Through crop production you will learn the principles and practices of cultivating and managing crop plants for human and animal consumption or for industrial uses. You will also discover that the type of crop is to be grown determined by factors such as the amount and distribution of rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, the length of the day and the quality of the soils.
Before any crops can be grown, the native vegetation has to be partly or wholly destroyed and seed-beds or nurseries have to be established where the seeds are planted and grown until they can be transferred to the field. Nurseries are always located on fairly level, fertile land with a convenient supply of water all year round, as the young plants must be watered regularly. Sowing of seeds must be done at the proper time and season and the crops should be cultivated to control weeds, pests and diseases. Prompt harvesting and good storage are also essential to save the bulk of the crop from pests and diseases.
Crops are classified in three main groups namely, annuals, biennials and perennials. Crops are classified according to their use and they have different nutritional value. Classifying crops can also enable a farmer to practice crop rotation in order to reduce disease and pest outbreaks. Crops are also propagated differently.
These are crops which are planted, cultivated and harvested within a year. Most crops’ used to supply food for man come in this category. Also, a good proportion of the fibres and drugs processed by our industries are provided by arable crops. These crops can be classified according to the use to which they are put, such as; drug crops (e.g. pyrethrum) fibre crops (sisal); oil crops (groundnuts, sunflower); food crops (maize). Food crops can further be classified into legumes (e.g. beans), cereals or grains (maize, wheat) and root crops (cassava).
These are planted and left on the same plot of land for many years. The land on which they are grown is tilled, but the crops can be harvested for a number of years. The economic life of permanent crops ranges between 3years (e.g. pineapple) and 30years or more (e.g. cashew, mangoes).
These are primarily grown to provide food for farm animals. They include grasses or legumes which can be grown separately or as a mixture.
These are usually annual grown under an intensive or gardening system as food for man
These are usually permanent crops whose fruits can be eaten raw by man. They supply the bulk of the vitamins and minerals essential for healthy human growth.
Principles of Crop Production – Crop Rotation
Crop rotation means growing a series of different crops on the same piece of land in a certain sequence.
Crops should be grown in a rotation, that is, in a regular order. Crops belonging to the same family are attacked by same diseases and pests and use similar nutrients. Therefore they should not follow each other in the same rotation. Rotating crops can break up the life cycles of pests. Soil nutrients also have time to be replaced. Rotations also help to improve soil structure and to keep a good level of humus in the soil.
A seedbed is a piece of land varying in size from a few square meters to hundreds and even thousands of hectors, that has been prepared in such a way that it is ready to receive the seed or planting material. For the land to be ready for planting, the condition of the soil, for example, the size of the soil clods, depth of the soil and the looseness of the soil must facilitate planting, germination of the seed and subsequent growth of the plants. Seedbed preparation/operation includes activities such as ploughing or digging (if hand tools are used), harrowing to break large soil clods into smaller ones and sometimes rolling of the ground to firm the soil..
The main reasons for preparing a seedbed are as follows:
(i) To kill the weeds either by burying them or by desiccation through exposure to the sun.
(ii)To bury crop residues from the previous seasons crop so as to make it easy to plant. By burying the trash, decomposition of animal and vegetable matter is speeded up resulting in the addition of organic matter into the soil as well as releasing of nutrients for use by the plants.
(iii) Seedbed preparation loosens up the soil thereby facilitating rainfall infiltration into the soil as well as improving soil aeration. A well aerated soil promotes rapid growth as well as increasing final yields.
(iv)Seedbed preparation may be aimed at breaking hard soil surface that may sometimes form as a result that rainfall acceptance of the soil is impeded. Seedbed preparation operations are sometimes directed at breaking the plough pan which may be impervious to wafer thereby limiting deep drainage.
There are two main operations involved in seedbed preparation. These are primary and secondary operation. Primary operations include such activities as initial clearing of the land by cutting down the bush or uprooting trees and tree-stamps and initial ploughing. Secondary operations follow the primary operations and include mainly harrowing.
Methods of preparing seedbeds may include:
(i) Hand method
(ii) Mechanical seedbed preparation
(iii) Ox-cultivation
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