CULTIVATION OF CEREALS
| MAIZE (Zeamays) | RICE (Oryzasativa) | |
| Description | Maize also called corn is a member of the grass family (Gramineae). It produces grains, use as food by human beings and livestock. The seed/fruit is called caryopsis. | Rice is a member of the grass family (Gramineae). The seed/ fruit is called caryopsis |
| Varieties / cultivar | Sweet maize, flint maize, dent maize, flour maize and popcorn | Swamp rice (Toma) and upland rice (Agbede). |
| Land preparation | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. |
| Climatic requirement | Temperature – 260C-300C, Rainfall – 75cm-150cm per annum | Temperature of 200c, Rainfall of 75cm-120cm for upland rice and over 250cm for swamp rice. |
| Soil requirement | Sandy-loamy soil of PH 6-7 | Loamy-clayey soil. |
| Method of propagation | By seeds | By seeds |
| Planting date | Early maize – March/April Late maize – July/August | South – April/May, North – August/ September. |
| Planting | It can be done manually using cutlass or mechanically by planter at 2-3 seeds per hole. | Planting can be done by broadcasting, sowing or drilling. |
| Seed rate | 20-30kg per hectare of land | 65kg per hectare at 2-3 seeds per hole. |
| Spacing | 80cm between row and 30cmwithin row | 25-30cm apart depending on varieties. |
| Cultural practices | Supplying, thinning, weeding fertilizer application, control of pests and diseases. | Supplying, thinning, weeding fertilizer application, control of pests and diseases. |
| Maturity period | 90-120 days after planting depending on varieties. | 4-7 months depending on varieties. |
| Harvesting | Harvesting can be done manually with hand or using a hand sickle and mechanically using a combined harvester. | Red heads of rice are harvested with knife, sickle or combined harvester. |
| Processing | It can be eaten either boiled or roasted or processed into corn flour or corn flakes. | Sun drying, threshing, winnowing, per boiling, hulling and polishing. |
| Uses | It is consumed by man and farm animals and as a raw material in brewery industries | It is consumed by man and farm animals. |
| Storage | Dried cobs are stored in cribs, rhombus or in a fire place, grains stored in a silo. | Processed form in silos or jute bags. |
EVALUATION
- Mention the nutritional value of the following class of crops A. cereals B. legumes
- vegetables D. spices E. beverage crops
- Discuss the cultivation of a named cereal under the following subheadings A. soil and climatic requirement B. cultural practices C. planting date, materials and planting
- maturity period (e) harvesting
CULTIVATION OF LEGUMES
| COWPEA (Vignaunguiculata) | GROUNDNUT (Arachishypogea) | |
| Description | Cowpea is a member of the pulses or legumes. It belongs to the family leguminoseae. It is rich in protein. The fruit of cowpea is called Pod.
|
Groundnut is a dual purpose crop. It serves as oil crop as well as a pulse or leguminous crop. However, it is grown mainly for its oil. The seed gives about 40-45% of excellent edible oil. |
| Varieties / cultivar | Erect type, creeping type, Ife brown, Ife bimpe | Bunch or erect type, creeping type, Kano local, Kano 50, castle cary. |
| Land preparation | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. |
| Climatic requirement | Temperature of 27o-35oC, Rainfall of 60-125cm per annum. | Temperature of 25o-30oC, Rainfall of 70-100cm per annum. |
| Soil requirement | Well drained sandy loamy soil | Coarse textured sandy loamy soil which is slightly acidic and rich in calcium and phosphorus for pod formation. |
| Method of propagation | By seeds | By seeds |
| Planting date | April to September depending on the ecological zone. | South – March / April North – May / June |
| Planting | Planting can be done manually or mechanically at 2-3 seeds per hole. | Planting can be done manually or mechanically at 2-3 seeds per hole. |
| Seed rate | 20 – 25kg per hectare. | 30 – 35kg per hectare. |
| Spacing | Erect type – 30 x 75cm, Creeping type – 25 x 90cm | Erect type – 60 x 15cm Creeping type – 60 x 20cm |
| Cultural practices | Supplying, thinning, weeding fertilizer application, control of pests and diseases. | Supplying, thinning, weeding and control of pests and diseases. Groundnut does not need fertilizer application except on a very poor soil. |
| Maturity period | 9 – 12 weeks after planting depending on varieties. | 3 – 4 months after planting. |
| Harvesting | Hand picking of matured brown pods. | It is ready for harvest when the leaves turn yellow and begin to wilt. It is done by uprooting the plant manually or mechanically and allowing to dry for easy removal of pods. |
| Processing | Sun drying, threshing and winnowing. | Sun drying, removal of seeds from the pods by slightly pounding in mortar or using a decorticating or shelling machine. |
| Uses | A source of plant protein for man
It serves as a cover crop It serves as forage legumes It is used for making green manure. |
For making oil
For making cake to feed man and farm animals For making groundnut butter. |
| Storage | Seeds are stored in jute bags silos or air tight container after proper drying. Seeds should be treated with insecticide and the store fumigated to prevent weevils attack. | Dried groundnut seeds are stored in silos or rhombus. Unshelled pods are stored in jute bags. |
EVALUATION
- Mention the pre-planting operations in cowpea cultivation
- Mention three uses each of a) groundnut b) cowpea
- Outline five importance of legumes
CULTIVATION OF ROOTS AND TUBERS
| YAM (Dioscoreaspp) | CASSAVA (Manihotspp) | |
| Description | Yam belongs to the family Dioscoreacea. It is a root and tuber crop grown in West Africa and it is rich in carbohydrates. | Cassava is a root and tuber crop, rich in carbohydrate. It is easily cultivated and can grow in relatively poor soil. |
| Varieties / cultivar | Water yam (Dioscoreaalata)
Yellow yam (Dioscoreacayenesis) White yam (Dioscorearotundata) Bitter yam (Dioscoreadomentorum Aerial yam (Dioscoreabulbifera) |
Sweet cassava (Manihotutilissima)
Bitter cassava (Manihotpalmata) |
| Land preparation | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. | Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically. |
| Climatic requirement | Temperature of 25o – 30oC, Rainfall of 100cm – 180cm per annum. | Temperature of 21o – 35oC, Rainfall of 150 – 200cm per annum. |
| Soil requirement | A well-drained sandy-loamy soil, rich in humus. | Dried loamy soil. It can also tolerate poor soil. |
| Method of propagation | By yam seeds or yam sets. | By stem cuttings (25 – 30cm long). |
| Planting date | Early yam – November / December Late yam – March / April | March to September depending on ecological zone. |
| Planting | Open a hole on the ridge using a hoe and place one yam sett inside with the cut surface turned upward and slantly placed at an angle of 45o | 2/3 0f the stem cuttings are buried in slanting position or at an angle of 45o. |
| Seed rate | 3 – 5 tonnes per hectare | |
| Spacing | 90cm x 100cm | 100cm x 100cm. |
| Cultural practices | Mulching, weeding, application of fertilizers, staking, training of vine. | Weeding and fertilizer application. |
| Maturity period | 8 – 12 months depending on variety. | 10 – 15 months depending on varieties. |
| Harvesting | This is done by digging the soil gently with a cutlass to remove the tuber from the soil. | This is done by digging the soil gently around the tubers and pulling the stem gently so that the tubers are pulled along or use cassava puller. |
| Processing | It can be processed into yam flour. | It can be processed into cassava flour, garri or foofoo. |
| Uses | It is consumed by man and farm animals. | It is consumed by man and farm animals. |
| Storage | Yam tubers are store in barns. | Cassava is stored in processed form in sacs. |
EVALUATION
- List three cultivars of yam and their botanical names.
- Name the soil and climatic requirement, planting material, maturity period and planting date in cassava cultivation
GENERAL EVALUATION
- Discuss the cultivation of yam under the following subheadings A. method of propagation B. planting date and planting C. harvesting D. soil and climatic requirement
- Discuss the production of a named legume under A. varieties B. soil and climatic requirement C. method of propagation D. planting (e) harvesting
- State four uses of groundnut.
- Discuss the cultural practices in yam cultivation.
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
- Legumes that produce edible seeds are called A. pulses B. spices C. grains D. cereals
- The following are cultural practices of yam cultivation except A. thinning B. staking
- mulching D. weeding
- The following are importance of mulching in yam cultivation except A. reduce soil temperature B. conserve soil moisture C. prevent pests attack D. prevent yam rot
- Cowpea processing involves the following except A. threshing B. sun drying C. per boiling D. winnowing
- Rice processing include the following except A. threshing B. winnowing C. fermentation D. per boiling
THEORY
- Discuss the following practices in yam cultivation A. staking B. mulching C. training of vine
- Outline four importance of legumes.
See also
POST – PLANTING OPERATIONS
PLANTING OPERATIONS – DISTANCE, DATE, SEED RATE, NURSERY AND NURSERY PRACTICE
CULTURAL PRACTICES
PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF CROP PESTS
PESTS OF CROPS | MEANING, TYPES, CLASSIFICATION, IMPORTANT