Identify the correct statements with reference to the objective of irrigation.
A. Protective irrigation is for protecting the crops
B. Productive irrigation is for providing sufficient moisture to soil for cropping
C. Providing irrigation to bajra, Moong and gram come under productive irrigation
D. In productive irrigation, water utilization per unit area is higher than protective irrigation
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A, B, D only
Irrigated farming is of two kinds, based on its aim. Protective irrigation saves crops when the soil is short of moisture, so it spreads water over as large an area as possible. Productive irrigation gives enough moisture for a high yield, so each unit of land gets more water.
(A) Protective irrigation is for protecting the crops — Correct. Its aim is to protect the crops from a shortage of soil moisture. The water only adds to what the rain gives.
(B) Productive irrigation is for providing sufficient moisture to soil for cropping — Correct. It gives the soil enough moisture in the cropping season, so that the land gives a high yield.
(C) Providing irrigation to bajra, Moong and gram come under productive irrigation — Incorrect. Bajra, moong and gram are hardy, drought-resistant crops of dryland farming. Dryland farming is a kind of rainfed farming, found where the rain is less than 75 cm a year. These crops grow on saved soil moisture and harvested rain water, not on water supplied for high yields.
(D) In productive irrigation, water utilization per unit area is higher than protective irrigation — Correct. Productive irrigation aims at high yields, so the water input per unit area is higher. Protective irrigation spreads its water thinly to cover more land.
NCERT (2026-27): “Types of Farming … On the basis of main source of moisture for crops, the farming can be classified as irrigated and rainfed (barani). There is difference in the nature of irrigated farming, as well as based on the objective of irrigation, i.e., protective or productive. The objective of protective irrigation is to protect the crops from adverse effects of moisture deficiency which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall. The strategy of this kind of irrigation is to provide soil moisture to maximum possible area. Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity. In such irrigation the water input per unit area of cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation.” “Rainfed farming is further classified on the basis of adequacy of soil moisture during cropping season into dryland and wetland farming. In India, the dryland farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops) and practise various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting.” |