About scope and meaning of agronomy, seeds and sowing.

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Fundamentals of Agronomy
(AGL111)
Mr. Rohitashv Nagar
Assistant Professor & HOD
Department of Agronomy
School of Agricultural Sciences
Career Point University, Kota (Raj.)

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Lecture-1
Meaning and Scope of Agronomy

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Agronomy is a branch of agricultural sciences which deals with
principles and practices of soil, water and crop management.
This term is derived from Greek words agros meaning ‘ field’ and
nomos meaning ‘ to manage ‘.

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The term agriculture is derived from the Latin words ‘ ager or agri
meaning ‘soil’ and culture meaning ‘ cultivation’.
Agriculture is a very broad term encompassing all aspects of crop
production, livestock farming, fisheries, forestry etc.

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Scope of Agronomy
1. Yield maximization with introduction of new cultivars.
2. Reduced cost of production due to proper crop management.
3. Better water use efficiency due to agronomic knowledge.
4. Special tillage and intercultural operations for better crop growth
and maximizing harvesting index.
5. Appropriate soil fertility management can increase crop yield with
lesser use of fertilizer for increased profit.

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6. Reduced post harvest loss due to agronomic knowledge and
practices.
7. Intensive cropping patterns and integrated farming systems for
sustainable agricultural growth and increased food production per unit
area.

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Seed and Sowing
Seed: Seed is a fertilized matured ovule together covered with seed coat is
called seed or it is a propagating material.
Type of seed:
1. Monocots
2. Dicots

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MONOCOTS DICOTS
Embryo with single cotyledon Embryo with two cotyledons
Germination usually hypogeal (Except in onion) Germination usually epigeal (except in pea, gram)
Flower parts in multiples of three Flower parts in multiples of four or five
Major leaf veins parallel Major leaf veins reticulated
Stem vacular bundles scattered Stem vascular bundles in a ring
Secondary growth absent Secondary growth often present
Grains, (wheat, corn, rice, millet) sugarcane, banana,
ginger, onions, grass
Legumes (pea, beans, lentils, peanuts) ,tomato, tree, etc

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1.Epigeal Germination : The cotyledons come out above the soil surface and
generally turn green and act as first foliage leaves. This type of germination
present in groundnut, bean, cotton, sunflower and cotton seeds.

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2.Hypogeal Germination The cotyledons do not come above the soil
surface. This type of germination is found in wheat, barley, maize and
pea.

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Methods of Sowing: The sowing method is determined by the crop to be
sown. There are 6 sowing methods which differ in their merits, demerits
and adoption. Those are:
1. Broad casting
2. Drilling or Line sowing
3. Dibbling
4. Transplanting
5. Planting
6. Putting seeds behind the plough

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1. Broad casting: It is the scattering of seeds by hand all over the prepared
field followed by covering with wooden plank for contact of seed with
soil. Crops like wheat, paddy, Sesamum, methi, coriander, etc. are sown
by this method.
2. Drilling or Line sowing: It is the dropping of seeds into the soil with
the help of implement such as seed drill and then the seeds are covered
by wooden plank to have contact between seed & soil. Crops like Jowar,
wheat Bajara, etc. are sown by this method.

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3. Dibbling: It is the placing or dibbling of seeds at cross marks (+) made in the
field with the help of maker as per the requirement of the crop in both the
directions. It is done manually by dibbler. This method is followed in crops like
Groundnut, Castor, Cotton, etc. which are having bold size and high value.
4. Transplanting: It is the raising of seedlings on nursery beds and transplanting
of seedlings in the laid out field. For this, seedlings are allowed to grow on
nursery beds for about 3-5 weeks. Beds are watered one day before the
transplanting of nursery to prevent jerk to the roots. The field is irrigated before
actual transplanting to get the seedlings established early & quickly which
reduce the mortality. This method is followed in crops like paddy, fruit,
vegetable, crops, tobacco, etc.

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5. Planting: It is the placing of vegetative part of crops which are
vegetative propagated in the laid out field. E.g.: Tubers of Potato,
mother sets of ginger & turmeric, cuttings of sweet potato &
grapes, sets of sugarcane.
6. Putting seeds behind the plough: It is dropping of seeds behind
the plough in the furrow with the help of manual labour by hand.
The seeds are covered by successive furrow opened by the plough.
This method is not commonly followed for sowing of the crops.

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Tillage and Tilth
Tillage : Tillage is the physical manipulation of soil with tools and
implements to result in good tilth for better germination and subsequent
growth of crops.
Why tillage is important: Reduced tillage systems may have more
weed, insect, and disease problems than conventional systems. More
residue cover can increase overwintering survival of some insects
and diseases and delay crop development due to cool, wet soils,
increasing the risk of infestation.
Tilth: Tilth is a physical condition of the soil resulting from tillage.

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Conservation tillage: Conservation tillage is any method of soil
cultivation that leaves the previous year's crop residue (such as corn
stalks or wheat stubble) on fields before and after planting the next crop
to reduce soil erosion and runoff, as well as other benefits such as carbon
sequestration (MDA, 2011).
Minimum tillage: Minimum tillage is a soil conservation system like Strip-
till with the goal of minimum soil manipulation necessary for a
successful crop production. It is a tillage method that does not turn the
soil over. It is contrary to intensive tillage, which changes the soil
structure using ploughs.

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Zero tillage: No-till farming (also called zero tillage or direct drilling) is a
way of growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the
soil through tillage.

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Crop density and geometry
Crop density : Density in plant ecology is defined as the number of
individuals of a given species that occurs within a given sample unit or
study area. Density is often used in a vegetation survey to describe a
species' status in a plant community.
Crop geometry : Crop geometry refers to the shape of the space available
for individual plants. It influences crop yield through its influence on
light interception, rooting pattern and moisture extraction pattern. Crop
geometry is altered by changing inter and intra-row spacing (Planting
pattern).

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Crop Nutrition :Proper nutrition is essential for satisfactory crop growth and
production. The use of soil tests can help to determine the status of plant
available nutrients to develop fertilizer recommendations to achieve
optimum crop production. There are at least 17 elements known to be essential
for plant growth.
Essential Elements: Plants need 17 elements for their growth and completion of
life cycle. they are: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron,
molybdenum and chlorine, nickel. In addition, four more elements sodium,
cobalt, vanadium and silicon are absorbed by some plants for special purposes.

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The elements C, H, O are not minerals. The rest of the elements are
absorbed from the soil and these are called mineral elements since they
are derived from minerals. These mineral elements are mainly absorbed
in ionic form and to some extent in non-ionic form.

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Mineral element Ionic form Non-ionic form
Nitrogen (N) NH4
+ , NO3
- CO(NH2 )2
Phosphorus (P) H2PO4
- , HPO4
2- Nucleic acid, phytin
Potassium (Kalium-K) K+
Calcium (Ca) Ca2+
Magnesium (Mg) Mg2+
Sulphur (S) SO4
2- SO2
Iron (Fe) Fe2+ , Fe3+ FeSO4 with EDTA
Manganese (Mn) Mn2+ MnSO4 with EDTA
EDTA = Ethylene di-amine tetra acetic acid

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Mineral element Ionic form Non-ionic form
Zinc (Zn) Zn2+ ZnSO4 with EDTA
Copper (Cu) Cu2+ CuSO4 with EDTA
Boron (B) H3BO3, H2BO3,
HBO3
Molybdenum (Mo) MoO4
2-
Chlorine (Cl) Cl-

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Manures and Fertilizers
Plant requires food/nutrients/elements for its growth and development which are
absorbed through soil. The nutrient supplying sources are manures and
fertilizers. Application of manures and fertilizers to the soil is one of the
important factors which help in increasing the crop yield and to maintain the soil
fertility. N, P and K are the 3 major elements required for the crop growth.
Manure: It is a well decomposed refuse from the stable and barn yards including
both animal excreta and straw or other litter.
Fertilizers: These are industrially manufactured chemicals containing plant
nutrients.

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Difference between Manures and Fertilizers:
S. No Characteristics Manures Fertilizer
1 Origin
Plant or animal
origin
Chemical synthesized or
manufactured
2 Nature Organic in nature Inorganic in nature
3 Type Natural product artificial product
4 Conc. of nutrients less concentrated More concentrated

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5 Material Supply organic matter Supply inorganic matter
6
Nutrient
availability slowly available
May or may not be
readily available
7 Nutrients
Supply all the primary nutrients
including Micronutrient
Supply specific type of
nutrients one, two or three.
micro nutrients may or may not
be present
8
Effect on Soil
Health Improves physical condition of soil
Do not improve the physical
condition of soil
9
Effect on plant
growth
No bad effect when applied in large
quantities.
Adverse effect on plant
whenever there is deficiency or
excessive application

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Nutrient Use Efficiency : Nutrient Use Efficiency is defined as the amount of
dry matter produced per unit of nutrient applied or absorbed.
Nutrient Use Efficiency : Physiological efficiency X Apparent recovery efficiency
Classification of NUE:
1. Agronomic efficiency: it is defined as the economic production obtained per
unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following equation:
(Grain yield of fertilized crop in kg) - (Grain yield of unfertilized crop in kg)
Agronomic efficiency =
(Quantity of fertilizer applied in kg)

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2. Physiological efficiency: it is defined as the biological production obtained per
unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following equation:
(Total dry matter yield of fertilized crop in kg) - (Total dry matter yield of unfertilized crop in kg)
Physiological efficiency =
(Nutrient uptake by fertilizer crop in kg) - (Nutrient uptake by unfertilized crop in kg)

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3. Apparent recovery efficiency: it is defined as the quantity of nutrient
absorbed per unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following
equation:
(Nutrient uptake by fertilized crop ) - (Nutrient uptake by unfertilized crop )
Apparent recovery efficiency =
(Quantity of fertilizer applied )

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Nutrient Use Efficiency : Nutrient Use Efficiency is defined as the amount of
dry matter produced per unit of nutrient applied or absorbed.
Nutrient Use Efficiency : Physiological efficiency X Apparent recovery efficiency
Classification of NUE:
1. Agronomic efficiency: it is defined as the economic production obtained per
unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following equation:
(Grain yield of fertilized crop in kg) - (Grain yield of unfertilized crop in kg)
Agronomic efficiency =
(Quantity of fertilizer applied in kg)

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2. Physiological efficiency: it is defined as the biological production obtained per
unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following equation:
(Total drymatter yield of fertilized crop in kg) - (Total drymatter yield of unfertilized crop in kg)
Physiological efficiency =
(Nutrient uptake by fertilizer crop in kg) - (Nutrient uptake by unfertilized crop in kg)

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3. Apparent recovery efficiency: it is defined as the quantity of nutrient
absorbed per unit of nutrient applied. It is calculated by the following
equation:
(Nutrient uptake by fertilized crop ) - (Nutrient uptake by unfertilized crop )
Apparent recovery efficiency =
(Quantity of fertilizer applied )

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Water resources of India
Total
Precipitation
400 M ha-m
Infiltration
into the soil
215 M ha-m
Evaporation
70 Mha-m
Surface flow
115 Mha-m
Rain
105 Mha-m
Snow
10 Mha-m
Soil moisture
165 Mha-m
Ground water
50 Mha-m

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