Physical Factors:

---

(a) Terrain, Topography, and Altitude

1. dependent on the geo-ecological conditions; terrain, topography, slope and altitude.
2. paddy cultivation requires leveled fields, tea plantations perform well in the undulating topography in which water does not remain standing.
3. Orchards of coconut are found at low altitudes, preferably closer to the sea level, while the apple orchards in the tropical and sub-tropical conditions perform well above 1500 metres above sea level.
4. Cultivation of crops is rarely done 3500 m above sea-level in the tropical and sub-tropical latitudes.
5. highly rarified air, low-pressure, low temperature, and shortage of oxygen at high altitudes are the serious impediments not only in the cultivation of crops, but also in keeping dairy cattle.
6. soils of high mountainous tracts are generally immature which are also less conducive for agriculture.
7. topographical features also affect the distribution of rainfall.
8. the windward side gets more rainfall than the leeward side.
9. Apart from altitude and aspects of slope, the nature of the surface also affects the agricultural activities.
10. gullied land is least conducive for cropping.
11. The Chambal ravines in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have put over thousands of hectares of good arable land out of agriculture.

---

(b) Climate

(1) Temperature:

• The crops to be grown, their patterns and combinations controlled by the temperature and precipitation conditions.
• each crop has a specific zero temperature below which it can not be grown.
• also an optimal temperature in which the crop is at its greatest vigour.
• For each stage of crop life, i.e. germination, foliation, blossoming or fructification a specific zero and optimum can be observed in temperature.
• The upper limit of temperature for plants growth is 60°C under high temperature conditions, i.e. at over 40°C, crops dry up, if the moisture supply is inadequate.
• In contrast to this, the chilling and freezing temperatures have a great adverse effect on the germination, growth and ripening of crops.
• Crops like rice, sugarcane, jute, cotton, chilli and tomatoes are killed or damaged at the occurrence of frost.
• minimum temperature for wheat and barley is 5°C, maize 10°C, and rice 20°C.
• impact of temperature on cropping patterns may be seen from the fact that the northern limit of the regions in which date-palm bear ripe fruit coincides almost exactly with the mean annual temperature of 19°C.
• essential factor in the limit of grape orchards seem to be temperature. Grapes ripen only in those countries in which the mean temperature from April to October exceeds 15° C.
• Crops like winter-wheat and barley perform well when the mean daily temperature ranges between 15°C and 25°C.
• tropical crops like cocoa, coffee, spices, squash, rubber and tobacco require over 18° C temperature even in the coldest months, while crops like wheat, gram, peas, lentil, potato, mustard, and rapeseed require a temperature of about 20°C during the growth and development, stage and relatively higher (over 25°C) during the sowing and harvesting periods.

 

(2) Moisture:

• All crops need moisture.
• Take water and moisture from the soil.
• Available from the rains or from irrigation systems.
• Within wide temperature limits, moisture is more important than any other climatic factor in crop production.
• There are optimal moisture conditions for crop development just as there are optimal temperature conditions.
• Excessive amount of water in the soil alters various chemical and biological processes, limiting the amount of oxygen and increasing the formation of compounds that are toxic to plant roots.
• Excess of water in the soil, therefore, leads to stunted growth of plants.
• The problem of inadequate oxygen in the soil can be solved by drainage practices in an ill-drained tract. Heavy rainfall may directly damage plants or interfere with flowering and pollination.
• Cereal crops are often lodged by rain and this makes harvest difficult and promotes spoilage and diseases.
• Heavy rainfall at the maturity of wheat, gram, millets, oilseeds, and mustards cause loss of grains and fodder.
• Indian farmers all over the country have often suffered on account of failure of rains or fury of floods.

(3) Drought:

• Devastating consequences on the crops, their yields and production.
• Soil drought has been described as a condition in which the amount of water needed for transpiration and direct evaporation exceeds the amount of water available in the soil.
• Damages the crops when plants are inadequately supplied with moisture from the soil.
• drought prone areas of India lie in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bundelkhand (U.P.), Uttarakhand, H.P.J&K, south-west Punjab and Haryana.
• Where the average annual rainfall is less than 75 cm, agriculture is considered a gamble on monsoon.
• The incidence of drought and its intensity can be determined from the annual, seasonal and diurnal distribution of rainfall.
• drought prone areas of India, dry farming is practiced, while in the more rainfall recording regions, intensive agriculture of paddy crop is a common practice.

(4) Snow:

• Occurrence of snow reduces the ground temperature which hinders the germination and growth of crops.
• Land under snow cannot be prepared for sowing because of permafrost.
• Melting of snow may cause hazardous floods in the summer season, affecting the crops, livestock, and land property adversely.

(5)Winds

• Have both, direct and indirect effects on crops.
• Direct winds result in the breaking of plant structure, dislodging of cereals, fodder and cash crops and shattering of seed-heads.
• Fruit and nut crops may be stripped from the trees in high winds.
• Small plants are sometimes completely covered by wind-blown dust or sand.
• The indirect effect of winds are in the form of transport of moisture and heat in the air.

---

(c) Soils

• Important determining physical factor.
• Determines the cropping patterns, their associations and production.
• Fertility of soil, its texture, structure and humus contents have a direct bearing on crops and their productivity.
• The alluvial soils are considered to be good for wheat, barley, gram, oilseeds, pulses, and sugarcane; while the clayey loam gives good crop of rice.
• Regur soil is known for cotton, and sandy soil for bajra, guar, pulses (green-gram, black-gram, red-gram, etc.).
• The saline and alkaline soils are useless from the agricultural point of view unless they are reclaimed by chemical fertilisers and biological manures and fertilisers.

 

AQUA CULTURE

• the cultivation of aquatic organisms.
• aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, implies the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions.
• Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments.
• Particular kinds of aquaculture include agriculture (the production of kelp, seaweed, and other algae), fish farming, shrimp farming, shellfish farming, and growing of cultured pearls.

Growth and Development of Aquaculture

• has been used in China since circa 2500 BC.
• practice of aquaculture gained prevalence in Europe during theMiddle Ages since fish were scarce and thus expensive.
• Americans were rarely involved in aquaculture until the late 20th century but California residents harvested wild kelp and made legal efforts to manage the supply starting circa 1900, later even producing it as a wartime resource.
• the rise of aquaculture is a contemporary phenomenon.

 

Types of Aquaculture 1. Algaculture

• A form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
• Majority of algae are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae, also referred to as phytoplankton, microphytes, or planktonic algae.
• Macro algae, commonly known as seaweed, also have many commercial and industrial uses, but due to their size and the specific requirements of the environment in which they need to grow, they do not lend themselves as readily to cultivation on a large scale as microalgae and are most often harvested wild from the ocean.

 

2. Fish Farming

• The principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture.
• Involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food.
• Fish species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish, tilapia, cod, carp, trout, and others.
• Increasing demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing operations have caused widespread overfishing.
• Offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

 

3. Freshwater Prawn Farming

• An aquaculture business designed to raise and produce freshwater prawn or shrimp for human consumption.
• Shares many characteristics with, and many of the same problems as, marine shrimp farming.
• Unique problems are introduced by the development life cycle of the main species (the giant river prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergiz).

4. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

• A practice in which the by- products (wastes) from one species are recycled to become inputs ( fertilisers, food) for another.
• Fed aquaculture (e.g. fish, shrimp) is combined with inorganic extractive (e.g. seaweed) and organic extractive (e.g. shellfish) aquaculture to create balanced systems for environmental sustainability (biomitigation), economic stability (product diversification and risk reduction), and social acceptability (better management practices).

5. Mariculture

• a specialised branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled with seawater.
• the farming of marine fish, prawns, or oysters in saltwater ponds.
• Non-food products produced by mariculture include fish meal, nutrient agar, jewelleries ( e.g. cultured pearls), and cosmetics.

 

6. Shrimp Farming

• an aquaculture for the cultivation of marine shrimp for human consumption.
• Commercial shrimp farming began in the 1970s, and production grew steeply, particularly to match the market demands of the US, Japan, and Western Europe.
• About 75°/o of farmed shrimp is produced in Asia, in particular in China and Thailand.
• The other 25% is produced mainly in Latin America, where Brazil is the largest producer.
• The largest exporting nation is Thailand.
• Shrimp farming on modern lines is being done in Andhra Pradesh (Nellore District), a state of India (see Blue Revolution)

Strategies for the Fisheries Development

• Under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, village panchayats have been authorised to carry out fisheries development programmes in respective villages.
• Under the programme of Development of Model Fishermen Villages, basic civic amenities such as housing, drinking water and construction of community halls for fishermen villages are provided.
• Brackish Fish Farmers Development Agencies (BFDA) functioning in the coastal areas of the country is providing a package of technical, financial and extension support to shrimp farmers.
• Insurance facilities have been extended to fishermen for the insurance and security of their life.
• The government is collecting data on the micro-climates of various water bodies to promote fisheries in the country.

Problems and Prospects

1. Most of the fishermen are poor. They are not able to purchase good equipment to improve the harvest of fish.
2. The water bodies (rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal areas of the seas) are increasingly polluted.
3. The area of paddy fields in which fisheries used to be kept is also decreasing under the impact of fast growth of population, industrialisation, and urbanisation.
4. Adequate information about the environment of water-bodies (ponds, lakes, rivers, and sea is not available).
5. Unpredictable nature of monsoon as a result of which the inland fisheries suffer adversely.
6. Problem of marketing, storage, and transportation.
7. Inadequacy of research and extension service facilities.
8. There is need of Pink Revolution (Prawns) in the coastal regions of the country.

 

BLUE REVOLUTION IN INDIA

• the adoption of a package programme to increase the production of fish and marine products.
• started in 1970 during the Fifth Five-Year Plan when the Central Government sponsored the Fish Farmers Development Agency (FFDA).
• Subsequently, the Brakish Water Fish Farms Development Agency were set up to develop aquaculture.
• brought improvement in aquaculture by adopting new techniques of fish breeding, fish rearing, fish marketing, and fish export.
• tremendous increase in the production of shrimp. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have developed shrimp in a big way.
• The Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh is known as the ‘Shrimp Capital of India’.
• There are more than 1800 species of fish found in the sea and inland waters of India, of which a very few are commercially important.
• important sea fish include catfish, herring, mackerels, perches, mullets, Indian salmon, shell fish, eels, anchovies, and dorab.
• the main fresh water fish include catfish, loaches, perches, eels, herrings, feather backs, mullets, carps, prawns, murrels, and anchovies.
• Marine fisheries contribute about 50 per cent of the total fish production of the country.
• Kerala is the leading producer followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa.
• The fishing season extends from September to March.
• The higher fish production in the Arabian Sea is due to the broader continental shelf.
• The important fish varieties include sardines, mackerel and prawn.
• The East Coast contributes about 28 per cent of the total production of marine fish in the country.
• The fishing activity along the East coast is mainly carried on from Rameswaram in the south to Ganjam in the north, with fishing season from September to April along the Coromandal Coast.
• The National Fisheries Development Board has been set up to realize the untapped potential of fishery sector with the application of modern tools of research and development including biotechnology.

 

SECOND GREEN REVOLUTION

The main objectives of the second Green Revolution are:

(i) To raise agricultural productivity to promote food security

(ii) More emphasis on bio-technology

(iii) To promote sustainable agriculture

(iv) To become self-sufficient in staple food, pulses, oil seeds, and industrial raw material

(v) To increase the per capita income of the farmers and to raise their standard of living.

 

WHITE REVOLUTION IN INDIA

 

• The package programme adopted to increase the production of milk is known as White Revolution in India.
• The White Revolution in India occurred in 1970, when the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was established to organize the dairy development through the co-operative societies.
• Varghese Kuerin was the father of White Revolution in India.
• The dairy development programme through co-operative societies was first established in the state of Gujarat.
• The co-operative societies were most successful in the Anand District of Gujarat. The co-operative societies are owned and managed by the milk producers.
• These co-operatives apart from financial help also provide consultancy.
• The increase in milk production has also been termed as Operation Flood.

Objectives

1. The procurement, transportation, storage of milk at the chilling plants.
2. Provide cattle feed.
3. Production of wide varieties of milk products and their marketing management.
4. Provide superior breeds of cattle (cows and buffaloes), health service, veterinary treatment, and artificial insemination facilities.
5. Provide extension service.

 

Achievements

• Some of the important achievements of the White Revolution are as under:

1. The White Revolution made a sound impact on rural masses and encouraged them to take up dairying as a subsidiary occupation.
2. India has become the leading producer of milk in the world.
3. The import of milk and milk production has been reduced substantially.
4. The small and marginal farmers and the landless labourers have been especially benefitted from the White Revolution.
5. To ensure the success of Operation Flood Programme, research centres have been set up at Anand, Mehsana, and Palanpur (Banaskantha). Moreover, three regional centres are functioning at Siliguri, Jalandhar, and Erode. Presently, there are metro dairies in 10 metropolitan cities of the country, beside 40 plants with capacity to handle more than one lakh litres of milk.
6. Livestock Insurance Scheme was approved in February 2006 and in 2006-07 on a pilot basis in 100 selected districts across the country. The scheme aims at protecting the farmers against losses due to untimely 2. In most of the villages the cattle are kept under unhygienic conditions.death of animals.
7. To improve the quality of livestock, extensive cross breeding has been launched.
8. For ensuring the maintenance of disease-free status, major health schemes have been initiated.
9. The government implemented livestock insurance on pilot basis in 2005-06.

 

Problems and Prospects

1. Collection of milk from the remote areas is expensive, time consuming, and not viable economically.
2. In most of the villages the cattle are kept under unhygienic conditions.
3. There are inadequate marketing facilities. The marketing infrastructure needs much improvement.
4. The breeds of cattle is generally inferior.
5. The extension service programme is not effective.

 

Green Revolution in India

• A term coined to describe the emergence and diffusion of new seeds of cereals.
• Norman-e-Borlaug is the Father of Green Revolution in the world, while Dr. M.S. Swami Nathan is known as the Father of Green Revolution in India.
• The new cereals were the product of research work and concentrated plant breeding with the objective of creating High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of use to the developing countries.
• New varieties of wheat were first bred in Mexico in the 1950s and that of rice, like IR-8 (miracle rice) at the International Rice Research Institute, Manila, (Philippines in the 1960s).
• The increase in the yield from the new seeds has been spectacular as during the last forty years, agricultural production, particularly of wheat and rice, has experienced a great spurt and this has been designated as the Green Revolution.
• The Green Revolution has been used to mean two different things. Some experts of agriculture use it for referring to a broad transformation of agricultural sector in the developing countries to reduce food shortages.
• Others use it when referring to the specific plant improvements, notably the development of HYVs.
• Whatsoever the meaning of Green Revolution may be taken as, the adoption and diffusion of new seeds of wheat and rice has been considered as a significant achievement as it offered great optimism.
• In fact, these varieties of seeds have revolutionised the agricultural landscape of the developing countries and the problem of food shortage has been reduced.
• In India, hybridisation of selected crops, i.e. maize, bajra (bulrush millets), and millets began in 1960.
• The Mexican dwarf varieties of wheat were tried out on a selected scale in 1963-64. Exotic varieties of rice such as Taichung Native I were introduced in India in 1964.
• The diffusion of HYVs, however, became fully operational in the country in the Kharif season of 1965-66.
• The diffusion of the new seeds was mainly in the Satluj-Ganga Plains and the Kaveri Delta.
• Subsequently, a number of varieties of wheat and rice were developed by the Indian scientists and adopted by the Indian farmers.

 

Merits of the High Yielding Varieties

The High Yielding Varieties have certain advantages over the traditional varieties of cereals which are given as under:

 

1. Shorter Life Cycle
2. Economize on Irrigation Water
3. Generate more Employment

Geographical Constraints in the Adoption of New Seeds

The new seeds are less resistant to droughts and floods and need an efficient management of water, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides.

The conditions required for the good harvest of new seeds have been described below:

 

1. Irrigation
2. Availability of Chemical Fertilisers
3. Plant Protection Chemicals
   • The new seeds are very delicate and highly susceptible to pests and diseases.
   • The danger of pests and insects may be reduced by using plant protection chemicals.

 

• The problems of crop disease and pests may also be tackled by timely application of insecticides and pesticides

 

4. Capital Constraint

4. Mechanization

4. Marketing and Storage Facilities

7. Extension Service

8. Human Factor

Environmental and Ecological Implications of Green Revolution

Some of the environmental and ecological problems that emerged out of the cultivation of the High Yielding Varieties are depletion of forests, reduction in pastures, salination, water-logging, depletion of underground water-table, soil erosion, change in the soil chemistry, reduction in bio-diversity, decline in soil fertility, silting of rivers, increase in weeds, emergence of numerous new plant diseases, and health hazards.

 

An overview of these environmental and ecological problems has been given here.

1. Salination

 The saline and alkaline affected tracts, locally known as kallar or thur in Punjab and kallar or reh in Uttar Pradesh have expanded and increased in area.The problem of salinity and alkalinity can be solved by use of manure (cow dung, compost, and green manure) and by a judicious selection of leguminous crops in the rotation

 

2. Waterlogging

Water logging is the other major problem associated with over-irrigation.The progressive and ambitious cultivators of the irrigated areas of these districts have changed their cropping patterns and have introduced rice and wheat in place of bajra, pulses, cotton, and fodder.Repeated irrigation of these crops in the summer and winter seasons have resulted into waterlogged condition, especially along the canals.

 

3. Soil erosion
4. Pollution:
5. Lowering of the Underground Water-Table:
6. Deforestation
7. Noise Pollution:
8. Health Hazards:

 

Green Revolution—Achievements, Problems and Prospects

Green Revolution—Achievements

The main achievements of Green Revolution may be summarized as under:

 

1. The production and productivity of wheat, rice, maize, and bajra has increased substantially.
2. India has become almost self-sufficient in the matter of staple foods.
3. The double cropped area has increased; thereby intensification of the Indian agriculture has increased.
4. In the areas where Green Revolution is a success, the farmers have moved from subsistent to market oriented economy, especially in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and the plain districts of Uttarakhand (Hardwar and Udhamsinghnagar).
5. The adoption of High Yielding Varieties under the Green Revolution has generated more rural and urban employment.
6. Green Revolution has increased the income of farmers and landless labourers, especially that of the big farmers and the semi-skilled rural workers. Thus Green Revolution has increased rural prosperity.
7. Green Revolution has created jobs in the areas of biological (seed fertilisers) innovations, and repair of agricultural equipments and machinery.

 

Green Revolution—Problems and Prospects

1. Depletion of soil owing to the continuous cultivation of soil exhaustive crops like rice and wheat.
2. Depletion of underground water table due to over-irrigation of more moisture requiring crops like rice and wheat.
3. Green Revolution has increased the income disparity amongst the farmers.
4. Green Revolution led to polarization of the rural society. It has created three types of conflicts in the rural community, namely, between large and small farmers, between owner and tenant farmers, between the employers and employees on agricultural farms.
5. Green Revolution has displaced the agricultural labourers, leading to rural unemployment. The mechanical innovations like tractors have displaced the agricultural labour. 6. Agricultural production in the Green Revolution areas is either stationary or has shown declining trend.
6. Some valuable agricultural lands have submerged under water (water-logging) or are adversely affected by salinity and alkalinity.
7. Green Revolution is crop specific. It could not perform well in the case pulses and oil-seeds.
8. The traditional institution of Jijmani system has broken. Consequently, the barbers, carpenters, iron-smith, and watermen have migrated to the urban areas.
9. The soil texture, structure, soil chemistry, and soil fertility have changed.
10. About 60 per cent of agricultural land in the country remains unaffected by Green Revolution.
11. Green Revolution technologies are scale neutral but not resource neutral.
12. Punjab feeds the nation but farmers in the state, especially in the Malwa region fall prey to cancer. The take ‘Cancer Train’ to Bikaner for cheap treatment.

 

CHARACTERISTICS AND PROBLEMS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE

1. Subsistent in Character
2. Heavy Pressure of Population
3. Predominance of Food Grains
4. Mixed Cropping
5. High Percentage of the Reporting Area under Cultivation
6. Small Size of Holdings and Fragmentation of Fields
7. Limited Intensive Agriculture
8. Primitive Technology
9. Indian Agriculture is Labour Intensive
10. Rain-fed Agriculture
11. Less Area under Leguminous and Fodder Crops
12. Tradition Bound
13. Low Productivity
14. Government Policy
15. Lack of Definite Agricultural Land Use Policy
16. Lack of Marketing and Storage Facilities
17. Low Status of Agriculture in the Society
18. Land Tenancy
19. Poverty and Indebtedness of the Farmers
20. Inadequacy of Extension Service
21. Inadequate Agricultural Research and Education, Training, and Extension
22. Soil Erosion and Soil Degradation
23. Other Characteristics and Problems