Crop Variety Improvement

Crop management is the process used to efficiently grow and harvest crops. The methods used for crop production depends on the farmer’s budget and can be categorized as ‘no cost’, ‘low cost’, and ‘high cost’ practices.

Key practices include:

• Nutrient Management: Providing plants with essential nutrients from air, water, and soil.
• Crop Patterns: Using techniques like crop rotation and intercropping to improve yields.
• Irrigation: Ensuring crops get enough water, especially in areas with low rainfall, through systems like wells, canals, and check dams.

Now, let’s study each one of them in detail.

Nutrient Management for Crop Variety Improvement

Plants get their nutrients from the air, water, and soil. There are sixteen essential nutrients for plants. Air provides carbon and oxygen, water provides hydrogen, and soil provides the other thirteen nutrients. Nutrient management involves supplying the soil with these necessary nutrients by adding compost and fertilizers.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are commercially made nutrients for plants, mainly providing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to the soil. They are more expensive than manure and can cause water pollution (eutrophication) if overused. Continuous use of fertilizers can reduce soil fertility by not replenishing organic matter and harming soil microorganisms. Sustainable farming can be achieved through organic farming.

Manure

Manure is organic matter derived from animal and human waste, sewage, decayed plants, and agricultural waste like dry leaves and twigs. It contains many nutrients, improves soil quality, and increases healthy crop yields.

Crop Patterns

Planting a variety of crops instead of just one helps prevent crop failure and can offer additional benefits. Different crops with varying nutrient needs are planted in alternating rows to maximize nutrient use. Intercropping, or planting different crops together, also prevents pests and diseases from spreading to all plants of one type, resulting in better yields for both crops.

Crop rotation involves growing different crops on the same land in a planned sequence. Depending on the length of the rotation, different combinations of crops are used.

Irrigation

Providing enough water is important for maintaining crop yield. In areas with low rainfall, various irrigation methods like wells, canals, river lift systems, and tanks can be used to supply water. Building check dams helps harvest water and also prevents soil erosion. Drip irrigation and sprinkler systems are efficient methods that minimize water wastage and ensure even distribution. Efficient irrigation practices also help in maintaining soil health and improving crop resilience against drought conditions.

Also Read: Modern Methods of Irrigation

The improvement in crop yields refers to enhancing the quantity and quality of crops produced per unit of land area or effort. Understanding the methods and need for improving crop variety helps in enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security.

In this article, we will cover methods and the need for improvement in crop yields in detail.