WEEK 3 and 4 TOPIC: CULTURAL PRACTICES.

WEEK 3 TOPIC : PRE - PLANTING AND PLANTING OPERATION ACTIVITIES.

Meaning : Cultural Practices refres to those activities that are carried out in the farm before,

during and after planting. Or Activities carried out on the farm from the beginning of the farming

season to the end.

Cultural Practices can be divided namely into three namely : pre planting oparation activities,

planting operations activities and post-planting operation activities.

1. PRE-PLANTING OPERATION ACTIVITIES.

Meaning : Pre - planting operation activities refers to the activities carried out on the farm

before planting. OR The activities carried out to prepare and make the land ready or suitable

for planting of crops. They are otherwise known as land preparation activities. They include:

a). Choice of site: This involves the selection of land to be used for cultivation . In Selecting

land factors such as soil type (fertility), topography,accessibility, nearness to market, the size

of land etc. should be considered.

b). Clearing of site: This involves removing the existing vegetation from the site and is

sometimes followed by burning of the cut down materials.

c). Stumping: This refers to the removal of underground parts of trees and shrubs called

stumps. It can be done mannually using cutlas. or mechanically using a stumper root cutter.

d) Farm Layout (Plotting): This refers to the making out and dividing of a new farm into

rectangular plots or sections. It is usually carried out using the 3-4-5 triangular method with farm tool
such as measuring tape, peg and ranging pole .

e). Ploughing (Tillage): This refers to the breaking up of soil surface to lossen it. It can be done manually
using mattock, spade or garden fork or mechanically using primary soil tillage implement called plough .

Advantages (Importance) of Ploughing

I) Ploughing makes root penetration into the soil easier.

II). It loosens the soil and allows water and air to reach plant roots.
III) Tillage ensures proper mixture of soil nutrient

IV). It helps to bury weeds.

f). Harrowing:. This refers to the breaking of big lumps of soil (clods) into smaller particles This is
done to obtain a fine tilth and make the soil ready for planting . Harrowing can be done manually using
garden fork or mechanically using harrow.

g). Ridging (seed bed preparation): - This is the digging of ploughed land into long continuous heap in
preparation for planting .It is done manually using hoe, spade, shovel or mechanically using a ridger. In
a sloppy land, ridges are constructed or made across the slope of the land to prevent erosion.

EVALUATION QUESTIONS.

Q1. Define a). Cultural practice b). pre-planting oparatio activities.

2. Classify Cultural practices.

3. Explain the following pre-planting operation activities. a) choice of site b) Clearing.

c). ploughing.

Planting Operation Activities :. This refers to those activities carried out on the farm during planting
ie. those activities that are associated with planting. These activities are:

1. Planting Date: This refers to a period of year at which a particular crop is. Crops are planted at
different times of the year due to climatic factors such as rainfall which is the most important
determinant of planting date.

2. Planting material (method of Propagation) : Some crops are propagated using seeds while some are
propagated using vegetative parts such as : stem cutting, stem tuber, sucker, corm etc

3. Seed Rate : This refers to the amount or quantity of planting materials required to plant in one
hectare of land (10000m2). It is usually referred to as plant population and is expressed in kg/hectare.

d). Planting Distance(spacing): This refers to the Space / distance given between one stand

of crop and another along and between rows.

Planting Depth :- this refers to the measure of the depth of the holes in which planting materials are
placed.

NURSERY PRACTICES : A nursery is a place where seedings are raised and tendered before being
transplanted to the permanent site or place.

The seeds are usually sown by drilling or broadcasting in the nursery.

Nursery practices include : watering, shading, weeding and pest control.

WEEK 4 TOPIC : POST-PLANTING OPERATION ACTIVITIES.

Definition: Post-planting operation activities refers to those activities that are carried out on the farm
after planting of crops. They are otherwise referred to as cultural practices and include

the following:

1) MULCHING : This refers to the act of covering the surface of soil with mulch materials (usually dry
grass). Mulching helps to conserve soil moisture by preventing evaporation. It also prevents erosion,
suppresses weed growth and add nutrient to the soil when the materials decay.

2. THINNING: This refers to the reduction in the number or removal of excess seedlings per stand.
Thinning helps to prevent overcrowding and competition for soil nutrients.

3. SUPPLYING : This is the act of replanting seeds to fill up empty spaces after the first one failed to
germinate due to loss of viability or pest attack.

4. WEEDING: This refers to the removal of unwanted plants in the farm. Weeding prevents
competition and makes nutrient available thus leading to increase in crop yield

5. WATERING : This refers the art of supplying water to crops (mostly vegetables) especially during dry
season.

6. FERTILIZER APPLICATION : This refers to the addition of fertilizer to the soil, this helps to increase the
level of nutrient in the soil. Fertilizer can be in form of inorganic compound such as NPK and urea or
organic compound eg. compost manure.

7. STAKING: This is the practice of providing support to training and weak stem or Vine of some crops
eg. yam. Staking helps to expose the leaves to for photosynthesis, prevents destruction of stem and
also increase yield. Examples of crops that need staking are yam, tomato, cowpeas and pumpkin.

8 • PRUNING : This refers to the removal of dead and excess branches of perennial tree crops Pruning
promotes fruiting and also allows space for other cultural practices.

HARVESTING AND PROCESSING OF FARM PRODUCE :

1. HARVESTING: This refers to the gathering of mature crops from the field for consumption, storage
or sale. It can be done manually using hands, simple harvesting tools or mechanically using harvester or
combined harvester.
Methods of harvesting : Methods of harvesting crops include the following :

a) plucking/picking of useful parts example in maize, cowpea, tomato, pepper, cotton bolls etc.

b) Uprooting as in cassava, yam, potato, onion, groundnut e. t .c

PROCESSING: Processing involves changing the original form of farm produce before consumption or
sale. It is usually carried out to change the produce into a clean and marketable form, meet consumer's
taste, upgrade the value of the produce and keep it in a form that can store well for a longer period.

Terminologies Associated with Processing of Crops

1. Threshing : -the act of separating the grains eg rice, millet from the rest of the plant stalk by beating
using hand tool or machine.

2. Dehusking : - the act of removing the dry outer covering from grains, seeds or nuts.

3. Shelling :- act of removing grains eg maize from the cob or groundnut seeds from the shell.

4. Winnowing :- the act of separating grains from the chaff using air velocity.

Crops and Methods of Processing

a). rice ---- drying, threshing,parboling, milling, winnowing and polishing.

b). maize ----- drying ,dehuskiing, shelling and winnowing.

c). groundnut ----- drying and shelling

d). cowpea ----- drying and shelling.

e). cassava ----- fermentation.

f). cocoa ---- fermentation and drying

g). cotton ---- ginning

h). tobacco ---- currying.

i). rubber ----- coagulation.

j). bambara nut ---- shelling and winnowing.

EVALUATION QUESTIONS :

Q1. Define nursery and name three types of nursery.88

Q2. Name four pre - planting operation activites.

4. Name one crop that can be processed using the following methods: shelling, threshing,

ginning, fermentation and dehusking.