Page 46 - SCERT Kerala State Syllabus 8th Standard Basic Science Textbooks English Medium Part 1_Neat

Haven’t you noticed the newspaper
report?
Farmers in the district have been encouraged to What are the advantages of adopting
enter hitech farming...
modern agricultural practices?

• can increase production
• can control weeds and pests
•

Climate change is another important crisis in the agricultural sector. The
unpredictable climate adversely affects traditional farming methods .The
techniques that are used to overcome these challenges are gaining currency
nowadays. Familiarize yourselves with some such new techniques.

Discuss the given information based on indicators
and write the inferences in your science diary.
Polyhouse Farming

Polyhouse is a special kind of arrangement in
which a crop field is completely or partially
covered by transparent polyethene sheets. Since
the temperature and moisture in the polyhouse
is constantly regulated, growth of plants becomes
rapid. Nutrients are dissolved in water and are
supplied on plants through drip irrigation. Pest
infestation will also be less because the sides of
the polyhouse are covered with net. Although the
Fig 3.3
expense is high in the beginning, crop yield is
Polyhouse farming
many times greater than that of the regular field.-
Precision Farming

In this method of farming, the nature of soil,
quantity of elements in the soil, pH value of soil,
presence of water etc., in the crop field are tested
using modern technology, and appropriate crops
are selected for cultivation. By covering the soil
using polythene sheet, we can effectively control
weeds and also limit irrigation.
Fig 3.4
Precision farming

Basic Science VIII 45