Question

Explain some harmful effects of agricultural practices on the environment.

Answer 1

Some harmful effects of agricultural practices on the environment are:

i) Soil: Fertilizer added to soil not only changes the chemistry of the soil but also kills many useful microbes.

(ii) Ground water: A part of fertilizer always leaches down into soil and reaches ground water.It raises the salt content of ground water.
(iii) Eutrophication: Run-off from fields sprayed with fertilizer reaches water bodies.It results in their eutrophication.
(iv) Pesticides: Pesticides sprayed over crops reach water bodies killing the biota. Persistent pesticides undergo biomagnification and prove highly harmful to higher organisms.
(vi) Ground water: Continued use of ground water in agriculture has resulted in lowering of water table at most of the places.
(vii) Irrigation: It causes water -logging and salivation of soils.
(viii) Genetic Erosion:Use of only selected high yielding varieties has resulted in genetic erosion of the crop plants.
(ix) Damage to Nature. Natural ecosystems and habitats have been damaged during clearing land for agriculture.