CBSE Class 9 Science Improvement in Food Resources assignment

Improvement in Food Resources

Question. How do plants get nutrients ?
Answer: Plants get nutrients from air, water and soil. There are, sixteen nutrients essential for the growth of
plants. Carbon and Oxygen are supplied by water. The remaining thirteen nutrients are supplied by soil.

Question. What are the advantages of composite fish culture?
Answer: Advantages of composite fish culture are:
(i) In a single fish pond, a combination of 5 or 6 types of fish species can be cultured since they do not compete for food among them.
(ii) Food resource can be completely utilized
(iii) Survival of the fish also increases, (iv) More yield.

Question. Which of the following conditions will give the most benefits? Why?
(a) Farmers use high-quality seeds, do not adopt irrigation or use fertilizers.
(b) Farmers use ordinary seeds, adopt irrigation and use fertilizer.
(c) Farmers use quality seeds, adopt irrigation, use fertilizer and use crop protection measures. 
Answer: C

Question. What is pasturage and how is it related to honey production?
Answer: Pasturage refers to the availability of flowers to the bees for easy accessibility for pollen collection and nectar. Kinds of flowers available will determine the taste of the honey.

Question. Which method is commonly used for improving cattle breeds and why?
Answer: Cross breading is generally the best method adopted for improving the cattle breed quality. In this method, breeding is between two good cattle breed results in a new improved variety of cattle breed or offspring. While breeding, it is taken care to have a good resultant with high yield having resistance to climatic conditions.

Question. What do we get from cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables?
Answer: Cereals give carbohydrates which provide energy. Pulses give proteins which build our body.
Vegetables and fruits provide vitamins and minerals.

Question. What are the desirable characters of bee varieties suitable for honey production?
Answer: (i) The variety of bee should yield large amount of honey.
(ii) The bees should stay for a longer period in bee hives
(iii) The bees should not sting much.
(iv) Bee should be disease resistant.

Question. What are macro-nutrients and why are they called macro-nutrients?
Answer: Macro-nutrients are the essential elements which are utilized by plants in large quantities. As they are required in large quantities they are called macro-nutrients e.g., carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, etc.

Question. Discuss the implications of the following statement: “It is interesting to note that poultry is India’s most efficient converter of low fiber food stuff into highly nutritious animal protein food.”
Answer: The poultry birds are efficient converters of agricultural by products, particularly cheaper fibrous wastes into high quality meat and in providing egg, feathers and nutrient rich manure. So, the given statement is correctly said for the poultry birds.

Question. Compare the use of manures and fertilisers in maintaining soil fertility.
Answer: 

Question. What management practices are common in dairy and poultry farming?
Answer: (1) Well designed and hygienic shelter.
(2) Proper food is required to get good yield of egg and meat.
(3) Complete protection from diseases causing agents like virus, bacteria or fungi.

Question. Why should preventive measures and biological control methods be preferred for protecting crops ?
Answer: Diseases in plants are caused by pathogens. To get rid of pathogens, some preventive measures and biological control methods are used as they are simple, economic and minimise pollution without affecting the soil quality.

Question. What are the differences between broilers and layers and in their management?
Answer: Broilers: The poultry bird raised for meat purpose is called broiler. Broilers feed on protein rich adequate fat food. The level of vitamins A and K is kept high in the poultry feeds.
Layers: The egg laying poultry bird is called layer. The housing, environmental and nutritional requirements of broilers vary from those of egg layers. Layers require proper lightning and enough space.

Question. How are fish obtained?
Answer: There are two ways of obtaining fish. One is from natural resources, which is called capture fishing.
The other way is by fish farming, which is called culture fishery.

Question. What factors are responsible for losses of grains during storage ?
Answer: (i) Abiotic factors like moisture (present in food grains), humidity (of air) and temperature.
(ii) Biotic factors like insects, rodents, birds, mites, bacteria and fungi.

EXERCISE QUESTION-ANSWERS

Question. How do storage grain losses occur?
Answer: The factors responsible for loss of grains during storage are:
♦ Abiotic factors like moisture (present in food grains), humidity (of air) and temperature.
♦ Biotic factors like insects, rodents, birds, mites and bacteria.

Question. Why are manure and fertilizers used in fields?
Answer: They are used to ensure good vegetative growth (leaves, branches and flowers), giving rise to healthy plants, that results in high crop production.

Question. What are the benefits of cattle farming?
Answer: Benefits of cattle farming are:
• Cattles are used in agricultural purpose.
• Generation of good quality cattle.
• Milking and meat purpose.
• Skin of cattle is used for leather and wool industry.

Question. Explain any one method of crop production which ensures high yield.
Answer: Plant breeding is one of the methods adopted for high yield plant breeding and is implemented to improve the varieties of crops by breeding plants. Plants from various places/areas are picked up with preferred traits and then the process of hybridization or cross-breeding is done among these diversities to get a crop/plant of anticipated characteristic.

Question. What is genetic manipulation? How is it useful in agricultural practices?
Answer: Genetic manipulation is process in which the transfer of genes takes place from one organism to another. Here gene of a particular character is introduced inside the chromosome cell and hence results in a transgenic plant.
Genetic manipulation is useful in developing varieties which have increased yield, better quality, shorter and early maturity period, better adaptability to adverse environmental conditions, well as desirable characteristics.

Question. What are the advantages of inter-cropping and crop rotation ?
Answer: Advantages of using inter-cropping:
1. It helps to maintain soil fertility.
2. It increases productivity per unit area.
3. Save labour and time.
4. Both crops can be easily harvested and processed separately.
Advantages of using crop rotation:
1. It improves the soil fertility.
2. It avoids depletion of a particular nutrient from soil.
3. It minimise pest infestation and diseases.
4. It helps in weed control.
5. It prevents change in the chemical nature of the soil.

Question. How do good animal husbandry practices benefit farmers ?
Answer: Good practice of animal husbandry benefits farmers by following ways:
• Yields in good quality cattle.
• Better quality of milk production.
• Use in agriculture for carting, irrigation and tilling.

Mark (1)

Q 1 What is crop rotation?

Q 2 Name some plants which are used as fodder for animals.

Q 3 How are plants diseases controlled ?

Q 4 Define fertilizers.

Q 5 What are micro-nutrients for plants?

Q 6 What is manure?

Q 7 What are draught animals?

Q 8 Why is summer ploughing useful?

Q 9 Name the two nutrients supplied by green manure?

Marks (2)

Q 10 What are essential elements for plants? Which important elements are obtained from air and water?

Q 11 What are weeds? Give examples?

Q 12 What are the karif and rabi crops?

Q 13 State any two advantages of mixed cropping?

Q 14 Name the seed borne and soil borne diseases.

Q 15 Name three high yielding breeds of cow.

Q 16 What do you know about milch animals?

Q 17 Differentiate between manure and fertilizers.

Q 18 What is the difference between autotrophs and heterotrophs?

Q 19 Discuss the factors responsible for loss of crop during storage?

Q 20 Name two plants which act as insecticides.

Q 21 Name the types of poultry breeds?

Q 22 Fill the missing words in the given table:
Organism                   Desired Characters
                                   Pest resistance
Layers
                                   Long lactation period
Fish

Q 23 Name the crops used for mixed cropping with the following crops (a) Groundnut (b) Wheat (c) Soyabean (d) Cotton.

Q 24 Give at least one desired quality that one should look for in the crops given below:
(a) Wheat
(b) Fruits
(c) Fodder
(d) Cereals

Q 25 Fill the missing words in the given table:
Crop                      Source
                              Carbohydrate
Pigeon Pea
Sesame
Turmeric

Q 26 Fill the missing words in the given table:
Water System             Source
                                    Water bearing strata
Canals
                                    Rain water
                                    Rivers

Marks (3)

Q 27 What is plant breeding?

Q 28 Write the ways in which insect pests attack the plants.

Q 29 What is hybridization? What are its types?

Q 30 List three common objectives of crop improvement.

Q 31 What do you understand by green manuring? Give examples of crops used as green manure.

Q 32 Which criteria should be kept in mind for selecting the crops for inter-cropping?

Q 33 What are the functions of organic matter present in manure in soil?

Q 34 (a) Name a nitrogen fixing bacteria?
(b) Which type of crop is generally grown between two cereal crops to restore soil fertility?
(c) Name two crops used for preparing green manure.

Q 35 Write the full forms of:
(a) FYM
(b) HYV
(c) NDRI

Q 36 Fill the missing words in the given table:
Crops                 Use
                         Sunhemp
Biopesticide
Turmeric
Gajar ghas
Berseem
                          Food for livestock

Q 37 Fill in the key words in the given flow chart showing practices involved in farming:
Choice of _______ for planting
           ↓
________ of crop plants
           ↓
Protection of the ________ and _________ crops from loss

Q 38 Give at least one desired quality that one should look for in the crops given below:
(a) Wheat
(b) Fruits
(c) Fodder

Marks (5)

Q 39 Describe composite fish culture system.

Q 40 What qualities should be taken into consideration while selecting varieties of birds for poultry farming?

Q 41 What are the food requirements of dairy animals?

Q 42 Discuss various types of irrigation systems adopted to supply water to agricultural lands?

Q 43 (a) Explain:
i. Rain water harvesting
ii.Watershed management
(b)Give an example to explain improvement in cattle breeds.

Q 44 (a) Give two advantages of composite fish culture systems.
(b) Give the significance of pasturage in bees.
(c) Why Italian bees are considered important for commercial honey production?

Q 45 (a) What is organic farming?
(b) Justify the statement: ―Organic farming works in harmony with nature rather than against it.‖
(c) Why earthworms are called ―Farmer‘s friend‖?

Most Important Questions
Q 1 What are the three stages at which improvement of crops can be done?

Q 2
1. Give two examples of each:
(a) Cereals
(b) Oilseeds
(c) Fodder crops
(d) pulses

Q 3 What is the method to get desired characteristics of two different species of plant in the same plant?

Q 4 What are the two agricultural seasons in India? Name the crops grown during each of the two seasons.

Q 5 What are the advantages of shorter duration of maturity of crops?

Q 6 What are the desirable agronomic characteristics for fodder crops and for cereals?

Q 7 What are the biotic and abiotic factors that can cause harm to a crop?

Q 8 What are macro and micro nutrients required for the growth of plants?

Q 9 What are the benefits of manure?

Q 10 Write a short note on the two types of manure.

Q 11 What nutrients are provided by fertilisers?

Q 12 Why is there a need for organic farming?

Q 13 What are the various methods adopted in Organic farming?

Q 14 Why are irrigation systems needed in India?

Q 15
1. Give an example of each:
(a) Pest of stored grain
(b) Plant disease
(c) Herbicide

Q 16 What are the various methods of irrigation in India?

Q 17
1. What is the difference between mixed cropping and intercropping?

Q 18 Name some combinations of crops that can be sown in mixed cropping.

Q 19 What do you understand by crop rotation?

Q 20 What are the factors, on which the choice of crops for crop rotation depends?

Q 21 What are weeds? What are the various methods to prevent the growth of weeds?

Q 22
1. How can insect pests affect the crop?

Q 23 What are the advantages of mixed cropping?

Q 24 What harm can be caused to stored crop by biotic and abiotic factors?

Q 25 What control measures should be taken to prevent damage of stored crop?

Q 26 What do you understand by milch animals?

Q 27 Name some exotic and indigenous breeds of cows.

Q 28 What is lactation period? Why is it important in dairy farming?

Q 29 What qualities of exotic and Indian breeds are desired in crossbred dairy animals?

Q 30 What is animal husbandary?

Q 31 What type of food is provided to the dairy animals for milk production?

Q 32 What symptoms does a diseased animal show?

Q 33 What is the difference between broilers and layers?

Q 34 Give an example of each: An indigenous breed and an exotic breed of fowl.

Q 35 What are the advantages of using cross breeds of poultry?

Q 36 What type of food is given to the broilers?

Q 37 What are the two types of fisheries?

Q 38 Name some fresh water and some marine fish.

Q 39 What is mariculture? Name the animals cultured in mariculture.

Q 40 What is composite fish culture?

Q 41 What are the differences between aquaculture and apiculture?

Q 42 Name the Italian species of bee used for honey production. What are the advantages of this species?

Q 43 What is pasturage? Why is it important in apiculture?