Given below is a conversation between two farmers Heera and Beera.
Heera: Brother Beera, your maize crops looks beautiful! They have grown pretty fast.
Beera: Yes. I have sprayed urea this time. What about you?
Heera: Well, I am still relying on good old cow dung. I am saving money for buying a tractor.
Beera: That's good. Tractor saves a lot of time and labour.
Heera: Yes, it's been very labour intensive for me and now these weeds have come up.
Beera: Try weedicides, they are very effective.
Now answer the following questions.
(i) List the practices which are not environment friendly and why?
(ii) What is the advantages of modern agriculture implements over traditional ones?
(iii) Name one weedicide and the precaution farmers must take during its application.
i. The use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, weedicides are not environment-friendly as they contain chemicals which are very harmful and causes health hazards. Excessive use of them may reduce the fertility of the soil. Some pesticides like DDT enter food chain causing biomagnification. These chemicals washed away into water bodies causing water pollution and eutrophication. Tractors may cause air and noise pollution.
ii. Modern agricultural implements save time, labour and they are a very effective method as compared to traditional tools.
iii. Example of weedicide is 2,4-D. Farmers should cover their mouth and nose with a cloth while spraying weedicides.