Hello, students, today we will start with new a chapter, Agriculture.

Many plants grow because their seeds are widely dispersed in nature. These seeds are carried away by air. In the picture, you can see dandelion seeds carried away by air.
Next, is birds. In the picture, you can see are dropped by birds.
Next is water. In the picture, you can see coconut seed carried away by water to the shore.
Next is by insects. Pollen grains of the flowers stick to the insect’s body. These pollen grains fall off wherever the insect is travelling.
Seeds of trees like banyan and peepul are dispersed through the droppings of the birds. In the picture, you can see birds eating fruits of the banyan and peepul tree which are dispersed by their dropping that is through their waste matter.
So, the seeds are carried away by air, birds, water and insects.
Now, let’s see Nature Nurturing the Plants. How does nature nurture the plants? Seeds take roots easily if the soil is fertile. How does the soil become fertile? Remains of dead animals, dry leaves, droppings of animals get buried in the soil and are transformed into manure. So, dead animals, dry leaves, horse manure makes the soil fertile. Then rain water also helps the growth of the seed. After that under favourable conditions, these seeds will take roots and grow into trees. Thus, plants are nurtured by nature itself.
Now, let’s see the past versus present scenario of the forests. Many, many years ago there were thick forests on the earth. But now, man cleared forests to perform agriculture. That is to grow variety of crops to meet his food requirements and to make settlements.
Agriculture for food crops. Agricultural produce includes cereal foods. Cereal foods include rice, jowar, maize, wheat, bajra and ragi.
It also includes some pulses like chana also called as Bengal gram, udid called as black gram, masoor called as lentils, moong called as green gram, tur called as arhar and matki also called as moth beans.
It also includes oilseeds. Now, what are oilseeds? Seeds from which oil is extracted are oil seeds. It includes oilseeds like sunflower, groundnut, linseed or javas, safflower, sesame or til and soya bean.
It also includes some vegetables like cluster beans called as gavar, tomatoes, colocasia or arwi, bitter gourd or karela, brinjal, chakwat, snake gourd also called as padval and fenugreek called as methi.