CLASS VIII Agriculture

Answer Key of Workbook

Agriculture1. The word agriculture is derived from Latin words’ager meaning soil and culture meaning

cultivation. It therefore menas cultivationg soil and raising crops.2. Primary , secondary and tertiary activities transform the raw material into a finished product.3. Primary activities-Include all those connected with the extraction and production of natural

resources.Secondary activities-Processing of these resources, for example steel making.Tertiary activities-provide support to the earlier two activities, for example, transport, banking , insurance

4. 50 5. Two thirds6. Favourable soil conditions climate and topography7. arable8 (a) sericulture b) Pisciculture c) Viticulture d) Horticulture

Farm System , Types of Farming1. It has all three factors that are present in a system.

Inputs –seeds fertislizers, machinery, labourProcesses-Ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding and harvestingOutputs-crops, wool, dairy and poultry products.

2. Geographical conditions, demand of produce, labour , level of technology.3. Organic manure and natural pesticides are used instead of chemicals. No genetic modification is

done to increase the yield.4. subsistence farming and commercial farming5. (a) small plot of land is used (b) Use of simple tools c) more labour6.

Intensive subsistence Primitive subsistencea) prevalent in thickly populated aresb) more than one crop grown

a) Shifting Cultivationb) One crop is grown

7. (a) Thickly forested regions of the Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, parts of S.E Asia and North East India.(b) A plot of land is cleared by cutting the trees and buring them. Ashes are then mixed with the soil. When the soil becomes infertile, the land is abandoned and the farmer shifts to a new plot of land.( c) Maize, yarn, potatoes, cassava

8(a) nomadic herding(b) The move from place to place in search of food and water for their animals.© Milk, Meat, wool, hides9.Crops are grown for sale. Area cultivated and capital used is large, work is done by machines.10. Commercial grain farming, mixed farming, plantation agriculture.11. Wheat and Maize12.Region is sparsely populated and the severe winters restrict the growing season. So, only a single crop is grown.13. The Land is used for growing food and fodder crops as well as for rearing livestock.14(a) Commercial farming where a single crop of tea, coffee, cashew, sugarcane , rubber, cotton etc are grown.(b) Large amount of labour is used.© Capital required is more.

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(d) Use of transport is important15. (a) Rubber in Malaysia b) Coffee in Brazil c) Tea in India and Sri Lanka

Major Crops1(a) To feed the growing population(b) As raw material for agro based industries2. Jute and cotton 3. Tea and Coffee 4. High temperature,High humidity and rainfall5. China , India, Japan6. West Bengal7. In winters because it needs moderate temperature and moderate rainfall but sunshine during harvest8. USA, Canada, Russia9. They can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils. These are a crop that needs low rainfall and moderate temperature10. Jowar, Bajra , Ragi11.crops Temperature Rainfall SoilMaize Moderate Moderate Well drained

fertile soilNorth America/Brazil

cotton High Light Black/Alluvial China/USACoffee Warm Wet Loamy Brazil/ColumbiaTea Cool High Well drained

LoamyKenya/India

12. Coffee was discovered in 850 A.D by Arab goat herder, Kaldi.13. Cheap and abundant labour is required to pick the leavesAgriculture development

1. It refers to the efforts made to increase farm production in order to meet the growing demand of the increasing population(a) By increasing the cropped area and the number of crops grown(b) By improving irrigation faculties’ ©By use of fertilisers

c) By use of H.Y.V seeds.2. It is the growing crops on small holding for subsistence in areas where the population is dense.3. Commercial agriculture or extensive agriculture

A Farm In India1. Munna Lal purchase HYV seeds, takes advice from the elders and the government officials, rents

a tractor for ploughing and obtains water from a tube well to irrigate his field.2. Besides farming ,Munna Lal has two buffaloes and a few hens. He sells the milk in a cooperative

store.3. It advises him on the type of fodder to be used and the safety measures to protect the health of the

livestock.4. Munna Lal sells his produce in the mandi in town. Due to lack or storage facilities he is forced to

sell the produce at lower prices.5. Munna Lal takes credit from a bank or the agriculture co-operative society to buy HYV seeds and

implements. He is able to manage the needs of his family.A Farm In the USA1. A farm in the United states is usually about 250 hectres.2. Precautions taken by Joe Horan:a) Takes care of soil and water requirementsb) Plans a scientific fertilizer programmec) Uses tractors, seed drills, leveler, combined harvester, thresher.d) stores grains in automated grain storage or dispatches them to market agencies.e) Uses pesticides

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3. A farmer in the USA takes care of the production as well as the marketing of the crops grown. He makes sure that he profits from his farming activities4. Farming or growing of crops with the help of machines to help the farmer in his work5. An American farmer can store his crops until the prices are favourable whereas , an Indian farmer lacks suitable storage facilities and is forced to sell his crops at lower prices.

Let’s Revise(a) (i) b) III c) (ii) d) iii e) (i)Fill in the Blanksa) winter b) Subsistence c) Commercial d) organicState True or Falsea) True b) False c) False d) FalseMatch the followinga) ii b) iii c) iv d) i

Give Reasonsa) Land holding are small and food requirement is more.b) Agriculture activity is concentrated in those regions where suitable factors for growing crops exist.c) Herds men move from place to place in search of food and water for their animals due to climatic

restraints and terrain.d) Crops are grown for sale on plantations. Processing and scientific cultivation of one crop is

possible here as the production resemble that of a factory.e) Because the climatic conditions and soil etc are favourable for agricultural activity.f) Different crops are grown in different regions as crop requirement is different here.

Differentiate between the followinga) Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for commercial purposes to supplement the farmer’s

income.Pisculture is breeding of fish in tanks and ponds.

b)Primary activities include those activities connected with the extraction and production of natural resources like agriculture , fishing and gathering .Secondary activities are concerned with the processing of these resources e.g . making of clothes , baking of bread etc.c)Viticulture is the cultivation of grapes.Horticulture is the growing of vegetables, flowers and fruits for commercial use.Very short Answer Questions

a) Jowar, bajra and ragib) Cotton requires higher temperature, light rainfall and bright sunshine as dampness spoils the

cotton fibre.c) India and Bangladeshd) Arabia

Short Answer Questionsa) Agriculture is the science and art of cultivation , raising crops and rearing livestockb) It is a type of commercial farming where a single cropis grown with the help of a large amount of

labourc) Jute and cotton are main fibre crops

Cotton requires high temperature light rainfall, 210 frost free days and bright sunshine.Jute requires high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate.

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