What is agriculture?(ii) Name the factors influencing agriculture.

(iii) What is shifting

cultivation? What are its disadvantages?(iv) What is plantation agriculture?(v) Name the fiber
crops and name the climatic conditions required fortheir growth.Answer:(i) Agriculture is the
primary activity which includes growing of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of
livestoc

. It is also

nown as farming.(ii) Various factors influencing agriculture are - Favourable topography, Soil
and Climate.(iii) Shifting cultivation is

nown as Slash & Burn agriculture. In this type of farming a plot of land is cleared by felling trees
and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with soil and crops li

e maize, yam, and potato are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the
cultivatormoves to another land. Disadvantages of shifting cultivation are:a. Deforestationb.
After some time the land loses its fertility.c. Soil erosion.d. Small patches of cultivation which is
insufficient for feeding a large population.(iv) Plantation agriculture is a type of commercial
farming in which a single crop from the group of

cash crops

or

beverage crops

such as - tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana or cotton is grown on large farms for
commercialpurpose. Large amount of labour & finance are required. The production may be
processed on the farm itself or in factories nearby. This type of agriculture is found mainly in the
tropical regions of the world li

e - Brazil, India and Srilan

a.(v) Jute & cotton are

nown as fiber crops. The climatic conditions required for their growth are as follow:-a. Jute
(Golden Fiber): High temperature more than 25OC, heavy rainfall, warmand humid climate.b.
Cotton: High temperature around 30 - 40OC, low rainfall and most importantly 210 frost-free
days and bright sunshine. Means lot of cloud-free sunny days is essential for cotton
growing.Question.2: Tic

the correct answer.(i) Horticulture meansa. growing of fruits & vegetablesb. primitive farmingc.
growing of wheat(ii) Golden fiber refers toa. teab. cottonc. jute(iii) Leading producers of coffeea.
Brazilb. Indiac. RussiaAnswer: (i) a (ii) c (iii) aQuestion.3: Give reasons:(i) In India agriculture

is a primary activity.(ii) Different crops are grown in different regions.Answer:(i) In India

agriculture is a primary activity because two