying and then using chemicals that can kill pests.

Storage of grains in silos.

Red rust flour beetle Rice weevil

Pests of stored grains

Animal husbandry The branch of agriculture that deals with the feeding, caring and breeding

of domestic animals is called animal husbandry. Husbandry means to use a resource carefully and without waste. Thus, animal farming or husbandry requires planning for domestic animal’s shelter, breeding, health, diseases control and proper economic utilization.

• CATTLE FARMINGIn India, cattle are next to use for farmers after land. Human being domesticated them for milk, meat, leather and transportation. Generic name of cow is Bos indicus and buffaloes' is Bubalus bubalis. Cows are Mainly classified as draught, dairy and Dual purpose breeds.

Cows in a animal husbandry

Cattle (Indian) breeds and their distribution Cattle breed Distribution

1. Gir Gujarat, Rajasthan

2. Sahiwal Punjab, Haryana, Utter Pradesh

3. Red sindhi Andhra Pradesh

4. Deoni Andhra Pradesh

Milch breed

5. Malvi Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh

6. Nageri Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh

7. Hallikar Karnataka

8. Kangayam Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India

Draught breed

9. Ongole Andhra Pradesh

10. Kankrej Gujarat

11. Tharparker Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh

General utility breeds

Nutritional values of animal products

Fat Proteins Sugar Minerals Water Vitamins

1. Milk (cow)

3.60 4.00 4.50 0.70 87.20 B1, B2, B12, D, E

2. Eggs 12.00 13.00 * 1.00 74.00 B2, D

3. Meat 3.60 21.00 * 1.10 74.20 B2, B12

4. Fish 2.50 19.00 * 1.30 77.20 Niacin, D, A

Animal product

Per cent (%) nutrients

* Present in very little amount

Diseases of cattleCows and buffaloes suffer from various diseases. These diseases adversely affect the production of milk and cause mortality of sick animals. We should maintain a safe Distance from animals as many of the animal diseases like rabies, anthrax, ringworm, aspergillosis etc. gets Transmitted to human beings.

Foot and mouth disease in cattle

Common diseases of cattle and their symptoms.Viral disease Symptoms

1. Cow pox Fever accompanied by appearance of small nodules.

2. Rinder pest Constipation followed by severe diarrhea, discharges eyes and nostrils, loss of appetite.

3. Foot-and-mouth Blisters appear in mouth and foot resulting in extreme soreness of the parts. Loss of appetite, excessive salivation, high fever accompanied by shivering. Inability to work.

4. Rabies Marked changes in behavior, restless, paralysis (symptoms appear in 14-90 days).

5. Dermatitis Irritation, blisters and eruption on the skin surface.Bacterial diseases Symptoms

6. Anthrax Fever with swelling of body, milk secretion reduced.

7. Black quarter A fatal toxemia especially of young cattle.

8. Tuberculosis Fever, infection of udders, lungs, intestine and other parts.

9. Mastitis Fever, udder become swollen, milk is watery.

10. Salmonellosis Fever, diarrhea with blood clots.Fungal disease Symptoms

11. Ringworm Small, circular, discolored raised patches.

POULTRY FARMINGThe poultry industry with it’s production in the form of meat and eggs is of particular importance in providing a balanced diet for human population. They are not only the effective convertersof agriculture byproducts, particularly of waste into high quality meat but also Providing eggs, feathers and rich manures.All egg laying poultry is called egger or layer and the poultry reared for obtaining meat is called chicken or boiler. Poultry farming is undertaken basically to raise domestic fowl or egg production and chicken meat. Therefore, improved breeds are developed and formed to produce layers for eggs and boilers foe meat.

Poultry farming in Pakistan

A comparison between layers and boilers.

Layers Boilers

1. Layers are egg laying birds, managed for the purpose of getting eggs.

1. Boilers are maintained for getting meat.

2. Layers start producing eggs at the age of 20 weeks. So they are kept for layer period depending upon laying period (about 500 days).

2. They are raised up to 6-7 weeks in poultry farms and then sent to market for meat production.

3. They require enough space and adequate lightning.

3. They require conditions to grow fast and low mortality.

4. They require restricted and calculated feed with vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.

4. Their daily food requirement (ration for boilers) is rich in proteins and vitamin A and K. the fat content also should be adequate.

Diseases of cattle

Poultry fowls affected by diseases caused by virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites are protected from diseases by proper sanitation, spraying disinfectants and vaccination. Following table gives the account of diseases affecting poultry.

Poultry industry in India has shown a phenomenal growth in last two decades. Large in crease in egg production in India has been named silver revolution.

Name of the disease

Causative organism

Symptoms

1. Dermitis Virus Irritation, blisters and eruption on the skin surface.

2. Fowl pox Virus Wart-like pox lesions on comb, wattles, eyelids and feet, lesions in mouth, difficulty in breathing, yellow cheese like discharges from eyes and nose.

3. Fowl cholera Bacteria Loose motion and dehydration.

4. Aspergillosis Fungus Patches on the skin due to growth of moulds.

Breeds of poultry

Some exotic breeds of fowl are as follows:- Light Sussex White leghorn Barred Plymouth Black Minorca Rhode island red

Aseel White leghorn

Fish culture (Pisciculture)

Fish is a source of animal protein in our food. There are two ways of obtaining fish. They are from natural sources called capture fishing and from fish farming called culture fishery. The water source of fishes can be sea water (marine) or fresh water like rivers, ponds, lakes etc.

i) Marine fisheries :- The popular marine fish varieties are pomphret, mackerel, tuna, sardines

etc. They are caught by fishing nets from boats. Some marine fishes are farmed in sea water. These include prawns, mullets , pearl spots, mussels,

oysters etc. We get pearls from oysters.

Marine fishes

ii) Inland fisheries :-

Culture fishery is done in freshwater and brackish water where sea water and fresh water mix together. Sometimes fish culture is done in combination with paddy crop in the field. This is called composite fish culture.

The common fishes in inland fish farms are rohu, catla, mrigal, grass carp, silver carp, common carp etc.

Inland fishes

Differences between capture and culture fishery.

Capture fishery Culture fishery

1. It is a method of obtaining fish from natural resources.

1. It is a method of obtaining fish from fish farming (water agriculture).

2. There is no seeding and raising of fish 2. The fish is seeded and reared.

3. Capture fishery is undertaken in both inland and marine waters.

3. Culture fishery is undertaken mostly inland and near sea shore.

Paddy-cum-fish-culture

The fish species that can be stocked in paddy fields include catla, rohu, mrigal etc. these species are able live in shallow water of Paddy fields and are able to Tolerate high temperature or turbidity. This process Increases the fish yield from the pond. The problem with such a composite fish culture (paddy-cum) is that many fish only breed during monsoon. Even if fish seed is collected from the wind, it gets mixed with that of other species as well. So, the major farming problem is the lack of availability of good quality seed.

Paddy-cum-fish-culture

Bee-keeping :-(Apiculture) Bee-keeping is done to obtain honey and wax. Honey is used as a source of energy and also has medicinal uses. Wax is used in medicinal preparations and for making polishes. Bee keeping also helps in cross-pollination in flowers.Honey bee varieties used for bee keeping Indigenous varieties1. Apis cerana indicia [Indian bee]2. Apis dorsata [rock bee]3. Apis florae [little bee] Exotic varieties1. Apis mellifera [European or Italian bee]2. Apis adamsoni [South African bee]

Bee keeping

The bees collect nectar from flowers and is convert it into honey in the bee hives. Bees are artificially grown in apiaries and the honey is extracted by machine called honey extractors.

Honey extractor

Apiary Bee hive

Bees in apiary Honey bee

How is nectar changed into honey ?

Nectar is sweet viscous secretion by flowers of pants, for attracting the insect for pollination. When the bee sucks the nectar from the flower, it passes nectar to it’s honey sac where it gets mixed with some acidic secretion. In honey sacs, sucrose (sugar) of the nectar is converted into dextrose and laevulose by the action of invertase enzymes. After regurgitation the treated nectar finally changes into honey which is stored in special cells of bee hive.

Honey

Worker bees tend to maintain a constant temperature the bee hive by their behavior, i.e., by flapping their wings for cooling and by huddling together for warming.

Forager bees communicate about the location of the foraging grounds with their colony mates in the form of round-dance and waggle-dance. For decoding the meaning of these dances, a Australian zoologist Karl von Frisch (1886 - 1982) took 20 years of research and got Nobleof research and got Noble prize in 1973 for his

discovery. Helping behavior existing between members of a

social group (workers) is called altruism (which means self sacrifice).

Karl von Frisch (1886-1982)

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