Crop Production and Crop Improvement Methods

Crop Production and Crop Improvement: All living organisms require food because, from food, we get energy, which we use to survive on this planet. Where does this come from? While plants can make their food, animals can not. They depend on food prepared by others and on other animals for food. Before understanding crop production and crop improvement, we need to know about a few basic terms such as crop, yield, agriculture etc. Let us get started!

Large quantities of plants being cultivated in an area suitable for consumption are called a crop. Fruits, vegetables, cereals- they all belong to crops. Before 10,000 B.C.E, humans lived as nomads. They did not live in one place like we do now, but they kept moving from place to place and survived on pretty much anything, such as food. They fed on plants, forest fruits of different kinds, water etc. Only later did humans start hunting for food. One thing led to another, and slowly humans started harvesting their own ‘crops’ for consumption.

What is Crop Production?

The process of cultivating either for domestic or commercial purposes may be called crop production. Crop production involves using manual labour, planning, technology and other resources to yield better results. It is an art. It is science and is also a business.

Like the steps involved in planting an apple tree in your backyard, several steps are involved in crop production, from simple to complex. The intricacies involved also depend on the scale of crop production. The set of steps put together is called agricultural practices.

Steps Involved in Crop Production

In India, Paddy is grown only in the rainy season and not in winter. Have you thought of an answer to why? Because the Paddy crop requires a lot of winters. The same is the case with Maize, Soybean, groundnut and cotton. Similarly, crops such as wheat and mustard grow only in winter.

What we understand from the above examples is that crops are seasonal because they require a certain amount of water, temperature, humidity etc., to grow, depending on the year’s season. Therefore, crop production also relies on a lot of factors.

Factors That Affect Crop Production

There are several factors that control/impact crop production. This is true not just for India but in different parts of the world. Some factors are not under the control of the farmer. On the other hand, there are a few which the farmers are in total control of and those that can be varied.

Whatever the case, a clear understanding of the factors affecting crop production is crucial for farmers to get maximum yield and profit from their investment. Temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, altitude, wind force, soil fertility, fertilisers, and other biotic factors are some of the factors we are talking about here.

What is Crop Improvement in Agriculture?

Crop Improvement refers to developing new varieties of crops that are much better in quality and quantity than the existing ones.

Benefits of Crop Improvement

Most often, we think crop improvement is made only to increase the crop yield to meet the increasing demand worldwide. But this is not true. There are many other benefits of crop improvement, some of which are given below.

• Harvest/adapt crops in different climatic conditions.
• Make crops resist pests and common diseases.
• Bring uniformity in crop growth.
• To care for the needs of both producers and consumers alike.
• To make crop production more efficient.

Methods of Crop Improvement

Scientists and Agriculturists around have come up with innovative methods in crop production. These methods are vital to meeting the increasing demand for food crops from every corner of the world, thereby eradicating global hunger.

Here are some of the most widely practiced methods used in crop improvement.

• Introduction
• Selection
• Hybridisation
• Genetic Mutation

Let us understand quickly the different methods used in crop improvement.

Introduction: Plants are shifted from their place of origin to another place and allowed to adapt to the new environment, where they will survive.

Selection:  It means the preservation of certain plants with a set of characteristics.

Hybridisation: In this method, two plants with their unique characteristics are taken and crossed to result in a new plant (like a child plant) bearing characteristics of parent plants.

Genetic Mutation: In this method, the genes of the plants are altered by mutating induced either by physical or chemical mutagens to result in a variation of the plant. It is different from hybridisation because this is a naturally occurring process that occurs in the presence of mutagens. It is done in order to obtain a new variety of crops that fulfils consumer demands.

Crop Improvement Can Address the Global Food Shortage

The global demand for food is constantly increasing. An increase in the world’s population, an increase in the diversity of food, globalisation, and the cultural preferences of individuals are some of the reasons behind the staggering increase in the demand for food. Unfortunately, crop production is not increasing at the same rate, despite the enormous efforts being made.

Crop Improvement is the only way to meet the food demand worldwide as the methods used in crop improvement are not only scientific and proven but have shown positive results in many parts of the world.

We hope you found this article on crop production and crop improvement very interesting. For more such informative articles, keep following Embibe.