Soil Study

Green Manuring A growing crop that is plowed under and mixed with soil to enrich the organic matter is called green manure crop. The practice of plowing under or soil incorporation of such green manure is called green manuring. Green manures are mostly leguminous crops which are high in nitrogen contents. Generally following crops are suitable for green manuring: Jantar, Guara, Cow peas, Alfalfa, Sun hemp and Clover etc. Criteria for the selection of green manure crops It should be fast growing and easily established. It should produce abundant and succulent biomass. It should be well adapted to the local conditions. Growth habit of crop should encourage ground cover soon after its establishment. It should be able to fix nitrogen in the soil. It should have a wide climatic and soil adaptation and ability to grow on poor soil. Advantages Improves the soil fertility Adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil Improves the soil structure Improves soil aer...

Plant Breeding Plant breeding in a simple language is genetic improvement of plants for the best economic productivity. It could also be defined in terms of art and the Science of changing and improving the heredity of plants. Plant breeding was practiced first when people learned to look for superior plants to harvest for seed; thus selection became the earliest method of plant breeding. Primitive efforts in plant selection contributed much to the evolutionary development of each of the cultivated crops. These all efforts were done unintentionally. As human knowledge about plants increased, people were able to select more intelligently with the discovery of sex in plants, hybridization was added to breeding techniques. Although hybridization was practiced before the time of Mendel’s experiments provided a basis for understanding the mechanism of heredity and how it may be manipulated in the development of improved varieties. A more precise explanation of the heredity mecha...

Difference between Biennial and Perennial Plants Biennial plant completes its life cycle in two growing seasons. The first season’s growth is entirely vegetative, and is typically characterized by short, low internodes called rosettes.  In second season, it bolts, i.e. sends up a flowering stalk with extended internodes bearing flower and fruits. Root vegetables like carrots and beets; leafy vegetables like lettuce and cabbage; and others like onions are biennial in nature. Perennial plants grow for years, and most of them are woody. Their growth can be divided into juvenile and mature phases. During the first phase, the plant grows vegetatively for several years. In the second phase, reproduction starts, and vegetative and reproductive growth are concurrent. All of our fruit trees and ornamental shrubs and trees are perennial, and some herbaceous plants are also perennial. The above ground parts of such plants are killed in winter while the underground storage structu...

Tillage Tillage is derived from word “Till” means to cultivate, to loose or to open the soil. Simply it means opening of soil. Tillage is practice of working the soil to provide conditions favorable to growth of plants. Objectives of Tillage                 Primary purpose of tillage is to control weeds. Tillage is one of the important mechanical methods of controlling weeds. To destroy hibernating insects live either in the soil or on plant residues or weeds. When the plant residues are buried deeply and weeds are destroyed, the places for living of insects are also destroyed. Insects are also exposed to the sunrays and to attack of birds during cultivation, and are thus destroyed. Tillage improves physical conditions of soil e.g. structure, infiltration or water holding capacity of soil and aid in erosion control in some cases (counter tillage). Tillage increases microbial activity in soil. I...