Preface Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, where 58 % population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The whole philosophy of agriculture revolves around the principle of successful management of various inputs for crop production to satisfy changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural resources. Therefore, authors had tried their best in including each aspects of agriculture.  This book has been mainly designed especially for the undergraduate students in agriculture, agricultural engineering and other allied subjects. This book is entirely based on the syllabus of agriculture in different universities and is written in very simple and understandable words. This book includes almost all the topics i.e. History of agriculture, soils, fertilizers and manures, irrigation and drainage and rainfed agriculture. Based on different examinations held in the university, one chapter on question-answer is also developed, which is also very informative for the students appearing in different competitions.  The authors have attempted to collect information from various sources to compose this text book in the larger interest of students’ readership. With additional information, as would be available in the time to come, this edition would be appropriately revised and updated.

Agriculture is a branch of Applied science. It is the main enterprise in the world. In a true sense, it is a productive unit where the gift of nature i.e. land, light, air, temperature, water, humidity etc. are integrated into a single primary unit – crop plants and their usable parts are thus indispensable for human beings. Secondary productive units are animals (livestock), birds, insects etc. and they  feed on these primary units and provide more solid products such as meat, milk, wool, eggs, honey, silk, leather etc. The word agriculture is derived from two Latin words i.e. Ager/Agric means soil and cultura means cultivation. Thus, “Agriculture is a science of cultivation of land”. It is an art and science both in which we study all the activities of human beings related to use of soil. 

What is Crop? Crop refers to plants sown and harvested by man for economic purposes.  Cropping Seasons: There are three main seasons and two sub seasons. 1. Rainy or Kharif Season – Main characteristics of the Kharif season are      ·    It starts from June and spreads to September.     ·    There is high temperature and high humidity.     ·    More than 2/3rd of annual rainfall is received in a year.     ·    In the beginning, days are longer than nights while days and nights are equal when season ends.      ·    Important crops grown are maize, rice, sorghum, Moong, Urd, groundnut, cowpea, soybean etc. 

Soil  and its Components Soil Soil is a three dimensional, transferable natural material which is found on the earth crust and provides natural medium to plant growth. OR Soil is the upper most loose layer of the earth, suitable for plant growth.  Different scientists defined ‘SOIL’ in different ways: Buckman and  Brady defined soil as  “A dynamic natural body on the surface of the earth in which plants grow, composed of mineral and organic materials and living forms”.

The problem soils are those which, due to its land or soil characteristics, cannot be economically used for the cultivation of crops without adopting proper reclamation measures.  Classification of  Problem Soils:  The problem soils are divided into 3 groups.      ·    Highly Eroded Soils      ·    Saline and Alkali Soils      ·    Acid Soils  Highly Eroded Soils These soils are called ‘Usar’ in U.P., ‘Kallar or Thur’ in Punjab and ‘Luni’ in Rajasthan. In India, area under saline alkali soils is 7.0 mha. When the chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO42-), carbonate (CO32-) and bicarbonate(HCO3-) salts of sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) are increased in the soil, the soil become saline and alkaline. On the basis of amount of soluble salts, average quantity of exchangeable Na and pH, they are classified into 3 groups

Plant Nutrition The term “fertility” refers to the inherent capacity of a soil to supply nutrients to plants in adequate amounts and in suitable proportions. Nutrition in plants may thus be defined as a process of synthesis of food, its breakdown and utilisation for various functions in the body. There are two types of nutrition: 1. Autotrophic nutrition: It is a type of nutrition in which the living organisms manufacture their own organic food from simple inorganic raw materials. The green plants exhibit autotrophic mode of nutrition and hence called the autotrophs.   2. Heterotrophic nutrition: Certain non green organisms like fungi and many bacteria fail to synthesize their own organic nutrients from inorganic substances.  These organisms are thus dependent on some other external sources for their  nutrition. Such plants are called heterotrophic plants and the mode of nutrition is called heterotrophic nutrition.

Plant requires food or nutrients or elements for its growth and development which are absorbed through soil. Adequate supply of plant nutrients is important to ensure efficient crop production. Plant nutrients are essentially applied through manures and fertilizers. Application of manures and fertilizers to the soil is one of the important factors which help in increasing the crop yield and to maintain the soil fertility.  Manures Manures are plant and animal wastes that are used as source of plant nutrients. They release nutrient after their decomposition. These are relatively bulky materials, such as animal or green manures, which are added mainly to improve the physical condition of the soil, to replenish and keep up its humus status, to maintain the optimum conditions for the activities of soil micro-organisms and make good a small part of the plant nutrients removed by crops or otherwise lost through leaching and soil erosion.

Water is indispensable for human, animal and plant life. Water is essential part of protoplasm. It is essential for photosynthesis. About 400 to 500 litres of water is necessary for the production of  a kilo of plant dry matter.   Irrigation It is the human manipulation of hydrological cycle to improve crop production and quality and to decrease the economic effects of drought. Israelsen and Hansen (1962) defined irrigation as the artificial application of water for the purpose of supplying moisture to plant growth.

Out of 143 million hectares of net cropped area, about 75% is rainfed which contribute about 45% of food grains. These areas produce 55% rice, 25% wheat, 91% coarse cereals, 75% of pulses, 81% oilseeds and 69% cotton. More than 90% of sorghum, millet, groundnut and pulses is contributed from arid and semi-arid. The term rainfed farming (Dry farming) and dry land farming may be defined as conditions where rainwater is the only source of moisture for survival and growth of crops.

A. Write True or False     1.    Bulk density is the true density of the soil.     2.    Igneous rocks are acidic in nature.     3.    Adhesion is the attraction of like molecules.     4.    pH is the negative logarithm of Hydrogen ion concentration.     5.    Limestone is a sedimentary rocks.     6.    Size of the gravel is more than 2mm.     7.    Black and dark colour of soil is due to organic matter and iron.     8.    Soil moisture tension at Permanent wilting point corresponds to 15 atm.      9.    Micropores are the large pores present in the soil.     10.    Oxidation is the removal of oxygen from the minerals.     11.    Straight fertilizer contains only one nutrient.

Deemed Universities – 4     1.    ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi      2.    ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal     3.    ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar      4.    ICAR-Central Institute on Fisheries Education, Mumbai Institutions – 64     1.    ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair     2.    ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur     3.    ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar     4.    ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore     5.    ICAR-Central Institute Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai     6.    ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Hissar     7.    ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom     8.    ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal     9.    ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner     10.    ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur     11.    ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin     12.    ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubneshwar     13.    ICAR-Central Institute of Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai     14.    ICAR-Central Institute of Sub Tropical Horticulture, Lucknow     15.    ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar