Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Plant Breeding and Vaccination | General Awareness for SSC CGL PDF Download

Agriculture

Originating from the Latin words "ager" (field) and "cultura" (cultivation), agriculture refers to the science of producing crops and livestock from the earth's natural resources.

Agronomy

This branch of agriculture focuses on the production of field crops and soil management. Farming is the practice of growing and managing agricultural crops, and various farming systems are employed by farmers.

Farming Systems:

• Mixed Farming: Combines crop production with the rearing of livestock.
• Ranching: Involves raising grazing livestock such as cattle, sheep, and poultry.
• Terrace Farming: Utilizes sloped land landscaped for farming activities.
• Organic Farming: Relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control. In India, it is supported by the National Organic Programme.

The production of improved seeds is crucial in agriculture, with various types such as breeder's seed, foundation seed, and certified seeds produced through different technologies. The National Seeds Policy, 2002, aims to increase agricultural productivity through policy frameworks and programmatic interventions to stimulate varietal development of seeds.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) provide quality seeds for agriculture, but there is a demand-supply gap for quality seeds, particularly for low-value, high-volume crops.

Seasonal Crops:

• Kharif Crops: Require more temperate and humid conditions at sowing and dry conditions at maturity (e.g., maize, bajra, red gram, cotton, groundnut, rice).
• Rabi Crops: Require low temperatures at sowing and higher temperatures and dry weather at maturity (e.g., wheat, barley, Cicer, pea, green gram).
• Zaid Crops: Can tolerate severe sunshine and wind, but high humidity and precipitation are harmful (e.g., muskmelon, watermelon, cucumber).

Agroforestry

Integrates trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock to use the interactive benefits of this combination.

Sustainable Agriculture: Emphasizes organic methods of fertilizer production, such as vermi composting (using worms to convert organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer) and green manure (growing manure crops like legumes and then incorporating them into the soil).

Agricultural products can be obtained, processed, and marketed for commercial use.

Biofertilizers

• Mixtures of microorganisms like algae, blue-green algae (BGA), and bacteria that fix nitrogen in the soil, enriching it nutritionally.
• They reduce chemical pollution but are often too expensive for many farmers.

Apiculture

The rearing of honey bees for honey and wax. Honey bees also aid in pollination, enhancing crop production. Common Indian honey bee species include Apis mellifera, Apis florea, Apis cerana, and Apis dorsata.

Sericulture

• The rearing of silkworms for silk production.
• Common Indian silk varieties include Mulberry, Tropical Tasar, Oak Tasar, Eri, and Muga, with Bombyx mori being the primary silkworm species used.

Animal Husbandry

Animal husbandry is the science of rearing, caring, feeding, breeding, improvement and utilisation of domesticated animals.

Breeds of Indian Cows

Milch Breeds:

• Sahiwal: Found in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
• Deoni: Found in Andhra Pradesh
• Gir: Found in Gujarat and Rajasthan
• Red Sindhi: Found in Andhra Pradesh

Drought Breeds:

• Nageri: Found in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
• Kangayam: Found in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India
• Malvi: Found in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
• Hallikar: Found in Karnataka

General Utility Breeds:

• Ongole: Found in Andhra Pradesh
• Tharparkar: Found in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat
• Haryana: Found in Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh
• Kankrej: Found in Gujarat

Breeds of Indian Buffaloes

Buffalo Breeds:

• Jaffrabadi: Found in Gujarat
• Mehsana: Found in Gujarat
• Nili Ravi: Found in Punjab and Haryana
• Murrah: Found in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
• Surti: Found in Rajasthan and Gujarat
• Bhadawari: Found in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
• Nagpuri or Ellichpuri: Found in Central and South India

Freshwater Fishes

Common Names and Areas of Availability:

• Heteropneustes fossilis (Singhi): Found all over India
• Clarias batrachus (Magur): Found all over India
• Catla catla (Catla): Found all over India
• Labeo rohita (Rohu): Found in North, East, and South India
• Mystus seenghala (Singhara): Found all over India
• Wallago attu (Lachi or Malii): Found in North, East, and South India
• Labeo calbasu (Calbasu): Found all over India

Breeds of Indian Sheep

Sheep Breeds and Distribution:

• Chhota Nagpuri: Found in Chhota Nagpur, Ranchi, Bihar, and West Bengal
• Shahabadi: Found all over India
• Balangir: Found in Odisha and Southern India

Breeds of Indian Goats

Goat Breeds and Distribution:

• Ganjam: Found in Odisha, Bihar, and West Bengal
• Bengal: Found in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha
• Nubian: Found all over India

Breeds of Indian Pigs

Pig Breeds and Distribution:

• Cantonese: Found all over India
• Edelschwein: Found all over India

Breeds of Indian Camels

Camel Breeds and Distribution:

• Jaisalmeri: Found in Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Barmer
• Kachchhi: Found in Gujarat
• Mewari: Found in Mewar, Rajasthan

For the production of high yielding varieties of animals, various processes of breeding are used. To overcome infertility among animals (including humans) the methods like embryo transfer and artificial insemination are employed.

Improved or Exotic Breeds: Refers to modern and exotic breeds of chickens such as Polymoth Rock, Wyandotte, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red (American breeds); Brahma, Cochin, Langshan (Asiatic breeds); and Sussex, Cornish, Dorking, Repcap (English breeds). The first cross between a pure hen and a pure cock is the best for egg laying but should not be used for further breeding.

Plant Breeding

The primary goal of plant breeding is to develop improved crop varieties that are commercially successful, making them more desirable both agronomically and economically. Various methods are used in plant breeding to enhance plant varieties, including plant introduction, selection, and hybridization.

Vaccination

• Any foreign particle that enters the body, such as bacteria or viruses, is called an antigen and stimulates the immune system.
• In response, the body produces defense proteins called antibodies to capture and destroy these antigens.
• This natural defense mechanism is utilized in vaccination, where a small, non-harmful portion of an antigen is introduced to the body to produce antibodies for common diseases.
• The terms "vaccine" and "vaccination" were coined by Louis Pasteur, and Edward Jenner developed the first smallpox vaccine in 1796.
• Smallpox has been completely eradicated through vaccination, and diseases like polio and diphtheria are close to eradication.
• Mission Indradhanush, launched on December 25, 2014, aims to immunize all children under the age of 2 years and pregnant women against seven vaccine-preventable diseases—diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles, and hepatitis B—by 2020.
• Viruses are extremely tiny and can only be seen with an electron microscope. They cannot metabolize on their own and must hijack a host cell to perform these functions.
• Viruses can infect all types of organisms, including bacteria, plants, and fungi.
• Recombinant Vector Vaccines: Developed using genetic engineering, these vaccines use bacteria and viruses as vectors.