Last updated on March 14th, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Class 5 EVS Chapter 19 A seed tell a farmer story
Q: How did Damjibhai traditionally store good seeds before making the wooden box?
A: Damjibhai traditionally stored good seeds in a dry gourd covered with mud.
Q: What did Damjibhai use to protect the seeds from insects in the wooden box?
A: Damjibhai put neem leaves in the wooden box to protect the seeds from insects.
Q: What is Undhiya and why is it called so?
A: Undhiya is a type of stew made by cooking vegetables with spices in an earthen pot between hot coals. It was called Undhiya because “undh” means “upside down” in Gujarati.
Q: What major changes occurred in farming when electricity came to the village?
A: When electricity came, farmers started growing only one or two crops such as wheat and cotton, which fetched good prices, started buying seeds from the market, and started using electric motors to pump water.
Q: What different machines did Hasmukh buy for farming?
A: Hasmukh bought an electric motor to pump water, a motorcycle to go to the city, and a tractor to plow the fields.
Q: Why did farmers have to buy expensive fertilizers in later years?
A: Without cows and buffaloes, there was no dung to use as natural fertilizer in the fields, so farmers had to buy expensive chemical fertilizers.
Q: What problems did Hasmukh face with the new farming methods?
A: They faced problems like rising cost of fertilizers and pesticides, shortage of water in canals, need for deep water pumps, loss of soil fertility due to bank loans and chemical use.
Q: What happened to Hasmukh’s son Paresh and why?
A: Paresh chose to become a truck driver instead of becoming a farmer because it was getting difficult to earn a living by farming alone and also had to repay the bank loan.
Q: According to the story, how did the quality of the soil change over time?
A: Due to growing the same crop repeatedly and using many chemicals, the quality of the soil deteriorated, making it difficult for the crops to grow well.
Q: What did the villagers do together in the early days?
A: In the early days, the villagers helped each other in farming, celebrated the harvest together and had big feasts with lots of food and drink.
Q: How did seed storage practices change over time?
A: In the beginning, farmers like Damjibhai used to store the seeds of their good crops themselves, but later farmers started buying new types of seeds from the market instead of storing them themselves.
Q: What did Bhaskarbhai use to determine which part of his farm needed water?
A: Bhaskarbhai used croton plants as indicators – when their leaves wilted, it indicated that the soil in that area was dry.
Q: Why were earthworms considered the best friend of the soil in Bhaskarbhai’s farm?
A: Earthworms would soften the soil by making tunnels allowing air and water to enter and their droppings would make the soil fertile.
Q: What is the traditional method of making natural manure mentioned in the story?
A: Natural manure was made by allowing dead leaves to rot and mix with the soil and by using cow dung.
Q: How did farmers’ dependence on loans increase?
A: Farmers needed loans to buy expensive fertilizers, pesticides and water pumps and to meet other rising farming expenses.
Q: What did Damjibhai’s family traditionally grow in their fields?
A: They traditionally grew millets, sorghum, a variety of cereals and vegetables depending on the season.
Q: What was special about farming in Damjibhai’s time?
A: Farming in Damjibhai’s time involved growing multiple crops, saving seeds, using natural manures and the whole community helping each other.
Q: How did market prices affect farming choices?
A: When certain crops like wheat and cotton got better prices in the market, most farmers started growing only these crops instead of maintaining crop diversity.
Q: What happened to the traditional practice of community meals in the village?
A: The traditional practice of community meals changed from being regular to only happening on very special days, and people remembered how food used to taste better earlier.
