Practices of Crop Production

LESSON 5. Specialized Management Practices in Crop Production

Specialized Management Practices also known as “Special Cultural Practices”

refers to production practices that are regularly done but are particularly applicable
to a specific crop or group of crops.

This also refers to the group of agricultural practices used to improve the
growth, development, and yield of agricultural crops. The combination, timing, and
sequence of the practices used depend on the biological characteristics of the crops,
the harvested form (grains, green feed, and so on), the sowing methods (row, nest, or
wide-row), the age of the plants, and the soil, climatic, and weather conditions.

A specialized management practice in crop production is divided in 4 sections:

1. Wind Protection
2. Shading or light regulation
3. Physical Control of Growth and Development
4. Chemical Control of Growth and Development

1. Wind Protection

Windbreak or Shelterbelt – plants or structure established around the farm to break

the force of the wind. The use of windbreak is a practical and effective ways of
managing relatively strong winds of about 40-50 kph. A windbreak can reduce wind
speed up to 20 times their height.

A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows

of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to
protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on
farms.

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Benefits derived from reduction of wind speed to desirable levels of windbreaks

 Less damage to plant structure and processes

 Less prone to disease infection
 Less soil and plant drying
 More pollination/transpiration
 Less fruit drop
 Direct or indirect effects on soil and crop

Characteristics of a plant appropriate for windbreak

 Adapted to soil and climate in the area

 Fast growing
 Tops not easily destroyed by strong winds
 Canopy not too dense
 Deep root system
 Resistant to drought
 Other traits -ex. For green manure

Combination for shelterbelts – 65% shrubs, 20% medium-sized trees and 15% tall trees

Establishment of windbreaks

 Plant at right angles to the direction of prevailing winds

 In contour sloping areas- as buffer strip to minimize erosion or bank protection
along rivers and creeks
 Use area between shelterbelt and crop as a lane -shaded and rooting zone

2. Shading or Light Regulation

Light Management

Refers to the regulation of light intensity/interception or light quality

(wavelength) in the plant canopy. It also regulate light duration/darkness period on a
daily duration or basis.

Classification of plants based on light intensity tolerance:

 Sciophytes-Shade loving plants

 Heliophytes-Sun loving plants

Shade loving or shade tolerant crops Sun-loving or sunlight tolerant crops

Gabi - high rice
Ginger - medium corn
Pepper - medium potatoes

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Scallion - medium okra

Mustard - medium beans
Chinese cabbage - medium sorghum
Celery - low Sugarcane
Onion - low tobacco

Cultural methods employed in light management for shade and sun-loving crops

Shade-loving or shade-tolerant crops Sun-loving or tolerant

Building shading structures
Polypropylene plastic, net screen,
wooden slat, plant leaves, etc.
Manipulation of plant spacing or
density
Dense or close planting in
monoculture
Planting orientation
Row planting at north-
south, orientation allows shading at
particular time of the day
Intercropping
planting of multi-storey crops
Pruning and training
Cutting of unnecessary branches, trellising
or structure for training
Manipulation of plant spacing or density
Wider spacing to maintain optimum leaf
area index at full canopy stage
Row planting- East-
west planting orientation for maximum lig
ht interception throughout the day
Supplemental light in close or semi-
close growing structures
Artificial lights – fluorescent lamps.

Classification of plants based on photoperiod requirements:

 Long- day plants – plant flowers if the daylength is longer than the critical
daylength.

ex. aster, hibiscus, coneflower, spinach, radish, sugar beet, aster, lettuce,
cabbage, carrot, and potato.

 Short-day plants – plant flowers if the daylength is shorter than the critical
daylenth.

ex. pineapple, sugarcane, poinsettia, and soybean.

 Day-neutral plants – flowers upon reaching ripeness to flower regardless of

daylength.

ex. are modern varieties of rice, corn, and mungbean, banana, citrus, coconut,
sampaguita, coffee, eggplant, sweet pepper, cucumber, corn, tomato, pea,
and dandelion.

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Shortening Dark Period

 Impose artificial lighting at particular duration

 Induces vegetative growth in short-day plant.
Ex. Chrysanthemum – interruption of light period by 4 hours lighting (100w bulb
at 10m distance and 180cm above the plant)

Lengthening dark period

 Impose by covering plants with opaque black covers (not penetrated by light) at
particular duration.
 Induces flowering in short-day plant
Ex. Poinsettia – flowers at <11 hour daylength. Covering the plants at 2-3 hours
before sunset to impose a >13 hour daylength will induce flowering.

3. Physical Control of Growth and Development

Growth- it is the irreversible increase in the size of the organism due to increase in
vegetative or reproductive organs.

Development - includes all the changes that the plant undergoes from germination up
to before death.

Physical methods allow control of growth and development for functional or

aesthetics reasons with high degree of precision through:

1. Pruning
2. Training
3. Vernalization
4. Flower or Fruit Protection
5. Propping
6. Girdling
7. Other physical methods

3.1. Pruning- is the removal of unwanted plant parts to attain a specific objective or
the judicious removal of plant parts with a purpose.

Principles of pruning

 Pruning of shoot always result in lessened photosynthetic area and therefore

lesser food manufactured.
 Regular pruning usually reduces the height and yield of the plant, and changes its
general configuration.

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Types of pruning operations:

a. Heading-back -cutting of terminal portion of a plant (apical) to induce

development of lateral buds (auxin and apical dominance). The suppression of the
growth of buds below to apical meristem is due to high concentrations of auxin that
move down from the apical meristem, where auxins are manufactured. In heading
back, the auxin manufacturing mechanism is temporarily destroyed and the
development of lateral buds, directly below the cut, ensues. Soon, the new shoots
become the new tops and apical dominance is restored.

*Auxin- these hormone is responsible for regulating cell elongation.

b. Thinning-out -complete removal of any number of branches.

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c. Pinching/topping - consists of cutting or removal of the growing tips to allow the

development of lateral buds.

Done with the cucurbits lateral branches so that more female flowers are
produce. It is also done in grapes and passion fruits to develop a good branching
system.

General Rules in Pruning and Training

a. Prune as little as possible

Removal of dead and drying or severely infected branches, cutting of interlocking

branches and waterspouts

b. Prune with purpose

- forming and shaping a plant so that it will bear the maximum amount of good quality
of fruits
- regulating the bearing of a plant so that it will regularly produce fruit of good and
uniform quality

c. Controlling/reducing the size

-tree size appropriate to execute desired cultural management practices

-in preparation for particular stresses and limiting factors
-de-budding and thinning of flowers and fruits to control number, size and quality of
fruits
*Thinning- removing some flowers or fruits to allow the remaining ones to
increase in size. This is practiced in crops of watermelon, melon, cucumber, grapes,
rose, chrysanthemum, and durian where size is a primary a quality factor.

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*Disbudding- removal of some buds. This done in rose to produce long stemmed
large flowers.

d. Develop a strong and framework

-removal of weak branches

e. Control general configuration

–for aesthetic purposes; control of shape; miniaturization

f. Rejuvenation of old plants

- overcome declining productivity especially in older branches or older trees

g. Improvement of productivity

- remove unproductive branches and infected/infested or dried branches

h. Delay flowering

-in some instance, it is beneficial to delay flowering to take advantage of the high
price in the end of the season

Time of Pruning

It is best to prune at the time of slow growth so that loss of translocated food would
be less. Prune during the dry months instead of during the rainy season. Pruning
should be done after flowering or fruiting.

3.2. Training - is a general term for techniques that control the growth of plants in
terms of shape, size and spatial direction. It may involve or may not involve pruning.
It may involve providing support such as trellis for the plant, bending, twisting, or
fastening the plant to a supporting structure.

* Trellising - physical support is provided for the upright growth of the plants.

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Types of trellising:

D. Cages
A. Basic Stake E. Frame &Wire
B. A-Frame F. Branch Trellis
C. Teepee G. Post & Wire Row

3.3. Vernalization- seeds are subjected to cold treatment prior to germination to

trigger flowering during the latter stages of plant growth such as in cabbage, onion
and some varieties of radish even garlic.

3.4. Flower or fruit protection - Protection against environmental stress or

pests/diseases e.g. tying leaves around the side of the pineapple fruit “Smooth
Cayenne variety” most exposed to the sun will solve the problem of sun scalding.

In cauliflower, the leaves are tied around the curd to produce white rather yellowish
curds, at the same time protecting them from the insect.

3.5. Propping – physical support to plants to prevent breakage or falling down.

Propping is practices in heavy fruiting branches like in durian, citrus and mango.

3.6. Girdling – physical interruption of the flow of photosynthesis from the leaves to
the root system.

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Types of girdling:
a. Scoring – this can be done either by tying wires on the stem, making cuts on the
stems but without the removal of the bark.

b. Ringing – removal of a ring of bark on the trunk or branches. This is primarily done
to induce flower formation as in the case of chico, citrus, mango, guyabano, jackfruit
and others.

Scoring Ringing

3.7. Other Physical Control of Growth and Development

Pricking - It refers to the transfer of seedlings from overcrowded container to another

container.

Hardening- it is the process of exposing young plants slowly to the outdoor

environment. It involves withdrawal of water and fertilizer and gradual exposure to
increased light and high temperature 7-10 days before transplanting.

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Rouging - it is the removal of off-types or diseased plant or plant parts. Off-types are
weeds, other varieties or plants having a characteristic that resembles to the main
crop which causes mixtures or impurities.

Removal of the dwarf/weak/short statured plants

Mulching- The provision of protective layer on the surface of the soil called as mulch.
Mulch can be organic (rice straws, dried grass, sawdust etc.) or inorganic (plastic).

Ratooning - It is the growing of a new crop out of the shoots arising from previous
crop. It reduces cost of production since land preparation and planting materials are
no longer needed e.g. in sugarcane, pineapple, rice, eggplant, and sorghum.

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Desuckering - It is the removal of unnecessary suckers from the base (mat) of banana
or abaca. It controls mat population, prevents overcrowding and shading, reduce
competition for water and nutrients, and source of planting material.

De-blossoming -It is the removal of flowers on the young woody plants to have full
canopy development.

Fruit thinning- It is the removal of some fruits to minimize „inter-fruit‟ nutrient and
assimilate competition. This allows fruits to attain maximum fruit size as in
watermelon, melon, and guava.

Fruit Bagging- It is the enclosing or wrapping fruits individually or as a group, with

suitable materials (e.g. newsprint, jutesack, and PEB. Fruit bagging provides
protection of the fruits from possible damage due to insects, diseases, birds, strong
wind, etc.

4. Chemical Control of Growth and Development

The development of the plants proceeds in an orderly and well-coordinated

manner. Through the various organs like leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots may be
situated by some distance from each other; still they influence one another in the
course of development. What makes possible this precise integration in coordination

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of developmental process is a group of organic substance called phytohormones or

plant hormones.

*Pytohormornes- naturally occuring growth regulators

Classes of phytohormone
a. auxin -growth promoter
b. gibberellin -growth promoter
c. cytokinin -growth promoter
d. abscissic acid-growth inhibitor
e. ethylene- can be growth inhibitor/promoter

Auxin

Auxins influence many aspects of plant growth: flower initiation and

development, root initiation, fruit set and growth, tuber and bulb formation, and
seed germination. It also increase plant growth by stimulating cells to length and
cause to different shapes.

Cytokinin

Plant hormones that are involved in cell division, shoot multiplication and
axillary bud proliferation (buds developing in the leaf axils). They help delay
senescence (aging).

Gibberellins

These regulate stem growth, and dormancy of tubers. In some plants, they also
regulate flower initiation and the sex expression of the flower, fruit growth and
development.
Application of GA3 to cucumber leaves stimulates the production of more
males.

Ethylene

A simple gas that is made in small quantities by many plant tissues. It serves as
a powerful regulator of growth and development. It also promotes the ripening of the
fruit.
The application of ethylene in cucumber results in more females.

Abscissic acids

A potent inhibitor to seed germination without being injurious to the seed.

Abscissic acid is involved in dormancy and in the dropping of leaves and fruits.

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Application of Plant Growth Regulators

a. For plant propagation

Indoleacetic acid (IAA), indolebutyric acid (IBA), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA)
and 2,4-diclorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) are the most widely used rooting regulator,
either used singly or in combination.

b. Latex stimulation

It is the process of enhancing the latex productivity of crops specially rubber

tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Use Ethrel® to stimulate latex production of old trees (>28
years old).

c. Control Plant and Organ Size

Maleic hydrazide (MH), tri-iodobenzoic acid (TIBA), ethepon, and morphactin

have been used for growth suspension. These compounds reduce plant height by
killing the terminal buds, thereby inhibiting meristematic activity, suppressing plant
size entirely.

d. Regulation of Flowering and Fruit Set

Sex expression
Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) and ethepon increases female flowers
Giberrelic acid (GA) – promotes male flowers

Durian – application of Paclobutrazol at 5-10 g active ingredient can stimulate

flowering and increase number of fruits.

Pineapple - flower iniatiation and development have been promoted by application of

alpha, naphthalene acetic acid (ANAA), calcium carbide, ethephon

Cabbage or lettuce –bolts with application of GA at 10 ppm-250 parts per million

(ppm)

Citrus – application of 200 ppm GA may delay or prevent flowering especially at higher
concentrations

e. Control of Fruit Development

Production of parthenocarpic fruits is possible with high application of GA, 4-

chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA), b-naphthoxyacetic acid (BNOA)

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f. Control of Pre-Harvest Drop

In mango and cacao - application of IAA and NAA has been shown to reduce
fruit drop.

g. Control of Bulbing

For onion, application of ethepon in combination with 1 % sucrose

h. Control of Yellowing in Leafy Vegetables

Green color of beans, celery, parsley, green onion and lettuce can be
maintained for a long period when these vegetables are dipped or sprayed with
benzyladenine.

i. Control of Sprouting

Methyl ester of Naphthalene acetic acid (MENA) – inhibits sprouting of potato

Lesson 5
Quick Assessment

Identify at least 3 practices being employed in your

farming community and explain its purpose.

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