EXCERCISES

1 Decide if the sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. Crops are plants that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence.
☐ T ☐ F
2. Crop classification is a modern practice.
☐ T ☐ F
3. Grouping is useful to better understand different varieties.
☐ T ☐ F
4. Crops are classified according to a unique method.
☐ T ☐ F
5. The subdivision into agronomic and horticultural crops is based on the extensiveness of production, usage, and product descriptions.
☐ T ☐ F
6. Crops may be used as food, forage, fibre, oil or for ornamental and industrial purposes.
☐ T ☐ F
7. A particular crop cannot be classified into more groups.
☐ T ☐ F
8. ICC is based on three main elements.
☐ T ☐ F

2 Match the words to their definitions.

1. Agronomics
2. Extensiveness
3. Forage
4. Inulin
5. Pesticide
6. Profit
7. Subsistence
8. Taxonomy

a. Food for animals.
b. Gain or benefit.
c. The state of having what you need in order to stay alive.
d. The science of farm management and of the production of crops.
e. The fact of being large in width or importance.
f. Chemical substance having the property to kill unwanted organisms.
g. The branch of science concerned with classification.
h. A polysaccharide based on fructose.

3 Fill in the gaps with the words given below.

beginning • dry • identifies • irrigation • rainy • season • short • sown • starts • summer

Indian Crop Classification

The Indian classification based on the growing season 1. ......................................... three types of crops: Kharif, Rabi and Zaid Crops.
Borrowed from Arabic, the word Kharif means ‘autumn’. The specific crops grown in this dry 2. ......................................... are also called monsoon crops. The Kharif season is different in each state, but it is usually 3. ......................................... from June to September. Crops are generally sown at the 4. ......................................... of the rainy season in June and harvested in September/October.
Examples are cotton, rice, maize, corn, groundnuts, and soybeans, which require warm, wet weather at major period of crop growth, while they need 5. ......................................... day time for flowering.
The Arabic word “Rabi” means “spring”, which is the season when plants like wheat, tobacco, barley and rapeseed are harvested. The sowing of the Rabi crop generally begins in November and is primarily carried out through 6. ......................................... since the rainy season has already ended. These crops grow well in cold and 7. ......................................... weather and require longer day time for flowering.
In between the Rabi and the Kharif seasons, there is a short period during the 8. ......................................... months known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during ‘Zaid’ are watermelons, groundnuts, and pumpkins. They need 9. ......................................... weather for major growth period and longer day time for flowering. They are 10. ......................................... at the beginning of the summer season, between February and March, and harvested from April to June.


GLOSSARY

cassava : manioca
cinnamon : cannella
clove : chiodo di garofano
fodder : foraggio
groundnut : arachide
inulin : inulina
rapeseed : colza
truffle : tartufo