Food Production ICSE Class 8: Microbes in Food, Crops, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry

What Food Production is about

Weightage: CISCE publishes no question paper, marking scheme or chapter weightage for Class VIII Biology: your school sets and marks the exam. Food Production sits in the Theme: Food Production theme of the CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII).Source: CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII), RDCD 2016

Key concepts

Bacteria in the food industry

Many bacteria are useful. In food, their main job is fermentation: changing sugars into acids or alcohol, which changes taste and texture and helps preserve food.

• Curd (dahi) and yoghurt: Lactobacillus bacteria change the milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. The acid makes the milk proteins thicken and set, and gives curd its sour taste. Adding a spoon of old curd to warm milk adds the bacteria.
• Cheese: bacteria (and sometimes moulds) are used to curdle milk and ripen cheese, giving it flavour.
• Buttermilk: made by churning curd; it contains the same lactic acid bacteria.
• Idli and dosa batter: bacteria (with yeast) ferment the soaked rice and urad dal batter overnight, making it slightly sour and fluffy.
• Vinegar: Acetobacter bacteria change alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar), used in pickles and sauces.

Fermentation also preserves food: the acid stops harmful germs from growing.

Worked example

Why does milk set into curd when a spoon of curd is added to warm milk and left overnight?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The curd contains Lactobacillus bacteria, which multiply in warm milk.
2. They change lactose into lactic acid, which makes the milk proteins thicken and set into curd.

Answer: Lactobacillus turns lactose into lactic acid, which sets the milk.

Fungi: mushrooms and yeast

Mushrooms are the fleshy, umbrella-shaped fruiting bodies of some fungi.

• Edible mushrooms such as the button mushroom are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and low in fat, so they are good for health.
• They are grown on compost (straw and manure) in dark, damp rooms, so they give farmers extra income using farm waste.
• Caution: many wild mushrooms are poisonous; never eat one you cannot identify.

Yeast is a unicellular fungus that reproduces by budding.

• Bread and cakes: yeast ferments sugar in the dough, producing carbon dioxide gas and a little alcohol. The gas forms bubbles that make the dough rise and the bread soft and spongy; baking drives off the alcohol.

$C_6{H}_{12}{O}_6\to 2C_2{H}_{5}OH+2C{O}_2$ (glucose → alcohol + carbon dioxide)

• Idli, dosa, bhatura and jalebi batters rise partly because of yeast.
• Yeast is used to make alcoholic drinks and vinegar (with bacteria).
• Yeast itself is rich in vitamin B and protein.

Worked example

Why does bread dough with yeast rise when kept in a warm place, and why does the baked bread not taste of alcohol?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Yeast ferments sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide; the gas bubbles make the dough rise (warmth speeds up yeast activity).
2. The heat of baking drives off the small amount of alcohol and kills the yeast.

Answer: CO₂ from fermentation raises the dough; baking removes the alcohol.

Agriculture: food crops, cash crops and crops of India

Agriculture is the growing of plants (crops) and rearing of animals for food and other products.

• Food crops are grown mainly to feed people: cereals (rice, wheat, maize, millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi), pulses (gram, arhar, moong, urad), oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean), vegetables and fruits.
• Cash crops are grown mainly to sell for money or for industries: cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea, coffee, rubber, tobacco, spices.

Crop seasons in India:

Season	Sown	Harvested	Examples
Kharif (rainy)	June-July, with the monsoon	September-October	rice, maize, cotton, jowar, groundnut, soybean
Rabi (winter)	October-November	March-April	wheat, gram, mustard, barley, pea

Some crops and where they are widely grown in India:

Crop	Major growing areas
Rice	West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh
Wheat	Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh
Tea	Assam, West Bengal (Darjeeling)
Coffee	Karnataka, Kerala
Jute	West Bengal
Cotton	Gujarat, Maharashtra
Sugarcane	Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra

Worked example

Classify as food crop or cash crop: wheat, jute, gram, tea, maize, cotton.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Food crops (eaten as staple food): wheat, gram, maize.
2. Cash crops (sold for money or industry): jute, tea, cotton.

Answer: Food: wheat, gram, maize. Cash: jute, tea, cotton.

Horticulture, organic farming and the green revolution

Horticulture is the science and art of growing garden crops: vegetables, fruits, flowers and decorative (ornamental) plants.

• Vegetables: tomato, potato, cabbage, brinjal, okra.
• Fruits: mango, banana, apple, citrus, grapes.
• Flowers and decorative plants: rose, marigold, tuberose, orchids, ferns, money plant; used in gardens, decoration and the flower trade.

It gives nutritious food, beauty and good income from small pieces of land.

Organic farming (in brief): farming without chemical fertilisers and chemical pesticides. It uses:

• manure, compost, vermicompost (made by earthworms) and green manure;
• crop rotation (for example, growing a pulse after a cereal to add nitrogen to the soil);
• natural pest control, such as neem-based sprays and pest-eating insects and birds.

It keeps the soil fertile, avoids chemical residues in food and protects water, insects and birds, though yields may be lower and costs per kilogram higher.

Green revolution (in brief): the large increase in the production of food grains, especially wheat and rice, in India from the 1960s, by using:

• high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds;
• chemical fertilisers and pesticides;
• better irrigation and farm machines.

It made India self-sufficient in food grains. Its problems include overuse of chemicals and groundwater, and loss of soil fertility in some areas. Dr M. S. Swaminathan is called the father of the green revolution in India.

Worked example

Give two methods used in organic farming and one advantage of it.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Methods: compost or vermicompost instead of chemical fertilisers; neem sprays or natural predators instead of chemical pesticides (also crop rotation).
2. Advantage: food is free of chemical residues and the soil stays fertile.

Answer: Compost and natural pest control; chemical-free food and healthy soil.

Animal husbandry: milk, meat and draught animals

Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture that deals with the feeding, breeding, care and management of domestic animals.

Milch (milk-yielding) animals: cows, buffaloes and goats.

• Indian (indigenous) cow breeds such as Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Gir are hardy and resist disease.
• Foreign (exotic) breeds such as Jersey and Holstein-Friesian give much more milk; cross-breeding combines high milk yield with hardiness.
• Buffalo breeds such as Murrah give milk rich in fat.

White revolution: the great increase in milk production in India through Operation Flood, a programme started in 1970 that built a national network of milk cooperatives. Dr Verghese Kurien led it and is called the father of the white revolution. India became one of the world's largest milk producers.

Meat-providing livestock: goats, sheep, pigs and poultry (also give wool, leather and other products).

Draught animals: animals used for work, such as pulling ploughs and carts and carrying loads: bullocks, male buffaloes, camels (deserts), horses, donkeys, yaks (mountains) and elephants.

Good care: clean, airy sheds; balanced feed (fodder, grains, water); vaccination and timely treatment.

Worked example

What is the white revolution? Name the person who led it.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The white revolution is the great increase in milk production in India through Operation Flood and milk cooperatives.
2. It was led by Dr Verghese Kurien.

Answer: A big rise in milk production; Dr Verghese Kurien.

Poultry, fish farming, sericulture and apiculture

Poultry farming: rearing domestic birds (hens, ducks) for eggs and meat.

• Layers: hens kept for eggs (e.g. White Leghorn).
• Broilers: chickens raised for meat; they grow fast.
• Indian breeds such as Aseel are hardy. Poultry needs clean, airy sheds, good feed, clean water and vaccination against diseases.

Fish farming (pisciculture): rearing fish in ponds, tanks or rice fields.

• Common Indian freshwater fish: rohu, catla and mrigal (Indian major carps).
• Composite fish culture: several kinds of fish that feed at different levels of the pond (surface, middle, bottom) are reared together, so all the food in the pond is used and the yield is high.
• Fish is rich in protein and healthy oils.

Sericulture (in brief): rearing silkworms to obtain silk. The mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori) caterpillar feeds on mulberry leaves and spins a cocoon of silk thread; the thread is unwound (reeled) and woven into silk cloth.

Apiculture (in brief): bee-keeping in artificial hives to obtain honey and beeswax. Indian bees and the Italian bee are commonly kept. Bees also pollinate crops, so keeping hives near orchards and fields increases yields.

Worked example

Why are catla, rohu and mrigal reared together in one pond?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. They feed at different levels: catla near the surface, rohu in the middle, mrigal at the bottom.
2. So they do not compete for food, all the food in the pond is used, and the total yield is higher (composite fish culture).

Answer: They feed at different levels, so they do not compete and the yield is higher.

Food Production in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry
• Bacteria, Yeast and Mushrooms in the Food Industry

Food Production: key facts

Curd formation

$\text{lactose}\stackrel{\text{Lactobacillus}}{\to }\text{lactic acid}$

Acid sets the milk proteins.

Yeast fermentation

$C_6{H}_{12}{O}_6\to 2C_2{H}_{5}OH+2C{O}_2$

CO₂ makes bread rise.

Crop seasons

$\text{kharif: June-July to Sept-Oct};\text{rabi: Oct-Nov to March-April}$

Rice in kharif, wheat in rabi.

Revolutions

$\text{green}\to \text{food grains};\text{white}\to \text{milk}$

Swaminathan; Kurien.

Animal-based industries

$\text{pisciculture: fish};\text{sericulture: silk};\text{apiculture: honey}$

Poultry: eggs and meat.

Food Production: diagrams to practise

Practise each one on paper: draw it from the checklist, then tick off every label.

How the school exam asks Food Production

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Food Production

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Lacto-Lactose-Lactic

  Lactobacillus eats lactose and makes lactic acid: all three start with Lact.

  Use it when: Curd formation.

• Kharif = Kicks off with monsoon; Rabi = Reaped in spring

  Kharif crops are sown with the rains; rabi crops are harvested around March-April.

  Use it when: Crop seasons.

• Green grains, White milk

  Green revolution: grains (wheat, rice). White revolution: milk.

  Use it when: Two revolutions.

• Pisces, Silk, Apis

  Pisci = fish (Pisces), Seri = silk, Api = bee (Apis).

  Use it when: Meanings of pisciculture, sericulture, apiculture.

• Catla at the Ceiling, Mrigal in the Mud

  Catla feeds at the surface, rohu in the middle, mrigal at the bottom.

  Use it when: Composite fish culture.

Food Production: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section B style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 6-mark question split into 3 + 2 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Food Production

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Calling yeast a bacterium

  Yeast is a unicellular fungus.

  ✓Do this: Lactobacillus is the bacterium; yeast is a fungus.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Swapping kharif and rabi crops

  Rice is kharif (monsoon); wheat is rabi (winter).

  Wrong working

  Wheat is a kharif crop

  Right working

  Wheat is a rabi crop

  ✓Do this: Kharif kicks off with the monsoon.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Mixing up sericulture and apiculture

  Seri = silk; api = bees.

  ✓Do this: Pisces, Silk, Apis.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Linking the green revolution with milk

  The green revolution raised food grain output; the white revolution raised milk output.

  ✓Do this: Green grains, white milk.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Writing that all mushrooms are edible

  Many wild mushrooms are poisonous.

  ✓Do this: Say 'edible mushrooms such as button mushroom'.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on Food Production

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Rearing silkworms for silk is called:
   (a) apiculture
   (b) pisciculture
   (c) sericulture
   (d) horticulture

   Hint

   Seri = silk.

   Answer

   (c)

2. Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

   Name one fungus used in the food industry.

   Hint

   Bread.

   Answer

   Yeast (or edible mushroom).

3. Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

   Give two examples each of kharif and rabi crops.

   Hint

   Monsoon; winter.

   Answer

   Kharif: rice, maize (or cotton, jowar). Rabi: wheat, gram (or mustard, barley).

4. Q4 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

   State two reasons why mushrooms are considered good food.

   Hint

   Protein, fat.

   Answer

   They are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and low in fat.

5. Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder exam level

   Assertion (A): Composite fish culture gives a high yield from a pond.
   Reason (R): The fish species chosen feed at different levels of the pond and do not compete for food.
   (a) (A) is true and (R) is false.
   (b) (A) is false and (R) is true.
   (c) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation for (A).
   (d) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation for (A).

   Hint

   Feeding zones.

   Answer

   (c)

6. Q6 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   A dairy replaces 6 local cows, each giving 8 litres of milk a day, with 5 cross-bred cows, each giving 12 litres a day. Find the change in daily milk yield and the extra milk over a 300-day milking year. Name one exotic breed that may have been used in cross-breeding.

   Hint

   Find each daily total first.

   Answer

   Before: 6 × 8 = 48 litres a day; after: 5 × 12 = 60 litres a day, so 12 litres more each day and 12 × 300 = 3600 litres more in the year. Exotic breed: Jersey (or Holstein-Friesian).

7. Q7 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   What are draught animals? Give three examples and say where one of them is especially useful.

   Hint

   Work animals.

   Answer

   Animals used for work such as ploughing, pulling carts and carrying loads: bullocks, camels, horses (also donkeys, yaks). Camels are especially useful in deserts; yaks in high mountains.

8. Q8 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Give two differences between layers and broilers.

   Hint

   Eggs or meat.

   Answer

   Layers are hens reared for eggs; broilers are chickens reared for meat. Broilers are fed to grow fast and are sold young; layers are kept longer for egg-laying.

9. Q9 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   State two advantages and one limitation of organic farming.

   Hint

   Health and soil; yield.

   Answer

   Advantages: food free of chemical residues; soil stays fertile and helpful insects are protected (also less water pollution). Limitation: yields may be lower and produce costlier.

10. Q10 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    How is vinegar made with the help of microbes?

    Hint

    Yeast then bacteria.

    Answer

    Yeast first ferments sugar into alcohol; then Acetobacter bacteria change the alcohol into acetic acid, which is vinegar.

11. Q11 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    Name the crop and one major growing state for each: (i) a beverage crop grown on hill slopes of north-east India (ii) a fibre crop of West Bengal.

    Hint

    Tea; jute.

    Answer

    (i) Tea, Assam. (ii) Jute, West Bengal.

12. Q12 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    A student's homemade bread came out flat and heavy. Suggest three possible reasons, using what you know about yeast.

    Hint

    Yeast must be alive and active.

    Answer

    The yeast may have been dead (old, or killed by very hot water); the dough may have been kept too cold, so yeast worked too slowly; there may have been too little sugar or time for fermentation, so too little carbon dioxide formed to make it rise.

13. Q13 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    The green revolution greatly raised grain output, yet some experts now encourage organic farming. Explain this change of thinking in three points.

    Hint

    Long-term costs of chemicals.

    Answer

    Years of heavy chemical fertilisers have reduced soil humus and fertility in some areas; pesticide residues harm health, water, birds and pollinators; overuse of groundwater for irrigation is lowering water tables. Organic methods aim to keep soil and environment healthy for the long term while still feeding people.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.Which acid is formed when milk becomes curd?Show answer

   Lactic acid.

2. 2.Which gas makes bread rise?Show answer

   Carbon dioxide.

3. 3.Two cash crops?Show answer

   Cotton and jute (also tea, sugarcane).

4. 4.Is wheat a kharif or rabi crop?Show answer

   Rabi.

5. 5.What is horticulture?Show answer

   Growing vegetables, fruits, flowers and ornamental plants.

6. 6.Father of the white revolution?Show answer

   Dr Verghese Kurien.

7. 7.Food of the mulberry silkworm?Show answer

   Mulberry leaves.

8. 8.Name an Indian carp.Show answer

   Rohu (or catla, mrigal).

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you explain how curd forms?
• ☐Can you write the yeast fermentation equation?
• ☐Can you classify any crop as food or cash, kharif or rabi?
• ☐Can you give three practices of organic farming?
• ☐Can you name breeds of milch animals and two draught animals?
• ☐Can you define pisciculture, sericulture and apiculture?

Food Production: frequently asked questions