PROCEDURE FOR RAISING FARM CROPS LIKE CEREALS

Procedures For Crop Production 

Subject : 

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Term :

SECOND TERM

Week:

WEEK 3

Class :

Primary 5

Topic :

PROCEDURE FOR RAISING FARM CROPS LIKE CEREALS 

Previous lesson: 

The pupils have previous knowledge of

HOW TO RAISE CROPS LIKE LEGUMES

that was taught as a topic in the previous lesson

Behavioural objectives :

At the end of the lesson, the pupils should be able to

• say how to raise crops like cereals or grains
• explain how crops can be planted
• describe the processes involved in planting
• say what are seed tubers used for?

Instructional Materials:

• Wall charts
• Pictures
• Related Online Video
• Flash Cards

Methods of Teaching:

• Class Discussion
• Group Discussion
• Asking Questions
• Explanation
• Role Modelling
• Role Delegation

Reference Materials:

• Scheme of Work
• Online Information
• Textbooks
• Workbooks
• 9 Year Basic Education Curriculum
• Workbooks

Content:

How to raise cereal crops

Cereals are cultivated because of the edible grains that they produce when they are fully grown.The major cereal crops that are cultivated in Nigeria are  rice, maize, sorghum, wheat, pearl, millet, millet, barley, oat, guinea corn etc These crops feed and grow mainly on the top soil because of their fibrous shallow root system.Let us now go through the processes of raising cereal crops.. Kaduna and Plateau states are major leaders in planting and cultivation of cereals in Nigeria although they are also cultivated in other parts of Nigeria.

The grains that are produced by the cultivation of these cereals are eaten in many ways, sometimes as a paste or other preparation of the seeds more often milled and further processed into flour, starch, oil, bran, syrup, sugar, etc. They are also used to feed the animals that provide us with meat, eggs, millet, butter, cheese and a host of other foods.

PROCEDURE FOR RAISING FARM CROPS

Procedure for raising farm crops like cereals

1.  land clearing

2. Tilling/Stumping

3. Ridge/mound making

4.Planting in rows with spaces between plants

5. Regular weeding

6.Fertilizing

7.Harvesting

8.Processing/preservation

9.Storage

10. Marketing

PLANTING

Planting can be on ridges or mounds or beds. A spacing of 20-50cm is kept for ridges. Also a spacing of 40-100cm is kept between one crop and the other. The actual spacing depends of crops and the season of planting. Spacing makes weeding easy, makes manuring easy and prevents overcrowding of plants thereby allowing the plants to access sunlight.

Planting can be through:

1. Sowing seeds: grain crops are usually grown by sowing their seeds in ridges or beds or on a flat land. Examples are soya bean, maize, and groundnut.
2. Stem cutting: field crops like cassava are produced by planting some parts of their stems.
3. Tuber seeds: some field crops like yam and cocoyam are raised by planting small parts of the tuber called tuber seeds.

Land clearing

Cereal crops grow well on land with low forest growth. Land for planting is cleared of shrubs, weed sand grass. Cut materials are packed and burnt. The land is now ready for stumping and tillage.

Stumping

This is the removal of tree stumps to make farming operations easy. Stumps are removed with hoes, cutlasses, pick axes or graders.

Tilling

This is the breaking or loosening of the soil to provide a favorable condition for planting of crops. This will make it easy for air and water to enter the soil. Tilling can be done using a cutlass, hoe, spade, fork or rake.

Ridge/mound making

This is the moving of the soil in to straight ridges, or heaping of the soil in to mounds. For a small area of land, e.g. the school farm, the land is marked out with pegs and ropes before the ridges are made. Ridges and mounds are usually made with a hoe. Few rains of the year. Correct planting spacing issued on the beds for sowing the seeds about 5cm deep. Seeds are planted at the sides of the mounds or ridges. Rice is usually planted on flats. Two or three grains are dropped into one hole and covered with soil. The grains germinate in about five days.

Weeding

Weeding is carried out about three weeks after planting. During weeding, ridges or mounds that may have been washed off, a real so remolded. Weeding may be repeated after four weeks.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizer is applied to the crop after weeding. The application may be in a ring form, in holes or by broadcasting, depending on the type of cereal planted. The application may be repeated after four weeks.

Harvesting

Some cereals produce flowers about two months after planting. They produce mature grains about one month after. Cereals like maize can be harvested green for food.

Planting

Cereals are grown through grains or seeds only good grains.

Processing and preservation

Cereals like rice, sorghum and guinea corn are threshed after harvesting. The pure grains are removed by winnowing. Maize cobs are shelled to remove the grains.

Presentation

The topic is presented step by step

Step 1:

The class teacher revises the previous topics

Step 2.

He introduces the new topic

Step 3:

The class teacher allows the pupils to give their own examples and he corrects them when the needs arise

Evaluation

Discuss the producing of  cereals under the following headings

1. Bush clearing

2. Stumping

3.. Ploughing

4. Harvesting

5. Preservation

1. Before planting crops, the first step is __________ the land.
a) fertilizing
b) harvesting
c) clearing
d) marketing

2. After clearing the land, the next step is __________.
a) marketing
b) tilling/stumping
c) processing/preservation
d) storage

3. To prepare the soil for planting, farmers often engage in __________.
a) storage
b) marketing
c) ridge/mound making
d) regular weeding

4. When planting crops like cereals, it’s important to place them __________.
a) randomly
b) close together
c) in rows with spaces between plants
d) without any pattern

5. To keep the farm free from unwanted plants, farmers need to engage in __________.
a) fertilizing
b) harvesting
c) regular weeding
d) processing/preservation

6. Providing essential nutrients to the soil is known as __________.
a) storage
b) tilling/stumping
c) fertilizing
d) marketing

7. When the crops are mature, it’s time for __________.
a) land clearing
b) storage
c) harvesting
d) ridge/mound making

8. After harvesting, farmers may need to perform __________ to make the crops ready for consumption.
a) tilling/stumping
b) marketing
c) processing/preservation
d) storage

9. To keep crops safe for future use, they are often placed in __________.
a) land clearing
b) regular weeding
c) storage
d) fertilizing

10. Bringing farm crops to the market for sale is known as __________.
a) tilling/stumping
b) processing/preservation
c) marketing
d) ridge/mound making

11. What is the first step in raising farm crops like cereals?
a) Regular weeding
b) Tilling/Stumping
c) Harvesting
d) Land clearing

12. What do farmers do to prepare the soil for planting?
a) Storage
b) Marketing
c) Ridge/mound making
d) Processing/preservation

13. What is the term for providing essential nutrients to the soil?
a) Fertilizing
b) Tilling/Stumping
c) Regular weeding
d) Land clearing

14. What do farmers engage in to keep the farm free from unwanted plants?
a) Harvesting
b) Fertilizing
c) Regular weeding
d) Storage

15. When farm crops like cereals are mature, what is the next step?
a) Tilling/Stumping
b) Storage
c) Harvesting
d) Land clearing

[mediator_tech]

Conclusion

The class teacher wraps up or concludes the lesson by giving out short notes to summarize the topic that he or she has just taught.

The class teacher also goes round to make sure that the notes are well copied or well written by the pupils.

He or she does the necessary corrections when and where the needs arise.