Question

Which of the following statements is not correct regarding jhum cultivation?
A. It is also called shifting cultivation and has resulted in deforestation.
B. It helps in increasing crop yield to a considerable extent.
C. A time-gap of several years is required for the recovery of the land after cultivation.
D. It involves cutting down trees of the forest, burning the plant remains, and then using the land for farming.

Answer 1

Hint: The jhum cultivation which is commonly known as slash and burn is an agricultural practice. It involves the clearing of trees and other vegetation followed by field burning. Once, the fields are burned the new crops are cultivated over the burned land. It is known to increase soil nutrient content.

Complete answer:
Jhum cultivation is an old form of crop-growing farming activity that aims to create swindles. The swidden is the land that burned after clearing all forms of vegetation over it. The method initiates with cutting down of woods and vegetation. This is called slash which is left for drying for some days. Drying is done generally before the rainy season. After drying, the biomass is burned. Burning introduces potash into the soil and increases its nutrient content and fertility. The layers of ash make the soil fertile and help in the elimination of weeds and pests.
After some years the fertility of land decreases along with pest and weed invasion. In this case, the farmer needs to move to a new land. This is the reason it is also called shifting cultivation. It takes around 5 to 20 years for the swidden land to recover after one cultivation period.
Jhum cultivation does not contribute to increasing crop yield. It does increase soil fertility to a considerable extent but has no role to play in crop yield.

Hence, option B) is the correct answer.

Note: The jhum cultivation has various disadvantages and one of the major disadvantages is harm to the environment. The burning of large cultivation lands results in air pollution. Also, it can lead to forest fires. The continuous change and burning of land make it less producible.