Farming in India is deliberately utilized, according to the locations where they are most suitable. Multiple farming systems contribute to the agriculture of India is subsistence farming, organic farming, industrial farming, orchard farming, crop farming, and many more. It is very well known that farming is very much dependent on its monsoon cycles, especially for the large crop yields. Even after that, India holds the second position in agriculture farming in the world. There is a lot of difference in each type of farming because of the parameters like climate, irrigation, cultivation, and others. So, here we are going to discuss the major and minor differences between orchard farming and crops farming in detail.
Orchard farming is a studied and purposive planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. In India, Dahanu is an all seasoned destination that is connected to Gujarat and Maharashtra for orchard farming. The establishment of an orchard farm is a long term investment and requires picky and analytical planning. Few things have to be kept in mind like good and optimum spacing, each type of fruit should be assigned a separate block, fruits ripening at the same time should be grouped, evergreen trees to be planted at the front and deciduous ones behind, and many more.
Orchard farming has a certain process to be followed like pruning the trees, picking the fruits and nuts, checking for insects and replacing the old trees with new ones. It is not the same as traditional crop farming or any technological commercial plantation as it follows a whole dynamic process for the same. It has always played an important role for many centuries by providing a focal point, a gathering space, and a place where people can work together to create abundant harvests that will provide fresh fruits. Fortunately, in recent years orchard farming has become a thing to rediscover the idea of growing fresh fruits in all the areas be it urban or rural.
Orchards provide a green vital space in cities and towns, where people are encouraged to interact with nature and enjoy the shade and fruit of the beautiful trees. Though we know that cities are nowadays becoming cruel and some action has to be taken against it rather than depleting this natural process and more plantations has to be done rather than cutting them off. Trees like apple trees have greater needs than any other fruit trees when it comes to orchard farming, and requires a cold climate where the temperature rarely increases above 32 degrees Celsius. Farmers use big fans to cool the apple orchard if the temperature exceeds a certain point. Shimla which is a cool region is very well known for orchard farming of apples. Organic farming in horticulture crops especially vegetables and fruits are slowly picking up in India, and a combination of organic and inorganic farming is been practiced to grow them.
Coming to crop farming, the crop is the practice of producing crops. It can also be referred to as an enterprise for commercial production of agriculture crops. A lot of farmers and other individuals own acres of land and a large scale of production for farming and profits. Most popular crops grown in India include sugarcane, coffee, pineapple, rubber, banana, cotton, soybean, tomato, and a lot more. Crop farming is a business to some whereas for the farmers who do only farming for their livelihood this is a sole purpose to sustain for them and fulfill the basic needs of their family.
Unlike orchard farming, crop farming is a traditional and indigenous method of cultivation. Farmer is involved in agriculture with the family and the community for farming. Technological support is not used over here for cultivation. And there are different traditional and dynamic methods that are used while crop farming. Other restrictions like proper infrastructure, facilities, risk, and storage are major hurdles when it comes to crop farming. There is no proper education and technical support given to them as compared to commercial farming. Health is a major constraint and sanitation in most of the rural areas where crop farming is practiced. There is a very old tradition of keeping earthworms to improve soil quality in crop farming which is used. Earthworms play a crucial role in improving soil quality and maintain a healthy population for the soil structure. Crop rotation increases earthworm numbers by providing a good quality food source. Good irrigation and drainage are necessary to make the conditions favorable.
Crop farming is majorly depended on nature and climatic conditions. A natural environment like heat, rain, wind, and condition of the soil contribute to the growth of crops. Shifting cultivation is one of the types of crop farming in which after harvesting they burn the land to maintain the fertility of the soil so that the next time the same land is used they get a good yield. Apart from India, shifting cultivation is also practiced in South America and Southeast Asia. Another type would be the nomadic herding in which the farmer travels from place to place with their flock of animals and is very common in cities like Rajasthan, Jammu, and Kashmir.
Crop farming is substantial to organic farming, as it promotes a greater resistance to pests and diseases. Healthier plants and crops grow when the soil foundation that supports their roots have a natural profile of disease resistance. Due to fewer facilities in crop farming, farmers have also suffered from a variety of diseases ranging from memory loss to chronic fatigue.
Farmers grow different types of crops from staples to industrial and other plants. Crop farming majorly includes the production of rice, wheat, maize, millets, cotton, jute, tea, and coffee. And some of the major cash crops grown by farmers are sugarcane, jute, tobacco, and oilseeds. We all know that India is the second country when it comes to the production of agriculture and with that also comes the import and export of crops. Majorly it is the export of crops and the output process is yet not well established when it comes to crop farming. Farmers need to be educated so that they can also make a decent income from the amount of hard work they do and deserves better technology ads compared to commercial farming.
FAO also is known as food and agriculture association plays a major role in crop farming. They aim to promote sustainable productivity growth to increase farmers’ income and generate decent employment opportunities. A lot of changes are already brought by them so that more people can turn into farming as their profession. From growing to marketing to making profits things had to be taken care of by the community and the association. The pros and cons would always be there but what matters is the growth and finding a balance between both types of farming and accepting new trends for a better tomorrow in agriculture.
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