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Importance of soil in agriculture essay
Importance of soil in agriculture essay
Importance of soil in agricultural production
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It is very well known that soils play a key role in agriculture. In the absence of suitable soil we would be unable to grow plants i.e. food crops which are equally important for the continuity of animals as well as humans. There are many different types of soil found in Pakistan but basically they are divided into 25 categories. Soil can be defined in so many different ways but with respect to agriculture one can defined soil as a granular matter or organic mineral which is present on the surface of the earth in which we use to grow different plants of our requirement. Soils can be differentiated on many different bases but as far as we are concerned about food, two of its many properties must be taken in account.
Hydraulic Conductivity: First
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Water used for irrigation can be obtained from different sources, it can be pumped from ground water reserved, can be obtain form rivers or from any water body in which water is stored. There are many methods of irrigation through which water is provided to plants e.g. by flooding, sprays, dripping etc. Crops also obtain water through precipitation as well. Water provided through irrigation maintain the moisture level of the soil, some water is taken up by the plants as per requirement, some water infiltrates the soil to maintain the ground water level while some is lost due to …show more content…
It is evident from the past record that the least developed countries(LDC’s) are highly dependent on the agriculture sector for their survival as well as agriculture has a major contribution it their GDP. So the growth rate is highly dependent on agriculture which cannot be raised without improving agriculture department. Agriculture contributes about 21% in the GDP of Pakistan according to the economic survey of Pakistan (2011-12). Rabi and Kharif are the two crop seasons of Pakistan. Kharif crops are grown from May to October while the Rabi crops are grown between November to April. Climate plays an important role in the crop production as with the change in climate the rate of water requirement, precipitation etc also
The problem of water shortage is one of the major limiting factors in food production and agriculture development in the arid and semi arid regions. Reclaimed water is one of the most significant available water resources that shall be consumed in agriculture and urban landscape maintenance. In order to investigate the impact of water quality and its application method on olive trees this experiment was carried out during 2010-2012 in the semiarid central part of Iran on young olive trees. The trees were irrigated by a new subsurface-leaky irrigation (SLI) system and surface irrigation in line with irrigation with recycle and clean water for 24 months. The results revealed that SLI system could enhance trees growth, leaf area, Fv/Fm and photosynthesis by68, 26, 4 and 42% respectively, although it decreased leaves soluble sugars (47%). In addition, irrigating trees by SLI system using reclaimed water could increase N and Mg uptake 138 and 8% respectively. Plants irrigated with RW showed improved growth (42%) leaf area26% and photosynthesis 23.4% compared with CL water. Furthermore Mg, Na, K, P and N surprisingly increase 12, 59, 30, 7, and 92 % respectively in leaf tissue in application recycle water. In overall, this experiment showed that recycled water could be a favorable resource for olive trees irrigation and SLI irrigation system was more efficient in irrigation in this research.
Water that has changed throughout the hydrologic process travels from the irrigation treatment and enters into the aquifers. First...
Most of water consumed in China is not rationally used. The cause which intensifies the water shortage in China is water inefficient use. For instance, 65%-70% of Chinese water usage is spent on agricultural needs, but more than half of this amount evaporates percolates and loses (Roberts 2009). Besides, majority of another 20%-25% which is occupied by China’s industry is not recycled (Brown 2008a, 16; Roberts 2009). Obviously, improving water distribution technologies and management quality can be one of the options to reduce the water scarcity in China. There are many different methods of improving the water distribution efficiency. Firstly, irrigation technologies should be improved. Farmers in China may use drip and shrink irrigation methods instead of traditional “surface” ones such as furrow and flood irrigation. Drip irrigation method is used mostly in arid and semi-arid zones and it increases the efficiency of irrigation by transporting the water directly to the roots of irrigated plant. The emitters sprinkle the soil under the roots with water which is introduced to the plant by pipes, diminishing water evaporation, deep percolation and leak. In contrast, fur...
The article, Hidden Waters by Joanne Zygmunt describes how water is used in almost everything in the world. The article begins by stating agriculture soaks up the majority of all water and is depleting the limited supply. Roughly “70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are for irrigation” (Zygmunt 8). Zygmunt, sates there are many unknown uses of water. For example, A hamburger contains “2400 litres of embedded water” (10). It is also stated the are different types of embedded water, “blue” and “green”. “Blue” is the water used in daily life. “Green” is water that is found underground (Zygmunt 11). Unlike other natural resources, there is no substitute for water. The effects of water shortage depend on water utilization, environment
What is soil? “Soil is a complex mixture of eroded rock, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and billions of living organisms, most of them microscopic decomposers.” (Miller and Spoolman, 211). As stated, soil is made when a mixture of items such as eroded rock and mineral nutrients come together. Soil is used in a plethora of ways. Soil is where many of the nutrients plants need to grow comes from, soil purifies water, and even absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to be stored as carbon compounds (Miller and Spoolman, 211). Scientists study soil to develop a better understanding how this crucial factor in human’s survival functions and how to make sure humans don’t waste this precious resource (Miller and Spoolman, 211).
Above, is a quote from a man recovered from an article of writing back in the ancient Egyptian times. Irrigation is a form of re-routing water, to parts of land that the water is needed, in farming terms. For Example, there are two crops, one crop is getting all the water, and it’s flooding. With irrigation, the farmer will re-route the water towards the other crop, as well as sharing the water with the crop that was being flooded. So now, both crops are getting enough water and they are not flooding nor suffering from drought.
Water will be provided by pumping out water found in the soil and by water vapor in the air.
For farmers, foresters, and plant ecologists, understanding which nutrients are essential, and why, is basic to understanding why certain plants thrive and others fail. Now, where do these nutrients come from? The answer—soil—is simple. But soil itself is astonishingly complex. Grow crops and food for us to live (FREEMAN) Without plants we can not grow and survive it is essential to our lives. Farmers especially have to explore this process to see which will help them yield better crops and is cost effective. Vegetable we consume for energy to live and grow deficiency of it will affect us as well. It is important to know which soil to pick one that gives us plants right away to satisfy food requirements for the rapid growing population or to pick one that will will be free of chemicals and won't harm our body. Plants contain essential elements for our survival from the food we eat to our medicine we
The article evaluates the efficiency, effectiveness, social, economic and environmental impacts of the drip irrigation system. The drip irrigation system has the potential to increase the agricultural productivity and also to reduce water usage required for irrigation. It is a system of pipes and tubing located under the soil. Water is passed through these pipes which end near the roots of the plants. This makes the water loss minimal.
Constraints in the production of this commodity may be due to limited land, and unsustainable farming system. Some of the effects of unsustainable farming results to the decreasing quality of soil and pest outbreaks. Asio et al. (2009) added also that the status of soil resources worldwide degrades at an exceptional rate brought about by various activities of humans. Thus, it is the making of humans why such problem is
As agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable of producing higher yields using less labour and less land. Growth of the agriculture has not, however, been an unmixed blessing. It, like every other thing, has its pros and cons. Topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. These are the cons of the new improved agriculture.
Agriculture is considered to be one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. Although at present, the overall impact of climate change on global scale agricultural productivity is not reliably estimated (Gornall et al., 2010). Many studies show serious implications on agricultural productivity for instance IFPRI(2009) projects that in South Asia by 2050 climate change will reduce production of rice, wheat and maize by 14%, 44% to 49% and 9%-19% respectively relative to no climate change situation. Historical temperature yield relationship indicates that at the global scale warming from 1981-2002 very likely offset some of the yield gains from technology advances, rising CO2 and other non climatic factors (Lobell and Field, 2007).
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
To understand why is agriculture important in the world of today, then first of all we must know what agriculture is? Agriculture is the basic material production of society, the use of land for agriculture and livestock, mining plants and animals as raw materials and labor to produce mainly food and some raw materials for industry. Agriculture is a major industry, covering many disciplines: planting, breeding and processing of agricultural products; in the broadest sense, also including forestry and fisheries. Agriculture is an important economic sector in the economy of many countries, especially in the past century , when the industry has not yet developed. Since the dawn of history, agriculture has been one of the importance means of producing
...o climate change. All of these have caused an impact on the ability to produce crops and grow agriculturally. Climate change has been increasing the number of droughts, floods, health hazards of employees, natural disasters, and sea level elevations. All of these put in danger the crop productivity resulting in famines and food price increments. Climate change affects agriculture in every country differently due to its location. Countries such as Canada and Russia are being affected positively by climate change since it has enabled the country to prosper agriculturally. Other countries cannot handle drastic temperature changes, such as Sudan and Bangladesh, whose agricultural growth has been affected negatively by the climatic changes. Agriculture is fundamental in a country, creating a balance between agriculture and the increasing climatic changes would be ideal.