Grade 10

Agricultural Economics

(i) Contribution of agriculture to the national economy.
(ii) Food production, self-sufficiency in food grains production, agricultural productivity, the Green Revolution.
(iii) Land holdings, fragmentation and consolidation, land ceiling, common property
and village lands, land reform.
(iv) Agricultural labour.
(v) Agricultural credit, crop insurance, role of
institutions such as NABARD.
(vi) Subsistence farming, food grain production, cash crops, changing patterns of agricultural production in India, horticulture, food processing.
(vii) Problems faced by agriculture in India (with
a discussion of their possible resolution).

In-depth study of Crop Production

(i) With reference to one locally grown cereal crop, the study of crop cultivation and production; recognition of the suitability of the crop to local environmental and soil conditions.
(ii) With reference to the cereal crop locally grown, study of the soil and
climatic requirements; land preparation; sowing/planting/harvesting cycle; manure and
fertilizers; prevention of pests, weeds and diseases; maturity and storage of the cereal crop.

Agriculture and Energy

(i) Photosynthesis; food webs and energy flows; energy pyramid; trophic levels; pyramid of numbers; pyramid of biomass; biomass energy.
(ii) The energy cost of agriculture; differences of energy usage in traditional and technological agricultural practices.
(iii) Conventional energy sources for agriculture (thermal, hydroelectric and nuclear - all in the form of electricity; petroleum - as motor fuel); alternative energy sources (solar, biogas, gasohol, wind and geothermal energy).

Agricultural Technology

(i) Mechanisation in agriculture.
(ii) Hybridisation, genetic engineering, tissue culture, hydroponics, microtechnology (for example, mushrooms, orchids), artificial ecosystems (for example, on the moon).