LO3:

Production Practices

Crop Sci 2
PRACTICES OF CROP SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
WENDELL L. ULTRA, MSc., L.Agr.
Instructor III
(For instructional and educational purposes only. No copyright
infringement intended. Republic Act No. 8293 Sec. 185.1)
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• General Rules
1. Farm Location
• The location of your farming is important. It’s
best to choose the right one for your ideal
growth of crops.
• Avoid choosing a random location without
knowing the considerations you must look for
in selecting an appropriate place for planting.

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• General Rules (cont.)
2. Good Amount of Sunlight
• Your crops should gain sunlight for 6
hours.
• Don’t pick a location with many trees or
other shades that will hinder your plants
from getting the sunlight they need.

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• General Rules (cont.)
3. Pick A Stable Drainage Site
• In choosing a location for land preparation,
don’t forget to spot a location with a stable
drainage site to ensure well-drained soil for
ideal crop growth.
• This prevents water from pooling when rain
occurs.
Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• General Rules (cont.)
4. Avoid Root System
• During land preparation, a tree’s root system
can create issues for farmers.
• If you have enough space for farming, try to
grow your crop 10-20 feet away from a tree.
• However, if you have chosen a small space
then you might want to check the roots by
digging the land first.
Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Conventional
1. Plowing to “till” or dig-
up, mix, and overturn
the soil;
2. Harrowing to break the
soil clods into smaller
mass and incorporate
plant residue, and
3. Leveling the field.
Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Disadvantages of Conventional Land Preparation
1. Frequent disturbance of soil microorganisms.
2. Rapid soil moisture loss.
3. Destroy soil biodiversity.
4. Requires more energy.

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Improved agricultural practices for tillage
1. Conservation tillage: A form of tillage that does not
remove all the weeds in the area. Especially the
types of weeds that are doesn’t pose harm in the
main crops.

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Improved agricultural practices for tillage (cont.)
2. Conservation buffers: strips of
vegetation placed in the landscape
to influence ecological processes
and provide a variety of goods and
services to us.
• They are called by many names,
including wildlife corridors,
greenways, windbreaks, and filter
strips to name just a few

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Improved agricultural practices for tillage (cont.)

3. Cover crops: use of plant

residue to contribute in carbon
cycle to be used later by the
soil

Production Practices
 Land preparation for annual and perennial crops
• Improved agricultural practices for tillage (cont.)

4. Crop rotations: contribute to

soil microflora and microfauna
biodiversity. Therefore, reducing
the negative impacts of
conventional tillage practices.

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation
1. Market demand –
this is to ensure the
market of the crop to
be grown. This would
indicate that such
crop are produced
because of the needs
of demands of the
consumers.

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
2. Suitability of the area
for growing – this is
necessary for the crops
to grow and develop into
quality marketable crops.

Coffee has two popular varieties produced worldwide.

Robusta and Arabica. Robusta is grown in hot climate
and is drought tolerant, however, Arabica is grown in
Production Practices highlands and cooler climates and more expensive.
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
3. Yield quantity and quality – yield quantity and quality
indicate sure profit if the enterprise if for
market/business

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
4. Tolerance to environmental stresses –
tolerance to environmental stresses is one
important consideration because if species or
varieties are susceptible or cannot tolerate
stresses, yield will be greatly affected. Yield will
be low.

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
5. Other traits unique
to species/variety –
this refers to
characteristics of
plants that are rare or
which makes it novel
or special.

Glass Gem Corn

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
6. Farmer’s preference – this is in consideration of the
interest of the farmer on what crop to raise. This means
that he has the choice of what variety to grow.

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
Types of planting materials
1. Seeds – a planting material used in all grain and
legume crops. Formed through sexual reproduction
and meiosis.

Production Practices
 Planting material selection and preparation (cont.)
Types of planting materials
2. Vegetative – any planting material except for the
seeds. This involves specialized organs produced by
the plants that possesses an ability to regenerate
new tissues.
1. Stem cuttings – sugarcane, kamote, cassava
2. Tubers – potato
3. Bulb – spring onions, garlic
4. Corm – taro, banana, abaca
5. Rhizomes - ginger
Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting
1. Direct-seeding – method of planting seeds directly in
the garden plot (e.g. cucumber, sitao, melon, beans,
watermelon, carrot, squash, okra)

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Advantages of Direct-seeding
1. It requires less labor. You do not
have to prepare a nursery, care for it,
and pull the seedlings.
2.Direct-seeds plants mature 7 to 10
days earlier than transplanted plant
such as rice.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Disadvantages of Direct-seeding
1. In direct-seeding, the seeds are exposed
to birds, rats, and snails.
2.There is greater crop-weed competition
because of similarities especially in grasses.
3. Plants tend to lodge more because there
is less root anchorage.
4. More seeds are required because of
limitation in germination success.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
2. Indirect Method – indirect
seeding is planting in a starter
containers such as pots,
seedboxes, seedbeds, and trays.
• Once the seedlings hardened
enough to encounter stress, it
should be transplanted to the
permanent planting location.
Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Advantages of Indirect Method
1. Indirect seeding gives you greater control over growing
conditions such as protecting the soil from pests or
allowing the seeds to germinate in a protected
environment like a greenhouse.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Advantages of Indirect Method
2. The success rate for indirect seeding is higher than
direct seeding, and will therefore yield a greater crop.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Disadvantages of Indirect Method
1. Indirect seeding can potentially lead to greater expenses
due to the cost of materials such as seedling trays, or
possibly even maintaining a greenhouse.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Disadvantages of Indirect Method
2. Indirect seeding also requires additional preparation in
order to make sure that your seedlings are ready for
transplantation during the correct growing season.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Types of planting (cont.)
Disadvantages of Indirect Method
3. Additionally, the young plants are at risk of transplant
shock when you transplant them into a new, less-
controlled environment.

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Example of seeds that are recommended for indirect
seeding:
• Small seeds
• Plants that need extra care during their seedling stage
• Tomato, eggplant, mustard, pechay, pepper

Production Practices
 Planting methods
Steps to follow in transplanting seedlings:
1. Water the seedlings before pulling.
2. Pull the seedlings carefully without shaking off the media from
the roots.
3. Plant the seedlings immediately to prevent the roots from drying
out.
4. Gently press the soil around the roots.
5. Water the seedlings at the soil surface with a gentle stream of
water to settle the soil around the roots.

Production Practices
 Activity
Identify the plant and the efficient method of planting for the
said crop whether it is Direct of Indirect.

1. Rice 2. Okra 3. Patola

Production Practices
 Activity (cont.)
Identify the plant and the efficient method of planting for the
said crop whether it is Direct of Indirect.

4. Tomato 5. Watermelon 6. Chili pepper

Production Practices
 Activity (cont.)
Identify the plant and the efficient method of planting for the
said crop whether it is Direct of Indirect.

7. String beans 8. Eggplant

9. Corn

Production Practices 10. Pechay

 Water supply and management
Sources of water in Philippine Agriculture and Irrigation
practices
• Inland freshwater (rivers, lakes, and groundwater)
• 50% National Irrigation System (NIS), 36% Communal
Irrigation System from the government, and
• 14% from small groups of farmers through Private
Irrigation System (PIS)

Production Practices
 Water supply and management
Environmental effects of irrigation
• Soil can be over-irrigated due to poor distribution
uniformity or management wastes water, chemicals, and
may lead to water pollution.
• Over-irrigation can cause deep drainage from rising
water tables that can lead to problems of irrigation
salinity requiring watertable control by some form of
subsurface land drainage.

Production Practices
 Water supply and management
Farmland Water Collection
• Agricultural rainwater
collection systems is collecting
rainwater during rainfalls
which once its collected, it is
treated and stored for re-use.
• Rainwater harvesting has
agriculture for livestock, arable
farmers and irrigation.
Production Practices
 Soil Nutrient Management
• Plant nutrients are all around us; in the air (N), water, and
in the soil, as well as in many other natural materials.
• Due to specific soil properties and often its poor
condition, the soil can’t always provide enough nutrients
for plant growth. Because of this, farmers need to add
additionally crop nutrients to the soil.

Production Practices
 Soil Nutrient Management (cont.)
• There are various sources of plant nutrients. They can be
in the form of an organic source, such as plant debris,
green manure, compost, waste, or manure or an artificial
source, such as chemical fertilizers.
• Although each type of fertilizer has their benefits they
also have drawbacks as well. However, they play a key
role in crop production and the increasing of productivity.
For this reason, the correct balance of nutrients is crucial.

Production Practices
 Soil Nutrient Management (cont.)

Production Practices
 Soil Nutrient Management (cont.)
Environmental effects of various
nutrients sources
• Excess nutrients can cause harmful
algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater
systems, which not only disrupt wildlife
but can also produce toxins harmful to
humans.
• Fertilized soils, as well as livestock
operations, are also vulnerable to
nutrient losses to the air.
Production Practices
 Soil Nutrient Management (cont.)
Integrated Nutrient Cycling – usually is based on
carbon cycling

Production Practices
 Pest Management
Forms of Pesticides
• Antimicrobial – control germs and microbes such as bacteria and
viruses
• Acaricides – against mites
• Insecticides – against insects
• Herbicides – against plants
• Fungicides – against fungi
• Rodenticides – against rodents
• Molluscicides – against mollusks
• ..and so much more
Production Practices
 Pest Management
Alternatives to Pesticides
1. Cultural Control – modification of the ecology of the crop
• Crop rotation • Proper plant spacing and density
• Trap cropping • Sanitation and clean culture
• Antagonistic plants • Burning/burying deep
• Use of healthy planting materials • Mulch, protected cropping
• Habitat diversification • Synchronous planting
• Selection of planting site and date
• Planting and harvesting date
manipulation
• Crop nutrient management
Production Practices
 Pest Management
Alternatives to Pesticides (cont.)
2. Biological Control – the use of living organisms as natural
enemies to control pests
• Natural biological control – reduction in an organisms
density due to natural enemies that occur without man’s
intervention (e.g. parasite, parasitoids, predators, and
pathogens)
• Applied biological control – method that relies on natural
enemies to reduce pest population to tolerable level and
involve natural enemy manipulation by man.

Production Practices
 Pest Management
Alternatives to Pesticides (cont.)
3. Genetic Manipulation – process where the gene for a
particular character is introduced inside the chromosome of a
cell producing what is called a transgenic plant or
genetically modified organism (GMO)

Production Practices
 Specialized management practices
• Windbreaks – perennial plants planted at borders
used to protect your main field

Production Practices
 Specialized management practices

• Shelter belts – a form

of windbreak with
varying levels of height

Production Practices
 Specialized management practices
• Physical control of growth and development
o The use of various physical means of manipulating
crop growth and development such as
electromagnetic waves, optical emission,
ultrasound, and ionizing radiation.
o Even certain sound and acoustic frequencies can
affect plant growth and development (Chowdhury
and Gupta, 2015).

Production Practices
 Specialized production systems
• Landscape agriculture –
provides aesthetic appeal to
the area using plants with a
variety of compatible or
contrasting colors, and
other elements involved.
• Landscape agriculture
could be both edible and
ornamental.

Production Practices
 Specialized production systems

• Ornamental
agriculture – crops
that are propagated
to provide aesthetic Moon cactus
appeal to homes (Gymnocalycium
mihanovichii)
and landscapes.

Garden Croton
(Croton variegatum L.)
Production Practices
 Specialized production systems

• Plantation – perennial
crops that are grown
on a large scale by an
individual or a
company (e.g. coffee,
cacao, palm oil).

Cacao plantation
Production Practices (Theobroma cacao L.)
 Harvesting and postproduction technology

• Integration of AI
and robot – can
detect colors and
size of fruits that are
suitable for
harvesting.

Production Practices
Production Practices
 Harvesting and postproduction technology
• The Thai way of harvesting and postproduction of coconuts

Production Practices
 Harvesting and postproduction technology
• Food processing involves:

Production Practices
 Farming systems
• Monocropping – farming of only one crop all year
round.

Production Practices
 Farming systems (cont.)

• Multi-storey
system – process
of cultivation of
more than two
crops at once on
the same plot of
land with varying
heights.

Production Practices
 Farming systems (cont.)

• Diversified and integrated system – biodiversity in an

area and incorporating other synergistic components.

Production Practices
 Farming systems (cont.)

• LEISA (Low External Input

Sustainable Agriculture) – an
approach to sustainable
agriculture that emphasizes the
use of local resources and
knowledge to minimize external
inputs such as fertilizers,
pesticides, and energy.

India maximizing water resources. Excess

Production Practices collection in drainage canals to be used again
 Farming systems (cont.)
• LEISA involves:
1. Organic farming – a technique of crop production that relies on the use
of natural fertilizers and pest control methods.
2. Agroforestry – a practice integrating trees into agricultural systems, or
growing crops under trees.
3. Crop rotation – alternating the crops in a particular field
4. Integrated pest management (IPM) – use of range of pest control
methods.
5. Conservation tillage – reducing the amount of tillage used in crop
production
6. Livestock integration – integrating animal such as livestock into crop
production
7. Water management – rainwater harvesting and irrigation management.
Production Practices