What is Crop production management?
There is a correlation between higher inputs and yields. Thus, the farmer’s purchasing capacity
for inputs decides the cropping system and production practices.
Based on this monetary aspect of farming, there are three types of productions in farming, namely,
- No-cost production
- Low-cost production
- High-cost production
Components taken into consideration in crop production management
There are three main components which are taken into consideration namely:
- Nutrient management
- Irrigation of farms
- Cropping patterns
In this segment, let us look at the first component, that is, Nutrient management.
What are Nutrients?
They are substances that provide nourishment, essential for the maintenance of life and for growth.
Sources of nutrients for plants
There are several nutrients which are essential for plants.
Air supplies carbon and oxygen, hydrogen comes from water.
Apart from these, plants require macronutrients and micronutrients.
Soil supplies micronutrients like iron, copper, zinc, chlorine, boron, manganese, molybdenum and macronutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur.
What is Nutrient Management?
Deficiency of these nutrients affects physiological processes in plants including reproduction, growth and susceptibility to diseases. Nutrient management involves using crop nutrients as efficiently as possible to improve productivity.
To increase the yield, the soil can be enriched by supplying these nutrients in the form of manure and fertilisers. We shall see this in our next segment.