Env 9
Env 9
Env 9
Objective
To develop appreciation for medicinal qualities of plants.
AMaLTaS
Vegetation consists of different types of trees, shrubs and herbs. Many of these plants have medicinal qualities and are used to treat different types of diseases. We may find some such plants in our locality or neighbourhood.
Methodology
1. Talk to your teacher, elders in the family or neighbourhood and identify plants which are used as medicines traditionally or locally. 2. Note the special features of the medicinal plants that would help in their identification. 3. Gather the following information through interaction with knowledgeable persons. You may take the help of local medical practitioners (Ayurvedic doctors). (a) Which part of a particular plant is used for treating a disease or disorder ? (b) How is it processed for use for a particular ailment? (c) How many medicinal plants could you find in your locality?
ALOE
VERa
(d) Are these medicinal plants cultivated or do they grow in the wild? (e) Are these plants, or their parts, used without concern for their survival and growth? (f) Has there been any effort for conservation and propagation of these medicinal plants? 4. Make drawings or take photographs of the plants that you have studied.
DRUMSTICK
Conclusion
Conclude your observations in the form of a report with drawings and photographs of the parts of the plants used for medicinal purpose. Give the local as well as the scientific names, if possible, of each plant.
Follow-up
1. Display the report with photos and drawings in your class. 2. Organise an awareness campaign for conservation of medicinal plants at the local level to emphasise on their judicious use and plantation. 3. Grow at least one medicinal plant in your house or school or the neighbourhood.
PERIWINKLE
SOLaNUM
Objective
To develop understanding about alternative patterns of cropping for sustainable agriculture.
Increasing demand for food due to everrising population has created a pressure on agriculture for more production. Excessive use of fertilisers and water for increasing production may be counterproductive for sustainable agriculture. There is a need, therefore, to adopt alternative methods so as to make agriculture more productive. Cropping patterns such as mixed cropping and inter-cropping are alternatives to monocropping and are helpful in retaining the fertility of the soil. This is also a possible solution to farmers woes of crop failure.
Methodology
1. Visit a crop field nearest to your village or locality and talk to the farmers. 2. Interview them and find out the types of crop they sow in their farms and also the area they cultivate. 3. Find out what each farmer is growing and note if they are growing one or many crops.
4. Find out if any farmer has switched over to mixed cropping and intercropping in recent past. If so, what were the reasons and how has that benefited the farmer. 5. If they are growing more than one crop, ask the farmer about the pattern of sowing is it at random or in rows. 6. Enquire from the farmers the yield they obtain per unit area in each case. 7. Ask them about the type of fertilisers or manures they use and the amount of each type used. Also find out the type of irrigation used. 8. Find out the various alternatives that farmers plan in case of a crop failure. 9. Tabulate the information.
No. of crops
Names of crops
Output/ Yield
Remark
1. 2. 3.
Conclusion
Prepare a report based on your observations and data collected about the form of agri/cropping pattern that gives more yield and is more economical.
Follow-up
1. Find out other practices which can make agriculture sustainable. 2. Prepare an appropriate methodology for a project to find out whether genetically modified crops should be cultivated.
Objective
To study water supply and waste water disposal systems that were in use in earlier times.
There are many forts, palaces and monuments of historical importance. Detailed information of famous monuments is available on the period when these were constructed, who constructed them and the architecture of that period. However, not much is known about the life style and civic facilities available in that period. It may be interesting to study about water supply and drainage systems prevalent at that time.
Methodology
1. Select a historical place that is accessible easily or close to your place of stay.
Water supply in the Red Fort: River Yamuna supplied water to the Fort. The water flowing through the Fort also provided a cooling system. The passage of water is shown with arrows in the pictures.
2. Collect information related to the monument such as: (a) When was it built? (b) What was the material used for construction? (c) Who built it? (d) What was the purpose for its construction? (e) How were water requirements of the people living/working/guarding in and around the place met with when it was built? (f) What were the arrangements made for safe disposal of waste-water and to drain out rain water? Information can be collected from the Department of Archaeology (if any), archaeological books or local guides.
Conclusion
Prepare a report based on your study. The report should highlight the merits and shortcomings of the systems and also their impact on important historical events, if any.
Follow-up
Share the information with your peers.
Objective
To identify the relation between rainfall and soil erosion.
There are many natural and manmade factors which are responsible for soil erosion. Precipitation rainfall and snow-fall is one of the prime factors for such erosion. Soil as a resource supports human survival in so many ways. When erosion takes place it leaches away the valuable top soil of the area. The eroded materials that fall into rivers make the water turbid. Silting results in floods and even changes the course of the river.
Methodology
1. Go to a nearby river site and collect samples of water in transparent bottles from the river before rains, during the rains and after the rains.
2. Make sure that the sample of water collected each time is collected in similar containers and the volume of the sample is also the same. 3. Keep the samples undisturbed and find out the time the solid particles take to settle down in each case. 4. Decant the water after the solid particles settle down and compare the amount of sediments for each sample.
Conclusion
Prepare a report on your study giving possible reasons for variation in the amount of sediments in different samples.
Follow-up
Find out the various measures by which soil erosion can be checked.
tare 0 million hec 13 t u bo a ia d l In In tal geographica to f o % 5 4 ( d sion of lan serious soil ero y b d te c fe f a d area) is ation , cultivate iv lt u c g n ti if through sh deserts and s, ea r a y d n sa wastelands, water logging.
Objective
To know about the social lives and environment of people with different occupations and trades.
All of us know about the various basic service providers and helping hands without whom our lives would be very difficult. The mechanic who fixes electrical appliances, water lines; the mason who constructs houses for living; the vendors who bring things of requirement are some of the very important household service providers. There are also others like doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, shopkeepers and domestic workers whose services are very important.
Methodology
This can be a group project. The class can be divided into groups and collect data from different service providers based on the given questionnaire.
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Questionnaire
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. What is the average income of the family? Do they have any additional source of income? What type of house do they live in? Are water, electricity and other amenities available to them? How do they go to their workplace? How many hours do they work in a day? What are the major occupational hazards and difficulties they face? Do they enjoy a weekly off ? How do they spend their leisure time? Who takes care of the children in case the mother is also working? What about their childrens education?
Conclusion
Based on the data collected, prepare a brief report.
Follow-up
Reports can also be shared with other classes of your school.
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6. Life in a village
Background
Most of the people in the rural areas are engaged in primary activities such as farming, keeping livestock, fishing or other related small scale and cottage industries. A large number of people may also be landless farm labourers, daily wagers and service providers. Basic facilities like safe drinking water, medical facility, education, transportation, etc. may not be easily available to them.
Objectives
(i) To find out distribution of land and other resources in rural areas. (ii) To find out the status of employment in the area.
Methodology
This is a group project. The students can collect data about the people living in the village based on the following questionnaire.
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Questionnaire
1. Collect the land utilisation data from the Panchayat, Revenue or Block Development Office. 2. How many roads lead to the village? How many pass through it? 3. What is the occupation that the villagers are commonly engaged in? 4. Find out the different welfare schemes running in the village (you can get this information from the Panchayat, Revenue or Block Development Office) and enquire whether they know about those welfare schemes. 5. Is there any person getting any benefit from such schemes? 6. Is there any health centre, doctor or school?
Conclusion
Based on the study of different group members, prepare a brief report on life in that village.
Follow-up
1. Display your report in your class or the bulletin board of your school. 2. Draw a topographical map of the village.
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7. Food affordability
Background
India is an agricultural country. Food is essential for life and as such necessary amount of food should be available to all the people. However, a large section of our population is deprived of adequate food supply due to different reasons such as less production, unavailability and non-affordability. Whatever the reason, it leads to malnutrition and other nutritional disorders among those who are deprived of adequate food.
Objective
To be sensitised to the subject of food insecurity among the vast section of the people.
Methodology
This project can be done in a group. Data can be collected based on the given questionnaire. Respondents could be both male and female, mainly from economically weaker sections.
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Questionnaire
1. What is the gross income of the family? 2. What is the household expenditure pattern on different items such as food, clothing, housing, fodder, medicines, entertainment, education, transport? 3. Is the expenditure marked for food items enough to meet the food requirement? 4. Is enough food available for all the persons? If not, why? 5. From where do they get the food items? 6. What is the approximate cost and affordability of nutrition per person in the family? 7. Which deficiency disease is prevalent? Is malnutrition prevalent?
Conclusion
Write a report about the food security of the respondents based on your observation.
Follow-up
1. Organise a campaign to sensitise people and make them aware of less expensive nutritious food. 2. Organise a campaign to sensitise people about consuming locally available food items.
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8. People as resource
Background
Objective
To appreciate the impact of investment in education and health of people.
Expenditure on education and health of the people is a good investment. Investment in human capital yields a return similar to investment in monetary capital. The society gains directly and indirectly in terms of the standards of skilled manpower for industry, farming, low mortality rate, better spread of education, etc. An educated and healthier population is an asset of a country and can lead to the progress of the nation.
Methodology
Students can do this project individually or in groups. The data can be collected based on the suggested questionnaire. The survey should be done randomly for 20 individuals.
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Questionnaire
1. How many members are there in the family? 2. How many schools (primary, upper primary, secondary) are there in the neighbourhood? 3. How many earning members are educated? 4. What is the level of their education and income? 5. Do all the children including girls go to school? 6. What measures are taken when any member of the family falls sick? 7. Is medical facility easily accessible? 8. What are the practices followed to keep the family healthy?
Conclusion
Compare the information collected by different group members. Also write a brief note on how income is related to education and health.
Follow-up
Share your findings with your classmates. Display them on the bulletin board.
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Objective
To investigate the impact of modern agricultural practices on the environment.
With the advent of technological advancements in agriculture such as better irrigation systems, use of high yielding seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, multiple cropping system, etc. farmers are getting better yields and profits. However, most of these practices, if not properly monitored or judiciously practised, can have an adverse effect on the quality and fertility of soil, water table, quality of water in river and lakes and others.
Methodology
The project should be carried out in groups. 1. Select an area where modern agri-practices are being followed. 2. Select another area where traditional practices of agricultural farming are followed.
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3. Find out the yield per unit area in each case for the same crop. 4. Collect samples of water from ponds, wells, lake or tanks, if any, from the area surrounding the agriculture fields. Test the water samples with the help of pH papers. 5. Find out the alkalinity or acidity of the soil with the help of pH paper. 6. If a microscope is available, examine a drop of each sample for presence of living organisms. 7. The above information can be further substantiated from the village elders, agriculture scientists, and Block Development Officers of the area. 8. Obtain more information about soil and water.
Conclusion
Compare the two situations and present your report based on the data collected.
Follow-up
Share your experience with your classmates, and the people involved in agriculture and users of the water.
plements and im e r u lt u ic gr A , power s tractor a ch su es in ch ma ers, sprinklers, h es r th er w o p , tiller n , animal draw drip irrigation , led reaper el p ro p lf se , ts implemen , etc. are nter la sp n a tr y d d pa dy at the rate si b su n o le b a avail of equipment st o c e th f o % of 25 ling limits ei c in ta er c to subject Sector Plant under Central Schemes.
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Objectives
(i) To identify the characteristics of physiographic division of India. (ii) To identify the impact of this division on the lifestyle of the people living there.
Methodology
1. Choose any one physiographic division of India, preferably in which your school is located. 2. Identify the geographical characteristics of that region. 3. Find out which aspect of life is influenced by the physical environment and the reasons for its
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influence. Are these aspects also reflected in songs, dances, festivals, food habits, clothing or costumes, shelter, etc. of the place? 4. Collect photographs, audio and video tapes, picture postcards and related slides to include in your report.
Conclusion
Prepare a report on how the physical environment influences the lifestyle of people based on your study.
Follow-up
1. Display your study in the form of a wall magazine on your school bulletin board. 2. Share the audio and video tapes with your classmates and friends.
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Objective
To realise how changes in the utilisation pattern of water have affected water bodies.
Quality and quantity of water flowing through a river determine its sustainable usefulness or value as a resource. Due to several human activities, for example, agricultural run off, industrial effluents and domestic discharges, rivers are getting polluted. Sometimes water is diverted through canals for agricultural and other activities, thereby reducing the flow of water downstream. As river water is a vital resource for humans, livestock and vegetation, it needs to be conserved and used judiciously.
Methodology
1. Choose a river or any water body such as lake, pond, etc. in your own region. 2. Mark its location on the map of India. 3. If you have chosen a river, mark its course on the map of India. Find out information related to the river such as its source, destination, major cities all along its bank, etc. and also mark them on the map.
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4. Select 200 to 250 km stretch of the river and find out the cities and industrial units such as power plants, breweries, tanneries, textile mills located in the selected area which utilise the river water and discharge their effluents in the river. 5. Find out if the water is diverted to any irrigation canal in the selected regions. 6. Find out how the water bodies are being polluted. What are the major pollutants discharged into the water bodies? 7. If you have chosen any other water body, collect information about the various sources of pollution that is deteriorating the quality of water. Information can be obtained from various sources like newspapers, magazines, government agencies, such as those involved in River Action Plan, NGOs, etc.
Conclusion
Based on the information collected by you, prepare a report and present it in the class.
Follow-up
Prepare charts to show the different ways in which water bodies are polluted and display them on your school bulletin board.
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Objective
To practise economy on use of paper.
Present developments determine the course of the future to a large extent. We all know that paper is made out of wood, and we get wood from trees. However, we often waste paper. At the rate at which we are consuming paper, we may end up exhausting our valuable resource trees. It is, therefore, essential to adopt economical means of using paper not only to conserve trees but also to reduce the production of effluents from paper factories.
Methodology
1. Collect information about the process of making paper. 2. Find out what are the various resources used in making paper. Also find out the quantities of these resources. 3. Find out the effect of the process of making paper on the environment. 4. Collect information about the approximate amount of paper used by a student of Class IX in terms of sheets used in notebooks. 5. Think of different ways of using paper judiciously, like using both sides of sheets, and make a list.
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Conclusion
Write a report on consumption of paper analysing the information that you have collected.
Follow-up
1. Present your report in your class. Presentation can be in the form of power point or using charts. 2. This project may be extended and students may write articles to newspapers on the issue.
on overall reducti st te ea gr e th per produces This is because s. Recycling of pa se ga se u o h n of n of gree s the emission se u a c in the emissio s ll fi d n atter in la greenhouse gas. decomposing m r jo a m a is h whic methane gas,
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Objective
To understand the lifestyles of people and their interaction with the environment.
Love and respect for the environment and the ideas of conservation and preservation have made possible the preservation of habitats and heritage through generations. This approach to life has undergone a change in both urban and rural areas.
Methodology
1. Choose a place, preferably a village or a rural habitat, to find out how life is lived there and its interconnection with nature. 2. Collect information about how lifestyles have changed in the last 25 years, of the people living in that area, through interactions and interviews with elders. Information can be collected about consumerism, wasteful habits, generation of waste and pollutants, etc. 3. Compare the changes that have taken place over a period of time.
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Conclusion
Sum up the ideas based on the information you have collected and your interactions with local people and prepare a report on how human activities have changed the environment.
Follow-up
Students may bring it out as a publication of the school.
On an ave rage, each in produces 5 00g of wa dividual ste every d Urban Ind ay. ia produce s 1, 20, 00 tonnes of 0 waste each day; Delhi 7, 405 ton : nes, Mumb ai : 7, 025 tonnes, Ch ennai : 3, 5 00 to Kolkata: 3 , 200 tonn nnes, es.
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Objectives
(i) To appreciate the bond of love between man and animals. (ii) To become aware of animal rights and the need to protect them.
Methodology
1. Collect anecdotes or stories about human-animal friendship from friends, elders, other animal lovers in the locality, books or magazines. 2. Also collect information, episodes or experiences in which cruelty towards animals led to harmful consequences for humans or animals. 3. Find out about animal rights and also find out the activities of organisations working for animal rights.
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Conclusion
Write a report on animal-human relationships and conclude how animal-human friendship enriches animal rights and prevents cruelty on animals.
Follow-up
Visit a zoological park and find out how the animals there are taken care of.
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Objectives
(i) To understand the importance of tourism for individual and economic purposes. (ii) To understand that excess human activities related to tourism can have adverse effects on the environment.
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Methodology
1. 2. 3. 4. Choose a tourist place preferably close to your locality. Find out when and why it is visited by tourists. How do local people benefit from the tourist activity? Find out the adverse effects on the local people and the environment. 5. Collect the above information through personal observation, interview of local people and other sources such as newspapers, magazines and the media.
Conclusion
Write a report of the activities you carried out and present it in your class.
Follow-up
1. The report may be sent to the tourism department, environment ministry and local Panchayat with a request to take preventive measures. 2. Students can be asked to write poems, articles or paint on the theme Man versus Nature.
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Objectives
(i) To understand the economics of a kitchen garden. (ii) To encourage the utilisation of leisure time for productive purposes.
Many houses/homes have ample free space. As a hobby people tend to make use of this freely available space for kitchen gardens. Kitchen gardens have a variety of seasonal vegetables which can, to some extent, meet the requirements of the family without completely relying on vegetables from the market. Besides involving the family members in physical activity, this practice also helps the family in saving money and keeps them physically active and healthy.
Methodology
1. Find out in your neighbourhood the homes that have kitchen gardens and those who do not have a kitchen garden even though they have open space.
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2. Find out from those that have kitchen gardens, the different kinds of vegetables they grow. 3. Find out the amount of money they spend on seeds, saplings, manure, pesticides and irrigation. 4. Also find out from both kinds of households about the vegetables they buy from the market. 5. Enquire from each of the households the amount of money they spend on vegetables per week. 6. Tabulate your data and compare the expenditure incurred by the households. 7. Find out the creative pleasure they derive from a successful production. 8. Prepare a report of your study.
Conclusion
Based on your study conclude whether having a kitchen garden is economically beneficial or not.
Follow-up
Present your report in the class or in the morning assembly.
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Objective
To study the presence of dissolved matter in water from different sources and relate it to its suitability for drinking purpose.
The drinking water that we get is contaminated with various dissolved substances such as calcium, iron, aluminium salts, etc. which often cross the permissible limits. The water in extreme cases may receive effluents from factories, small textile, printing and dyeing units or farm runoffs. Outright harmful constituents such as arsenic, fluorides, copper, mercury and lead are also present in drinking water in wide parts of India. These substances cause serious ailments. It is worthwhile to find out by simple means the presence of the various impurities.
Methodology
1. Collect samples of water (about 200 ml) from different sources, e.g. handpumps, wells, tube wells, tanks, ponds, rivers and taps.
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2. Filter the suspended matter from the water samples by passing through a cotton plug kept in a funnel. 3. Now take 100 ml of each sample separately. 4. Evaporate water from each sample till dry. For this, take water in a steel vessel and heat gently till all the water has evaporated. 5. Collect the dry mass separately and weigh it. 6. Identify the impurities by analysing the solid residue, if possible.
Conclusion
Draw your conclusion about the amount of dissolved matter in water.
Follow-up
If possible, find out with the help of experts/scientists the harmful constituents present in the dry mass and present it before the class and community.
s biodegradable, hazardou Idols made from nonParis and coated with of ter as Pl e lik ls ia er mat cury, cadmium , lead er m ng ni ai nt co ts in pa toxic to seas and other in sed er m im n he w on and carb e the water. water bodies contaminat
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Objective
To become aware of the need to save endangered species.
LION-TaILEd
MaCaQUE
All the living organisms, be it plants, animals or microorganisms, have a specific role to play in the ecosystem in which they exist. Some of these organisms face the risk of becoming extinct because of decreasing numbers that are caused by destruction of their habitat, hunting, poaching, excessive utilisation, etc. These are called endangered species. Many countries, including India, have laws that forbid hunting of such species. Endangered animals are also preserved in reserved forests. However, some species are also dying silently. We need to do something to prevent their extinction in order to maintain the ecological balance.
Methodology
1. List ten endangered species, each under the categories of birds and other animals of both land and water in our country. 2. Locate and describe the regions to which they belong (for example on a map). 3. Find out the causes of their declining numbers. 4. Prepare a flow chart to show the decrease in their numbers over the past ten years.
BROW-aNTLEREd
dEER
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5. List the sanctuaries, national parks and reserve forests where these endangered species are looked after. 6. List steps which can save them from extinction.
Conclusion
Prepare a report on the basis of your study giving pictures and habitats of the animals.
Follow-up
1. Try to publish the study in a magazine or a newspaper. 2. Try to find out the reasons why certain species have become extinct in the past. 3. Organise a debate in your class on whether cloning of endangered animals is an appropriate solution for their conservation.
BENGaL TIGER
About 500 one-horned rhinoceros have been killed by poachers over the past 20 years in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam . Experts believe that the rhinohorns, purported to have aphrodisiac properties, are smuggled to China or sold in other Asian markets. In the Middle East the horns are used to make ornamental dagger handles. The horns can sell for upto US$ 35, 000 a kilogram .
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Objectives
(i) To understand the importance of water. (ii) To participate in spreading awareness about rainwater harvesting.
There cannot be life without water. Rain and snowfall are the two sources of fresh water which replenish underground water, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies. But a lot of rainwater also goes waste. Water being a scarce resource, and its ever increasing use with the growing population and development, it needs to be utilised judiciously. Every drop of water is precious and one of the ways to meet the growing demand for water is through rainwater harvesting.
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Stepwells, also called bawdi or baoli are in essence, wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. << View of a Bawdi at Fatehpur, Shekhawati
Methodology
1. Find out different methods of rainwater harvesting in different parts of the country from different sources like magazines, newspapers, internet, etc. 2. Find out the current methods practised in your state. 3. Compare two households/localities one practising rainwater harvesting and the other not, in terms of water availability for domestic purposes.
Conclusion
Write a report based on the information that you have collected.
Follow-up
1. Based on your comparative study of different rainwater harvesting methods, recommend the most suitable method for your area. 2. Advocate the practice of rainwater harvesting in your s c h o o l / h o m e / locality.
Johad is a traditional pucca rainwater storage tank, mainly used for drinking purposes. The above is a view of a Johad at village Thathawata, Rajasthan.
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Objective
To find out the quantity of milk production in different varieties of cattle.
With the rise in the demand of milk and milk products, the production of milk has increased enormously. These have been made possible due to animal breeding. Different high yielding varieties of animals are bred so as to increase the production of milk and meat.
Methodology
1. Visit a cattle farm where milk is produced in large quantities. 2. Speak with the manager or caretaker of the farm and find out the following: (a) The varieties of animals that are reared in the farm for increased milk production. (b) From where do they get such varieties of animals?
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(c) The amount of milk produced per high yielding cattle per day in the farm. (d) The amount of milk produced per cattle per day by ordinary cattle. (e) Find out if any artificial methods are adopted to increase the production.
Conclusion
Conclude your study by writing a paragraph about the varieties of animals that produce more quantity of milk.
Follow-up
Visit a poultry farm and find out the varieties that are reared for egg and chicken production.
ity of The per capita availabil out the milk in India is ab is still very 221 g per day, but this loped low as compared to deve erage of nations or the world av 285 g per day.
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Notes
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Notes
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Notes
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