Write shorts notes on:

(a) Sowing of seeds

(b) Threshing

(a) Sowing of seeds: One of the important steps of crop production is sowing. Good quality seeds are selected and are sown in prepared soil with the help of various tools like traditional tools and seed drill.

(i) Traditional tools: The shape of this tool is like a funnel which is filled by seeds, then the seeds are passed down through two or three pipes having sharp ends and these ends pierce into the soil and place seeds there.

(ii) Seed drill: This tool is used for sowing with the help of tractors and it sows the seeds uniformly and at proper distances and depth, it also ensures covering of the seeds from soil after sowing, so that seeds could not get damaged by birds and by other organisms. Sowing by using a seed drill saves time and labour. In order to avoid overcrowding of plants it is very important to leave some space between two seeds. This also allows plants to get sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water from the soil.

(a) Threshing: Threshing is the process of separating the grains from the straw and chaff. This is carried out with the help of a machine called combine which works as harvester and thresher both.