Sample Essay on Biotic Factors Affecting Crop Production
Biotic factors are some of the factors that affect crop production adversely. They include:
Soil organisms
Soil organisms including bacteria, rodents, termites, fungi and bacteria affect the quality of crops. This is based on the fact that they cause diseases and some can fix nutrients to both plants and soil. Therefore, organisms can lead to production of high quality or low quality crops.
Pests
Pests are also biotic factors that are known to reduce the quality of crop production. They include some mammals, birds, insects and rodents. They reduce yields of animals and crops. They are also vectors and often carry diseases that prevent growth and production of crops. This also lowers the income of farmers.
Parasites
Parasites come in handy including liver flukes, tapeworms, mistletoe, lice and dodders. They are disease transmitters and reduce the quality of yields of crop produce. Parasites also cause death to plants in extreme cases. The cost of controlling parasites is also high. Therefore, the money that would have been used by farmers to increase crop production is used in controlling the pests thus, affecting the quality of produce.
It is also good to note that parasites can be internal or external and have different effects on plants.
Diseases
Diseases also affect crop production. They are biotic factors that can be hard to control. Diseases can be caused by protozoa, fungi, bacteria and viruses. The quality of crop production is reduced because of disease infestation.
Diseases can also cause loss of plants and even death. The cost of controlling diseases on the other hand is also high and it increases the cost of crop production. It also reduces the income of farmers.
Weeds
Crop production is also affected by weeds. They are biotic factors that can be hard to control. Weeds have a negative effect on plants. This is because they compete with plants for sunlight, nutrients, water and space. Therefore, plants do not get nutrients in their rightful amounts and it affects their growth.
Weeds also harbor pests and diseases. Pests will feed on plants and in the end, they cause death. Pests also feed on plants affecting their growth and production. Weeds therefore reduce yields of different crops, lead to poor growth and increases the cost of crop production.
Predators
Predators also affect crop production. Some of the common predators include praying mantis, rodents and birds. Even though they lower crop yields, some rodents are considered useful. This is because predators can be used to control harmful pests that feed on plants. For instance, hawks feed on ticks thus, reducing their population and their effect on different crops.
Biotic factors can have a negative or positive effect on crop production. Therefore as a farmer specializing in crop production, it is always imperative to be aware of biotic factors in your farm. This will enable you to make wise and informed decisions on whether to get rid of a biotic factor or to maintain it.
Biotic factors that have a negative impact on your plants lower your yields and increase the cost of production and vice versa.
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Online sources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_biotic_and_abiotic_factors_affect_crop_production
http://joeleebass.hubpages.com/hub/6-biotic-factors-affecting-agricultural-production