JSS 1 FIRST TERM LESSON NOTES AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Agricultural science 1st term

Scheme of work

JSS ONE

Agriculture JSS1 First Term 

Week 1

Topic: MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OFAGRICULTURE

Contents:*.What is Agriculture?*.

Branches of Agriculture*.Importance of Agriculture to man and natural economy

1. What is Agriculture?

Agriculture means all the activities involved in rearing of animals and cultivation of crops for man’s and the nation’s benefits. The word agriculture was derived from two Latin words which are ‘agar’ and ‘culture’ meaning ‘land’ and ‘cultivation’. Agriculture is often defined by many people as the cultivation of land. As a science, it deals with the systematic study of plants and animal lives in their environment and seeks to provide natural conditions for them so as to produce the best quality which are used directly or indirectly by man

1. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agriculture began when man started to exist on earth. The early men lived by gathering wild fruit and hunting wild animals because they are wanderers. The type and quantity available at that time was irregular and uncertain and was subject to the prevailing weather and luck. They continued with this nomadic life until large population of the families and properties necessitated the building of huts, so they changed from their nomadic way of life to a more settled life. Agriculture and its practices i.e farming started by accident about 12,000 years ago, when the early men discovered that seed and other propagative parts of remains of their food germinate, grow to maturity and reproduce their kinds, they also discovered that certain animals were friendly, so they began to domesticate them. Moreover crops and animals from different parts spread to other countries by the early missionaries, explorers and traders. Agriculture has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivation. The Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt and India were sites of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. Independent development of agriculture occurred in northern and southern China, Africa’s Sahel, New Guinea, parts of India and several regions of America. Agricultural techniques such as irrigation, crop rotation, the application of fertilizers were developed soon after the NeolithicRevolution but have made significant strides in the past 200 years. The Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate represented a majorbreakthrough and allowed crop yields to overcome previous constraints.In the past century, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has been characterized by enhanced productivity, the replacement of human labor by synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, selective breeding, and mechanization. The recent history of agriculture has been closely tied with a range of political issues including water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs, and farm subsidies.

Week  2 and 3

1. IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE

The three major importance of agriculture to man are

*.Food

*.Clothing

*.Shelter

Other importance of agriculture to nation are

*.Provision of raw materials for agro-allied industries

*.Employment or job opportunity

*.Foreign exchange Earning

*.Source of income

*.Provision of market for industrial goods

*.Revenue

WEEK 4 and 5

Topic: Forms of Agriculture Introduction 

Agriculture is defined as the cultivation of the land to produce crops and the rearing of animals for man’s use. Agriculture has many branches. The form of agriculture practiced in an area depends on the size of the farm, purpose, availability of land, the type of soil in the area, topography of the land and the prevailing climatic condition.

Crop Farming : A crop is a plant grown for a specific purpose. Farming is the centre of activity where land is cultivated for the production of either plants or animals or both. Crop farming therefore involves the cultivation of land for the production of useful crops for the benefit of man. When different types of crops are planted on the same piece of land, it is called Mixed Cropping. Crops that may be planted are maize, cowpea,yam, cocoa yam, groundnut, soya bean,tomato, pepper, okra, sorghum and some perennial crops.

Horticulture: This is the study of how to grow fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants. It is a special branch of crop science which is not well developed in Nigeria. Those who specialize in the production of fruits, vegetables and flowers are called horticulturists. Fruits and Vegetable grown by horticulturists include citrus, pawpaw, mango, guava, cashew, pineapple, plantain, garden egg, tomato,lettuce, cabbage, pumpkin, cucumber, cashew, banana. Ornamental plants grown are hibiscus, croton, rose flowers, zinnia, hyacinth, iris, lily, Queen of the night. Ornamental crops are used for beautifying our surroundings. 

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Livestock farming: This is the system of keeping or rearing different farm animals for different purposes. Animals commonly kept include cattle, poultry, sheep, goats, pigs. Livestock farming may be settled (ranching) or unsettled (normadic herding).

Bee Farming :Apiculture or Bee farming is the process of deliberately keeping or culturing bees in wooden boxes or hives for different reasons. 

Types of Bees

1.Solitary Bees –  Most bees in the world are solitary. Mated female live alone in a hole or burrow into well drained soil or soft brick mortar. They have a short life span.Adults live for about 6 to 8 weeks. They do not sting because they do not store honey. Solitary bees are used for pollinating flowers.

2.Bumble Bees – These bees live together in colonies and store honey and pollen in wax as food to be used in time of food shortage. There are two types; Bombus bumble bees and Cuckoo bumble bees. Bombus have three social class, a female queen, partially developed female workers and male drones. A colony can contain 1 queen, 300 workers and few drones. Cuckoo have the males and females living separately except during the period of mating. They have no workers.3.Honey Bees –  They live as a large colony in a large cavity or man made hives. They have three castes, 1 queen, 70,000 wokers and300 male drones. At the centre, the queen bee lays eggs which developinto workers. The drone eggs are laid later.  A typical honey bee hive may contain1 queen250 t0 300 drones20,000 female forages40,000 female house bees5000 to 7000 eggs7000 to 11000 larvae being  fed16,000 to 24,000 larvae developing into Eggs

Importance of Bee Farming

1.Bees are pollinators of crops and this is important for genetic stability

2.Bees are kept for honey, bee wax, pollen and propolis which are used for food, medicine or manufacturing other products

3.The social life of honey bee colony provides a strong basis for the study of the structure of societies

4.Bees are used for research and education

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WEEK 6

Fishery : This is a special area of Agriculture which deals with the production and management of fish and other aquatic animals of agricultural importance. Such animals include lobster, squids, shrimps, cray fish, oyster, prawns, periwinkles and crabs. These animals are rich sources of protein.

Snail Farming or Heliculture : Snails are invertebrates with soft bodies that are covered with hard calcareous shells. They belong to the phylum called mollusca. Heliculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising land snails specifically for human use, either to use their flesh as edible escargot, or more recently, to obtain snail slime for use in cosmetics, or snail eggs for human consumption as a type of caviar.

Importance of Snail farming*.

1. Source of Protein – Snail meat has high protein of about 37% – 51%. 
2. It contains almost all the essential amino acids*.
3. Source of Iron – The iron content ofsnail is 45 -59mg/kg. This high iron content is considered in the treatment of anaemia*.
4. Treatment of different ailments – Snail can be used for the treatment of whooping cough, ulcers, asthma, high blood pressure, constipation, poor eye sight and pile.
5. *.Preparation of Animal feed – The shell of snail contains phosphorus and calcium and it can be crushed for the preparation of animal feed.

WEEK 7

Parts of a Plant | Functions of Plant Parts

A plant is made up of many different parts. The three main parts are: the roots, the leaves, and the stem. Each part has a set of jobs to do to keep the plant healthy. The roots absorb water and minerals from the soil and anchor the plant in the ground. The stem supports the plant above ground, and carries the water and minerals to the leaves. The leaves collect energy from the Sun and make food for the plant, using an amazing process called photosynthesis.

JSS 3 FIRST TERM LESSON NOTE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

WEEK 8

Plant Forms 

Aquatic plants : are plants that have adapted to living in

aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater ). They are

also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes . These

plants require special adaptations for living submerged in

water, or at the water’s surface. 

The principal factor controlling the distribution of aquatic

plants is the depth and duration of flooding. However,

other factors may also control their distribution,

abundance, and growth form, including nutrients,

disturbance from waves, grazing, and salinity. 

One of the largest aquatic plants in the world is the

Amazon water lily ; one of the smallest is the minute

duckweed . Many small aquatic animals use plants like

duckweed for a home, or for protection from predators,

but areas with more vegetation are likely to have more

predators. Some other familiar examples of aquatic

plants might include floating heart , water lily , lotus , and

water hyacinth .

A terrestrial plant:  is a plant that grows on or in or from land.

WEEK 9 

Classification of crops based on life span 

Annual, Perennial, Biennial

Annual plants  – Plants that perform their entire life cycle from seed to flower

Annual Plains Coreopsis

to seed within a single growing season. All roots, stems and leaves of the plant die annually. Only the dormant seed bridges the gap between one generation and the next.

Biennial plants – Plants which require two years to complete their life cycle.

Perennial Plants  – Plants that persist for many growing seasons. Generally the top portion of the plant dies back each winter and regrows the following spring 

Perennial Purple Coneflower

from the same root system (e.g. Purple Coneflower). Many perennial plants do keep their leaves year round and offer attractive borders and groundcover (e.g. Tickseed, Shasta and Ox-Eyed Daisy). 

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