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GRADE: 9

Improvement of Food Resources

1. What was the result of the Green Revolution?

Ans: The result of the Green Revolution was increased food grain production.
2. What was the effect of the White Revolution?
Ans: Better and most efficient use as well as availability of milk was the effect of White Revolution.
3. What is the ill-effect of Green Revolution and White Revolution?
Ans: Our natural resources are getting used more intensively. Our natural resources are damaged to
the point of destroying their balance completely.
4. Increase in grain production did not solve the problem of mal nutrition and hunger. Why?
Ans: Food security depends on both availability and access to food. People should have money to
purchase food.
5. What should one do for sustained livelihood?
Ans: One should undertake mixed farming, intercropping and integrated farming practices.
6. Give examples of:
Pulses Gram, Pea, Black-gram, Green-gram, Lentil.
Oil Seeds Soya-beans, Ground-nut, Sesame, Castor, Mustard, Linseed, and Sunflower.
Fodder Crops Berseem, Oats, and Sudan-grass.
7. What are Kharif Crops? Give examples.
Ans: Crops which are grown in rainy season are called Kharif Crops.
E.g.: Paddy, Soya-beans, Maize, Cotton, Green-gram and Black-gram.
8. What are Rabi Crops? Give examples.
Ans: Crops which are grown in winter season are called Rabi Crops.
E.g.: Wheat, Gram, Peas, Mustard and Linseed.
9. What are the three activities for improving crop yield?
Ans: The choice of seed for planting (Crop Variety Improvement).
The nurturing of crop plants (Crop Production Improvement).
The protection of growing and harvested crops from loss (Crop Protection Management).
10. How can we do Crop Variety Improvement?
Ans: Hybridisation: This is crossing between genetically dissimilar plants. The crossing may be
intervarietal, interspecific or intergeneric. By this desirable characteristics are incorporated.

Genetically modified Crops: Introducing a gene that would provide the desired characteristics.
11. List the factors for Crop Variety Improvement
Ans: Higher yield and improved quality. E.g.: Baking quality, Oil quality, etc.
Biotic and Abiotic Resistance.
Change in maturity and duration
Desirable agronomic characteristics
Wider adaptability.
12. Explain biotic and abiotic resistance.
Ans: Biotic resistance is the resistance against diseases, insects and nematodes.
Abiotic resistance is the resistance against drought, salinity, water-logging, heat, cold and frost.
13. What are the advantages of short maturity duration and uniform maturity?
Ans: More economical Reduces the cost of crop production
Possible to grow multiple rounds of crops
Uniform maturity makes the harvesting process easy and reduces the loss during harvesting.
14. What are desirable agronomic traits?
Ans: Tallness and profuse branching for fodder crops
Dwarfness in cereals, etc.
15. What are the three levels of crop production practices?
Ans: No cost
Low cost
High cost
16. Which are the 16 nutrient elements needed by plants?
Ans: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium,
Copper, Zinc, Molybdenum, Iron, Manganese, Boron, Chlorine.
17. Name the elements that are taken from the air.
Ans: Carbon & Oxygen.
18. Name the elements that are taken from the water.
Ans: Hydrogen & Oxygen.
19. Name the elements that are taken from the soil.
Ans: Macronutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur.
Micronutrients: Iron, Manganese, Boron, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum, Chlorine.
20. How do plants get nutrients?
Ans: Air supplies carbon and oxygen. Hydrogen comes from water and soil supplies the other
thirteen nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur, Iron,
Manganese, Boron, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum, and Chlorine)

21. What are the advantages of manure?

Ans: Manure helps in enriching soil with nutrients and organic matter. It increases soil fertility. It
increases the water holding capacity of sandy soils. In clayey soils, manure helps in drainage and
avoids water logging. When we use biological waste as manure we are protecting the environment
from accumulating solid-waste. It also avoids excessive use of fertilizers. Using manure is also a
way of recycling farm-waste.
22. What is Composting?
Ans: The process in which farm waste material like cow dung, animal refuse, domestic waste,
sewage waste, straw, eradicated weeds, etc. is decomposed.
23. What is Vermi-compost?
Ans: When compost is prepared by using earthworms also to speed up the process of
decomposition of plant and animal refuse it is called Vermi-compost.
24. What is green manure?
Ans: Some plants are grown and mulched by ploughing them into soil. These green plants then turn
into manure.
25. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using fertilizer?
Ans: Fertilizers are commercially produced plant nutrients. They are nutrient specific, easy to store
and transport and plants give quick response. It is a factor in the higher yields of high-cost farming.
. Care should be taken about the dose and time of application.
Precaution should be taken for their complete utilization.
Excess fertilizers lead to water pollution.
Continuous use of fertilizers destroys soil fertility because soil micro-organisms are harmed.
26. What is Organic Farming?
Ans: Organic Farming is a system of farming with minimal or no use of chemicals as fertilizers,
herbicides, pesticides, etc. and with a maximum input of bio-fertilizers, using neem leaves,
turmeric, etc. in grain storage.
27. Which are the different systems of irrigation?
Ans:
Wells
Canals
River-lift systems
Tanks
28. What is the difference between mixed-cropping and inter-cropping?
Ans: Mixed-cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land
E.g.: Wheat & gram, Wheat & mustard, Groundnut & sunflower.
Inter-cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same field in a definite row
pattern
29. What are the advantages of inter-cropping?

Ans:
Ensures maximum utilization of nutrients.
Prevents pests and spreading of diseases.
Higher yield.
Total crop failure is unlikely.
30. What are weeds? Give examples
Ans: Weeds are unwanted plants in the crop field.
E.g.: Xanthium, Parthenium.
31. What are the three ways in which pests attack plants?
Ans:
They cut root, stem and leaves.
They suck cell sap from plant parts
They bore into stem and fruits.
32. Why is removal of weeds necessary for good harvest ?
Ans: Weeds compete for water, nutrients, space and light. This adversely affects the growth of the
crop.
33. List some weed control methods
Ans:
Mechanical removal
Proper seed-bed preparation
Timely sowing of crops
Inter-cropping
Crop rotation
34. Why should preventive measures and biological control methods be preferred for protecting
crops?
Ans: Use of chemicals creates problems, they are poisonous to plant and animal species and cause
environmental pollution. They reach human beings through the food chain.
35. What factors may be responsible for losses of grains during storage?
Ans: Biotic: Insects, rodents, fungi, mites and bacteria.
Abiotic: Inappropriate moisture, temperature.
36. What are the preventive and control measures for losses of grains during storage?
Ans:
Strict cleaning of the produce before storage.
Proper drying of the produce, first in sunlight and then in shade.
Fumigation with chemicals.
37. What is animal husbandry?
Ans: Animal husbandry is the scientific management of livestock.

38. Differentiate milch and draught animals

Ans: Milk-producing females are called milch animals whereas the ones used for labour are called
draught animals.
39. Which method is used to improve cattle breeds? Why?
Ans: Cross-breeding with foreign or exotic breeds is done to improve cattle. Foreign breeds have
long lactation period, local breeds show resistance to diseases. Cross-breeding produces animals
with both the desired qualities.
40. What are the features of a good shelter for cattle?
Ans: Well ventilated, roofed to protect from heat, cold and rain. The floor of the cattle shed needs to
be sloping so as to stay dry and to facilitate cleaning.
41. Name two exotic and two local breeds of cow
Ans: Exotic (Foreign): Jersey, Brown Swiss
Local: Sahiwal, Red Sindhi
42. In poultry-farming, what are the desirable traits developed in new varieties?
Ans:
Number and quality of chicks.
Dwarf broiler parent for commercial chick production.
Summer adaptation capacity/ tolerance to high temperature.
Low maintenance requirements.
Reduction in the size of egg-laying birds.
Ability to utilize more fibrous cheaper diets.
43. What are the management practices required for good poultry?
Ans:
Maintenance of proper temperature and hygienic conditions in housing.
Good poultry feeds.
Precautions and control of diseases and pests.
44. What are the differences between broilers & egg-layers and in their management?
Ans: Broilers are raised for meat.
Egg-layers are raised for laying eggs.
The housing, nutritional and environmental requirements of broilers are different from those of
layers. The ration for broilers is protein-rich with adequate fat.
45. What is Capture Fishing?
Ans: Capture Fishing is obtaining fish from natural resources by using different kinds of fishing nets.
Now yields are increased by locating large schools of fish in the open sea using satellites and echosounders.
46. Name some marine fish.
Ans: Pomphret, Mackerel, Tuna, Sardines, Bombay Duck.

47. What is Mari-culture?

Ans: Marine fish of high economic value are cultured in sea water. This is known as Mari-culture.
48. What is a composite fish culture system?
Ans: A composite fish culture system is a combination of five or six species which are used in a
single fish pond. These species are selected so that they do not compete for food among them
having different types of food habits.
The food available in all parts of the pond is used
E.g.
Catlas are surface feeders.
Rohus feed in the middle zone.
Mrigals and common carps are bottom feeders.
Grass carps fed on weeds.
49. What is the major problem in fish-farming? What is being done to overcome this?
Ans: The major problem in fish-farming is the lack of availability of good quality seed.
To overcome this problem, required varieties of fish are made to breed in fish ponds using hormonal
stimulation. This has ensured supply of fish seed in desired quantities.
50. What is Pasturage? How is it related to honey production?
Ans: Pasturage is the availability of flowers to the bees for nectar and pollen collection.
Pasturage is related to honey production because it determines the taste of honey and the quantity
of honey.
51. Which are the desirable bee varieties suitable for honey production?
Ans:
Indian bee (Apis cerana indica)
Rock bee (Apis dorsata)
Little bee (Apis florae)
Italian bee (Apis melliferae)
52. What are the desirable characteristics of bee varieties suitable for honey production?
Ans:
High honey collection capacity.
Sting-less
Stay in the hive for long periods
Breed well
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