Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests

SELECTION OF SEEDS: Farmers have improved crops by selecting only the best seeds for planting.

HYBRID SEEDS: Scientists have developed seeds which can be grown into high quality Crops by artificial cross-pollination. Such seeds are called Hybrid seeds. Seeds of hybrid plants will not produce the same quality plants and therefore should not be planted.

HOW TO GROW SEEDLINGS: Seeds need moisture, warmth and air in order to germinate.

ACTIVITIES 13a

  1. a) PREPARE YOUR SEED-BED: Dig and make a Level bed of about 1 metre wide. Raise the sides to about 10cm to prevent water from running off. Add plenty of humus and manure. Break the lumps with a hoe and remove stones and weeds using a rake to form a Fine soild surface.
  2. b) SOW YOUR SEEDS: in straight and close rows, as thinly as possible. Cover them with fine soil and moist the soil.
  3. c) Protect your seed bed. Cover the seedbed with clear cut dry grass. This will help

(1) to protect the young seedlings from heavy rain.

(2) to protect them from the heat of the day, and

(3) to conserve the moisture in the soil.

TRANSPLANTING: is the transfer of seedlings from the seedbed, to a new bed where they will grow into mature vegetables.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

  1. a) Water the seedbed and the bed to be planted well, a few hours before transplanting.
  2. b) Late afternoon of dull days are the best times to do transplanting.
  3. c) Protect the transplanted plants from the bot sun by providing a stable shade for a few days.

ADVANTAGES OF TRANSPLANTING

  1. a) it creates space for manuring, weeding, etc.
  2. b) it helps the plant to receive more light, water, air and food.

PLANTS WHICH ARE TRANSPLANTED ARE cabbage lettuce, rape, tomatoes, choumolea, eggplant, etc.

PLANTS WHICH ARE NOT TRANSPLANTED are carrots, turnips, peas radishes.

beetroot, Okra, beans, etc

THINNING: Taking out the poorest plants from a corded bed is called thinning. This should be done with great care so 25 not to damage the roots of the plants remaining in the bed.

ADVANTAGE: Thinning creates space and prevents competition for the water and nutrients.

PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE THINNING: Most of the plants which are transplanted should be thinned out.

EXAMPLES: Carrot, turnips, beetroot radish, spinach, etc.

  1. PRUNING: Cutting down of unwanted branches or buds to prove the growth of the tree is called pruning.

WHERE TO PRUNE: A branch should be pruned above or outside bud.

WHEN TO PRUNE: The best time for pruning is hot dry months.

ADVANTAGES OF PRUNING – It encourages more flowers and fruits of

large size and better quality.

It helps the plant to receive more light by removing the dead or diseased branches

It helps the plant to grow into good shape and size.

WHICH PLANTS ARE PRUNED?

Citrus trees, vines, roses and crops like tea and coffee.

 

GRAFTING: Is an artificial vegetative propagation in which a graft is used to propagate a plant which has good qualities but is difficult to grow because it does not have a strong root system.

HOW TO GRAFT

(a) Stem grafting A small branch of the tree to be grown is inserted into healthy well rooted plant of the same family as shown below.

  1. b) Bud Grafting (Budding): The bud, together with a small bark of the tree to be grown is grafted on the seedlings of trees of the same family as shown below. The bud develops into a plant.

SECTION II

  1. PEST, PREDATORS AND WEEDS
  2. PESTS: A pest is an animal which causes destruction to crops, livestock or farm buildings. Pests consists of insects, birds, mammals and soil organisms.

PESTICIDES: are chemicals that are used to control pests. They are poisonous and so must be used with great care.

SOME PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL AFFECT PEST DAMAGE CAUSED CONTROL

A CROPS- pesticides 1. Ants & Termites 2. Grasshopper /LocustĀ  3. Cut worm – Pesticide called DDT pesticide called DDT Roots of plants are caten. Eats leaves of many crops Cut seedlings of maize/tobacco Eats roots of potatoes, tobacco Suck leaves of many plants

  1. Earth worm Pesticides 5. Aphids (greenfly) pesticides B GRAINS
  2. Weevils
  3. Rats

Get inside grains and mealie-teal, eat and spoil stored food Spray on bags traps, poison, cat.

  1. Ticks Dipping or spraying

C LIVESTOCK

  1. Round worm Suck blood of cattle and spread diseases Affect the intestine of pigs and cattle Suck blood of pigs and cattle Dosing animals with drugs, Dusting with DDT
  2. Lice

D FARM

  1. Cockroach
  2. Ants & Termites

Eat food & fabric Eat wood and destroy buildings & fences Spraying Insecticides tree

  1. Mosquitoes Spread malaria
  2. Tsetse fly
  3. Bilharzia worm Sleeping sickness Causes bilharzia Control of breeding spraying

Spraying Destroying water snail

  1. PREDATORS: An animal that live by eating other animals is called a predator.

Example: Lion, eagle, frog, spider, vulture Prey: An animal which is eaten by a predator is called prey.

Example: Rat is a prey of owl.

HOW ANIMALS TRY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM PREDATORS

  1. a) By Camouflaget or by having colours which make it difficult for the predator to see its prey against the surroundings.

Example: Giraffe, Kudu, Chameleon, fish Chameleon It can change its colour to fit in with the surroundings.

  1. b) By having special shapes — Example stick insect.
  2. c) By having sharp pines – porcupine
  3. d) By having shelf in which to hide – snail, tortoise
  4. e) By giving out strong smell — some insects.

 

By having poisonous stings or bites-bees, snakes. Useful Predators: One of the best ways of controlling pests is to make use of predators, Example I. Owls and cats be used to kill rats and mice.

  1. Ladybird can be used to destroy “Aphids”.

HOW PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES

Many plants have thorns or unpleasant tasting or strong smelling leaves to protect themselves from being eaten by animals.

Example: Citrus trees.

  1. PARASITES: A parasite is a living thing that lives on or within another living thing

(host) from which it obtains food. There are parasites among both plants and animals.

SOME PARASITES

  1. Worms, hookworm, roundworm and tapeworm.
  2. Flea, lice, bilharzia fluke etc.
  3. Microbes like fungi and bactria.
  4. WEEDS: Weeds are plants which are growing where they are not wanted.

HOW WEEDS AFFECT ACROP

  1. Weeds take in nutrients which we give to the crop.
  2. Weeds take in water needed by the crop.

Taft weeds produce shades and reduce photosynthesis in crop.

  1. Weeds encourage the growth of insect pests by supplying them with food. When weeds compete with a crop, they slow down the growth of the crop and reduce their yield.

HOW WEEDS ARE CONTROLLED

  1. By removing weeds by hand or by hocking or slashing not affect the crop.
  2. By using weed killers: Weed killers are chemicals which kill only weeds but do

EXERCISE

What do you understand by the following words?

  1. Weeds

2.Hybrid seeds

  1. Parasites
  2. Pruning
  3. Predator
  4. Budding
  5. Fill in the blanks:
  6. A pesticide is a chemical used to
  7. The method I can use to grow orange tree using a lemon seedling is
  8. Owls feed on rat and mice. Therefore, owl is a of rat and rat is a of owl.

Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests

III Give reasons for the following:

  1. Some crops like carrots should be thinned.
  2. The best time of transplanting vegetable seedlings is late evening.
  3. Weed is important to grow good crops.
  4. Snails and tortoises have strong shell coverings over their body.
  5. Chameleon change their colour to suit their surroundings. Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests, Farming Lima, Agriculture and Pests.

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