Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term - Senior Secondary School 1

Date: 30^th of January- 3^rd of February 2023

Week: 4

Subject: Agricultural Science

Topic: Crop Husbandry

Duration:45 minutes

Teaching Aid: A chart

Reference Books: Essential Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary Schools by O.A Iwena (pg 142-146)

Comprehensive Certificate Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary Schools by L.A et Al (pg 239-242)

Behavioural Objectives: By the end of this topic, students should be able to

1. Discuss husbandry of cowpea
2. Discuss the husbandry of cotton

Presentation I

Step 1: Teacher revises last topic

Step 2: Teacher introduces and explains new topic

Step 3: Teacher writes note on the board

Step 4: Teacher evaluates students

Step 5: Teacher marks students' notes and give assignment

Previous knowledge: Students have been taught cultural practices

Content

COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata)

The cowpea is a member of the pulse or legumes. It belongs to the family called leguminosae. It is rich in proteins and is commonly fed on by man. The fruit of cowpea is called pod.

Land preparation: The land is cleared after which the thrash is packed. Weed-row burning can also be done. The land preparation is continued with stumping, ploughing, harrowing and ridging done in sequence.

Varieties/Cultivars: Erect type, creeping type, Ife brown, Ife bimpe, etc.

Climatic and Soil Requirement: Cowpea requires a temperature of 27^oC - 35^oC, rainfall of 60cm – 125cm per annum, abundant sunshine and a rich sandy loamy soil.

Method of propagation: by seeds.

Planting date: Early and late planting are in April and August respectively. In the South, early planting is April while late planting is August and September. In the North, late planting is July and August.

Seedrate: 20 – 25kg/ha.

Spacing: It depends on variety. For example, spacing for the spreading type is 25 x 90cm while the erect type is 30 x 75cm.

Planting: There should be seed dressing before planting. Planting can either be manual or mechanized. Seeds are planted directly on the field. Planting depth 2-4 cm is allowed. Planting rate is two or three seeds hole, while germination occurs between three to five days after planting.

Cultural Practices

1. Thinning: This can be done when the plants are about two to five weeks of age.
2. Weeding: Weeding can be done manually on a small scale while herbicides can be applied on commercial scale. Weeding is usually carried out once or twice before the plant spread fully.

• Fertilizer application: Apply phosphatic fertilizer for nodulation and pod formation. Apply the fertilizer at land preparation or at planting. Rate of application should be 250kg or five bags per hectare.

Maturity period: Cowpea matures between three to four months after planting

Harvesting: Brown, mature or ripe pods are harvested by hand-picking. Early maturing varieties are harvested three months after planting while late maturing varieties are harvested after four months. Harvest mature dry pods before shattering.

Processing: Harvested pods are dried under the sun. shelling is done by beating the dry pods with sticks or by pounding lightly in a mortar on a small scale. Sheller are used on a large scale. Winnowing is carried out whereby broken shells or pods are removed from the beans. Extraneous matter like stones are later removed.

1. Ensure proper drying before storage
2. Shelled beans are treated with insecticides before storage to prevent weevil’s attack.

• Shelled seeds are stored in bags or rhumbus on a small scale.

1. Storage is done in silos on a large scale
2. Hermatic storage can be done in air tight containers.

Storage: The seeds are stored in jute bags.

Pest of Cowpea

1. Pod borers: Adults pierce or bore holes into fruits and stems and may inject toxic saliva.

Control: Spray with insecticide

2. Bean beetle (Cllosobruchus spp): This is a field-to-store pest. Adults and nymphs bore holes into seed, fed on them and turn them to powder, thereby reducing the quality and market value.

Controls: (i) Early harvesting of pods (ii) Fumigation of containers or store with fumigant like phostoxin tablets

3. Leaf Hoppers: They eat up the leaves, thereby causing low yield of crops.

Control: Spray plants with insecticides.

Disease of Cowpea

1. Cowpea mosaic disease: It is a viral disease which is transmitted by aphid or thrip. It causes stunting, reduces pod size and causes premature dropping of flowers.

Control: (i) Use resistant varieties. (ii) control insect vector by spraying with pesticides. (iii) remove and burn infected plants.

1. Bacterial blight: It is caused by a bacterium which is spread by water. Infected leaves produce water-soaked spots which later enlarge and turn brown.

Control: (i) Use resistant varieties. (ii) use clan seeds when planting.

• Nematode disease: It is caused by a nematode transmitted through soil. It causes twisting, rolling of leaves, galls and rottening of roots.

Control: (i) Use resistant varieties. (ii) practise good cultural operations. (iii) treat soil with nematicide.

1. Damping-off disease: This disease is caused by a fungus (phytophthora spp). It is transmitted through the hyphae in the soil. It results in the destruction of seedling in the soil.

Control: (i) Dress seeds with fungicides (ii) practise crop rotation (iii) Grow resistant varieties. (iv) Remove infected plants.

COTTON (Gossypium spp)

Cotton is a fibre crop and belongs to the plant family called malvaceae. It produces cotton lint, a white fibre used in textile industries.

Land Preparation: The land is cleared with cutlass or mechanically ploughed and harrowed to make it soft for planting of cotton seeds.

Varieties or cultivars: Gossypium hirsitum, Gosspium vitifolium, ishan type, samara, gosspium peruvianum (meko cotton).

Climatic and soil requirement: Cotton requires a temperature of 25^oc – 35 ^oc, rainfall of 65cm – 125cm per annum, abundant sunlight and a very rich, deep, loamy or clay-loamy soil.

Method of propagation: By seeds

Planting Date: Cotton is planted in June and July in Northern Nigeria.

Seedrate: 20 – 15kg/ha.

Planting: Four to five seeds are sown per stand. These are later thinned to two seedlings per stand at 3cm deep.

Cultural Practices

1. Weeding: This is done at regular intervals.
2. Fertilizer Application: Apply 125kg of super phosphate fertilizer at sowing time.

• Mulching: This prevent evaporation and controls erosion

Maturity period: Cotton matures within five to eight months after planting

Harvesting: Matured fruits (bolls) are handpicked and sun-dried.

Processing: Cotton for export is taken to a cotton ginnery after being dried. The seeds are then separated from teh live which is made into bales of 180kg either by hand or by bailing machines. The seeds are also packed for export.

Storage: Cotton is placed in sack containers and kept in dry place.

Pest of cotton

1. Cotton stainer (Dysdercus spp): it fees on the contents of the boll and also transmit bacterial and fungal disease. They stain the lints.

Control: By handpicking of the insects and regular spraying with insecticides.

2. Boll worms: The caterpillars (larvae) eat their way into the boll and spoil the lint.

Control: (i) This is done by handpicking. (ii) Destruction of infected plants.

Diseases of cotton

1. Bacteria blight: It is caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include angular spots which appear on the leaves and branches.

Control: (i) is by seed dressing. (ii) Destroy and burn infected plants (iii) grow resistant varieties.

2. Leaf curl: It is caused by a virus transmitted by an insect. Affected leaves become twisted, mottled, vein clearing and curl at the margin.

Control: (i) Plant resistant varieties (ii) Destroy infected plants by burning

3. Damping-off: It is caused by a fungus which is spread through the soil. Cells of seedling become waterlogged resulting in the death of the plants.

Control: (i) practices crop rotation (ii) grow resistant varieties

Evaluation: How is cotton propagated?

Assignment: discuss one disease of cowpea