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Lecture Notes-APT 113 Introduction To Agriculture
Lecture Notes-APT 113 Introduction To Agriculture
Definition of Agriculture:
A crop is a plant which is grown for a number of purposes. For example, food
for humans, feeding of animals or animal folder e.g (alfafa), for fuel e.g
eucalyptus plant.
History of Agriculture
The practice of agriculture first began around 800 BC in the fertile crescent of
Mesopotamia (part of present day Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan) which was
then greener. These were the sites of the earliest plant sowing and harvesting of
plants previously gathered in the wild. Agriculture was developed independently
in Northern and Southern China with rice as the main crop. Chinese and
Indonesian farmers domesticated taro and beans.
By 7000BC, farming was entrenched on the bangs of the river Nile in Egypt and
the Indian sub-continent saw farming of wheat and barley. By 5000BC, the
Somalians had developed co-agricultural techniques including large scale
intensive cultivation of land monocropping and irrigation. Maize and cassava
were domesticated in the Americas i.e, North and South America. Potato,
tomato, pepper and several varieties of beans were developed in the New World
(North and South America). Cocoa was domesticated in Mexico and Central
America.
Livestock Agriculture
The first domesticated animal was the sheep which was tamed around 9000BC
in North Iraq. Around 6500 BC, domesticated goats were kept in the same
region. At about 6000 BC, the pig was domesticated in Iraq. By 5900 BC, there
were domesticated cattle in Chad while independently at about 5500 BC, there
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were domesticated cattle in South West Iran. In about 3500 BC, the horse was
domesticated on the Eurasian steppes (a mountain area between Europe and
Asia). Domestication of livestock ushered in the large scale use of animals for
food, fibre and labour etc.
During this period, farmers of North Africa, Middle East and Europe began
making use of agricultural techniques like irrigation, dams, reservoirs. These
combined with the invention of crop rotation and ploughing of fields greatly
improved agricultural efficiency.
Modern Era
After 1492, a global exchange of previously used local crops and livestock
breeds occurred between the New world (North and South America) and the Old
world (Europe, Africa and Asia). Key crops in this exchange included;
- From the New to the Old world: tomato, maize, potato, cassava, cocoa,
beans and tobacco.
- From the Old to the New world: wheat, spices, coffee, sugarcane.
Potato became and has remained an important staple crop in Northern Europe.
Maize and cassava introduced by the Portuguese (in the 16th Century) has
replaced traditional African crops as the continent’s most important food crops.
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Crop Types
Fruits: grapes, mangoes, pear, apple, jackfruit, plums, guava, strawberry. Grape
fruit is different from grapes, but they all belong to the citrons.
Legumes: Soya bean, cow pea, beans, ground nuts, etc. They are nitrogen fixers.
Cash Crops: Banana, Oil palm, Cocoa, Rubber, Tea, Coffee etc
Stimulant crops: Tobacco, Marijuana. N/B: They are not food crops.
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Crop Production Systems
1. Monoculture
2. Intercropping
It is a system where crops are grown on the same land at the same time arranged
in different rows.
3. Mixed Cropping
It is a farming system where several crops are grown on the same piece of land
arranged in any order.
Annual crops are those that are grown for a season; maize, carrot, yams,
cassava, tomato, cabbage, etc. They have a shorter growing period.
Perennial crops are those whose growth period goes more than a year; banana,
cocoa, oil palm, coffee, tea, etc. they have multi years of growth.
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2. Bush Fallowing
In this system, the farmer cultivates after burning and when the farm yields fall,
he abandons the area with the hope of coming back and the forest is left
fallowed.
Definition of Livestock
These are domesticated animals such as; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry
raised for home use or subsistence (but not as pets) or raised also for profits
(commercial purposes). They are raised especially on farms or ranches.
Definition of Poultry
This is the keeping of domesticated birds raised for food (either meat or eggs)
and or feathers and also for profits (for commercial values). They are usually
raised on a poultry farm (chicken, ducks, goose, turkey, quail etc. Bird feathers
are used to produce pillows and stuffing of warm cloths during the winter
seasons since feathers are very good insulators.
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- Land Management: the grazing of livestock is sometimes used as a way to
control weeds and undergrowth e.g, in areas pruned to wild fire, cattle,
sheep and goats are sent to graze on dry scrubs which remove combustible
material and reduces the risk of bush fires.
This relies on plant material such as shrub land (small trees or plants), range
land and pastures (vegetation which is exclusively intended to feed ruminant
animals since they feed on green vegetation).
Outside nutrient inputs maybe used. However, manure is returned directly to the
grassland as a major nutrient source. The grassland-based livestock production
system is the predominantly used system in the tropics.
These system uses grassland, fodder crops, and grain crops as feed for ruminant
and monogastric animals (one stomach such as; chicken, pigs). Livestock
manure is typically recycled as a fertilizer for crops in this system.
c) Landless Systems
These systems rely on feed from outside the farm (found mostly in the western
countries) because of extreme weather conditions.
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from wheat, vegetable oils from legumes crops (soya bean, ground nut,
maize etc), wine from grapes, etc.
- Dairy products: milk from cattle and goats is used as such or processed
into cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, butter etc.
- Cloths: wool from sheep and goats is used to make cloths. Skin from
cows is used in manufacturing leather jackets.
- Shoes, bags etc: skin from cattle is processed and used in the shoes and
leather industries.
- Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals: pear is a natural ingredient for te
cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
In the past few decades, there has been increased concerns over the undesirable
effects of fertilizers and pesticides, not only on the environment but also on
human health e.g., pesticides applied to control pests in a crop may leave
residues on the crops which may be toxic to humans and other forms of animal
life that may feed on the crops.
This concerns have led to a gradual shift away from the use of chemicals in
agriculture to a form of agriculture that produces food and livestock production
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inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock drugs, hormones
and feed additives. This type of agriculture is called organic farming or organic
agriculture.
N/B: the motto of the organic farmer is to produce safe, healthy food and
livestock, and also protect the environment from the undesirable side effects of
chemicals. Supporters of the organic lifestyle believe that food and livestock
produced organically are of higher quality and processes higher nutritional value
compared to food and livestock produced by conventional chemical-based
methods.
Organic Livestock Farming; it excludes the use of drugs and animal hormones to
improve livestock production.
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coffee, organic tea, organic clothing, organic movement (those who fight against
the use of artificial chemicals).
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THE FARM
a) Orchard; It is a farm producing tree fruits or nuts (e.g coco nut, palm
nuts, etc).
b) Vineyard; it produces grapes
c) Dairy farm; it is a farm that is primarily used for the production of milk
and other dairy products (butter, cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, etc).
d) Market Garden; it produces vegetables.
e) Fish farm; it raises fish for food and profit.
f) Tree farm; it grows trees for sale, transplanting, or even for decorative
use.
g) Plantation; it is a large farm or estate on which a cash crop is cultivated
and primarily worked by others usually resident labourers for the gain of
the plantation owners.
h) Estate; it is a large farm or group of farms under the same ownership.
i) Ranch; it is a farm on which livestock are raised on rangeland. A ranch is
usually includes structures such as a ranch house, water points and
generally serves for grazing livestock such as; cattle, goats, sheep, horse,
etc. Ranches are named after the type of livestock raised on the ranch e.g
cattle ranch, i.e, a ranch were several herds of cattle are raised.
Specialized Farms
Types of Farming
CHAPTER TWO
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BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURE
It can be divided into many branches including; agronomy, soil science, plant
protection or plant health management, horticulture, animals science,
agricultural economics, agricultural extension, agricultural engineering, etc.
Agronomists also study how climate affects crop growth and yield. This is
studied under a branch of agronomy called Agroclimatology. Agronomists work
in close collaboration with other specialists in other applied areas such as
Entomology, plant pathology and weed science in order to improve on crop
productivity.
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Examples of crops studied by agronomists include;
This is the study of the soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth
including; soil formation, classification and mapping (soil survey), physical,
chemical, biological, fertility, organic matter.
A healthy plant is one which is able to carry out all its physiological functions
like; growth, nutrition, movement, respiration, reproduction, repairs and
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excretion. Absorption of water and minerals from the soil into the xylem vessels
of the roots. Transport of the water and minerals through the xylem of the stem
to the leaves. Photosynthesis results in the production of sugars. Translocation
of the products of photosynthesis from the leaves through the phloem to all the
plant for metabolic activities including respiration and the synthesis of proteins
and other plant constituents. Repairs of parts of plant tissues and excretion of
waste products.
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4. Horticulture:
5. Animal Science:
It deals with the study of animal growth, breeding to improve the qualities
considered desirable by man including genetics, nutrition, physiology and
reproductive biology of livestock and poultry.
Animals are an important part of our lives. Livestock and poultry provide
dietary protein. Milk and other diary products are obtained from female cattle
and goats. Sheep and goats provide wool. Horses are used for pleasure as well as
sports. Horses and donkeys are used for mechanical energy for ploughing fields
and transportation of goods (beast of burden i.e, an animal which is used for
heavy work). Bird/ poultry feathers and animal skin are used in the manufacture
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of cold weather clothing in the temperate regions of the world. Animal skins are
used in addition to the manufacture of leather bags, shoes, cloths, etc.
6. Agricultural Extension:
7. Agricultural Economics:
This production and consumption are the scopes of the economics of agriculture.
In agricultural sciences, economics occupy a unique place, it complements
agricultural disciplines e.g agronomy, soil science, animal science, crop science,
food science, nutrition, agricultural engineering, entomology, etc as well as to
natural resource disciplines e.g forestry, wildlife, fishery etc. the application of
economic principles and analytical tools e.g fishery economics, veterinary
economics, crop and livestock economics etc facilitate meaningful policy and
investment guidelines.
- Determine and outline those factors which give optimum use of capital,
labour, land, water and management in the production of crops and
livestock.
- Determine the extent to which the current use of resources deviate from
what is considered the optimum use level.
- Analyse the factors which influence production patterns and resource use
in relation to the existing opportunities. Such factors may include;
farmers’ educational level, age, gender, access to credit, extension,
religion, taxes, government policy, and climatic factors.
- Explain the means and methods which agrarian producers can adopt to
move from current levels to optimum levels with the use of farm
resources.
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These sub-disciplines are not to be regarded as mutually exclusive as in actual
fact, they are all independent and mutually re-enforcing.
The figure below presents the flow chart of the components of agribusiness;
Farm Supplies
Farm Production
Storage
Processing
Distribution
Consumers
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The figure depicts that, agribusiness is essentially characterized by many firms
linked together through vertical integration. It further reveals that agribusiness is
a marriage of technology and economics. This is in the sense that, it depends on
the technologies of the various agricultural production disciplines e.g plant
science, entomology, agricultural biochemistry, food science, agricultural
biology, etc and economic tools and theories (e.g agricultural economics,
consumer economics/ behaviour, labour economics, resource economics,
industrial business economics, etc) and other behavioural sciences (e.g political
science, sociology and anthropology, psychology, etc). Hence, agribusiness is an
all embracing multidisciplinary approach to the production problems and
patterns of food and fibre in a given economy.
9. Agricultural Engineering:
- Designing agricultural machinery and improved tools to work the soil and
harvest the crops such as tractors, ploughs, harrows, planters, harvesters,
machines, etc.
- Develop irrigation and drainage systems.
- Designing buildings for raising livestock and structures such as green
houses for growing crops.
10.Agroforestry:
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Agroforestry is an age-old land use system that has been practiced for thousands
of year by farmer all over the world. Although in the last 30 year or more, it a
developed a as science that promise to help farmer increase their productivity,
profitability and sustainability of production. The science of agroforestry lags
behind the arts of existing agroforestry practices.
i.) Agrosilviculture; this involves the planting of tree and arable crop on
the same piece of land. The arrangement of the tree maybe in sequence
or in staggered formation. In this system, there is added productivity
from the tree crop which improves on the farmers’ income and his/ her
livelihood.
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ii.) Taungya; this system is common in areas here there is pressure on land
or here land is scarce. It is normally carried out during the
establishment of plantation, tree crops. The farmer will plant in
between the trees and during weeding his/ her crops, they will also
weed the tree crop e.g rubber plantations. This reduces cost for the
company on weed management. The farmer ill top farming when there
is closure on the canopy.
iii.) Agrosilvipastoral; this system involves the planting of crops, trees, in
pasture. It may also involve only the planting of crops and trees on the
farm land and later animals are moved into the farm land after crop
harvest. The animals will freedom the plant residue and during this
process, they also defecate on the land which aid in improving the
fertility of the land. The presence of the trees also increases the organic
matter level of the land or farm and may also act as shed.
iv.) Silvopastoral; this system involves the planting of specific trees on
pasture land. The animals will graze on the pasture and browse on the
tree and shrub. The tree and shrubs are very useful as sheds for the
animal or livestock and also as fodder plants for the animals. These
plants are also very useful during offseason that I, dry period for
feeding the animals as food supplements.
v.) Silvoepiculture; this is the planting of specific tree that have very good
flower and sweet nectar, used for bee farming. The type of trees you
have on your field will also give you the quality and colour of honey
being produced. Different colours of honey produced can be caused by
the honey bee, harvesting nectar from different plants or trees.
vi.) Alley Cropping/ Hedgerow intercropping; it is the planting of crops in
between alleys or hedgerow. The hedgerows are periodically pruned
and the pruning are put on the alleys as green manure. These pruning
then decomposes and release nutrient for the crop to absorb. The
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pruning also aid as mulching and also reduce light, wheat infestation.
The trees most often are leguminous that nodulate and this aid in
biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). This increases the nitrogen poll in
the soil and crop yield are always very higher than the areas where
there is no hedgerow (control).
vii.) Fodder Bank; this is an agroforestry system where specific trees and
shrubs that are planted in a specific area within the farm when the
species are established and grown, these species are the branches,
twigs or foliage are act from the tree and taken to the livestock to
supplement as food. This system is suitable for intensive livestock
management and it is similar to a cut and carry system of grasses.
viii.) Improve fallow/ Planted fallow; to allow a fallow farm to restore its
fertility it will take about 10- 15 years and in areas here land is scarce,
the farmer will not wait for too long in order to carry out farming. In
order to increase the natural fallow, some specific trees and shrubs
mostly leguminous are planted on the fallow land. This I to increase
the fertility of the land within 3 – 5 years.
The selected legumes should have the following characteristics;
- Fast growth rate
- Produce much foliage
- Produce profuse root nodules in order to carry out nitrogen fixation
- Long tap root systems
- Pest and disease-free in that area
- Easy to eradicate
- Produce large quantity of seeds
- The seeds produced should not become weeds
- Moderate decomposition rate.
ix.) Plantation Crop Combination; this is a practice that involves the
combination of trees and shrubs such as coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber, etc.
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this system is more suitable for cocoa agroforestry in the sense that, in
any establishment of the cocoa seedling, shed plants reduces direct
radiation of cocoa plant. Shed plants reduce direct radiation of sun
light. It is good to use fruit trees or trees that have medicinal value in
order to improve on the farmers’ income.
x.) Silvopisciculture; this is an agroforestry system that involves the
planting of trees around fish pond, streams, or lakes. These trees act as
shed which improves the growth of some species. Fruits from these
trees also act as a food source for the fishes. In the case of fish ponds
that are open, the trees may act as a host for pests such as carnivorous
bird that feed on the fishes.
xi.) Home Gardens; trees are used as live fences and these trees may be
periodically pruned and the prunings are used as green manure for the
crops. These live fences prevent stray animals from within the
community from feeding on the planted crops. Live fences may also
produce wood that might be used for cooking and they may also be
used a wind brakes in arid and semi-arid areas.
xii.) Wood lots; this agroforestry system involve the planting of specific
trees on infertile land and these trees may be used as fuel wood or as
timber for building. This reduces pressure on the forest within the
communities. These established plantations can also be used a poles
for either electricity or telephone poles.
xiii.) Watersheds; there has been a lot of controversies on what type of tree
species to be used for water catchments. Some researchers will prefer
to use indigenous trees mixed with exotic trees or indigenous trees
only while others ill prefer exotic tree species. In Cameroon, there has
been no experimental research in order to evaluate indigenous species
that are suitable for water catchments. Trees that are suitable should
have;
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- Moderate to lo evapotranspiration rate
- Good crown formation
- Not absorb high nutrients from the soil
a) Biological
- It increases pace utilization
- It improves on soil, chemical, physical and biological properties
- It increases productivity
- It has the potential to reduce soil erosion
- It reduces the risk of complete crop failure
- It also acts as stakes or physical supports for herbaceous climates
- It may be used positively to provide shed for shed loving crops and
animals.
b) Economic and Social
- Increase income opportunities
- It provides variety of products and/ or services
- It also brings about crop diversity and reduces risk
- It has the potential to improve human nutrition
- It reduce cost of farming in that, the farmer can crop on the same piece of
land for a long time as compared to clearing several or pocket of land as
in shifting cultivation
- It reduces the weeding requirement or frequencies.
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Disadvantages
- There may be increase competition between the trees and arable crops
- There may be mechanical damage from cultivation of harvested crops
- There may be damage to trees and crops component from line stock
- It may act as ultimate alternative host for crop pests
- Some of the trees may have allelopathic tendencies.
In order to grow efficiently, plants germinating need light, air, water, warmth,
and a range of plant nutrients (fertilizers). The main source of plant nutrients is
the soil. In agriculture, the constant aim is to increase the yield of crops and a
continuous cultivation of high yielding crops putting a strain for the ability of
the soil to supply sufficient nutrients hence, the need to use fertilizers to
supplement the soil nutrients.
Macro nutrients
Micro nutrients
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These are elements required by plants in much smaller amounts conveniently
expressed in as milligrams of nutrient/ kg of plant dry matter. Micro nutrients
are present in plant tissues in quantities measured in parts per million ranging
from 5 to 200ppm or less than 0.02% dry matter weight.
The actual amount of nutrient required will vary from crop to crop. Plant growth
is dependent upon a combination of all the essential elements and the lack of
anyone of them whether required in very large amounts such as nitrogen,
potassium, or in very small amounts such a; copper, zinc will restrict plant
growth.
All other nutrients enter plants through the roots either as positively charged
ions (cations) such as NH4+, Ca2+, K+, or as negatively charged ions (anions)
including NO3-, SO42-, or H2PO4+. It is with the form of such ions that mineral
nutrients become available to plants. There are two major groups of fertilizers;
that is, organic and inorganic.
These include animal manures and plant-based manure (compost and green
manure).
a) Animal Manures:
Livestock and poultry manures e.g cattle, goats and sheep dung, and poultry
droppings are the most traditional and widely recognized organic fertilizers.
Under certain conditions, livestock and poultry are integrated with crop farm
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and the manure from the livestock and poultry is considered as a nutrient
resource and recycled back to the crop. In practice, crops and livestock, poultry
production are often separated from each other and the manure is of great
importance.
b) Plant-Based Manures:
These include organic matter which is primarily crop residues and green
manure. One of the best ways of handling plant-based manures is by
composting. Compost can be produced on a farm. Green manuring involves the
incorporation into the soil a crop which is grown for the purpose of the soil
improvement. Crops commonly used are nitrogen fixing legumes which are
grown as cover crops for the purpose of soil and nutrient conservation. The
cover crop is grown during the off season and ploughed under before planting a
commercial crop.
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Physical State of Fertilizers
In addition to variation in the physical state, fertilizers also vary in the chemical
composition:
These are fertilizers that are designed to supply only one nutrient element.
Some simple fertilizers essentially used to supply one element may
generously provide another.
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ii.) Phosphate fertilizers; supper phosphate is a mixture of monocalcium
phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2] and gypsium CaSO4.2H2O, and contains
approximately 20% P2O5. The mixture is soluble in water. On the other
hand, triple super phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2]is water soluble and contains
approximately 45% P2O5.
iii.) Potassium Fertilizers;
KC2 contains 60% K2O.
Potassium sulphate (K2SO4) contains 50% K2O.
Potassium nitrate (KNO3) contains 44% K2O.
b) Compound Fertilizers
It is imperative not to store it loose or in burst bags where it might come into
contact with wood shavings, saw dust or other combustible materials. In
common with other fertilizers containing ammonium compounds. Concentrated
ammonium nitrate will acidify the soil and extra lime will be require to
neutralize this acid except in naturally calcerated soil.
Routine application of trace elements are still rare. However, trace element
fertilizers maybe used to correct deficiency indicated by specific visual
symptoms mainly on the leaves of plants. Some are applied to the soil but in
contrast to major element fertilizers, trace elements are commonly sprayed onto
the leaves of growing plants and they absorb them.
Labelling of Fertilizers
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