Crop Production Technology

The total land area of India is 329.8 m/ha and out of this about 180-190 m. ha area (gross) is cultivated. India occupies 2.45 % of the worlds land area, 4 % water resources but supports 16.2 % of the world’s human population and 15 % of the livestock. About 61 % of the land area is under agriculture. It is endowed with varied climate biodiversity and ecological regions. The food production is falling/stagnating and it is a matter of concern. One reason for this falling/stagnating low food production is due to climate change which needs immediate attention. Climate Change and its extremes are increasingly one of the most serious national food security threats, which will have significant impacts on agriculture, natural resources, ecosystem and biodiversity. Agriculture is strongly influenced by weather and climate. The nature of agriculture and farming practices in any particular location are strongly influenced by the short and long-term mean climate. These changes are likely to threaten food production, increase water stress and decrease its availability, result in sea-level rise that could flood crop fields. Water is vital to plant growth, so varying precipitation patterns will have a significant impact on agriculture. Precipitation not the only influence on water availability but increasing evaporation demand owing to rising temperatures and longer growing seasons could increase crop irrigation requirements globally by between 5 and 20 per cent, or possibly more. Changes in short-term temperature extremes can be critical, especially if they coincide with key stages of plant development. Projections indicate the possibility of loss of 4–5 million tonnes in wheat production with every rise of 1°C temperature throughout the growing period. Only a few days of extreme temperature at the flowering stage of many crops can drastically reduce yield. The impact of high temperatures on final yield can depend on the stage of crop development. Rising atmospheric CO2 and climate change may also impact indirectly on crops through effects on pests and disease. Indications suggest that pests and disease will may result in more losses and can put challenge for management. These interactions are complex and as yet the full implications in terms of crop yield are uncertain. Climate variability and climate change can force farmers to adopt new agricultural practices in response to altered climatic conditions. The potential effect of climate change on agriculture is the shifts in the sowing time and length of growing seasons geographically, which would alter planting and harvesting dates of crops and varieties currently used in a particular area. The Indian agriculture will experience lots of ups and downs in the coming years due to natural resource depletion and changing climate events. In these circumstances new designing of Agronomy is required. The abridged information in this book provides a ready material for all requisite minds to prepare for traditional as well as internal grading system examinations, competitions, interviews, viva-voce, comprehensive/ preliminary examinations in the discipline of soils and fertilisers. This book would help them to revise the entire courses of soils and fertilisers within a short time and recollect the vast knowledge they gained by reading different books of soils and fertilisers. Fill in the blanks and multiple-choice questions embodied in the book will not only enable the readers to review the knowledge quickly but will also inculcate an understanding of the subject in depth. Keeping in views these things this book has been written, which will be helpful for researchers, teachers and students of agricultural institutes/universities. Suggestions for improvement of the present book form worthy teachers and student will be gratefully acknowledged.