Telangana TSBIE TS Inter 1st Year Environmental Education Study Material 24th Lesson Management of Agriculture Produce Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS Inter 1st Year Environmental Education Study Material 24th Lesson Management of Agriculture Produce
Essay Questions
Question 1.
Explain the causes of Harvest Loss and its solutions.
Answer:
In the last few decades, most of the countries have focused on improving their agricultural production and land use to cope with increasing food demand.
Despite the remarkable progress made in increasing food production at the global level, about half of the population in the Third World does not have access to adequate food supplies. This is because a significant amount of agriculture produce, which is perishable by nature, is lost at various stages of the supply chain.
Causes of Harvest Loss :
Pre Harvest Loss :
- Weeds, Insects and pests.
Harvest Loss :
- Harvesting immature and over-mature crops.
- Inefficient harvesting and handling methods.
- Labour shortage during harvest season.
Post Harvest Loss (PHL) :
The losses can broadly be categorized as weight loss due to spoilage, quality loss, nutritional loss, seed viability loss, and commercial loss.This is due to :
- Limited drying facility.
- Rewetting due to continued or intermittent rains.
- Rough transportation / load / unload.
- Poor processing techniques.
- Lack of storage facilities. Improper milling and packaging. Absence or poor access to new technology.
- Absence of farmer friendly business model.
Potential solutions/management techniques for Pre, Harvest and Post Harvest Losses of agriculture produce.
Pre harvest management :
- Selection of Pest-and weather-resistant crops with higher nutritional quality.
- Selection of fruit and vegetable varieties with higher yield, better keeping quality, slower ripening and longer shelf-life.
- Crop rotation and mixed farming (Save and Grow farming).
- Seed treatment.
- Adopting standard cultural practices of sanitation- removal of decaying plant residues.
- Early and frequent field scouting for identification of diseases.
- Integrated pest management (IPM).
- Integrated soil nutrition management. Avoid nutrient stress by applying organic or inorganic fertilizer, but doing so at the appropriate time and in recommended quantities.
- Efficient water management that obtains ‘more crop per drop’.
- Use of wind breaks to reduce spread of field infection where wind is the carrier of pathogens.
- Training, agriculture extension and awareness campaigns.
Management practices during harvest :
- Monitor field closely for harvest readiness (moisture content, quality and maturity of the produce etc.).
- Appropriate harvesting time and methods to ensure good crop quality and market value, (harvest during the coolest part fo the day; early morning or late afternoon).
- Do not harvest the produce during or shortly after a rain to prevent moisture-related diseases.
- Selection of right size and type of harvesting tools/ machinery not only prevents injury to the produce but also speeds up the harvest process and reduces the labour cost.
- Usage of clean tools / machinery to limit contamination of harvested product.
- Harvesting of weed seed to control number of weeds in the next season’s crop.
- Harvested crop should not be left out in the field too long to avoid crop destruction by wind and storm.
- Contacts with buyers so that the crop can be sold at a good price when ready for harvest.
Post harvest management :
Every year, nearly one-third of the food produced (about 1.3 billion ton) globally, which is worth about US $ 1 trillion, is lost during post-harvest operations. This varies greatly among different crops, areas and economies.
Post harvest technology is inter- disciplinary “science and technique” applied to agri produce after harvest for its protection, conservation, processing, packaging, distribution, marketing and utilization to meet the food and nutritional requirements of the people in relation to their needs.
By adopting suitable agrimanagement techniques, with relatively modest investment, enormous post-harvest losses can be cut down and this can result in high returns. It is comparable to increasing the crop production.
Question 2.
Explain the steps involved in Pre-packing produce management.
Answer:
Pre-package Produce Management :
Selection, Sorting, Grading, Cleaning /Disinfection :
- The produce has to be sorted and graded based on its market quality and the market source.
- Cereal crops-Exposing the crop to high or low temperature and application of chemicals after harvest helps in managing/preventing pests and diseases.
- Rodents should be prevented from gaining access to grains on field by destroying their shelters, eliminating their food sources, keeping traps.
- Employing bird scarers.
- Field sanitation should be taken up.
- Proper cleaning of grains should be ensured.
- Post harvest diseases of fruits, vegetables and flowers that are caused by fungi and bacteria can be controlled by washing with water or sanitizer prepared using chlorine / sulfur dioxide or administering safer and less toxic chemicals grouped under the category of GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe).
- Various kinds of fruit rot can be controlled by spraying extracts of eucalyptus globula, orimum gratissimum, mustard, castor and paraffin oils etc.
- Fruit coating (edible waxing/oil emulsion) checks moisture loss due to respiration and transpiration. It also checks wilting and shrivelling during storage.
Packing :
- Selection of right packaging material that is environmentally friendly, reusable and recyclable for the particular crop product.
- The package must have sufficient mechanical strength to protect the contents during handling, transport, and stacking.
- If plastic bags are considered – good grade of plastic should be used which does not react with the packaging or change the chemical make-up of the product.
- Ensure there are no leakages to check produce loss.
- For fruits & vegetables – clean perforated plastic bags / ventilated plastic crates / wooden boxes / nets / pallet boxes.
Transport :
Improper transportation methods can result in 10 to 20% post harvest loss in fresh produce. Therefore, certain minimum requirements are necessary to maintain quality and reduce loss.
- Loading and unloading of produce must be done with care.
- The vehicle must not be overloaded and the load must be stable and well ventilated.
- The produce must be protected against sun, rain and dust during transportation, by covering it with a tarpaulin or enclosing it in a refrigerated truck.
Storage :
Appropriate storage management is very important to check infection, enhance the shelf life of the produce and thus facilitate offseason availability of the produce.
- Only good quality crops; clean, mature, free from disease and injury, are to be stored. .
- Fruits and vegetables are to be stored soon after the harvest, to enhance their storage life.
- The containers and the storage rooms should be clean to prevent contamination and spoilage of the produce.
- Make sure the rooms are well ventilated, free from water spillage and provide protection against rodents, birds and other pests.
- Frequent inspection of the store to remove any spoilage and leakage.
- Fumigation / Exposure to hot air / Hot water / Irradiation treatment to eliminate insects and pathogeninoculum.
- Practising good store hygiene.
- Cold storage-Proper usage of modern refrigerator techniques to control deterioration to maintain viability of the stored produce.
Given in the box below are some of the major initiatives taken by the government of India in the agricultural sector.
