CARIBBEAN SECONDARY EDUCATION Council (csec)

School based assessment (sba)

Agricultural science
Crop production (2021-2022)

Name of student: Noaime Mangru

Student registration number:
Name of school: J.C Chandisingh Secondary
Tittle of project: Crop Production for lettuce
Center number: 090019
Year of examination:2022
Territory: Republic Of Guyana
Teacher name: Miss bibi bacchus
Acknowledgement
The researcher would like to express thanks to the almighty god who give the knowledge and
understanding that was needed also the family and friends who help with the completion of
this School Based Assignment (SBA) and also for their valuable guidance and co-operation
during the period of this task.
The researcher would also like to extend special thanks and appreciation to Miss Bibi
Bacchus for her constant supervision as well as for preparing all the necessary information
pertaining to the investigation.
Your Faithfully
Noaime Mangru.

Introduction:
Name of Student: Noaime Mangru
Title of Project: Crop Investigation
Name of crop: Lettuce
Location: Lot 103 Yakusari North, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Berbice.
Starting Date: September 04th, 2021
Termination Date: October 23rd ,2021
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Britanicca 2012, Lettuce is defined as an “annual leaf vegetable of the
Asteraceae family. Its scientific name is Lactuca sativa, and it is said to contain large
amounts of the vitamins K and A. It is commonly used in salads and does not need to be
cooked to be eaten. The nutritional value of lettuce would usually depend on the variety
selected. There are four botanical varieties of lettuce, Celtuce/asparagus lettuce, Head/
Cabbage lettuce. It was also said that the two classes of lettuce :( The butterhead type)
namely, Bibb lettuce with soft heads and it has thick oily-textured leaves and the other, (crisp
head types) such as iceberg lettuce, leaves are brittle and they tend to have harder heads.
Lettuce comes in different varieties and sometimes different colors. A plant would usually
take 6-8 weeks to become fully grown. To accomplish successful cultivation, lettuce requires
ample amounts of water especially in warm conditions and during unseasonable weather
lettuce requires protection for better growth. During the unseasonable weather, the lettuce can
be housed in greenhouse or covered in polythene covers, frames can be used ad cloches.
Lettuce plants typically have taproot or fibrous root and there is various type found all over
the world. Head lettuce is usually grown from seeds started indoors during warm weather
with slight sunlight. With the study of scientist, it was revealed that lettuce preformed best in
inorganic manure. Inorganic manure would help to increase the yield of crops and help to
gain a better weight.
According to Byjus 2013 Manure is an inorganic matter derive from solid animal waste, used
to improve soil quality and increase the yield of healthy crops.
Nikki tilley 2008 stated that the use of cattle manure or cow dung in the garden is a popular
practice in many rural areas. This type of manure is not as rich in nitrogen as many other
types; however, the high ammonia levels can burn plants when fresh manure is directly
applied composited cow manure on the other hand provide numerous benefits to the garden.
cattle manure is a valuable source of key nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
Sulphur etc. as well as certain micronutrients.
According to Johnathon 2015, Urea is the chief nitrogenous and product of the metabolic
breakdown of protein in all mammals and some fishes. The material occurs not only in the
urine of all mammals but also in humans. Urea is the most important nitrogenous fertilizer in
the market, with the highest Nitrogen content (about 46 percent). It is a white crystalline
organic chemical compound. Urea is neutral in pH and can adapt to almost all kinds of soils
The main function of urea fertilizer is to provide the plants with nitrogen to promote green
leafy growth and makes plant look lush. Urea also aids in photosynthesis process of plants.
CONTENT
Page
Product Specification
Literature Review
Problem Statement
Title
Objectives/ Aims
Experimental Design
Materials and equipment
Pictures of materials and equipment
Description of activities
Data collection
Results
Graphs
Discussion
Discussion of findings
Conclusion
Limitation
Recommendation
Cost Analysis
Comparison of surplus
Product Specification

Type of crop: Leafy

Name of crop: Lettuce
Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
Variety: Green leaf lettuce
Family: Asteraceae

Statement of Problem:
Lettuce is a highly used vegetable in salads and other dishes in Black Bush area for some
time now, Farmers have been having difficulty supplying consumers with the right quality of
lettuce for marketing and consumption.
Therefore, this investigation aims to find out which manure inorganic (urea) or organic
(cattle) manure is best to grow lettuce
Title
Effects of organic manure (cattle) and inorganic manure (urea) on the performance of lettuce
Objectives:
1) To determine yield performance of lettuce grown under the two different types of
manure namely inorganic (Urea) and organic (cattle)
Income related
2) To determine which type of manure is more cost effective in cultivating lettuce.
Experimental Design.
 Containers were selected and prepared with holes using a drill
 10 containers were prepared 5 with organic manure and 5 with inorganic
manure
 Containers was tabled T1 T2
 T 2 was prepared with inorganic manure (urea) T1 with organic manure (cattle
manure).
 Equal amounts of manure was mixed in each container for both T1 and T2
 Organic manure was placed on T2 an left for 3 days to incorporate into soil
 Planting was done at 1cm depth and 6cm above the ground level with the
spacing of 30cm apart
 Plants was watered twice daily (morning and afternoon) Measurement was
also be taken every day and the average was calculated every week
 Weed control was done by hand picking
 Pest and disease were controlled with pesticides.
 Harvesting was done manually (hand) using a knife and produce was placed in
a basket.
 After harvesting post-harvest treatment was done, by washing and placing
lettuce in plastic bags for sale
 Marketing of lettuce was done to customers in the village
 All data and observations was recorded in a manner appropriate for the reader
 Materials and Equipment:
Materials Uses
Ruler A ruler was used to take measurement on the
height of lettuce.
Book The height of each week was written down in
the book.
Pen Was used to write down the measurement in
the book
Marker Was used to make labels for the beds
Plyboard Was used to label the beds.
Urea A type of inorganic manure which was added
to plants
Cattle manure A type of organic manure that was used in
garden
Seedlings Used for transplanting in the garden
Pesticides Destroy insects that harm plants
Plastic bags Used to store items and package produce for
sale
Equipment Uses
Fork Used in the garden to upturn soil
Shovel Used to construct beds and drains
Cutlass Used to construct holes in garden
Calculator Used to calculate mass
Scale Used to measure weight of objects
Water can Used to sprinkle or pour water on plants
Knapsack sprayer Used to spray pesticides, insecticides and
fungicides.
Knife Used to cut crops.
 Pictures of materials and equipment

Ruler Book Pen

Marker garden fork

watercan knapsack sprayer

Cutlass shovel knife

Plastic bags
Description of Activity
Selection- containers for the crop was chosen, oil jar was used, they were cut in half using a
electric hand saw and holes were drilled at the bottom to allow drainage
Land preparation – A hand fork and spade was used to upturn the top soil and place in
containers used for planting
Adding of manure – 0.7 kg of cattle manure was measured and placed into each container
used for the T1 and 0.7 kg of urea was measured and mixed into soil in T2 containers
Transplanting – The seedlings that was 3 weeks old was transplanted using the thumb and
index finger with tamp soil around the root of plants, plants were put down 1 cm in depth and
30cm apart using a ruler to take measurement.
Watering – This is the application of water to plant, it was done with a water can twice daily
to plants
Application of pesticide- the pesticide solution was applied to the crops with the aid of a
knapsack sprayer
Measurement – which was the height and weight of the lettuce plants which was done using a
ruler and a scale
Harvesting –was done using a knife early in the morning and placing in a basket
Marketing –the harvested plants were sold to customers that came to house to purchase
lettuce.
Post-harvest (washing and Packaging)- the lettuce was washed and placed in plastic bags and
sold to customers
Data Collection
The two parameters of data collected for the crop were the height of the plant and weight.
Height was measured using a ruler and the weight was measured using a scale. The average
was calculated using a calculator and arranged in a table.

Weeks Average height of plants (cm)

Organic (T1) Inorganic (T2)
1 2.2 2.6
2 3 3.6
3 3.5 4.7
4 5.7 6.8
5 6.2 7.5
Total 20.6 25.2
Table 1 showing: The average height of plants grown in the organic and inorganic manure
during the 5 weeks period after transplanting.

Average weight of plants (g)

Inorganic (urea) Organic (cattle manure)
3 2.5
Table 2 Showing: the average weight of lettuce after harvesting.
Results

Weeks Average height of plants (cm)

Organic (T1) Inorganic (T2)
1 2.2 2.6
2 3 3.6
3 3.5 4.7
4 5.7 6.8
5 6.2 7.5
Total 20.6 25.2
Table 1 showing: The average height of plants during the 4-week period.
According to the results obtained it was shown that T2 plants grow 0.4 cm taller than T1
plants in the first week, the second week T1 plants grow a height of 3cm while T2 plant grow
3.6 cm. The measurement for the third week was that T2 grow 1.3cm more than T1 plants. In
the fourth week T1 plants grew a average height of 5.7 and in T2 the pants grew 6.8 The final
week T1 plants grow an average height of 6.2cm while T2 plants grow a height of 7.5cm it
can be concluded that plants in inorganic manure grew 4.6 cm taller than organic manure, in
every week the plants grown in inorganic manure obtained a higher height resulting bigger
plants, this is because Urea has high levels of nitrogen more than cattle manure to promote
green leafy growth faster.

Average weight of plants (g)

Inorganic (T2) Organic (T1)
3 2.5

Table 2 Showing: the average weight of lettuce after harvesting.

According to the results obtained the best manure for growing lettuce is inorganic
manure(urea) it was observed when planting lettuce in the two different types of manure
(organic and inorganic), T2 which was inorganic manure also obtained the highest weight
which was 3 g while the lettuce grown in organic was 2.5 g, which was 0.5 grams less.
Graphs

AVERAGE HEIGHT OF LETTUCE CULTIVATED

DURING THE 5 WEEKS PERIOD
8

0
week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5

organic (T1) Inorganic (T2)

Figure 1: shows the average height of lettuce, grown in inorganic (urea) fertilizer and organic
(cattle) manure; the plants grown in inorganic gave a higher growth rate in every week
compared to the organic.

Graph showing the average weight of lettuce using organic

and inorganic manure (g)
3.1
3
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2
Organic Inorganic

Figure 2; shows the average weight of lettuce at harvest in (g) and inorganic manure gave
better weight than organic manure.
Discussion

According to the results obtained it was shown that T2 plants grow 0.4 cm taller than T1
plants in the first week, the second week T1 plants grow a height of 3cm while T2 plant grow
3.6 cm. The measurement for the third week was that T2 grow 1.3cm more than T1 plants. In
the fourth week T1 plants grew a average height of 5.7 and in T2 the pants grew 6.8 The final
week T1 plants grow an average height of 6.2cm while T2 plants grow a height of 7.5cm it
can be concluded that plants in inorganic manure grew 4.6 cm taller than organic manure, in
every week the plants grown in inorganic manure obtained a higher height resulting bigger
plants, According to the result obtain, as said by Britinnica, 2012 who coated that “With the
study of scientist, it was revealed that lettuce preformed best in inorganic manure. Inorganic
manure would help to increase the yield of crops and help to gain a better weight.” It was true
because the experiment show that inorganic plants grew a greater height than organic plants.
At harvest it was also shown that lettuce planted in T2 obtain 0.5g more than the ones in
organic manure. The main function of urea fertilizer is to provide the plants with nitrogen to
promote green leafy growth and makes plant look lush. Urea also aids in photosynthesis
process of plants, coated by Johnathon 2015. Also the increase in growth performance
increases the profits to be made and by using inorganic manure it will give higher profits for
lettuce farmers
This experiment was a success because it shows that inorganic manure gives a better lettuce
production than organic manure. A few factors such as soil fertility, Ph and drainage were
meet in order to give a good yield of lettuce.
The technology used in production was the knapsack sprayer to apply pesticide, it made he
application easier and allowed for he work to finish faster than using a spray bottle.
It can be assumed that the type of manure added to lettuce plants will determine the growth
The overall problem was that lettuce was not supplied in the right quality, the overall findings
shows that inorganic manure is best to improve the quality of lettuce.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the investigation was success, best manure to cultivate lettuce in
would be inorganic manure; with the correct amount of inorganic manure, it would help
lettuce to grow faster and at a better quality and is more cost effective to use.
Limitation
 The investigation could not be done on land due to flooding. Therefore, a limitation
could not be controlled was the drainage.
 Lack of land space(Lot 103 Yakusari North, Black Bush Polder) due to the flooding
limited the number of plants that could be cultivated to give better results.
Recommendation
 More careful and timely preparation is needed for completing the task.

 Increase the application of inorganic or organic manure fertilizer to the soil and
frequently watering would produce higher quality crops.

 Conducting investigation on a large scale will aid to obtaining better results.

References

Akridge, J., D. Downey, M. Boehlje, K. Hariing, F. Barnard, and T. Baker. 1997.

"Agricultural Input Industries." Food System 21 Gearing Up for the New Millennium,
Chapter 15. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Barkema, A., and M. Drabenstott. 1996. "Consolidation and Change in Heartland
Agriculture." Economic Forces Shaping the Rural Heartland. Federal Bank of Kansas City,
Missouri.

Barkema, A., and M. Drabenstott. 1995. "The Many Paths of Vertical Coordination:
Structural Implications for the US Food System." Agribusiness, 11(5).

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Lettuce”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Apr.2020,

https://www.britannica.com/plant/lettuce

Growing Lush, Green, Crisp Lettuce,(2019). Retrieved from Glimour.com:

https://gilmour.com/growinglettuce.
 COST ANALYSIS
Projected income and expenditure
Income Quantity Unit Price ($) Total ($)
Sale of lettuce 20
plants 140 1,400
(Organic bed) (10) Average head 180 1,800
(Inorganic bed) (10)

Total projected 3,200

income
Expenditure
Fixed expenses 500 500
Labour
Variable expenses
Seedlings 20 1 20 400
Urea 2 1 lb 250 500
Cattle manure 1 1 bag 200 200
Plastic bags 1 pk 200 200
Total projected 1,800
expenditure
Projected profit = 3,200-1,800
Projected income- = 1,400
Projected
expenditure
 Actual Income and Expenditure Statement

Income Quantity Unit Price ($) Total ($)

Sale of lettuce (20)
plants
(Organic bed) 10 Average head 180 1,800
(Inorganic bed) 10 200 2,000

Total actual 3,800

income
Expenditure
Fixed expenses 300 400
Labour
Variable expenses
Seedlings 20 1 10 200
Urea 2 1 lb 150 300
Cattle manure 1 1 bag 200 200
Plastic bags 1 pk 200 200
Total actual 1,300
expenditure
Actual profit = 3,800-1,300
Actual income- = 2,500
Actual
expenditure

Analysis
Comparison of Projected Income and Actual Income Budget
Having compared the two budgets the actual income was higher that the projected, the
projected income was $3200 while the actual income was $3800, hence a difference of $600
this is because the lettuce was sold at higher price than what was projected due to its demand
at the time of sale.

pr ojected incom e agains t A ctual

incom e
3,900

3,800

3,700

3,600

3,500

3,400

3,300

3,200

3,100

3,000

2,900
projected income actual income

Figure 1 above illustrating a bar graph on the projected income against actual income, the
actual income was higher $600 higher than the projected.

Comparison of Projected expenses and Actual expenses

It was seen during the comparison of the expenses between the two budgets that the projected
expenses were a bit higher than the actual expenses this is due to a change in cost for a few
items namely the labour, seedlings and urea. There was a $500 difference between the
projected ($1800) and the actual expense ($1300).

projected expenses against actual expenses

2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
projected expenses actual expenses

Figure 2 shows a bar graph depicting the projected expenses against the actual expenses,
which is $500 lower than the projected.

Comparison of Projected surplus and Actual surplus

The actual surplus was higher than the projected due to the fact that a higher income was
made and lesser expenses were calculated than the projected, hence a higher income. The
projected surplus was $1400 while the actual surplus was $2500

Projected surplus against Actual surplus

actual surplus

projected surplus

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Figure 3 depicting the projected surplus against the actual surplus. The projected surplus is
$1100 lower than the actual surplus
 Marking Scheme
ITEM DESCRIPTOR MARKS
Total

Name of Student
Student Registration Number
Name of School
Title of Project
Start Date
Termination Date
INTRODUCTION Table of Contents
(6) Literature Provide a clear and accurate 2
Review (3) summary of literature
reviewed
At least 3 references cited 1
in the summary
Problem statement clearly written 1
Aim (2) Technical/technological 1
objective addressing
Production and post-
production levels
Income related 1
Experimental Experimental design clearly 1
Design (2) described

Comparison of production 1
METHODOLOGY technology/management
practices/value addition
technology
Materials and Materials 1
Equipment (2)
Tools and Equipment 1

Activities (Production and Processing) (4) 4

Data Collection – Data (at least 2 sets) and 3

how it was collected (3)

Presented and described data including 3

RESULTS (9) performance of value added products/comparison
Production and of value added and non-value added products
 Post-Production where applicable (3)
Value Addition Interpreted results accurately (3) 3
(where Presented results accurately 2
applicable) Labeled tables, charts (1) 1

DISCUSSION How technical Provided a full discussion of 1

results relate to the result
issue
Relating to literature 1
accurately with reference

Effect of the Discussed the effect of 2

technology used technology used during the
during production/post production
production/after as it relates to value addition
production/for value with supporting evidence
addition (2) and cited relevant literature.

Effect of Fully discussed the effect of 2

technical/technology technical/technology on
on profitability profitability and referring to
relevant data with
supporting evidence and
cited relevant literature.
Overall findings as Fully discussed the findings 2
it relates to the issue as it relates to the issue with
(2) supporting evidence and
cited relevant literature
Conclusion, Conclusion (2) Based on outcomes with 1
Limitation and respect to technical
technological aspects
Recommendations
Based on out comes and 1
income aspect
Limitations (1) 1

Recommendations (1) 1

Less than 5 spelling and grammatical errors 1

PRESENTATION contained in the report (1)
(2)
At least 3 references cited properly (1) 1 1
 Total (Technical Report) 40÷2
=20

Projected Income-output, 1 1
price, total
Projected Expenditure, 1 1
COST Complete Budget
inputs, price, total
ANALYSIS (10)
(Production, Post- Surplus/Shortfall correctly 1 1
calculated
Production And
Income/Sale of produce – 1 1
Value Addition)
quantity, price, total
Actual Income and
Expenditure Expenditure – quantity, 1 1
price, total
Surplus/Shortfall correctly 1 1
calculated
Provide a full and 4 4
Comparison of the accurate comparison of all
Projected and three parameters
Partially compare all 3 3
Actual parameters
-Income Correctly compares any 2 2
parameters
-Expenditure
Correctly compares any 1 1
-Surplus/Shortfall parameters
Does not attempt to 0
compare any parameter
TOTAL COST ANALYSIS 10 10