AGRICULTURE NOTES

MODULE 1 GENERAL AGRICULTURE

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES\TRENDS IN
AGRICULTURE
The main stages are as follows:
1. Hunting and gathering
2. Domestication
3. Shifting cultivation
4. Settled agriculture
5. Commercial farming
1. Hunting and Gathering
 This is the earliest stage in the development of
agriculture, dating as far as around 2.5 million years
ago.
 Humans lived as nomadic hunters and gatherers
 Hunted wild animals and gathered eggs, insects and
edible plants from the wild.
 Roles were clearly defined along gender lines, men were
hunters while women were gatherers( gathering fruits,
berries and dug out roots from nearby forests)
 Tools used were made from sticks and stones
 Hunters and gatherers practiced some conservatory
measures that is they did not hunt during breeding time
which allowed animals to reproduce and raise the
young ones, they also did not kill animals with suckling
young ones.
  This stage was important because men had the
opportunity to study the behavior of wild animals and
wild plants.
 Human population was limited by the amount of food
that could be obtained from wild and technology used.
 Technology development was very much limited and it
was at its lowest.
Impacts of hunting and gathering on the environment
 Deforestation
 Depletion of wild game especial herbivores leading to an
imbalance of the ecosystem of the areas especial the
fragile ones
 Gathering of fruits encouraged the dispersion of fruits
and seeds to other areas where they were not found
before.
2. Domestication
 People studied the behaviour of some plants and
animals and brought them closer to their homestead
and kept them.
 Started as way back as 9000 B.C
 That marked the beginning of food production through
the development of animals and crop husbandry
 Wild cereal plants and animals such as sheep, goat,
cattle an horses were domesticated
 As domestication progressed it ensured that food was
produced right close to the home.
 Hunting and gathering as a means of obtaining food
was reduced and was replaced with animals and crop
 husbandry which developed further leading to the
formation of small farming communities.
 More people were freed from providing food and were
able to develop technologies that made the activities
involved in crop and animal production much easier
and more efficient.
 Tools used were still made from sticks and stones
 Pressure on utilization of wild animals and crops was
reduced resulting in an increase in their numbers and
this helped to conserve and protect the species that were
in very small number.
Impacts of domestication on the environment
 Soil erosion- tracking and grazing animals exposed soil
to agents of soil erosion
 Deforestation
 Increased population of reared stock led to overgrazing
during dry season
 Animals’ species depended on man for food and
security and they lost their natural surviving skills with
time.
3. Shifting cultivation
 The earliest farming system developed by man
 Involved shifting of the location of farming from one
place to another
 Shifting cultivation- involved clearing a piece of land
and continuous growing crops on it until the soil was no
longer fertile.
  It was then left fallow to revert to natural vegetation for
several years to regain fertility and it could again used
for crops
 In the mean time an area was cleared and the growing
of crops moved or shifted to the new area
 Nomadism- (nomadic farming) involved movement of
stock to new locations in search of better pastures,
water and freedom fro pests and diseases dining.
 Livestock owners would settle in the new area
temporarily until pastures and water become lacking
thereby necessitating further shifting.
 It was only suitable where land was plentiful as large
areas had to be left fallow to regain fertility
 The amount of food produced under shifting cultivation
was at subsistence level.
 There was an increase in human population and limited
available land.
Impacts of shifting cultivation on the environment
 Loss of soil fertility
 Deforestation
 Soil erosionl
 Accumulation of pests and diseases as a result of
cultivation of the same crop over a long period
 Re-growth of vegetation
 Increased completion for new sites led to overcrowding
and conflicts between shifting crop
4. Settled Agriculture
  Due to growth of human population and invention of
better agricultural technologies, shifting farming gave
way to settled farming
 Growing of crops and rearing livestock were done on
the same land formany years.
 In early days, technologies used could enable farmers to
produce only on small scale
 Each homestead was able to produce just enough to
feed its members
 Man continued to improve agricultural technologies,
which eventually resulted in increased agricultural
production to the extent of producing surplus food and
fiber
 Practiced mixed cropping and crop rotation
 Used better farming implements
Impacts of settled agriculture on the environment
 Wild animals were permanently displaced from their
natural habitats
 Deforestation and desertification as man cut trees for
wood and raw materials
 Accumulation of crop pests and diseases as people
cultivated in the same land for many years.
 Better implement used led to destruction of the soil
structure.
5. Commercial farming
 Peak of agricultural development
 Green revolution, which involves a heavy reliance on
the use of fertilizers and better crop production
methods resulting in high production from small areas
of land.
 Commercial farming- growing of crops and rearing of
animals for sale.
 Farming was undertaken as some form of business
 It was done on large scale
 It could be arable, livestock or mixed farming.
 High capital investment, good management, skilled
manpower and market for the produce were essential
for it to be profitable.
 It involves heavy utilization of the maximum benefits
from the resources, efficiently and effectively to get the
maximum benefits from them, this resulted in a lot of
damage on the environment.
Impacts of commercial farming on the environment
 Desertification caused by cultivating marginal land,
overgrazing and deforestation
 Overgrazing
 Deforestation to provide crop land and fuel wood
 Endangering and extinction of animals and plant
  Soil erosion and loss of soil fertility through poor land
use and too little organic input into the soil.
 Air pollution caused by dust blown of crop land that is
not covered with vegetation and from overgrazed areas
and from exhaust fumes from vehicles and machinery
used in agriculture.
 Pollution fro pesticides used on crops or to protect
livestock.
 Depletion of ground water due to excessive use of
irrigation or watering livestock.
 Ground and surface water pollution from pesticides,
fertilizers and animal waste
 Salination and water logging of heavily irrigated soils

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
Environmental factors affecting plant and animal growth
are:
1. Rainfall
2. Wind
3. Temperature
 4. Humidity
5. Frost
6. Photoperiod
2. RAINFALL
Effects on plant growth
 Soil erosion- heavy rainfall results in runoff which
carries with it top soil.
 Loss of soil fertility through erosion and leaching.
 Rain cools the soil and plants and increase humidity.
 Heavy rainfall results in floods that are destructive to
crops- wash away seedlings.
 Diseases and pests can be spread through rainwater.
 Stormy rains also are destructive to crops.
 Rain provides plants with water for growth and
development.
Ways of modifying effects of rainfall on plant growth
 Soil mulching to minimize soil capping, compaction and
soil erosion.
 Use of drought resistant crops
 Irrigation
 Rain harvesting
  Add organic matter during soil preparation to maintain
good soil structure
Effects on animal growth
 Source of water for livestock
 Floods kills sensitive animals especial the young ones.
 Low rainfall determines availability of fodder for
livestock.
 Livestock parasites and diseases can be spread through
rain water.
 Low rainfall causes death in the extreme cases of
drought.
 Low rainfall causes dehydration which lead to death of
some animals.

 Ways of modifying effects of rainfall on animal growth

 Rain harvesting
 Irrigation
 Use of drought resistant breeds
 Conserve fodder for use in the dry season.

2. WIND
Effects on plant growth
 Wind increases rate of evapo-transpiration
 Spread pests and pathogens
 Strong wind causes lodging (fall over) of crops and
destructive to trees.
 Wind pollinates flowers of some plants and helps
disperse seeds and fruits.
 Strong wind carries the top soil hence causes soil
erosion
 Wind lead to loss of soil moisture
 Wind carries atmospheric pollutants from place to
place.
Ways of modifying effects of wind on plant growth
 Soil mulching to reduce erosion
 Raise seedlings in the green house
 Keep the soil moist by irrigating
 Supporting plants
 Maintain vegetative cover over soil to prevent erosion
by wind.
Effects on animal growth
 Strong wind destroys livestock houses
 Strong wind spread parasites and pathogens to animals
  Rain bearing winds brings rain in a given area
 Reasonable wind ensures effective natural ventilation in
livestock houses.
 Strong wind causes draughty conditions to animals.
Ways of modifying effects of wind on animal growth
 Provide suitable houses
 Provide livestock houses with eaves of sufficient length
 Establish wind breakers to reduce destructive effects of
wind.

3. TEMPERATURE
Effects on plant growth
 Warm temperature favours outbreak of majority of
crop pests and diseases.
 Rate of photosynthesis increases with temperature up to
35oc when it starts to drop.
 Soil temperature affects nutrient uptake by roots.
 Extreme temperature reduces crop yield.
 High temperature causes wilting and death of plants.
 Low temperature reduces seed germination of plants.
 Lower temperature promotes growth of roots and
storage organs over shoot growth.
  Low temperature leads to plants taking long time to
mature.

Ways of modifying effects of temperature on plant growth

 Mulching- to insulate soil against excess heat.
 Irrigation- reduces soil temperature
 Shading
 Use of green house
 Choose well adaptive crops
Effects on animal growth
 High temperature inhibits animal growth
 High temperature leads to heat stress and death.
 Low temperature causes chilling and death.
 High temperature reduces food intake and increase
water intake by animals.
 Low temperature increase food intake and reduces
water intake by animals.
 High temperature at 24ocreduces egg production.
 Extreme temperature reduces reproductive
performance of livestock.
 Warm temperature favours outbreak of parasites and
diseases for livestock.
Ways of modifying effects of temperature on animal growth
 Use of properly designed and constructed livestock
houses.
 Use of well adapted livestock breeds.
 Provision of shade in pasture.
 Provision of extra heat to young animals to keep them
warm.

4. HUMIDITY
Effects on plant growth
 High humidity increases occurrence of pathogens and
pests.
 High humidity plants transpire less and at low humidity
plants transpire more.
 High humidity at 80%-100% encourages fungal
diseases.
 Excessively high humidity delays natural drying of
crops.
 Low humidity coupled with high temperature causes
wilting of crops.
  Low humidity reduces or limits rooting of cuttings.
Ways of modifying effects of humidity on plant growth
 Use of extractor fans
 Correct crop spacing
 Use of humidifiers
 Pruning
 Use of plastic covered containers.
Effects on animal growth
 Too high humidity causes poor feathering in chickens
and promotes development of vices such as cannibalism.
 High humidity in livestock houses encourages
multiplication of pathogens and parasites.
 Too low humidity causes irritation of mucus membrane.
 High humidity increases heat stress to animals.
Ways of modifying effects of humidity on animal growth
 Construct houses with sufficient ventilation
 Use of extractor fans

5. FROST
Effects on plant growth
  Frost causes death to plant tissues.
 Frost reduces water and nutrient uptake.
 It kills sensitive plants especially the seedlings.
 Reduces microbial activities in the soil.
 Kills off sensitive pests and pathogens.
 The growth of plant stops altogether.
Ways of modifying effects of frost on plant growth.
 Wise choice of planting dates.
 Use of resistant varieties or cultivars
 Water at night or early in the morning to reduce effect
of frost on plant growth.
 Raise crops in green house and other protective
structure.
 Cover plants at night if it is possible.
Effects on animal growth
 Reduces production and reproduction of livestock.
 Food intake by animals increases and water intake
decreases.
 Kills the sensitive animals especial the young ones.
Ways of modifying effects of frost on animal growth
 Use of breeds that are resistant to frost.
  Livestock houses can be heated up to raise temperature.
 Construct well designed livestock houses.

6. PHOTOPERIOD
Photoperiodism- is the influence of the daily cycle of light
and darkness on the physiology and behavior of plants and
animals OR response of organisms to cycles of light and
darkness.
Effects on plant growth
 Photoperiod affect bulbing and tuberisation of some
plants.
 Long day accelerate plant growth especial seedlings.
 Some plants yield well under high light intensities while
others prefers low sunlight.
 Rate of photosynthesis increases with light intensity.
 Sunlight causes sun-scorch to some sensitive plants.
Ways of modifying effects of photoperiod on plant growth
 Provide artificial light to plants
 Light prove covers should be provided to plants.
 Use of day neutral plants.
  Soil mulching reduces solar radiation reaching the soil.
 Shading plants to reduce light intensity.
Effects on animal growth
 Light affects availability of grass to feed to animals
since it is necessary for green plants to photosynthesize
 Light is essential for the manufacture of vitamin D in
animals.
 Ultra violent rays in sunshine can cause skin burn in
livestock.
 Day length affects time of breeding in some animals
such as sheep.
 Light affects laying of eggs in birds especial when it is
low or dark.
Ways of modifying effects of photoperiod on animal growth
 Use of artificial lighting in livestock houses
 Construct well designedlivestock houses.
7. DAY LENGTH
Effects on plant growth
 Short day plants: need a day-length less than a critical
number of hours to flower.
In effects the period of continuous light should not
exceed the period of continuous darkness for the plant
 to flower. Examples of short day plants are: barley,
tobacco, potatoes, okra, and some cowpeas.

Light Continuous darkness

 Long day plants: need day length greater than a critical

number of hours to flower.
In effects the period of continuous light should exceed
the period of continuous darkness for the plant to
flower. Examples of long day plants are: onions, lettuce,
spinach and begonia.

Continuous light
Darkness

 Day neutral: plants that are insensitive to photoperiod

and will flower with any amount of continuous light.
Examples of day neutral are: cotton, tomato, tropical
onion and French bean.

WATER CYCLE
Water cycle is a solar driven cycle of evapo-transpiration,
condensation, precipitation and runoff.
The cycle controls water movement between the atmosphere,
oceans, aquatic and terrestrial environment.
Terms involved in water cycle are:
1. Evaporation: water evaporates from oceans lakes, seas,
plant leaves and land surfaces then rises into the
atmosphere as vapour.
2. Condensation: above the condensation line, vapour
cools down, condenses to form clouds and returns to the
earth surfaces as precipitation.
3. Precipitation: water in solid or liquid state is returned
to earth as precipitation. Some of it evaporates before it
reaches the ground. Some lands on plants. The rest
reaches the earth or land as surface water.
4. Seepage/Percolation/Infiltration: much of the water that
reaches the ground evaporates quickly and returns to
the atmosphere, most of the rest seeps (infiltrates) into
the earth.
5. Transpiration: plants often use seepage water
eventually returning it to the atmosphere through
transpiration that is loss of water from plants through
their leaves via the stomata.
6. Runoff: water that does not enter into the soil or
evaporates runs across the land into form of
streams/rivers, which then run into lakes, pans or the
sea.
 7. Man and animals: use part of fresh water eventually
returning it to the atmosphere through breathing,
perspiration and decay.

Water cycle

Key:
 A –precipitation
  B-evapo-transpiration (evaporation and transpiration
from plants)
 C- percolation/infiltration/seepage
 D-evaporation
 E- evaporation from the soil
 F-water uptake by plants
 G-river
 H- ground water moves to lake
 I- runoff
 K-sun

PRINCIPLES OF LAND USE

Land tenure:means the way land is owned, held and duties
arising from this.
Land tenure systems are:
 Communal land
 Freehold
 State land
 Leasehold
1. Communal land tenure
  Communal land tenure: land is owned by the
community/tribe as a whole and eligible members are
only granted rights to use over the land.
 It covers 71% of Botswana land area and is found only
in rural areas.
 It is allocated by the land board to the eligible members.
 Households are allocated land free for residential,
grazing and arable production.
 Individual has a secure holding of 99 years or lifetime.
 Landholders have exclusive rights to their holdings,
which can be fenced to exclude other people.
 Communal grazing land and land that is not yet
allocated to anybody is used collectively.
Advantages
 There is security of tenure for landholders
 Customary land rights do not lapse with passage of
time.
 Land rights are inheritable, transferable to the next
kin.
 Easy and free access to land for eligible people.
 The state can easily be granted ownership of land for
public use.
Disadvantages
  Land cannot be sold or bought
 Landholders do not have registered title deeds over
their holdings.
 Promotes land degradation in communal grazing lands.
 Land rights are not mortgageable, except for common
law lease holders.
Leasehold under Communal land tenure
 Leasehold: is a form of tenure where an agreement (a
lease)is made between a landlord and a lessee allowing
the lessee to use the land for a given time in return of a
stated rent. The land boards (lessor) can grant common
law lease to individuals or group of individuals (lessee)
on land for commercial. Industrial and residential
purposes.
Examples of common law lease
 50- year Common Law Lease over 6400 ha TGLP
ranches. Eligible individuals or groups of individuals
granted these leases with the following land rights:
i. Rights to fence the land to ensure exclusive possession
and use of land.
ii. Rights of inheritance
iii. Rights to mortgage or hypothecate the lease.
In return the lessee is expected to pay a given annual to
a local land board and to adopt improved livestock and
range management practices.
  15 year Common Law Lease on arable land for
commercial farming. Farmers are expected to pay a
rental fee of P1.00 and P2.00 per hectare per year for
citizen and non- citizen respectively.
 99- year Common Law Lease on mortgageable
residential plots for citizens only. In case of non-renewal
of the lease, the leased land or plot reverts to his
customary residential allocation at the end of the lease.
State land tenure
 State land tenure: ownership is by the state.
 Administered by the government through the
department of lands.
 It is found in both rural and urban areas.
 It covers 23% of Botswana land area.
 It includes urban centres, national parks, game
reserves, forest reserves, wild management areas and
leasehold ranches.

Advantages
 Ensures equitable distribution of land among Batswana.
 Ensures availability of land for industrial, commercial
and urban development.
  Ensures best use of land for maximum benefit to the
country as a whole.
 Ensures orderly development in urban centres.
 Ensures protection and preservation of national parks,
game reserves, rangelands, mining sites and sites of
historical importance.
 State land can easily be converted to other forms of
tenure as and when needs arises.
 Leaseholds under this system has security of tenure, is
registrable, freely transferable and readily mortgaged.
Disadvantages
 Process of land allocation and resolutions takes a long
time.
 The value of land leased may not reflect the true market
value if the government decides to subsidize it for its
citizens.
 Land may not be put to use that yields optimum
economic benefits due to government policy at the time.
 In cases of corrupt government land may easily be
concentrated in few, but powerful individuals.
Leasehold under State land
Government grants leases to individuals and institutions
over state land for residential, commercial and industrial
purposes. There are two types of leasehold used in urban
areas: the deed of fixed period of state grant (FPSG) and
certificate of rights (COR).
The deed of fixed period of state grant (FPSG)
 This is a one- time lease where the rent is paid once on
acquisition of land and not periodically over the life
time of the lease.
 The lease period is 50 years for commercial and
industrial land and 99 years for residential land.
 When the lease expires has to be renewed, the title and
developments on the land revert to the state without
compensation.
 FPSG registrable in the deed registry so is freely
transferable and readily mortgaged.
 Application for renewal should be initiated 15 years
before the expiry date.

The certificate of rights (COR)

 This leasehold was created to provide security of tenure
to urban squatters and poor members of the urban
population.
 The landholders have the rights to use the land while
the ultimate ownership remains with the state.
 The current COR confers the right to mortgage or
pledge with the consent of the Council on the holders.
  COR can be converted to FPSG: the current
government policy to replace COR with FPSG.
Freehold land tenure
 Freehold land tenure: land ownership is in the hands of
private individual.
 The individual can be a person, a church, an
association, or a syndicate of persons.
 The owner has exclusive right to use or dispose of land
as and to whom, one wishes, as long as one acts within
the law.
 It covers 6% of the total area of Botswana; almost all of
the land is in designated farming blocks of Tati, Tuli,
Gaborone, Lobatse, Molopo, and Ghanzi.
 The title deed received under this land tenure is
perpetual( does not lapse with time)
 The owner or owner’ lawyer or appointed
representative such as estate agent administers the use
and transfer of the land.
Advantages
 The owner has best security of tenure and is motivated
to make permanent investments on the land.
 The title deed to the land is mortgageable, freely
transferable and inheritable.
 Land can be bought like any other market commodity.
  The owner is use the land as, when and how he chooses.
 Market forces ensure allocation of land to the best
economic use.
 Land can be acquired by both citizen and non-citizens
 There is social prestige associated with land ownership.
 The state can easily acquire it and then tribalise it or
use it for any purpose of national interest.
Disadvantages
 Rent exploitation of tenants by landlords (landowners)
is possible.
 Land can easily be concentrated in the hands of rich
non- citizens if the land control act is not strictly
enforced.
 Valuable agricultural land may lie idle if that is the
wish of the owner.
 Land ownership ties up a lot of capital, leaving little
working capital for farming operations.
 The government policy of land protection and
conservation may be difficult to implement on freehold
land.
Leasehold under Freehold land tenure.
The owner (lessor) can lease land to the lessee on mutually
agreeable terms and conditions of a lease agreement. Rights
and obligations to the land of either party are usually clearly
spelt out in the agreement. Written and witnessed
agreements are preferable. The lessee usually pays an
annually rent for using the land

LAND CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATION

Class of Characteristics Use of land

land
Class i -deep soil -no soil can be used for
capping crops every
year
-good texture - no swamp
-permeable -good
drainage
-slope less than 2% -good
aeration
-no soil erosion -fertile soil
-land nearly level -good
water holding capacity
Class ii -shallow soil -gentle still capable for
slope of 2%-5% growing crops
but not quite so
-slightly poor drainage
well
Class iii -high erosion hazards -poor may not be
 drainage capable of
growing crops
-very shallow soils -slope of 5%-
every year
8%
Class iv -poorest arable land -slope of suitable for
8%-12% pasture, range,
woodland,
wildlife and
recreation
Class v -wetlands close to rivers -vegetables
may be grown
-swamps
in raised beds
- level soils that have little danger in some places
of erosion
-rice
cultivation

Class vi -very steep slope of 12%-20% Can be used

for pasture,
-shallow soil - rocks
range,
present
woodland,
wildlife and
recreation.
Class vii shallow soil -slope of Used for
more than 20% grazing and
woodland,
wildlife and
recreation
Class slope of greater than 30% Used only for
viii wildlife,
-shallow soil -infertile
recreation and
soil
beauty
-rocks present
Should not be
cleared for its
natural
vegetation

AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
Definition: it is the application of engineering principles and
technology to manage the production activities in
agriculture. OR the means and ways man uses to produce
food and fiber or agricultural products
Example of agricultural technology
Technology aspect example
Tools and machines Garden tools, plough,
tractor, planter, burdizzo,
harvesters, cultivators,
branding iron, milking
machine.
Methods and techniques Hydroponics, crop rotation,
drip irrigation, budding and
grafting, hybridization,
artificial insemination,
embryo transfer, vaccination,
crossbreeding, dehorning
castration, pruning, green
house, refrigeration, liming
tissue and cell culture.
Processes Milling, milk processing,
fermentation, water
purification, biogas
production, food
preservation and vaccine
development.
Materials Fertilizers, pesticides, frozen
semen, herbicides, vaccines,
enzymes, hormones, drugs
and medicine, seeds,
improved breeding stock of
animals and crops.
Power Solar power, wind power,
animal power, water power,
combination engine, electric
 power.

Technology transfer
It means movement of technology or technologies from one
place to another. Technology transfer includes:
 From one country to another
 From one region/ continent to another
 From one research centres to farmers in a given
country
 From one farmer to other farmers in a given area.
 From one trainers and teachers to trainees and student.
 From agricultural demonstrators to farmers.
Use of farming system as a technology transfer approach
 There are number of approaches that have been
developed to transfer technology from one researcher to
the farmers and feedback from farmers.
 Some of the approach are:
 Training and visit: this is where a few identified
farmers are trained on a new technology, and each is
expected to train few more.
 On-the-farm trials: this is where farms of willing
farmers are identified where research personnel do on-
 the-farm trials by using the new technology on the
demonstration farms and allow the rest of the farmers
to come and learn from these other farmers who have
been utilizing the technology. This is a highly effective
approach, where farmers learn from other farmers
through physical evidence on the demonstration farms
and not directly from the researchers. The farmers are
likely to adopt the technology faster as they have seen it
working in those farms.

MODULE 2: CROP HUSBANDRY

PRINCIPLES OF PLANT GROWTH
Conditions necessary for plant growth are as follows:
 Light
 Water
  Air
 Elements
 Suitable temperature
 Elements/nutrients
 Absence of harmful factors
LEAF
External structure of a leaf

Key:
A- petiole/ stalk B- Blade C-Apex D-
Veins
Functions of a leaf
 Leaf manufactures food (carbohydrates) through the
process of photosynthesis.
 Facilitate the loss of water through the process of
transpiration
 Facilitate rapid exchange of gases.
Internal structure of a leaf
Key:
A-Epidermal cells B- Guard cell
C-Spongy cell
D-Palisade cell E- Chloroplasts
F- Cuticle
G- Palisade layer H- xylem tissue
I- Spongy layer
J- Lower epidermis K- Phloem
M- Air space
N-Upper epidermis P- vascular bundles
Q- Stoma

Structure and functions of parts of internal structure of a

leaf
Part Structure
Cuticle Thin, non-cellular, waxy,
waterproof and
transparent layer that
covers the upper and lower
leaf surfaces
Epidermis One cell thick tissue on the
upper and lower surfaces
of the leaf consisting of
epidermal cells that are
arranged end to end and
contain no chloroplasts
except for the guard cells.
Perforated with pores
called stomata.
Guard cells Bean- shaped epidermal
cells that contain
chloroplasts, more
numerous in the lower
epidermis. Their inner
walls are thicker than the
outer walls.
Function
-Prevents excessive
loss of water
-protects the inner
tissues from
mechanical damage
- prevents entry of
pathogens.
-Secrets the cuticle,
protects
-Protects the inner
tissues
-Helps maintain
shape of the leaf.
Allows entry of air
and exit of water
vapour and other
gases via its stomata.
-regulate the opening
and closing of the
stomata
-controls water loss
from inside the leaf
and aid gaseous
exchange between
leaf tissue and
 atmosphere.
Palisade Upper layer of leaf -Absorbs light energy
layer mesophyll consisting of and serves as site for
cylindrical shaped palisade photosynthesis.
cells that are closely packed
and contain numerous
chloroplasts.
Spongy A layer of cells between -Allows for gaseous
layer palisade layer and lower exchange within the
epidermis. The cells are leaf tissue and
irregularly shaped and between the
loosely arranged with large atmospheres.
air spaces between them.
-Serves as site for
They contain chloroplasts,
photosynthesis
but few than palisade cells.
Chloroplasts Disc-shaped organelles Absorbs light energy
found in the cytoplasm of and serves as exact
palisade, spongy, and sites for
guard cells of leaf tissues. photosynthesis.
Vascular Consists of mainly of xylem -xylem tissues
bundle and phloem tissues found transport water and
in leaf veins. mineral salts to leaf
cells.
-phloem tissue
transport food from
manufacturing sites
to other parts of the
plant.
Difference between monocot and dicot leaf
Monocot leaf Dicot leaf
Long and narrow shaped Broad and wide shaped
Parallel veins Netted/branched veins
One type mesophyll layer Has spongy and palisade
mesophyll layer
Stoma equally distributed on Stoma mostly found on
top and bottom of the leaf. bottom of the leaf.

ROOTS
Types of roots
 Tuberous roots e.g. sweet potatoes, potatoes
 Tap roots e.g. carrot, legumes
 Fibrous roots e.g. onions, grass
 Adventitious roots e.g. maize, sorghum
Functions of roots
 Hold plants firmly in the soil.
 Absorbs water and dissolved mineral salts from the soil.
 Acts as food storage organ in some plants like sweet
potatoes, potatoes, beetroots, carrots, radish and
cassava.
Internal structure of root
Structure and functions of parts of internal structure of a
root
Part Description
Root hairs Microscopic outgrowths of
epidermal cells; numerous
and thin-walled and are in
very close contact with soil
particles
Epidermis Also called piliferous layer. -Absorption of water
One- cell thick outermost
layer consisting of thin-
walled cells.
Cortex Large region between the
epidermis and the vascular
bundles consisting of
loosely packed, thin walled
parenchyma cells.
Function (s)
Provide large
surface area for
absorption of water
and nutrients
and mineral salts.
- produces root
hairs.
- protects the inner
root tissues.
Storage of food and
water and act as a
packaging tissue
between epidermis
and vascular

Endodermis Inner most layer of the
cortex round vascular
bundles. Its cells have
casparian strip on the
radial and cross walls.
Pericycle A row of cells internal to
the endodermis around the
vascular bundle.
Vascular Located in the central
bundle position in both dicot and
monocot roots. Each
vascular bundle consists of
xylem and phloem tissues,
alternate in arrangement,
with xylem vessels slightly
on the inside. In dicots the
xylem vessels form a star
shaped pattern right in the
centre of the root.
Pith Occupies stem center in
monocots and consists of
parenchyma cells.
bundles.
-Controls the
amount of water
entering the vascular
bundles and -stores
starch
Forms part of
vascular cambium
and cork cambium
and gives rise to
lateral roots.
-xylem tissue
conducts water and
mineral salts from
roots to stems and
provides support to
the root tissue.
- phloem tissue
transports food
substances from
leaves to root cells.
Storage of food and
water and as
packing tissue
between other root
tissues.
Differences between monocots and dicots roots
Monocot root Dicot root
No cambium Cambium
Xylem vessels leaf shaped Xylem vessels star shaped
Pith No pith
No pericycle Pericycle
Small phloem Large phloem
Thicker endodermis Thin endodermis

Longitudinal section of a root

Structure and functions of the parts of the longitudinal

section of a root
Part structure function
Root cap Located at the terminal -Protects apical
position of the root tip meristem and -lubricates
consisting of simple passage through soil.
parenchyma cells.
-perceives gravity and
 controls direction of the
root growth.
Apical Composed of cells that Gives rise to many new
meristem are capable of dividing. cells adding cells to root
cap and others to region
of elongation.
Region of cell Located about 3mm Cells here lengthen and
elongation from the root tip. increase in size pushing
the root tip through the
soil.
Region of Located about 1cm Here various tissues
differentiation form the root tip begin to form by the
characterized by dense process of cell
growth of root hairs. differentiation. The
New root hairs tissues include
continuously develop epidermis, cortex,
nearer the tip as old pericycle, vascular
ones wither and bundles and endodermis.
disintegrate.

STEM
Functions of the stem
 Acts as passage for water and dissolved nutrients from
the roots to the leaves.
 Acts as passage for manufacturing food from leaves to
roots.
  Holds leaves in the bestposition to obtain sunlight and
air, and holds flowers in the best position for
pollination.
 Acts as food storage organ in some plants like
sugarcane and potatoes.

Internal structure of a stem

Part Description Function(s)

Epidermis A single layer of cells covering -Protects the inner
all other stem tissues. The tissue from dying,
outer walls of these cells are infections and
coated with waxy substance, mechanical injury.
the cuticle. In young stem the,
-in young stem it
the epidermis has the guard
allows for gaseous
cells and the stomata.
exchange between
the atmosphere
and stem tissues.
Cortex Large region between the -Storage of food
epidermis and the vascular and water.
bundles consisting of loosely
-strengthening
packed, thin walled
tissue in young
 parenchyma cells and other stems.
cells.
-chlorenchyma
cells
photosynthesize.
Endodermis Innermost layer of the cortex Storage tissue for
round the vascular bundles. starch
Its cells contain starch grains
and have thickened walls.
Vascular Consisting of phloem, xylem -Conduction of
bundles and cambium tissues. In water and mineral
dicots, the vascular bundles salts,
are few and arranged in a
-conduction of
concentric ring near the
food substances,
epidermis. In monocots,
vascular bundles are many -mechanical
and scattered through out the support and
stem section. There are more secondary growth.
near the epidermis than on
Phloem tissue
the central region.
transports food
Phloem tissue: consisting of substances from
sieve tubes, companion cells leaves to other
and packing tissue of parts of the plant.
parenchyma cells.
Xylem tissue
Xylem tissue: consists of conducts water
xylem vessels, tracheds, xylem and mineral salts
fibres (wood) and and provides
parenchyma as packing tissue support and
between vessels. strength to the
 Cambium tissue: a stem tissue.
meristematic tissue consisting
Cambium tissue
of living, actively dividing
gives rise to
cells, found between xylem
secondary phloem
and phloem tissues in dicots
and xylem tissues,
stems.
thus resulting in
the increase in the
thickness of the
stem.
Pith Made of parenchyma cells Storage of food
and occupies the centre of and water and as a
young dicots stems. In some packing tissue
stems the pith maybe hollow. between other root
tissues.
Differences between the monocot and the dicot stem
Monocot Dicot
Vascular bundles are Vascular bundles arranged
scattered randomly neatly in a ring
No cambium Cambium
Mostly herbaceous/soft tissue Normally woody

MOVEMENT OF AIR, WATER AND MINERALS IN A

PLANT
1. Diffusion: this is the movement of molecules from a region
of high concentration to region of low concentration until
evenly distributed. This is the way that O 2 and CO2 enter and
exit the plant.
Example: when photosynthesis is taking place inside the leaf,
O2 is being produced and the leaf fills up with large
concentration of O2. Meanwhile outside the leaf in the
atmosphere the concentration is much lower hence O 2 will
exit the leaf via the stomata by the process of diffusion.
CO2 on the other hand is being used up in the leaf hence its
concentration is quite low inside the leaf as compared to the
atmosphere so CO2 enters the leaf via the stomata by the
process of diffusion.
2. Osmosis: this is the movement of water molecules from
region of their high concentration (a weak solution) to a
region of their low concentration (a strong solution) trough a
semi permeable membrane. This is the way water enters the
plants roots.
Example: the cells of a root are filled with a very strong
mineral salt solution (a low water concentration) while a
moist soil has a high water concentration (weak solution)
hence water enters the roots from the soil via the root hair
membrane by the process of osmosis.
3. Active transport: this is the movement of molecules from a
region of low concentration to a region of high concentration
(against a concentration gradient) using energy to “pull” or
“pump” them across a membrane. This is the way mineral
enter the roots.
Example: the cells of a root are filled with a very strong
mineral salt solution( a high mineral concentration) while
the soil contains a much less concentrated solution of the
same minerals (low mineral concentration) hence the
mineral must be forced into the plant using energy to pull
them across the root hair membrane.
MANUFACTURE AND UTILIZATION OF FOOD IN
PLANTS
Photosynthesis
This is the process by which green plants manufacture their
own food (carbohydrates) from sunlight energy.
Word equation
Water + carbon dioxide sunlight energy
carbohydrates + oxygen
Chlorophyll
Chemical symbol equation
6H2O + 6CO2sunlight energy C6H12O6
+ 6O2
Chlorophyll
Requirements for photosynthesis
 H2O – enters root hairs by osmosis then travels up the
xylem to the leaf.
 CO2- enters the leaf via the stomata by the process of
diffusion.
  Sunlight-passes through the cuticle and epidermal cells
until it reaches the mesophyll layer where it will be
absorbed by chlorophyll.
 Chlorophyll- produced by the chloroplasts it absorbs
light energy from the sun and converts it to stored
chemical energy in carbohydrates.
Products of photosynthesis
 O2- exits the leaf via the stomata by the process of
diffusion OR remains in the plant to be used for
respiration.
 C6H12O6- remains in the leaf to be used for respiration
or travels through the phloem to places where it will be
used or stored for future use.
Respiration
This is the process by which all living things break down
carbohydrates in the presence of oxygen to produce energy.
It is called an oxidizing reaction because it occurs in the
presence of oxygen.
Word equation
Oxygen + carbohydrates -------------- water +
carbon dioxide + energy
Chemical symbol equation
O2 + C6H12O6 -------------------H2O + CO2
+ energy
Requirements for respiration
  O2- entered the plant by diffusion or was left over from
photosynthesis. It travels throughout the plant dissolved
in water or in the plant air spaces.
 C6H12O6- was produced by photosynthesis. It travels to
all cells via the phloem.
Products of respiration
 H20- is transported form cell to cell by osmosis then
around the plant in the xylem nad it is needed for: -
Photosynthesis
- Dissolving and absorbing nutrients.
- Transporting nutrients and food.
- Transpiration to cool the plant.
- Keeps the cell turgid hence giving the plant
shape.
 CO2- remains in the plant to be used for photosynthesis
or exits the leaf via the stomata by diffusion.
 Energy- all living cells need energy. If they do not
respire they die. This energy made by respiration
cannot be transported nor stored i.e. it must be
produced where ever and when ever it is needed. It is
used for:
- active transport
- germination
- opening of flower buds
 - cell multiplication and growth
Comparison of Photosynthesis and Respiration
Photosynthesis Respiration
Occurs only during Occurs day and night -24 hours/day
the day
Takes place only in Takes place in living cells
green plants
Takes place only on Takes place in both plants and
plants animals
CO2 in and O2 out O2 in and CO2 out
Absorbs sunlight Releases chemical energy
energy
Carbohydrates Carbohydrates oxidized
produced
UTILISATION OF FOOD IN PLANTS
 Growth and development
 Respiration to release energy
 Storage for future use
 Translocated to other plant cells
 Production of fruits and seeds
 Protection against pests and diseases
 General maintenance
Transpiration
This is the loss of water vapour from the stomata of the
leaves. It is done to cool the plant. It is also responsible for
the transpiration stream. Transpiration is controlled by the
guard cells on the leaf surface.
Factors affecting transpiration rate
 Humidity- high humidity decrease transpiration and
low humidity increase transpiration.
 Temperature- high temperature increases transpiration
 Wind- increases transpiration
Transpiration stream
The xylem vessels of a plant are long hollow tubes like
straws that extend from the roots to the leaves (see Elliott
page 66). Transpiration is a” force” that “sucks” water out
of the leaf. The lost water from the leaf is replaced by more
water from the xylem which in turn forces more up the
xylem from the roots. A steady”stream” of water is therefore
created from the roots to the leaf. This stream is called
transpiration stream and it is the force which causes water
to travel up through the xylem in plants.
Translocation
 This is the movement of dissolved food substances
through the plant.
 Leaves produce carbohydrates during photosynthesis
then these carbohydrates must be transported in the
phloem to various parts of the plant.
  There are three basic types of carbohydrates;
- Sugars- the simplest and smallest carbohydrates and the
only one which is soluble.
- Starch- the second largest carbohydrates it is
insoluble.
- Cellulose- a very large molecule and it is insoluble.
 Only soluble substances may be translocated hence only
carbohydrates in the form of sugars may move through
the phloem.
 Only insoluble substances may be stored hence sugars
must be converted to starch or cellulose before being
stored.
 A plant can easily convert sugar to starch or cellulose
and vise versa as the need arises.
FOOD STORAGE IN PLANTS
Plants Storage Food substance stored
organ
Cassava, sweet Root tuber Starch, proteins, and
potatoes vitamins A,B&C
Carrot, beetroot Swollen tap Sugars and starch
root
Irish potato& Stem tuber Starch and proteins
yams
Sugar cane and Stems Sucrose(sugar)
sweet reeds
Onions and garlic Bulb Sugars, starch, lipids
and proteins
Banana, tomato, fruits Sugars, fats and oils and
apple proteins
Groundnuts, Oil seeds Lipids, proteins and
sunflower carbohydrates
Rice, maize, oats cereals Starch, proteins and
lipids
Ginger Rhizomes Starch and lipids
Coco yams Corm Starch, proteins and
vitamins
REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS
Reproduction: formation and development of new offspring.
Reproduction is important for the continuation or
maintenance of the plant population. There are two types of
reproduction namely: sexual and asexual reproduction.
TYPES OF REPRODUCTION
a. Sexual Reproduction
 This involves producing new plants from seeds.
 The flower is the sexual reproductive part of
plants. Most flowers have both male and female
reproductive organs (bisexual). But in some flowers
there is a single sex organ either female or male
organ (unisexual).
Structure of a Bean Flower
Cross section of a Bean flower

Parts Description Functions

Pedicel Flower stalk at the Supports and attaches
basal end of a flower on to stem.
receptacle.
Receptacle Borne at the apex of Supports other flower
the pedicel. parts.
Sepal /Calyx Small and green in Protects the inner
colour. parts of a flower
during bud stage.
Petal/corolla Brightly coloured, Attract insects for
scented. Have nectar pollination.
to attract insects.
Aid insects in locating
the nectar.

Male parts
Stamen Male organ of the
flower made up of the
anther and the
filament. Also called
Androecium
Anther Consists of four Produces stores and
pollen sacs that releases pollen.
contain pollen grains;
these contain male
gametes.
Filament Is bearing an anther It holds the anther in
at its tip. the correct position for
pollination to take
place.
Pollen Male gamete of a Fuses with the female
flower gamete or ovule to
form a zygote which
 develops into a seed.

Female
parts
Carpel Female organ made
/Pistil up of stigma, style,
ovary and ovules.
Also called
Gynoecium.
Stigma Found at the end of Traps or receives
the style. pollen grains from the
anther.
Style Long and end in a -Positions the stigma
stigma and it is in the correct place for
covered with fine pollination to occur.
hairs.
-The passage through
which the pollen
moves to reach the
ovules.
Ovary Long, narrow and Produces and protects
pod-shaped with the ovules.
about 10 ovules in it.
Ovule Contain female sex Fuses with the male
gamete of a flower. gamete (pollen) to
form a zygote.
Structure of a Maize Flower
Female inflorescence (cob)

Functions of the parts of the female inflorescence

Parts Functions
Husk/Perianth/Leaf It protects the inner the parts of the
female flower while they are still
growing.
Ovary Produces ovule.
A maize crop contains many ovaries
and each ovary produces one ovule
which develops into a seed.
Silk/Feathery style Traps the pollen and provide a passage
to an ovule.
 Each ovary has its own feathery style
and it is called feathery style because
its tip is like a feather to trap pollen.

Male inflorescence (tassel)

Functions of the parts of the male inflorescence

Part Function
Bract Protects the anthers until they are fully
developed.
When the anthers have developed the bracts
open to release them.
Anther Produces, stores and releases pollen

POLLINATION
  Transfer of the pollen from anther to the stigma.
Types of Pollination
i. Self pollination: occurs when pollen from the same
flower falls on the stigma of the same flower. Sometimes
it can be pollen from the same plant falling on the
female flower on the same flower.
ii. Cross pollination: the transfer of pollen from the
anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower of
the same species. In cross pollination pollen is usually
transferred on the bodies of the insects entering the
flowers or by chance wind carrying the pollen from one
flower to the next.
Mechanisms of Pollination
Insect Pollination Mechanisms
This mechanism involves insect (bee) visiting a flower for
pollen and nectar, becoming dusted with pollen from the
ripe stamens and then some of the pollen on its body adheres
to the stigma of that flower or a different flower (same
species).
Wind Pollination Mechanism
When the flowers are mature, the filaments in the male
flowers elongate so that the anthers hang outside the bracts.
The pollen sacs split open and pollen is carried away in air-
currents, some of it becoming trapped on the feathery style
of the female flowers. In maize plants the anthers ripen
before the styles are receptive, hence pollination is unlikely
to occur between the flowers of the same plant, while cross
pollination between neighbouring plants is favoured.

Comparison between wind and insect pollinated flowers

Wind pollinated Insect pollinated
Flowers are small Large flowers/ inflorescence
Petals often green Petals brightly coloured
Anthers large and loosely Anthers are not large and
attached to flexible filament firmly attached to the
so that slightest air current filament and are in a position
can easily shake them. within the petals where
insects are likely to brush
against them.
Stigma and anthers hang Stigma and anthers are
outside the flowers, so that partly enclosed so that can
they are exposed to air only be reached by insects in
currents. search of nectar and pollen.
Feathery style and stigma Flat, lobed, sticky stigmas
hanging outside the flower. inside the flower.
Large quantities of pollen Small quantities of pollen
grains produced by the grains produced.
anthers.
Pollen grains are smaller, Pollen grains are large, rough
smooth and light so that is and sticky so that are not
easily carried by air currents. easily blown by wind but can
easily stick to insects’ body.
No nectar and scent Presence of nectar and scent
to attract insects

FERTILIZATION
 Fertilization is the fusion of the male and female cells or
gamete to form the zygote. In plants the male pollen
 grains fuse with the female ovules.The zygote divides
many times to form the embryo.Once pollination has
occurred the pollen grains absorbs nutrients from the
stigma and begin to swell up; the nucleus of the pollen
divides into two; the pollen tube and reproductive
nucleus.They later give rise to two male gametes or
pollen grains.Each pollen grain develops a pollen tube
which grows through the style towards the ovary and
when it reaches the ovary it enters in the small opening
called micropyle to reach the ovule.At this stage the
pollen tube bursts and pollen tube nucleus degenerates
(disappear or fall over). The two male gamete pass into
the embryo sac and one of them fuses with the ovum to
produce the zygote which divides to form the
embryo.The other fuses with the secondary nucleus to
form the endosperm, which serves as food reserve in
some seeds e.g. maize. In other seeds e.g. groundnuts,
the endosperm is used up before the seed is fully
formed.
Fertilization in a Bean Flower
A bean flower is insect pollinated. After pollen grains have
reached the stigma then nutrients are absorbed from the
stigma, they(pollen grains) grow a root like structure known
as the pollen tube. This tube grows down through the style of
the ovary. On reaching the ovary it grows to one of the
ovules and enters it through a hole known as the micropyle.
The tip of the pollen tube breaks open in the ovule and the
male nucleus fuses with the female nucleus there and hence a
zygote is formed.
Diagram of Fertilization

Fruit and Seed Formation

After fertilization, the petals, stamen, style and stigma
wither and fall off. The ovule develops to form a seed. In this
process the embryo enlarges, forming the embryo shoot or
plumule, and embryo root or radical. In the seeds of
monocotyledons the embryo gives rise to a single seed leaf or
cotyledon, while in dicotyledons, two cotyledons are formed.
As seeds mature, the ovary swells to accommodate them,
forming a fruit. In the case of beans, this is a long pod called
legume.
Diagram of a Seed Structure of a Bean
2. Asexual Reproduction
 The production of new plants from the vegetative parts
of a parent plant without fusing of male and female.
Advantages of Asexual Reproduction
 Each of the vegetative parts is capable of developing
into a new plant.
 The vegetative parts are hardier than seedlings; they
often have food reserve to help them become
established.
 Plant material is readily available to the farmer.
Types of Asexual Reproduction/ Vegetative Propagation
a. Natural Vegetative Propagation: this is whereby plants
produce new growth and form new plants from
naturally. These new plants can later be transplanted
to new areas to increase the population of plants.
 b. Artificial Vegetative Propagation: it is propagation of
plants by means of organs not designed for that
purpose and the farmer is responsible for establishing
the new growth.
Vegetative parts that can be used:
i. Sucker- e.g. banana
ii. Bulb- e.g. onion
iii. Corm- e.g. cocoyam
iv. Rhizome e.g. sugarcane
v. Root tuber- e.g. cassava
vi. Stem tuber e.g. potatoes
Methods of artificial vegetative propagation
i. Cutting
ii. Budding
iii. Grafting
iv. Layering
a. Budding
It is when uniting a vegetative bud to a seedling or mature
plant.
A bud is carefully removed from one plant and inserted on
the root stock of another plant of the same species. It is
commonly done in young citrus trees of around one to two
years. This enables good varieties of fruit to be budded onto
strong resistant root stock to produce a healthy strong
growing tree which gives desirable fruits.
During the process of budding, a T- shaped cut is made in
the bark of a root stock and a bud is cut into a shield shape.
The bud is then carefully inserted into the T-shaped cut. The
binding tape is tightened around the bud to keep it in
position but not covering the whole bud.
The objective of budding is to get the cambium of the bud to
touch the cambium of the root stock so that a union is
obtained.
Illustration of budding

b. Grafting
Grafting involves the uniting of two cambium layers to get a
fusion of growth giving a plant with the good qualities of two
different parents.
Grafting is done with two matched sections of stem. These
are usually the same type of tree and of the same thickness
so as to match. The cuts are made on the slant. A protective
wax is used to cover the joint to prevent it from rooting.
Examples of plants propagated by grafting are citrus trees,
tea etc.
Illustration of grafting

TROPISIMS
Tropism is the growth responses of plants that are directly
related to external environmental stimuli. Plants respond to
stimuli by growing towards a certain direction. The external
stimuli include light, gravity and water.
Types of Tropisms
1. Phototropism
This is response of plants to light. Plants shoots
respond by growing directly towards the light and they
 are said to be positively phototropic. This enables
shoots to reach up to where they will receive as much
light as possible. This is important to them as they need
light for photosynthesis.

2. Geotropism
This is a response to gravity. The roots response by
growing towards the pull of gravity and are said to be
positively geotropic. The shoots respond by growing
away from gravity and are said to be negatively
geotropic. Geotropism causes roots to penetrate the
soil, where they will gain support and find water and
nutrient.
3. Hydrotropism
This is the response to water shown by roots. They tend
to grow towards the source of water in the soil.
Hydrotropism enables roots to find a good supply of
water under ground.
4. Haptotropism
This is the response to touch shown by climbing plants.
If they contact with any support, they grow tightly
round it and hold on. This gives them support for their
own weak stems. This process helps climbing plants to
grow upwards to the light.
CROP PRODUCTION AND LAND PREPARATION
Land preparation
Land preparation means to make a given area ready for
planting or sowing. A piece of land that is ready for planting
should be weed free, pest free, level and with a fine tilth.
Land preparation involves a number of pre- planting
operations such as land clearing, destumping and soil
preparation.
Land clearing
This involves removal of all or most of the vegetation and
any other undesirable material from the garden site.
Reasons for clearing
 To facilitate subsequent tillage operations.
 To destroy existing vegetation to prevent future
competition with crops.
 To destroy pests and pathogens being harboured in the
existing vegetation.
Destumping
This means removal of tree stumps and their roots.
Reasons for destumping
 To facilitate mechanical operations.
 To get rid of pests and pathogens that the tree stumps
might be habouring.
  To increase land available for crop production.
Soil preparation (seedbed preparation)
Main reasons for preparing soil/ seedbed before planting
 To control weeds
 To incorporate organic matter into the soil for rapid
decomposition.
 To loosen up soil, thus improving aeration and water
percolation.
 To provide suitable soil condition for planting, seed
germination and growth of plants.
 To expose pests and pathogens to the atmospheric
hazards and their natural parasites.
 To obtain level seedbed as water penetration is more
uniform on level land.
Procedure for land preparation
Step1: Clearing of the site:thisinvolves removal of all
existing vegetation and destumping.
Non selective herbicides may be used to remove weeds, axes,
saws, tractors and chains and bulldozers may be used for
destumping. Spades are commonly used to clear smaller
area of land.
Step 2: Primary tillage: this involves digging/ ploughing the
top soil and ripping through the sub soil to improve
drainage. Ploughs/ subs soilers are used for large scale areas
while a spade or digging fork may be used for a smaller
area.
Step 3: Secondary tillage: this is the cultivation that follows
the initial ploughing of the soil and it is generally faster at
ashallower depth than primary tillage. The main aim is to
prepare a fine tilth for sowing but it may also have the
disadvantage of removing weeds. Disc harrows or zigzag
harrows may be used for large scale secondary tillage while
on a small scale a rake is used.
Step 4: Basal dressing: this is the application of fertilizers to
the seedbed. Normally superphosphate, lime or organic
fertilizers are applied after primary tillage by broadcasting
then incorporated into the soil by secondary tillage or they
may be applied at the same time as the drilling of seeds using
a planter.
Methods of soil preparation
i. Ploughing
This is the primary tillage operation whereby a plough,
tractor or animal drawn is used to break up the soil and
turn it under, thus burying trash and exposing fresh soil
to the air. A depth of 25 – 30 cm would be enough. After
ploughing the soil has rough tilth normally unsuitable
for planting most crops. Plough soil at its optimum
moisture content to avoid destruction of soil structure.
Deep ploughing using a chisel plough or ripper is done
to break soil pans to increase drainage.
ii. Discing
 The tillage operation that follows ploughing breaks up
clods and surface crusts, thereby improving soil
granulation and surface uniformity. It is performed
shortly after ploughing or at a later date after organic
residues has decomposed. Discing is also done to cover
seeds sown by broadcasting.
iii. Harrowing
This is the secondary tillage operation aimed at
producing level soil of suitable tilth for a given crop.
During this operation, the soil surface is further
granulated and smoothed in readiness for planting.
Furrows and ridges resulting from previous ploughing
and discing operations are smoothed out. Harrowing is
carried out using a harrow. There are various kinds of
harrow, namely disc, spring tooth and spike tooth
harrow.
Undesirable effects of deforestation
Deforestation: is the cutting of live trees at a faster rate than
they are being replaced through planting new ones.
 Loss of habitat for wildlife: birds and other animals
that inhabit trees become homeless and have no food to
eat, when trees are cut down forcing some to migrate
while others fall prey easily to their natural enemies.
 Increased rate of soil erosion by wind and water: soil is
left bare, reduces addition of organic matter to the soil
and removes the binding effect of tree roots on soil
resulting in increased rate of soil erosion.
 Loss of soil organic matter, hence reduction of soil
fertility: removal of trees cuts off the regular source of
organic matter to the soil through leaf fall and decay of
tree roots, resulting in reduced fertility.
 Increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere:
trees are carbon dioxide sinks that take in carbon
dioxide and give out oxygen to the atmosphere.
Collection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, well
above the normal level, causes the green house effect,
which contribute to global warming.
 Increased exposure of the soil to the heat of the sun:
leads to soil caking and reduced biological activity.
When tree canopy is removed, the soil is more exposed
to the full source of solar radiation, resulting in poor
soil structure, reduced organic matter content and
reduced microbial activities.
 Decreased supply of timber and timber
products:cutting down of too many trees in a given time
and place means that the supply of timber and their
products cannot be sustained.
 Loss of biodiversity: this means the limited supply of
genetic materialfor scientific research purposes. This
can bea serious hindrance to human advance and
civilization in future. Scientific research in agriculture
and medicine has always relied on specimens from wild
forests, which are rapidly disappearing.
 Leads desertification: this whereby land becomes less
and less productive due to human activities and effects
 of changes in climate. 25% of Botswana’s population is
already being directly affected by desertification, this
means turning good soil into desert.
 Increased occurrence of floods in the lower lands: this is
an indirect result of deforestation. Floods are due to
increased rate and volume of runoff water and reduced
rate of water infiltration.
MAIN TYPES OF CROPS FOUND LOCAL
VEGETABLE CROP PRODUCTION
SPINACH PRODUCTION
Uses of spinach and it’s by- products
 Spinach leaves are used as food either cooked or in
salads. They are a rich source of minerals and vitamins.
 Source of raw material for food processing industries.
 Source of income for vegetable growers who grow them
to the market.
 Spinach leaves can be fed to rabbits.
Climate requirements
It favours cool weather; optimum monthly temperatures
range from 150C -300C. It is a hardy crop and can resist light
frost. It grows best during autumn, winter and spring. If
grown in summer, some shade need to be provided for the
crop to give reasonable yield.
Soil requirements
Grows well in deep, fertile, moist and well- drained soils.
Sandy loam soil with a pH range of 6.0-7.0.
Seedbed preparation
 Plough garden site to a depth of 20- 25 cm well in
advance of planting time.
 If necessary, broadcast lime or composted kraal manure
over the ploughed area and then disc it.
 Broadcast 2.3.4 (24) fertilizer over the disced area at the
rate of 600kg/ha a week or so before planting.
 Harrow the garden site to fine tilth and level it in
readiness for sowing spinach seeds.
Planting (sowing)
Varieties: Ford hook Giant and Lucullus
Time of sowing
Recommended sowing times for most regions of Botswana
are March to April and August and September.
Method of sowing
There are two ways of planting spinach; direct sowing and
sowing in nursery seedbed.
i. Direct sowing: drill seeds about 1cm deep in furrows
30-45 cm apart. As seedlings grow thin out until they
are about 25 cm apart.
ii. Sowing in a nursery: drill seeds in furrows 1 cm deep,
10 cm apart. Water well and take out all the weeds.
 Stepwise thin out the spinach seedlings until they are
2 cm apart and 10 cm high. Transplant on cool day,
in rows 30 cm apart with 25 cm between plants.

Seed rate
30 seeds per meter of a row or 5-9 kg/ha
Spacing
2cm between seeds at planting time; row spacing is 30-
45cm; spacing between plants at thinning is 20-25 cm.
Fertilizer requirements
i. Basal dressing
 Broadcast and plough into soil compost or
composted kraal manure at the rate of 6 kg/m2
before planting. OR if no manure, add 60g/m2 of
2.3.4(24) compounds fertilizers.
ii. Top dressing
 Spinach has a high nitrogen requirement, so apply
14g/m2 of L.A.N a week after thinning.
 Thereafter repeat the treatment (14g/m3 of L.A.N)
every 2-3 weeks. Use side dressing or ring method
to apply the fertilizer.
Common pests of spinach
Most serious pests of spinach include aphid, cutworm,
cabbage moth, leaf miner, looper and spinach flea beetle.
Aphid
Sign of damage caused:
 Reduced plant vigour
 Yellowing and curled up leaves
 Stunted growth
 Growth of sooty mould and wilting of plants in severe
cases of attack.
 Besides aphids are transmitters of mosaic virus from
one plant to another.
Control and prevention measures
 Spray using dimethoate 50 % (roger) at the rate of 5ml
per litres of water. The safety period is 14 days.
 Kerosene- soap with emulsion can also be used to spray
against aphids.
 Spray or dust with pyrethrum, rotenone and sabadilla,
botanical insecticides.
 Grow spinach plants with effective companion crops
such as garlic and petunias.
 Remove weeds that provide shelter for aphids.
Common disease of spinach
They include leaf spot, damping off, mosaic, downy mildew
and fusarium wilt.
Leaf spot
The most common disease of spinach is leaf spot, which is
worst during hot wet weather.
Cause: fungus
Symptoms
 Small light brown circular spots with dark edges.
 They give scorched appearance to the leaves when they
become many.
 Affected leaves dry out and fall off.
Control and prevention measures
 Use Captan dust or Dithane M45 at the rate of 10 g per
5 litres of water.
 Plant resistant spinach cultivars if available.
 Immediate removal and destruction of affected leaves.
Signs of maturity
 Uniformly dark green in colour.
 Fully turgid
 Firm and strong stalk
 Fully savoyed (wrinkled) blade
 Crisp texture
  Large, edible size
Harvesting
 Harvesting of leaves starts about 40- 60 days after
planting and continues for 3 – 4 months.
 Cut the outer, mature leaves with a sharp knife 4cm
above ground level without injuring the new buds.
 Regular harvesting promotes production of new leaves.
 Estimated yield of spinach is 7.5 – 16 tons/ha depending
on the length of the cropping season and level of
fertilization.
 Average weekly yield per m2 is about 75- 150 g.
Marketing
 Leaves are sold soon after harvesting while they are still
fresh.
 They are tied in 0.5 kg bunches (bundles) for
marketing.
 Sellers use several methods to keep leaves in fresh state
for period of time.
 Leaves maybe wrapped in plastic bags, bundles of
leaves can be stored in 5-8 cm of cold water in an
upright container or bundles of leaves are covered with
damp sacks.
 They is high demand for spinach leaves all over the
country.
  It can be marketed to individual consumers at farm
gates, to supermarkets, schools, clinics and hospitals,
army barracks and vegetable traders.
Storage
 Spinach is very perishable and cannot be stored longer
than 10-24 days.
 It should be cooled rapidly to 00 c and placed under a
relative humidity of 95 -100%.
 Crushed ice, hydro- cooling and vacuum cooling are the
methods used for cooling spinach.
Record keeping
i. A diary: in which important events are recorded on
daily basis.
ii. Production records include:
 Labour use records
 Machine/ tractor record
 Water and fertilizer use record
 Field operations record per field
 Stock control records
 Spinach crop records including areas, yields,
planting and harvesting time, cultivars and
inputs used.
iii. Financial records include:
  Income and expenditure record
 Sales record
 Record of debtors and creditors
 Cash book(cash and bank account)
 Profit and loss account
 Balance sheet

FIELD CROP PRODUCTION

MAIZE PRODUCTION
Maize is a cereal field crop. Its seeds are high in starch and
are eaten as a staple food in many countries around the
world esp. Africa.
Use of the Crop and it’s By- Products
 Source of food products such as meal mealie, green
mealies, cornflakes, meal rice and samp.
 Source of industrial products such as oil, glycerine,
starch and beer.
 Source of raw material for manufacture of livestock
feeds.
 Source of useful by- products such bran, stovers, cob
(without grains).
 Source of income and employment.
  Bran and stalks (stovers) are used as livestock feed
while crushed cobs are used as litter or mulch.
 Cobs and dried stalks can be used as fuel for cooking.
Climatic Conditions Suitable for the Crop
i.Rainfall should range between 500 - 900 mm to get a good
yield.
 But can still be grown between 200 – 500mm though
yield will be low.
 Rainfall should be evenly distributed throughout the
growth stages but it should be sufficient during
flowering when it need it most.
ii.Temperature should range between 240C – 300C
 Hot sunny weather is preferred. At below 10 0C the
plant becomes stunted and at above 350C there is poor
pollination and fertilization.
Soil Conditions Suitable for the Crop
 Deep, fertile loamy soil rich in humus and free drainage
soil to avoid water logging.
 pH of 5 – 6.5.
Preparation of the Soil for Planting
 Plough as early as April – July if there is sufficient
moisture in the soil.
 OR as early as September when receiving the first spring
rainfall.
Procedure when preparing the soil for growing maize
i. Clearing of the old residues, stones and stumps
ii. Primary cultivation: e.g. ploughing or digging of the
soil is then done using a mould board plough and
tractor or spade in a small plot.
iii. Depth of digging is 20 – 30 cm.
iv. If necessary incorporate manures or lime at this
stage.
v. Secondary cultivation e.g. cultivating or discing to
break lumps.
vi. Harrowing or raking; final bed for planting or
transplanting into should be level with a rough tilth.
Planting (Sowing) and Spacing
i. Time: plantat the beginning of the rainy season
preferable November and December.
ii. Method: drilled directly in rows one seed per station
by hand or using mechanical planters.
iii. Depth of planting: 4 – 7 cm depending on the size of
the seed and moisture of the soil.
iv. Spacing between rows:60 – 100 cm depending on the
climate and intended usage.
v. Spacing between plants: 20 – 60 cm depending on the
climate and intended usage.
vi. Seed rate: 12 – 35 kg
 vii. Plant population: 15000 – 40000 plants per hectare
under rain fed conditions.
40000 – 80000 plants per hectare under irrigation.
Cultivars
Maize is normally white (human feed) or yellow (livestock
feed) there are many hybrids and open pollinated varieties
of each colour.
White
 Kalahari early pearl (open pollinated)
 Potchefstroom early pearl (open pollinated)
 SR 52, SC 403, SC 405, PN 373(hybrids)
Yellow
 Sc 506
 PN 4141
Fertilizer Requirement and Application
i. Basal dress:
 150 – 300 kg/ha superphosphate, one week before
sowing or at planting.
 5 – 20 tonnes/ha manure.
 2 – 10 tonnes/ha lime (depend on the soil pH)
ii. At planting: 150 – 250 kg/ha of 2:3:2, 3:2:1, 4:2:1 or
3:2:0 placed 5 – 8 cm fro the seed.
 iii. Top dress: 100 – 150 kg of urea, LAN or ammonium
sulphate at 2 -3 weeks after crop establishment that is
when crops are at knee high. The fertilizer is spread
in bands 10 – 20 cm from the plant then covers with
soil and irrigate.
Pest and Pest Control
Maize may be attacked by many different pest one of the
most common is the:
Stalk borer
i. Damage done:
 Makes holes on leaves.
 Weakens stem so that it can be damaged by wind.
 Feed on the growth point from the centre of the plant.
 Bore holes through the cob and stalk.
 Eat up grains.
 Causes stunted growth.
 Reduced yield.

ii. Prevention and control

 Practice crop rotation
 Burn crop residues to kill the pupa stage.
  Spray systemic or stomach pesticides while it is in the
larval stage.
 Use genetically modified seeds resistant to the pest.
 Field sanitation
Disease and disease control
Maize streak virus
i. Transmission: caused by the virus transmitted by the
leaf hopper which sucks juice from the leaves of
plants.
ii. Symptoms
 Whitish lines or streak on the leaf esp. on the xylem
vessels.
 Stunted growth
 Failure to flower
 Failure to produce the cob
 Reduced yield or no yield at all
iii. Prevention
 Field sanitation
 Spray with systemic pesticides e.g. carbaryl
 Avoid breaking plant leaves
 Plant resistant varieties
 Early planting
 iv. Control
 Uproot infected crops.
Recognition of Crop Maturity
Maize can be used as green maize or dry maize
i. As green maize:
 Cob is hard and firm.
 Silk start to dry out.
 Tassel has dried up.
ii. As dry maize or grain:
 Cob hangs down.
 The whole crop is dry.
 Grains have 12 – 20 % moisture.
 Leaves are yellowish in colour.
Harvesting
Must be harvested as soon as it shows signs of maturity to
avoid being damaged by pests.
i. Green/ fresh maize: cut cob from the stem by knife;
cob is twisted from the stem and pulled off.
Depending on the cultivars cobs are ready at 90 – 110
days after planting.
ii. Dry maize/ grain: cobs are ready to harvest at 130 –
150 days after planting; dry cobs twisted and pulled
off by hand the put into container.
Machines such as combine harvesters may be used to cut the
plant cob, thresh cob, winnow and store grains.
Preparation for Market
i. Fresh/ green maize: sold as loose cobs, boiled or
roasted.
ii. Dry grain: cobs are :
 Threshed
 Winnowed
 Graded
 Packaged into sacks according to their weight
and quality
 The grains may be sold and delivered in bulk
containers.
Storage
Maize must be stored in a place which is dry and has good
ventilation. The grains are stock piled in sacks or in bulk
silos. The place must also provide good protection from
pests.
Record keeping
iii. A diary: in which important events are recorded on
daily basis.
iv. Production records include:
 Labour use records
  Machine/ tractor record
 Water and fertilizer use record
 Field operations record per field
 Stock control records
 Maize crop records including areas, yields,
planting and harvesting time, cultivars and
inputs used.
iv. Financial records include:
 Income and expenditure record
 Sales record
 Record of debtors and creditors
 Cash book(cash and bank account)
 Profit and loss account
 Balance sheet
Relevant Legislation
i. Control of maize milling act of 1961 provides for the
control of maize milling and purchasing through
issuing of commercial miller’s license or restricted
miller’s license.
ii. Agrochemicals act of 1999 provides for registration
and licensing of agrochemicals, promotion and
advertising of agrochemicals, labeling of
 agrochemicals and precautions to be taken in
handling agrochemicals.
iii. Botswana agricultural marketing board act of 1974
provides for among other things, the grading and
classification of maize.

CROP PROTECTION
WEEDS
A weed is any plant that grows where is not wanted.
Effects of Weeds on Plants
i. Negative effects of weeds
 Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, light,
moisture and space.
 They reduce yield and quality of the crop.
 They harbor pests and diseases to crop plants.
 They affect the formation and distribution of roots.
 They increase the cost of production because cash,
labour and time have to be spent in their control.
 Weeds tend to grow faster than crops and they end
up shading crop plants from sunlight hence reduce
the photosynthetic ability.
 They block irrigation canal and waterways.
  The presence of weed seeds in grains reduces its
value.
ii. Positive effects of weeds
 They add nutrients to the soil when they die and
decompose.
 They provide a good ground cover which protects the
soil against erosion.
 They can act as mulch to reduce evaporation.
 Some weeds are preference alternate host to crop
pests and disease and can attract pests away from
crops thus helping in reducing pest and disease
problems on crops.
 During hot weather weeds help to shade soil and
crops against solar radiation.
Common Weeds found in Botswana
Common Scientific name Local name Description
name
Star grass Cynodon An annual grass
ductylon
Wildstriped Cucumis Monyaku An annual weed
cucumber myriocarpus
Green Chenopodium Senkgapapane Annual weed
goosefoot carinatum
Thorn Datura ferox Mokhure An annual weed
apple
Nut grass Cyperus Tlhatlha Common in
rotundus irrigated area
and is a
perennial grass.
Couch Digitaria Motlho Most
grass scalarum troublesome
perennial grass.
Mexican Argemone Lopero Annual weed
poppy mexicana and produces
large number of
black seeds and
host most crops.
Pig weed Amaranthus Thepe Broad leave
thumbergii annual weed.
Morning Ipomea obscura motantanyane Annual weed
glory
Witch weed Striga asciatica molelwane Parasitic weed
with no root
hairs hence
obtain nutrients
from host e.g.
maize, sorghum
and difficult to
eradicate.

Classification of Weeds
Three major ways of classifying weeds are as follows:
a. Length of growing period (life cycle)
b. Morphology
c. Mode of dispersal
a. Length of growing period
 It refers to the period required by weeds to complete
their life cycle i.e. from seed germination to
production. The two main categories are: annuals,
perenniasl and some are said to be biennials
i. Annual weeds
 They grow from seeds every year OR they complete
their life cycle in one year or growing season.
 They set seeds before they die.
 Examples are: witch weed, Mexican poppy, black
jack, thorn apple, pig weed etc.

ii. Perennial weeds

 They keep on growing every year
 Complete their life cycle in more than a year.
 Have food storage in roots, rhizomes/stolons.
 Examples are:couch grass, star grass nut grass spear
grass, Rhodes grass etc.
iii. Biennial weeds
  Complete their life cycle in two years.
 Example are:
b. Morphology
 It refers to structure of plant, whether its leaves are
narrow or broad leaves.
i. Narrow leaved weeds
 Monocotyledon weeds (have single cotyledon in their
seeds)
 Have thin leaves
 Leaves have parallel veins
 Fibrous roots
 Examples are: couch grass, star grass, nut grass,
Rhodes grass, spear grass etc.
ii. Broad leaved weeds
 Large leaves
 Dicotyledons (have two cotyledons in their seeds)
 Leaves have network of veins
 Majority have tap roots
 Examples are: thorn apple, Mexican poppy, black
jack, pig weed etc.
c. Mode of dispersal
  Refers to ways of scattering or spreading weeds seeds
from one place to another.
 This includes:
i. Water dispersed weeds
 Flowing water spread weeds from one place to
another.
 E.g. yellow nuts edge
iii. Wind dispersed weeds
 Have wing like or parachute like structures
 Produce plenty of seeds which are small, light and
feathery.

iv. Animal dispersed weeds

 Some weeds seeds have spines and hooks; such seeds
attach to the coat of animals passing e.g. black jack
and upright starbur.
 Some are eaten and excreted somewhere e.g.
Amaranthus spp.
 Men also disperse weed seeds by cultivating weed
contaminated seeds.
v. Self explosion dispersed weeds
 Some weeds produce in pods.
  When dry, pods open with a small explosion,
scattering seeds some distance away from the plant.
 E.g. Mexican poppy and large cocklebur
vi. Weeds that disperse vegetatively
 Some weeds produce vegetatively
 Common here are the grasses which produce
rhizomes and stolons.
 When these grass rhizomes or stolons get chopped up
into small pieces during tillage operations there
spread and where the vegetative parts land, new
weeds will grow.
 E.g. couch grass and star grass.
Methods of Weed Control
Weed control is divided into four categories these are:
biological, mechanical, cultural and chemical control.
a. Biological Weed Control
 This involves use of living organism to control weeds.
The biological agent will be the predator of the weed.
 The agent will either kill the weed or simply limit its
spread
 For example goats may be used as biological agents in
controlling certain weeds in a pasture this can be
done before planting or after harvesting.
  Some specific pests or disease organisms may be
introduced in an area where they will attack a
specific weed but not harm other plants.
 Biological weed control is not common in Botswana.
i. Advantages
 Its cheap
 Reduced costs for animal feeds
 Quick and easy methods compared to mechanical and
cultural methods
 It is environmental friendly
 It is less labour intensive since all the work is done by
the organism in question
ii. Disadvantage
 Once the weed has been eradicated the agent may
begin feeding on crops.
 Finding the correct agent can be a long, costly
process.
 The methods does not control weeds effectively since
the organism only feeds on the foliage therefore the
weeds grow again some time.
 Where the organism has to be a breed or imported,
the method might require high expertise beyond the
knowledge of the ordinary farmer.
b. Cultural Weed Control
  This is the method whereby the farmer gives the crop
the most favourable conditions to out compete the
weeds.
 This involves the use of agronomic practices that have
the following effects:
- Prevents seeds of weed from germinating
- Shades/ smoothers weeds so that they will receive
sunlight.
- Stimulates germination of weeds but prevents
the seedling from growing
- Gives plants an advantage to develop strongly
before weeds appear.
Examples of these practices are:
i. Early planting
 Seeds are sown early so that they can seedlings
emerge and be strong and well established before
weeds can germinate. It gives the crop an advantage
over the weeds.
ii. Use of clean seeds
 Crop should not have weed seeds among the m since
no one want to sow weeds.
iii. Good crop cover
 Correct spacing result in quick ground cover by crop
foliage. This overshadow/ smoother weeds preventing
 them from receiving sunlight. Correct plant distance
is better achieved by using row planting.
iv. Crop rotation
 Some weeds, mainly parasitic weeds can only grow
with the host crop. By rotating these crops with
others that are not affected the weeds will be
controlled.
v. Mulching
 By covering the soil between crops with layer of
mulch. Weed seedlings are smothered and prevented
from developing.
vi. Flooding
 An important method of weed control in rice
cultivation. Rice plants can respire even though the
roots are covered with water, but most weeds cannot
so they will die.
vii. Cultivation (qualified)
 Has the effect of cutting the roots of weeds and
disturbing their growth. Deep ploughing, harrowing
or hoeing may be done.
 Advantages
 Cheap
 Environmental friendly
 Does not require high expertise.
  Many of cultural methods also help control pests and
disease
 Can also help maintain soil fertility.
 Disadvantages
 Time consuming
 Labour intensive
 Does not usually kill weeds but just limits the
number.
 Some of the methods used such as flooding can only
be limited to certain crops.
c. Mechanical Weed Control
 Involves the use of tools, implements and machines to
physical remove the weeds.
 In small areas hand weeding is done with hoes,
slashers and pangas.
 In large areas ploughs and harrows are used.
i. Advantages
 It is faster than cultural method.
 Where cultivation is used, the weeds are effectively
controlled since even the roots are destroyed.
 Where tractors are used it is less labour intensive.
ii. Disadvantages
  Where hand implements are used it is more labour
intensive
 Time consuming
 Need skills to operate machines.
 Where heavy machinery are used, can lead to
destruction of soil structure.
 Some machinery used such as tractors emit toxic
fumes to the atmosphere therefore cause pollution.
d. Chemical weed control
 Involves the use of chemicals called herbicides to kill
weeds. They are basic types of herbicides: selective
and non selective.
 Selective herbicides: kill some weeds or certain weeds
e.g. MCPA (kills broad leaved weeds) and Dalapon
(kills narrow leaved weeds)
 Non selective herbicides: kill all weeds or wide range of
weeds. e.g. Paraquat and Diquat
 Pre - emergence herbicides:They applied to the soil to
stop the weeds coming up or they can be sprayed on to
the weeds to kill them directly. This might be applied
before the crop emerges. This is how and when the non
- selective herbicides are applied. They cannot be
applied while the crops are growing or they will kill the
crops.
 Post emergence herbicides: this are applied after the
crop emerges to kill weeds growing in the crop. This is
how the selective herbicides are applied.
i. Advantages
 It is very quick.
 Less labour intensive.
 More effective than other methods.
 Operations like harvesting become very easy due to
less interference from weeds.
 It ensures quality produce since there is no
contamination of produce with weeds.
 It is very effective in controlling perennial, stubborn
weeds that would otherwise be very difficult to
control mechanically.
ii. Disadvantages
 Some herbicides are non selective and if not used
with care can destroy unintended plans including the
crop to be protected.
 Herbicides are expensive
 All herbicides are poisonous and can be dangerous if
handled carelessly.
 Technical knowledge is required.
  Herbicides pollute air and water causing deaths of
other living things such as bird and fishes including
useful microbes in the soil thus reducing soil quality
PESTS
Meaning: a pest is any organism that significantly reduces
the quality and quantity of farm produce. Pest damage to
crops may take place in crop fields or in storage.
Common examples of pests
Pest Common examples
Large mammals Baboons, monkeys
Rodents Rats, mice, moles, squirrels.
Birds Bush fowls, doves, qualea bird
Insects Locusts, grass hopper, aphids,
weevils, termites, crickets.
Pathogens Virus, bacteria, fungi
Weeds Witch weed, black jack, thorn apple
Moluscs Slugs, snails
Mites Red spider mite, red and yellow tea
mites
Nematodes (eelworms) Root – knot nematode

Classification of Pests
  Crop pests are classified according to the shape and
design of their mouth parts as well as the type of
damage caused. Crop pests (insects) have been classified
into three groups namely:
a. Biting and chewing insects
thse insects have well developd mouth parts (mandibles) for
chewing the leaves of crops and thereby reducing
photosynthesis, thus hindering the growth of plants and
resulting in low yields.
 Examples are: grass hoppers, beetles, leaf miners,
locusts termites
b. Piercing and sucking insects
These insects have a hallow, needle like tube, or proboscis,
that pierces the plant tissue. It damages the physical
structure of the plant and causes loss of ceel sap which
reduces the rate of plant growth. These insects also inject
toxic saliva into the plant, which causes lesions, and
transmits plant diseases.
 Examples are: aphids, mealy bugs, scale insects.
c. Boring insects
These insect bore their way into the plant and live there
while feeding on the sap. They mak holes or tunnls in the
plant, some inside roods and grains. This lowers the quality
of produce and some plants die.
 Examples are: weevils, stalk borer and American boll
worm.
 Some important terms
 Metamorphosis:
 This is the term given to the changes which an insect
undergoes from moment it is hatched until it is a
mature adult capable of reproducing. Metamorphosis
may be complete or incomplete.
 Complete Metamorphosis
 This involves four developmental stages namely: egg,
larvae, pupa and adult. Each of which is totally
different from the other. Examples are: flies, butterflies,
bees, moths, stalk borer etc.

 Diagram of four stages

  Incomplete Metamorphosis
 This involves three developmental stages namely: egg,
nymph and adult. The nymph resembles the adult
though they differ in size and feed on the same food.
Examples are: locusts, termites, cockroaches, aphids,
etc.
 Diagram of three stages

a. Biting and Chewing Insects

 The mouth parts of this group are specialized to bite,
cut and chew the plant parts, hence causing damage.

i. Description of one named pest

ii. Name: Locusts
iii. Life cycle:incomplete metamorphosis
The adult female lay eggs and burry them in the soil prior
to winter. When the conditions become favourable, the
eggs hatch into nymphs. The nymphs are found in clusters
feeding on leaves. As they become mature the males and
females mate, the female will then lay eggs and the cycle
continue.
iv. Host crop
 Mainly cereals such as sorghum, millet and maize.
v.Damage caused
 They cut and feed on leaves of crops as well as grains.
 Stunted growth
 Poor or no yield
 Tattered leaves
 Whole plant may die.
vi. Methods of control
 Early planting
 Burning of crop residues
 Chemical control (Malathion which is both stomach and
contact poison.)
 Weed control
 Crop rotation
  Use of resistant varieties
b. Piercing and sucking insects
 The feeding mouth part is specialized to pierce plant
tissues such as leaves, stems and fruits. The mouth part
is a needle like stylet which is inserted through the leaf
surface to suck out sap.
i. Description of one named pest
ii. Name: Aphids
iii. Host crop: cowpeas, maize, sorghum and beans.
iv. Life cycle: incomplete metamorphosis
 In warm humid conditions, aphids produce large
numbers of young ones. The eggs develop into nymphs
inside the body of the female. The nymphs are very
similar to their adult and have six legs, compound eyes
and antennae. The nymphs feed on the juice extracted
from the plant. They undergo a series of moulting
(shedding outer skin). After several days, the aphids are
capable of producing their own young. Only wingless
female are produced at first, but when they get
overcrowded some female grow wings. They enable the
aphid to migrate to another plant where they can
establish a new colony by laying more nymphs.
 Aphids reproduce rapidly giving birth every 2 to 3 days
hence their population increases quickly. Towards the
end of rainy season eggs are laid covered with hard shell
to avoid damage by unfavourable weather conditions.
When conditions are favourable the eggs hatch into
 wingless female nymphs which will mature and start to
reproduce parthenogenecally (the eggs developing
without fertilisation).
v. Damage caused
 They suck plant sap resulting in leaf curling
 They transmit disease such as cowpea mosaic virus and
triteza in citrus.
 Plants will turn yellow
 Stunted growth
 Aphids produce sweet excreta as they feed and this
attracts some fungi.
vi. Methods of control
 Crop rotation
 Early planting
 Weed control
 Field hygiene
 Use of resistant varieties
 Use of natural enemies
 Use of chemical such as Kombat, Dimethoate 40
 Cultural methods such as use of wood ash and applying
water on the leaves of the plant.
c. Boring Insects
These groups of insects’ pests also have the biting and
chewing mouth parts. They bore holes and make tunnels
in the tissues of the plants. The most notorious pests are
stalk borer, American boll worms and weevils.
i. Description of one named pest
ii. Name: stalk borer
iii. Host crop: maize
iv. Life cycle: complete metamorphosis
 The adult stage of this insect is the moth. The adults
mate and female lay eggs on the leaves of plants. As the
eggs hatch into larvae, they bore into the stalk and start
eating the plant tissue. It is the larval stage or
caterpillar which causes a lot of damage to the crop.
 After few weeks the developed larvae changes into the
pupa which is the resting period before it become an
adult. When conditions are favourable, usually
beginning rainy seasons the adult moth emerges from
the pupa casing and continuer the life cycle.
v. Damage caused to plants
 Leaf damage the larval make little holes which show up
when the leaf opens.
 The growing point get damaged
 Stunted growth
 Tunneling of stems
  Failure to flower
 Failure to set seeds and chaffy heads
 Damage grains in cobs
 Reduced yield
vi. Methods of control
 Field hygiene (burning crop residues)
 Crop rotation
 Use of resistant varieties
 Spraying the larvae with chemicals such as Dipterex,
Rip cord.
 Seed treatment before planting
 Use of the natural enemies of the larvae and the moth.
 Early planting
 Weed control
d. Nematodes
Nematodes are very small worms (0.5-1.5 mm) with
elongate, roundish and unsegmented bodies. They live in the
soil.

Damage caused Control

 Short roots  Using resistant
 varieties
 Stunted growth  Physical agents such
as heat
 Wilting of plant  Crop rotation
 Swelling of roots  Fumigation
 Cause diseases  Use of nematicides
 Inflicted wounds
 Blocked xylem vessels
 Gall formation

e. Rodents
Rodents are family of animals with continuously growing
incisors e.g. hare, mice and rats.
Damage caused Control
 Dig up plants  Use of cats and dogs
 Eat and damage seedlings  Use of baits
 Eat up standing crops in the  Use of metal or
field concrete in storage
facilities.
 Damage grains in the storage
 Damage storage facilities
  Contaminate grains in storage
by urine and faeces

PLANT DISEASES
A disease; is a condition involving a deviation from normal
health. Diseases may cause physiological disorder or
structural abnormality of a plant or any of its parts or
products that reduces the economic value of the crop its
product.
Diseases caused by Infections Agents
1. Fungal disease
There are many diseases caused by fungi but for our interest
we shall deal with only one disease namely;
a. Cob and Tassel Smut (Phori)
i. Mode of infection;The fungi [spore] infect the seed, so
when the seed are sown they develop within the seedling
which will carry the spores along the xylem vessels. During
tasseling the spores start to multiply rapidly on the tassel
and the cob hence the name cob and tassel smut. The disease
appears as black dust spores.
ii.Harmful effects
 No cob formation
 Reduced crop yield
  Poor quality cob and grains
 In extreme cases no yield at all
iii. Prevention
 dressing seed with mercury dusts
 using certified seeds
 do not use \ sow seeds from a crop which was affected
by the disease

iv. Control
 field sanitation
 crop rotation
 proper selection of uninfected cobs during harvesting

2. Bacterial disease
There are many diseases caused by bacteria but for our
interest we shall deal with only one disease namely:
b.Bacterial Wilt of Tomatoes
i. Mode of infection;Pathogen is soil borne. The pathogen
invade the xylem vessel through acut on the stem or even
through the stoma of the plant, multiply in the xylem tissue
and transported through the whole the plant.
ii. Harmful effects
  The disease produces a slime which reduces the follow
of water in the plant resulting in wilting and often death
of the plant
 No vascular tissuediscoloration
 No root growth
 Reduced quality of the fruits.
 Stunted growth
 The whole plant dies
 Reduced yield
iii. Prevention
 no prevention but advice is to use certified seeds
 treating planting materials with bactericides
 sterilize or fumigate soil used in plant nurseries
iv. Control
 Crop rotation
 Burning of infected plants.
 Sterilize the soil or soil solarisation by covering the soil
with plastic sheeting to raise the soil temperature to kill
the bacteria.
 Treat seed with hot water before.
 planting resistant varieties
Viral disease
There are many disease caused by virus but for our interest
weshall deal with only one disease namely;
Maize Streak Virus
i. Transmission: caused by the virus transmitted by the
leaf hopper which sucks juice from the leaves of plants.
ii. Symptoms
 Whitish lines or streak on the leaf esp. on the xylem
vessels.
 Stunted growth
 Failure to flower
 Failure to produce the cob
 Reduced yield or no yield at all.
iii. Prevention
 Field sanitation
 Spray with systemic pesticides e.g. carbaryl
 Avoid breaking plant leaves
 Plant resistant varieties
 Early planting
iv. Control
 Uproot infected crops.
HERBICIDES (also known as weedicides)
 These are chemicals used to kill weeds.
a. Mode of Action
i. contact herbicides
 These are herbicides which are sprayed onto the
plant and kills parts which are touched, the whole
plant eventually dies. E.g. Paraquat
ii. Systemic Herbicides
 The herbicides is sprayed on leaves, it’s the absorbed
and translocated throughout the plant by the phloem
vessels, killing the plant in the process, e.g. 2,4,D and
MPCA.
iii. Soil acting
 The chemical is sprayed onto the soil after land
preparation. The weed seedlings are killed before or
after they emerge e.g. Propachlor and Linuron.
b. Time of Application
i. Pre-mergence
 The herbicide is applied after the seeds have been
sown but before they emerge. the seedlings are killed
as soon as they emerge. E.g. Atrazine, Paraquat.
 ii. Post emergence
 The herbicides are applied to the field after the crop
is established. The herbicide will kill the weed and
leave the crop (it can kill monocotyledons or
dicotyledons only). E.g. 2, 4, D and MPCA.
c. Selectivity
i. Selective Herbicides
 These are herbicides which kill certain types of weeds
or select the weeds to kill example: non grass or grass
weeds and vise versa. They are applied post
emergence to kill either dicotyledons on bean crop or
monocotyledons on a maize crop. E.g. Atrazine, 2, 4,
D and MPCA.
ii. Non- Selective Herbicides
 The herbicides which kill all the weeds or wide range
of weeds. They are used at land preparation or pre-
emergence. They are effective in killing weeds on
road sides. E.g. Paraquat.

PESTICIDES
  These are chemicals that control/ kill pests

a. What they Control

Name of target organism Pesticide name
 Insects  Insecticides
 Rodents  Rodenticides
 Nematodes  Nematicides
 Fungi  Fungicides
 Ticks and mites  Acaricides
 Termites  Termicides
 Weeds  Herbicides
 Aphids  Aphicides
 Molluscs  Molluscicides
 Birds  Avicides

b. How they kill

i. Contact Pesticides
 They are sprayed directly on the body of the pest or on
the plant and as the pest come in contact with it gets
killed. E.g. Malathion, Dimethoate, Dipterex and
Malasol.
ii. Systemic Pesticides
 The chemical is sprayed on the plant and is absorbed by
the plant and circulates in the plant system. When
piercing and sucking pests suck the cell sap they are
killed. E.g. Aphicides and Dimethoate.
iii. Stomach Pesticides
 These are eaten up together with food and then they
affect the pest from their stomach. They cause bloating
or constipation which lead to death of the pest. E.g.
Malathion and Carbaryl.

USES OF FARM CHEMICALS

a. Active Ingredients
 It is a toxic/ active part of a farm chemical.
b. Inert Material
 It is a non- toxic part of a farm chemical, its role is to
carry the active ingredient.
c. Forms of Pesticides
i. Dust
  A dry formulation where active ingredient is a fine
powder. It is used directly on the plant or applied to the
seed. E.g. Dieldrin, Lindane, Dipterex and Blue death.
ii. Granule
 These are in form of small solid particles (2-5 mm in
diameter). Used for soil application and sometimes for
foliar application. E.g. Aldrin, Furadan, Nemagon.
iii. Fumigant
 They act in fumes/ gaseous form. They are mainly used
in closed areas like stores or houses but some can be
used in soils. E.g. Phostoxin, Vapam
iv. Spray
 These are applied in liquid droplets from under
pressure created by a fine nozzle of a sprayer. They are
made in form of wettable powder (WP); e.g. Carbaryl,
Gardon, water soluble liquid (WSL); water soluble
powder (WSP); emulsifiable concentrate (EC); e.g.
Malathion, Dimethoate.
v. Aerosols
 A small container in which gas under pressure is used
to aerate and disperse a liquid spray through a valve.
E.g. Baygon, Doom, Target montern.
d. Proper use of a Knapsack Sprayer and its Calibration
 It consists of a tank, of either plastic or stainless steel, a
pump lever, an adjustable spray nozzle with jets at
  the end of lance, on a flexible hose connected to the tank
plus straps for carrying the tank on the back.

Diagram of a knapsack sprayer;

e. Calibration
 To calibrate is to calculate or determine the quantity of
liquids/ spray needed to cover a particular area.
 The amount of spray solution depends on:
 Speed at which the operator moves.
 Pressure in the tank
  Type of nozzle
 Method of spraying
f. Steps
 Select and determine the sample area.
 Fill the tank with a measured volume of water.
 Spray at normal speed and constant height until the
spray is empty.
 If the area is not complete, fill the tank again and
complete the area.
g. Formula
 Spray volume (SV) = initial water volume – final water
volume
Area of test site
 Units are litres/ m2
 final to get the quantity of spray mixture needed to
spray an area;
 quantity of spray mixture= SV x area of the field /
seedbed (m2)
h. Precautions taken when handling Farm Chemicals to
Minimize Pollution and Poisoning
 All chemicals should be treated with care, weather they
are known to be poisonous or not. For safe and efficient
use, a number of points need to be observed.
i. Precautions before Application
 Always wear protective clothing when working with
chemicals. The person working with dangerous
chemicals should wear rubber or plastic clothing or
overalls, rubber boots. Rubber gloves and face mask to
prevent breathing in fumes and to keep spray out of the
eyes.
 Always use the correct pesticide for the pest being
controlled.
 Read the labels carefully, especially the safety
precautions before use.
 Always use the correct dosage, manufacture’s
instructions or expert advice should be followed. Too
small dose may result in poor control and too high a
dose may damage the crops.
 Do not use persistent chemicals when there are effective
less persistent alternatives.
 Avoid using pesticide if you have a cut or sore on the
skin.
ii. Precautions during Application
 Always wear protective clothing when working with
dangerous chemicals.
 Do not smell or taste any chemical and make sure that
you donot breath in any fumes or dust from chemicals.
  Do not spray or dust in windy conditions because the
spray or dust will blow back on to other people or fields
where we do not want the chemical to fall.
 Do not spray against the wind; otherwise the spray will
blow back on to you.
 Never eat, drink, or smoke when handling chemicals
because some of the chemicals may get into your mouth.
iii. Precautions after Application
 Never store dangerous or poisonous chemicals in any
thing other than their original containers.
 Wear protective clothing when cleaning spray
equipment after use.
 If chemicals are left over after spraying or dusting, they
must be returned to the safe lockable cup board.
 Empty containers must not be burned because the
smoke could carry the poison to other places.
 Do not throw empty containers in rivers or wells
because this will pollute the water. Burry the containers
deep in the ground, where the soil is dry, so that the
poison can not get in underground water.
 After spraying wash your hands, arms, head, face and
feet with clean water and soap.
 Allow the correct time to pass between spraying a crop
and harvesting for consumption.
i. Possible Environmental Hazards of Farm Chemicals
 Interference with ecosystem – since farm chemicals are
toxic to most living organisms, they kill a lot of
unintended organisms leading to ecosystem imbalance
and loss of biodiversity.
 Pollution –chemicals pollute underground water, air
and soil making it toxic to plants and organisms found
in it.
 Death of useful organisms
 Development of super pests – continuous use of
pesticides allows certain pests to develop resistance to
such chemicals and therefore become very difficult to
control.
 Development of super weeds – continuous use of
herbicides allows certainweeds to develop resistance to
such chemicals and therefore become very difficult to
control.
 Acidic rain – the farm chemicals cause pollution of air
which leads to formation of acidic rain.
MODULE THREE
ORNAMENTALS,LAWN MANAGEMENT AND
LANDSCAPING
ORNAMENTALS
Ornamentals are plants grown for decoration
Types of Ornamentals
There are four main types ornamentals based on how plants
are used. Some plants may fall into more than one group;
1. Bedding Plants
 Are normal flowering plants that are planted in large
numbers, in plots to create a colorfuldisplay? Examples
include Petunia, Marigold, African daisy and
Impatiens.
2. Potting Plants
 Are ideal suited to being grown in containers. They may
be kept indoor or out. Examples include Ficus sp,
Monstera, Elephant ear, and Caladium sp.
3. Flowers for Cutting
  These plants produce beautiful flowers that can last for
long time when cut and placed in water. Examples
include Roses, Orchid, Lilies, and Gladiolus.
4. Lawn
 These are plants which can withstand heavy trampling
that are used decoratively to cover the ground. Most
lawns are made of grass but some other plants species
can also be used. Examples of plants used for lawn
include kikuyu, Cynodon dactylon, Buffalo grass,
Clover, Chamomile.
Special Equipment/Materials Used in Production of
Ornamentals

1. Seed boxes
 These are portable trays with many drainage holes at
the bottom.
 They are usual made of plastic and are used to sow
seeds.
  Seeds which do not grow well when sown directly in situ
[in the ground] are scattered over a suitable medium in
box.
 The boxes are normal kept in a nurseryuntil seedling
emerge and require more space.
 Watering must be done carefully to avoiding eroding
the soil in box or damaging immature seedlings and he
box should be well place to in sure that seedlings receive
the best possible environmental condition.
2. Pots
 These come in a wide variety of size and materials.
 Many ornamentals are put in pots for marketing
purposes.
 Smaller pots may be used to sow seeds and medium
sized ones are common used for asexual propagation of
plants.
 Any type of plants may be grown in pots but only
potting will remain in the pots their whole lives.
 Plants in pots require careful watering and fertilizing as
their roots are confined and they cannot for their own
nutrients or water when the soil in the pot is exhausted.
 The size of the pot is determined by the size of the roots.
 The pot must accommodate plants without wasting too
much space or constricting their growth.
3. Seed beds
  These are careful made plots used for sowing seeds.
 The seed bed must be perfectly level, moist and weed
free, with affine tilth.
 Seed beds may be made in the nursery and the seedling
later transplanted, or it may be constructed directly
were plants are intended to remain.
Importance of Cleanliness of Equipment
 Cleanliness is vital to disease prevention.
 Seed boxes, pots, digging tools, cutting tools and soil
should be clean to avoid the transfer of diseases.
 Containers and tools can be disinfected before use and
soil can be sterilized in an oven for 30 minutes at 900C.
 This will kill all living organisms without destroying the
organic matter.
PROPAGATION OF ABEDDING PLANT e.g. PETUNIAS
a. Preparations of the Soil Mixes
 Mix moist loan, river sand and leaf mould in a 3:2:1
ratio.
 The loam is cheap and fertile, the river sand is also
cheap and improves aeration and drainage while the
leaf mould improves water holding capacity and adds
nutrients.
 This mixture should be sterilized before use and is
suitable for plants in seed boxes, trays or pots.
b. Timing of Planting
 Petunias take about 13 weeks to grow and start
producing flowers.
 The best time to sell the petunias is in spring or
summer(Oct-Feb)when the rains begin and many
people are eager to improve their gardens.
 Therefore the best time to plant petunias is in Jul-Nov.
 Smaller quantities of petunias can be sown in the other
months of year as they may be purchased year round
but the highest demand will be in spring-summer so the
greatest number should be sown in Jul-Nov, to obtain
the greatest profits.
c. Sowing of Petunias
 Clean and disinfect the seed box.
 Fill with a moist loam, river sand, and leaf mould
mixture in 3:2:1 ratio.
 Presssoil firmly in seed box to level and remove air
pockets.
 Scatter seeds on the soil surface as evenly as possible.
 Press seeds into soil gently-do not bury or cover seeds as
they are very small.
 Sprinkle with water.
  Coverseed box withglass orclear plastic to reduce
evaporation,increase humidity and help maintain
asuitable temperature for germination.
 Irrigate when necessary do not allow soil to dry out.
 Remove coveringafter emergence has occurred to allow
seedling access to light and air.
d. Pricking Out of Seedlings
When seedlings have developed two true leaves they must be
transferred from seed box to a different container to
improve spacing. This is called pricking out:

Steps for pricking out

 Fill the new container (use either a large seed box, a
celled tray or small pots) with the loam, river sand, and
leaf mould mixture (ratio3:2:1) and press soil firmly to
remove air pockets.
 Remove a seedling from box using a dibberto separate
the roots from the other seedlings. Touch only the leaves
as touching the stem may damage the vascular bundles.
  Make a small hole (about 1.5cm deep)in the soil in the
new container using the dibber and place the roots of
the seedling in the hole.
 Firm down the soil around the roots with your fingers.
 Repeat this for each seedling spacing them at least 5 cm
* 5 cm apart in the new container or one seedling per
cell in a celled tray.
 Water the seedling and place in a warm place out of
direct sunlight in the nursery.
i. Importance of Prickling Out
 Allows seedlings enough space to grow and develop.
 Result in strong, health and vigorous growing seedlings.
e. Hardening Off of Petunias
 This is when the environment of a plant is gradually
changed (over 1-2 weeks) to enable the plant to adjust to
its new surroundings.
 It can also be defined as gradual process of changing of
the environment of plants to enable them to adjust to
their final position or surrounding.
 When bedding plants are ready to be transplanted to
the final flower bed- remove them from the protected
nursery environment for a gradually increasing number
of hours every day until they can survive outside for the
whole day.
i. Importance of Hardening Off
 Ensures that seedlings are hardy and able to withstand
transplanting shock.
f. Transplanting Petunias
 This is when plants are transplanted from one place to
their permanent place of growth.
 With bedding plants transplanting normally involves
moving the plants from the celled tray or pot into which
they were pricked out to the final flowerbed in situ.
 Petunias are ready for transplanting when they start
producing flowers and are about 15 cm tall or 13 weeks
old.
 They must be hardened first.
i. Method
 Prepare the flower bed by adding well rotted poultry
manure (2kg/m2) and watering it well in advance so that
when transplanting is done soil is dug, aerated, level
and moist.
  Use a hand trowel to make holes in the flower bed at a
depth of 10-15 cm and spacing of 15cm x15 cm.
 Remove plants from their container and place one
seedling per hole. Take care not to damage or remove
soil from the roots. The seedlings should be placed at
the same depth as in their original container.
 Firm the soil around the seedling in the flower bed with
hands and trowel.
 Transplanting is best done in the afternoon or on a
cloudy day so that plants are given some hours to adjust
before being exposed to direct/noon sunlight.
 After transplanting water all plants well.
g. Spacing of Petunias
 In situ petunias are staggered in rows 15cm x15cm
apart as shown in the diagram.

 Planting in staggered rows reduces gaps between plants,

covers the soil better and creates a blanket of colours.

h. Fertilizer Application for Petunias

  Innursery incorporate organic matter (leaf mould) into
soli mixture and apply a compound fertilizer (Nitrosol
or Seagro) as foliar spray (spray on leaves) fortnightly
until transplanting.
 In situ incorporate superphosphate (100 g/m2) during
land preparation and continue fortnightly foliar
applications of compound fertilizer until the end of the
flowering period.
i. Irrigation
a. Method:
 The most efficient method of irrigating bedding plants
in the nursery or in situ is over head irrigation by the
use of a sprinkler.
 The sprinkler distributes water evenly to all plants, can
cover a large area of plants and wets the plant keeping
it clean and cool.
b. Timing:
 Early morning is the best time to irrigate most plants
because the plants will have water available during the
heat of the day when they need it most for transpiration
and photosynthesis.
 When plants are irrigated late in the day or night water
remains on the leaves all night which encourages fungal
diseases.
c. Frequency:
  In hot weather in direct sunlight plants need daily
irrigation which wets the entire root zone.
 In cool weather or when plants are kept in a nursery
under shade, irrigation can be done every 2 – 4 days
ensuring that the whole root zone is wetted.

j. Common Pests of Petunias

 Red spider mites
a. Signs of Attack:
 Fine white spider webs can be seen on the leaves.
 Small red spider like mites is visible usually on the
underside of the leaf.
b. Damage Done:
 Mite sucks sap which leads to leaves wilting.
 Leaf curling
 Leaves turning brown
 Dropping and dying
c. Control and Prevention
 Regular irrigation wetting of the leaves prevents this
mite as it only attacks plants that are dry.
  Spray plants with systemic pesticides e.g. Dimethoate
40%.
 Keep the work area or nursery clean to avoid
harbouring the pests in an unclean environment.
k. Common Diseases of Petunias
 Stem rot
a. Cause:Fungus which enters through a wound in the stem.
b. Symptoms: Stems turns black from the wounded area
downward until the whole plant dies.
c. Control and Prevention
 Use clean, sharp cutting tools when pruning or
removing flowers to avoid contaminated wounds.
 Remove the infected parts before the disease spreads to
the rest of the plant.
 Spray the plants with fungicides (Diathane) after
cutting and pruning.
 Space plants correctly to improve air circulation.
 Avoid irrigating in the evening or over watering as
fungi multiply rapidly in a damp environment.
l. Preparation for Petunias for Market
 Many people are willing to buy bedding plants that are
ready for transplanting into their flower beds at home.
Before selling these seedling the nurseryman must
ensure that they are:
 - Clean – wetting plants during irrigation keeps
them clean. The tray or pot and the soil around the
plants should also be clean.
- Pest and disease free – treat plants for any pest or
diseases before marketing.
- Beginning to flower a few flowers should be visible
to attract the consumers but too many will indicate
that the plant is too old and overgrown.
- Irrigated - so that the plants do not begin to wilt as
soon as they are taken by the buyer.
- Hardened off – to improve their chances of
survival after purchase.
OTHER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PERFORMED ON
ORNAMENTALS
a. Pruning
 This is the cutting of unwanted parts from a plant
mainly to improve growth.
 Secateurs are commonly used.
Example of tools used when pruning
  Growth is improved by growth because:
- Pest infested or diseased parts are removed.
- Terminal (end) buds are cut off to encourage the
growth of the lateral (side) buds which creates a
bushier plant rather than a tall plant with few
branches.
- The removal of old dying flowers stimulates the
plant to produce new blossoms.
- Removing crowded branches improves air
circulation in and around the plant which reduces
fungal diseases and improves transpiration and
photosynthesis.
b. Topiary
 This is cutting of plants in decorative shapes.
 The aim of topiary is not to improve growth but to
shape the plant in an attractive way.
 A carefully cut hedge is a simple type of topiary.
 Roses and ficus spp are examples of plants that may be
cut into topiaries to improve their marketability.

LAWN MANAGEMENT
a. Importance of Lawns
  Provide an area to play, rest and relay.
 Provide greenery throughout the year.
 Reduces soil erosion, mud and dust.
 Reduces noise.
 Having cooling effect on the environment.
 Softens harsh architectural lines.
 Increase the property value.
b. Propagation of Lawns
i. Land Preparation
 Lawn is expected to remain several years and once
planted the soil cannot be redug, hence the importance
of careful soil preparation before sowing.
- Clear the area – remove stumps, stones and weeds.
- Level the area to a slight slope which will prevent
water from standing on the lawn during heavy
rains.
- Dig the soil at least 25 cm deep with a spade.
- Incorporate organic matter into the soil (poultry
manure 3kg/m2).
- Irrigate to dissolve fertilizer and stimulate weed
growth.
- Leave fallow for 6 weeks for weeds to grow.
- Dig again to destroy weeds.
 - Firm the soil to remove any air pockets.
- Rake the soil to remove any bumps or depressions
and to create a fine tilth.

ii. Fertilizer Application

 Basal dressing:
- During land preparation broadcast 3 kg/m2 of
poultry manure.
- Superphosphate should also be broadcasted at the
rate of 100g/m2 as basal dressing.
 Top dressing:
- Should be done every 6 months in spring and
autumn with L.A.N or NPK 3: 2: 1 (28) 50 g/m2.
- These fertilizers may be broadcasted evenly over
the lawn then thoroughly irrigated to dissolve.
- If the fertilizer is not dissolved thoroughly it may
burn the lawn.
iii. Planting/ Sowing of Lawns
 Time of planting: It is best to plant lawn at the
beginning of the rainy season to take advantage of the
rains and reduce the need for irrigation.
 Method: Lawns may be planted from seed or from
runners.
iv. Seed
  Broadcast seeds (25g/m2) evenly over the prepared land.
 Mixing seeds with sand to increase the volume that
helps to ensure more even distribution.
 Rake the seeds lightly into the soil and firm by rolling a
large 210 litre drum filled with water over the area.
 Then mulch the area and irrigate thoroughly.
 Keep the soil moist.
 Remove the mulch after emergence.
v. Runners
 Runners in lawn management refer to the rhizomes or
stolons that can be cut and used for asexual propagation
of lawns.
 To propagate a lawn using runners cut many rhizomes
(C. dactylon) or stolons (kikuyu) from a healthy lawn
and bury them in a prepared plot.
 Each runner must have at least 3 nodes.
 Should be buried staggered in trenches 15 – 25 cm
apart, 7 cm deep.
  After plantingthe runners firm the areas by rolling the
210 litres drum filled with water and keep well
irrigated.
vi. Weeds
 Black jack (Bidens pilosa) and Devil’s thorn (Tribulus
terretris) are two common weeds found in lawns.
 Control/ Prevention
- Avoid use of kraal manure as it contains too many
weeds.
- Fallow the land before sowing / planting to allow
weeds to grow and then be destroyed.
- Keep the lawn healthy. A healthy lawn will
suppress the growth of any weeds because the grass
will be stronger than the weeds.
- Remove weeds by hand removing the whole root
otherwise it will re – grow.
 - Use of broad – leaved selective herbicides to control
broad – leaved weeds in the lawn.
vii. Mowing
 Definition: Mowing is the cutting of the lawn to
maintain an attractive appearance.
 Importance of mowing:
- Makes the lawn look tidy.
- Encourages horizontal growth rather than vertical
growth which effectively prevents invasion by
weeds.
 Equipment used:Lawn mower. There are several
different types of lawn mowers of which any will work
as long as it has the following features:
- Sharp blades to cut smoothly.
- An adjustable height mechanism to change the
height of cutting at different times of the year(high
in winter and low in summer)
- A grass box to catch the cuttings, if the cuttings are
left on the lawn they attract pests, encourage
disease and make lawn look untidy.
 Timing of mowing:
- Lawn may be mowed at any time of the day as long
as it is not wet.
 - When wet, the mower gets plugged up with wet
grass and not work efficiently leaving the lawn
untidy.
 Frequency of mowing: Cut the lawn weekly in summer
and monthly in winter.
viii. Edging
 Definition: The practice of cutting the sides of the
lawned area.
 Importance of edging:
- Gives the lawn a tidy shape.
- Control the growth of rhizomes and stolons
preventing the spread of the lawn to areas where it
is not wanted.
 Equipment used: Edging shears or an edging iron.

 See diagrams below.

  Timing of edging: It is done after each mowing.
 Frequency of edging:Weekly in summer and monthly in
winter.
ix. Spiking
 Definition:This is the practice of piercing holes in the
lawn and soil at regular intervals.
 Importance of spiking
- Improves water penetration into the soil.
- Allows air to enter the soil to the roots.
 Equipment used:A garden fork is sufficient for a small
but large lawn e.g. golf courses are usually spiked with
mechanical spikers.
 Timing of spiking: it is normally done in spring
(October )
  Frequency of spiking:For most lawns spiking is done
once per year but heavily trampled lawns like that
found in the football pitch may need spiking after every
game.
x. Scarification
 Definition:This is the removal of all dead undergrowth
or thatch from the lawn.
 Importance of scarification
- Improves aeration in the lawn.
- Reduces the incidences of pests and diseases
 Equipment used:metal rake
 Timing of scarification: it is normally done in spring
(October)
 Frequency of scarification: once per year should be
enough if a grass box is always used during mowing.
xi. Irrigation
 Definition: the application of water to the lawn.
 Importance of irrigation: lawns need regular irrigation
when rainfall is absent to :
- Remain an attractive green colour.
- Maintain healthy growth to keep weeds, disease
and pests out of the lawn.
  Timing of irrigation: morning is the best as the lawn
will have water all day when it needs it most and the
lawn will not remain wet all night which would result in
growth of fungal diseases.
 Frequency of irrigation: in summer irrigate weekly, in
winter monthly. Ensure that the whole root zone is
wetted during irrigation otherwise more frequent
watering will be required.
xii. Pest of Lawn
 Termites: can cause much damage to lawns but they
normally only become a problem in lawns that are not
well maintain.
 Damage done:they cut and eat stems, roots and leaves
destroying the grass.
 Control/prevention:
- Keep the lawn healthy and green as termites
prefers dry grass.
- Scarify to remove thatch that attracts the pests.
- Stomach pesticides (Termiban) applied to the areas
under attack will kill many of the pests.
xiii. Disease of Lawn
 Brown spot
 Cause: Fungus (Rhizoctonia solani)
 Symptoms:
 - Brown spot in the lawn up to 1 metre in diameter
- Grass in infected area dries and dies.
-
 Control/Prevention:
- Irrigate in the mornings to prevent grass from
remaining wet all night which encourages fungal
growth.
- Scarify to improve aeration in which helps dry out
the lawn to prevent fungal growth. Spiking
improves water penetration into the soil which
prevents the grass from remaining damp.
- Spray fungicides (Diathane) on infected area as
soon as it is noticed to avoid it spreading.
- Remove infected grass and burn to avoid spread of
the disease.
xiiii. Plant species usedin making lawns
 Kikuyu
 Couch grass
 Star grass
 Buffalo grass
 Bermuda grass
LANDSCAPING
a. Importance of Landscaping
  Beautifies the environment
 Prevents erosion, mud, dust.
 Cools the environment
 Increases property value
 Provides areas for rest and relaxation
b. Types of Landscapes
 Formal landscape
 Garden
 playground
 Water font
 Park
 Rockery
 Civic space
 Cemetery
c. Uses of Plants in Landscape Design
 Provide a cooling effect
 Add oxygen to the atmosphere
 Remove pollutants from the air.
 Provide colour to enhance beauty.
 Produce pleasant scents to mask unpleasant odours.
d. Landscaping Materials
 Plants are the most commonly used material in
landscaping but other materials are also very
important.
i. Wood: maybe used to make fences, pergolas, benches
and flower beds.
 Advantages of Wood
 Easily shaped for different purposes.
 Blends well with plants in the landscape as it has a
natural colour and texture.
 Is warm to touch.
 Disadvantages of Wood
 Not very durable.
 May be expensive
ii. Stone: may be used for paths, walls, flower beds and
rockeries.
 Advantages of Stone
 Very durable
 Blends well with plants in the landscape as it has a
natural colour and texture.
 Low maintenance

 Disadvantages of Stone
  Cold to touch
 May be difficult and expensive to acquire if not
locally available.
 Hard and may harm a child that falls on it.
iii. Concrete: may be used for paths, walls, flower beds,
ponds and benches.
 Advantages of Concrete
 Easily shaped or molded for different purposes.
 Very durable
 May be used to hold water in a pond or water feature.
 Disadvantages of Concrete
 Does not blend well with other natural features in the
landscape as it has an unnatural grey colour and
texture.
 May be expensive
iv. Bricks: may be used for paths, benches, flower beds and
walls.
 Advantages of Bricks
 Easy to build with because of regular shape
 Very durable
 They come in many colours and textures which may
be used to enhance the beauty of the landscape.
 Disadvantages of Bricks
  Cold to touch
 Expensive
 Hard and may harm a child that falls on it.
v. Water: is considered an important landscaping material
when used for fountains and ponds.
 Advantages of Water
 Cools the environment
 The sound of moving water has calming effect on
people.
 Attracts wild life such as birds and butterflies.
 Allows the inclusive of water growing plants and fish
in the landscape design.
 Disadvantages of Water
 May be a drowning hazard to small children.
 May be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

e. Landscape Design
Environmental Impact of Landscape Design
 Positive Environmental Impacts of Landscaping
 Attracts wild life
 Controls erosion, dust and mud.
 Increases plant life in the area.
  Adds oxygen to the atmosphere.
 Adds water to the atmosphere aiding the water cycle.
 Cools the environment
 Negative Environmental Impacts of Landscaping
 May lead to extinction of some indigenous plant and
animal life if natural vegetation is removed
 May lead to depletion of water reserves due to
increased need for irrigation.
 May contribute to pollution through increased use of
fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals.
 May reduce infiltration of water to ground reserves
due to construction of pavements.
There are many different types of designs followed by
landscapers but basically the design is determined by the
function of the area.
 Playground Design:
 The aim of this design is to provide a safe and enjoyable
area for children to play and adults to sit comfortably
while they supervise the children.

 Features of playground design:

 Lawn: provides a large, soft play area and space for
adults to sit.
  Playground equipment: swings, slides and other
equipment allow the children to exercise and play.
 Shade trees: to protect children and adults from
strong sunlight/ high temperatures.
 Surrounding fence or walls: to keep children from
straying and to keep out animals.
 Benches: for parents to sit and supervise children.
 Flowers/ bedding plants: to provide colour to enhance
beauty.

 Features that should be avoided in playground design:

 Water features: these are drowning hazard for
children.
 Poisonous plants: to prevent accidental poisoning of
small children.
 Large paved areas: will injure children if they fall.
 Thorn trees/bushes/roses: will injure children.
 Hiding places: children should be visible to
supervisors at all times to avoid injure or harm.
 Rockery Design
 The aim of the rockery design is to create a low
maintenance decoration.
 Features of the rockery design:
  Stones: must be from a local source otherwise are
economical.
 Climbing/creeping plants: to climb/creep over the
stones to “soften” their appearance (make them look
nicer/more friendly).
 Succulent plants: commonly used as they is also low
maintenance.

 Features that should be avoided in a rockery design:

 Deep rooting plants: rockeries generally have
shallow soils which are not suited to deep roots.
 Stones that are found different coloured than those
found naturally in the area: makes the rockery
look odd and misplaced.
MODULE FOUR
LIVESTOCK HUSBANDRY
HOUSING FOR LIVESTOCK
Reasons for housing livestock
 Protection from predators
 Protection from harsh weather conditions such as wind,
rain and heat.
 For easy control of diseases and parasites
 To control breeding
 To ensure easy record keeping
 For easy management of feeding, deworming e.t.c
 Animals cannot go astray.
TYPES OF HOUSING FOR BROILERS
Broilers are normal kept under DEEP LITTER SYSTEM
and the house should be:
 Well ventilated to allow free movement of air in and
out.
 Concrete floor with side walls of about 1m high.
 A roof made of corrugated iron sheet or thatch.
 Space between the roof and the walls covered with
chicken wire mash to keep away predators while
allowing sunlight.
 Floor covered with litter of an absorbent material e.g.
wood shavings, saw dust or grass which is 15 cm high.
 Have tight fitting lockable door to keep away intruders.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD LIVESTOCK HOUSE
  Good ventilation: to avoid excessive heat and humidity
 Protection: from adverse climatic conditions, predators
and thieves.
 Adequate light.
 Spacious: have enough space to avoid overcrowding and
discomfort. Have enough space for animals (6-8 birds
per m2).
 Easy to clean: the floor should be made of concrete
which is easier to clean than mud floor. The floor
should have slight slope to drain water away to
minimize accumulation of water in the house as excess
water may lead to multiplication of parasites and
pathogens.
STOCKMANSHIP IN ANIMALS
Stockmanship: is the skill of looking after livestock. OR it is
the care and handling of animals.
A good stockman will:
 Assess the health condition of animals
 Assess productive and unproductive stock.
 Ensure adequate feed and water for the stock.
 Know the daily and monthly routine operations very
well for instances when to spray or dip.
 Ensure that the place where livestock are kept is free
from foreign materials which may injure the animals.
STOCKMANSHIP IN BROILERS
Animal handling (broilers)
One could frighten or hurt the chickens without intentions.
A frightened chicken is an unproductive chicken. It is
therefore vital that the following are considered when
handling and working with chickens:
 Never surprise the chicken: when approaching the
chicken house make noise or sing to alert them that you
are coming. Open the door slowly or gently.
 Move slowly: while inside the house, never flap an
empty meal sack or cloth. They find that very alarming.
Even a bucket should be carried low down and moved
slowly.
 Catching birds: it is best done in evening when they
have gone to roost on their perches. At that time they
would be sleeping and offer no resistance. If you have to
catch them during the day, keep your hands low and try
to grab the legs quickly. A catching hook made of stiff
fencing wire that just fit over the thin shank of the bird’
leg is used for catching in the day time.
 Hold a chicken firmly: so that it cannot struggle and
hurts itself. This means holding it by both wings or by
the legs with the head hanging down.
 Keep a regular routine as regarding provision of water,
feed and cleaning water troughs.
 When moving birds to a new place: it is best to make
sure that they are not crowded in crates. They should be
protected from heat and cold while on transit. Try to
arrive before dark to make them get used to their new
environment.
 Examine the bird everyday to check if they are sick,
lame or not eating and cull unproductive birds.
RECORD KEEPING (BROILERS)
This means any information kept for future use.
Purpose of keeping records:
 Provide figures for planning and budgeting.
 Determination of profit and loss.
 Good records assist farmers to obtain a loan from
financial institutions.
 Records help one to compare his performance with
those of other farmers, hence encourage competition.
 Help farmers to trace the history of the enterprise.
 Purchasing of poultry items in time.
Types of records
 Production records: these include information about
what has been produced e.g. weight gained, when
produced, mortality, and feed record e.t.c. It helps the
farmer to identify the problems and remember things
for instances decrease in weight may mean that broilers
are affected by diseases.
 Financial records: this is a record of money earned
(returns) and money spent (costs). It is used to
determine the profit or loss made. E.g. profit and loss
account, credit and sales account e.t.c.
Broilers records may reflect the following
 Date of birth
  Mortality
 Total number of birds
 Amount of feed given
 Date of administering certain drugs
 Names of drugs given to birds
 Number of birds culled
 slaughter weight of birds
REARING OF YOUNG STOCK (BROILERS)
Brooding:
 This refers to the period of growth during which
supplementary heat is provided for the chicken. The
brooding period of chicks is four weeks. At the time of
hatching chicks are covered with “downy feathers”
which do not protect them from cold, they need warmth
until their “true feathers” develop.
Artificial brooding: man provides the heat or warmth
needed by chicks. The source of heat can be:
 Coal
 Firewood
 Paraffin
 Gas
 Electricity
The aim is to provide the same conditions which the hen
provides for her young ones. Artificial brooders are used to
rear a large number of chicks in a poultry farm. When the
heat is inadequate chicks huddle together and they do not
eat. If the heat is enough chicks become evenly distributed
around the heat source and they look very active.
Management of chicks during the brooding period
As soon as chicks are removed from their boxes they can be
encouraged to drink by dipping their beaks in water. Place
them near the drinking troughs to assist them to learn to
drink quickly. Spread the feed on the paper laid on the litter
for chicks to peck it. Within 3 days they will feed from the
feeding troughs

Preparation for the arrival of the young stock

 Repair, clean and disinfect the building and equipment
with disinfectant as thoroughly as possible. Leave the
building empty for two weeks before the arrival of
chicks.
 Make a brooding area with a round shape to avoid
chicks crouding and trampling each other
 In case of a deep litter system cover the floor with litter,
15cm thickness
 Ensure the building as well as the brooders reach the
desired temperature(25-350c)
  Light brooders, lamps or any source of heat 24 hours
before the arrival of chicks.
 Ensure adequate supply of feed in the store, e.g. chick
starter mash for broilers.
 They should be adequate supply of certain vaccines and
drugs. The Newcastle vaccines and stress pack should
be available at the time of the arrival of the day old
chicks.
 Fill the feeders and drinkers with fresh feed and water
before arrival of the chicks.
NUTRITION AND FEEDING PRACTICES
Nutritional requirements
Chicks require balanced diet with a sufficient supply of the
following:
 Carbohydrates and fats: these provide animals with
energy. Fats provide 2-3 times as much energy as
carbohydrates. In less active (older) animals they add
weight.
 Proteins: used for repair and replacement of warn out
tissues and build up of new muscles as the animals
grow. They are very important in the diet of young
animals.
 Vitamins: for growth promotion, act as catalyst in
various metabolic reactions, blood clotting, bone
formation and muscular activity.
  Minerals: constituents of bones and teeth, constituents
of blood, act as products such as milk, eggs, meat and
wool
 Water: in order of the above nutrients to be utilized
effectively water should be available. Water is needed
for digestion, absorption, blood formation and
maintenance of the body temperature.
Feed for broilers
Chickens need balanced diet. i.e. food that contains the
correct proportion of food components for an animal at a
particular age or stage of development. The proportions of
nutrients vary according to the age of the bird.
1. Chick starter mash: this is the feed that is given to
chicks from one day old to 5 weeks. It contains high
amounts of proteins, minerals and vitamins to build up
flesh and bones.it is also finely ground for easier
digestion.
2. Broiler finisher mash/ pellets: this is given to broilers
when they are 6- 8 weeks( point of slaughter0. It is rich
in both proteins and carbohydrates to provide materials
for growth and energy production.

Feeding practices
Broilers are usually fed ad libtum (ad. lib); this means
that they are given feed as much as they want. Therefore
feed should always be available all the time.
Frequency of feeding: feed should be given twice a day.
Cleaning- troughs should be positioned such that
droppings or litter cannot contaminate the feed or water.
Feeding and drinking troughs should be cleaned. Clean
water should be provided to the chicks all the time.
Rations
Maintenance ration: the quantity of feed that is required
by an animal to keep it alive without gaining or losing
weight.
Production ration: the quantity of feed that is provided to
the maintenance ration to make an animal produce more
of a particular product e.g. milk, eggs, e.t.c.
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
The reproductive system of cattle
Reproduction in mammals is a process by which the male
and female reproductive cells (gametes) fuse together to
make a zygote. Both males and females produce gametes
when they are sexually mature. Age of sexual maturity
depends on the feeding of the young animal and the type
of animal. Cattle usually reach puberty between 9-20
months.
Reproductive system of a bull
Functions of the parts
1. Testis
 The two testicles hang in a muscular sac called the
scrotum between the hind legs.
 The main functions of the testis are; produces sperms
and produces male sex hormone(testosterone)
2. Epididymis
 Stores sperms and they complete their maturation
there.
3. Vas deferens (sperm duct)
  From the epididymis the sperm pass into the vas
deferens which is connected to the urethra near the
seminal vesicles.
 The sperm duct transport sperm not the semen from
epididymis to the urethra which leads to the penis.
4. Seminal vesicles
 This include two glands the Prostrate gland and the
Cowper’s gland which together produce the seminal
fluid or the liquid in which the sperm swim.
 The seminal fluid is alkaline to neutralize the acidity of
the urethra which would otherwise kill the sperm.
 Semen is a mixture of the sperm and seminal fluid.
5. Penis
 Introduces sperms into the vagina during mating.
6. Urethra
 Conducts semen to the penis
 When not mating conducts the urine
7. Sheath
 Covers and protects the penis
8. Scrotum
 Encloses the testes to provide suitable temperature for
sperm
Reproductive system of a cow
Function of the parts
1. Ovary
 Produce female gametes(ova)
 Produce female hormones(ostrogen, progesterone)
 Comprises of multiple graffian follicles and each follicle
contains an immature egg.
2. Fallopian tube/ oviduct
 Where fertilization takes place.
 Receive the ova from the ovary.
3. Uterus
 Site of the implantation of the embryo.
 Contains the embryo during gestation period until
birth.
  Protects and nourishes the embryo.
4. Cervix
 It is the narrow neck of the uterus.
 Seals the uterus during pregnancy.
 Widens to allow birth.
5. Vagina
 Receives penis during mating
 It is a birth canal
 Where sperms are deposited during mating.
6. Vulva
 Fold of skin that prevents and covers the entrance of the
vagina it prevents foreign matter from entering the
reproductive tract.
OESTRUS CYCLE
 This is the period between end of one heat period and
the beginning of the next.
 In cows it takes 21 days.
 During this cycle the cow comes on heat and an ovum is
released from an ovary.
 The cow becomes receptive to the male only when it is
on heat.
  Duration of heat in cows is 19hours and ovulation
occurs 10 hours after the end of the oestrus (heat) and
that is the best time for breeding.
Signs of heat
 The cow stands when mounted by other animals.
 The cow bellows or become restless.
 Reduction in milk production for the lactating mothers.
 Swollen or slightly inflamed and wet vulva.
 Clear mucus discharge from vulva.
 The cow may try to mount other cows herself.
 Loss of appetite for food.
 Frequent urination.
OVULATION
 It is the rupture (bursting) of the graffian follicle
leading to the release of the ova into the oviduct through
the infundiulum.
 It is stimulated by luteinizing hormone (LH).
 The ruptured follicle then develops into a yellow body
or corpus luteum which produces the hormone
progesterone.
 Progesterone stops heat in a cow and maintains
pregnancy in case fertilization has taken place.
  When fertilization does not occur the corpus luteum
degenerates.

FERTILISATION
 If the ovum is available in the oviduct and sperms are
deposited into the vagina one of the sperms penetrates
into the ovum to form a zygote.
 The fusion of the sperm and the ovum is called
fertilization.
 The zygote undergoes several cell division and keeps on
moving towards the uterus for implantation.
 After fertilization the embryo gets enclosed by an
amnion membrane.
 The membrane contains amniotic fluid which protects
the foetus from mechanical damage/shock.
PREGNANCY
 This is the time when young animal is growing inside
the mother’s uterus.
 The length of time it stays inside the mother is called
gestation period.
 At the end of this period the uterus begins to contract
and the young one is born. The gestation period of a
cow is between 280- 285 days/ 9 months.
HORMONES
  These are chemical substances produced in certain
areas of the body which cause changes to occur in other
areas of the body. They are transported through the
blood.

Summary of the reproductive hormones

Name of Site of Role/ function of the
hormone production hormone
Follicle Pituitary gland  Stimulate
stimulating development of
hormone graffian follicle
(FSH)
 Stimulate the ovary
to secrete oestrogen.
 In males it initiates
the growth of testis
and induces the
production of sperms
Leutenizing Pituitary gland  In females it controls
hormone (LH) the rupturing of the
follicles thus
initiating ovulation.
 In males it stimulate
the secretion of
testosterone by testis.
Testosterone Testis  Stimulates libido (sex
drive) in males
 Stimulates
development of the
secondary
characteristics in
growing males.
Oestrogen Graffian follicle  Stimulate the onset
of the ovary of heat in females
 Controls the oestrus
cycle
 Stimulates the
development of the
secondary
characteristics of a
female.
Progesterone Corpus luteum  Maintains pregnancy
of the ovary
 Causes heat to
subside
 Stops the oestrus
cycle.
 Prepares the uterine
lining for
implantation of the
embryo.
 Inhibits the release of
 the LH.
 Causes mammary
glands to prepare for
lactation.

Reproduction system of a hen

 The hen has a large single ovary which contains
developing eggs at various stages.
 When the bird reaches maturity (4-5 months) yolks are
released one at a time from the ovary into the oviduct.
Diagram

Functions of the parts

1. Ovary
 Releases the yolk
2. Infundibulum/ funnel
 This catches the yolk
 The egg stays only 15 minutes in the infundibulum.
 During this time, if the sperm is present, fertilization
takes place.
 In hen fertilization takes place in the infundibulum and
no where else.
3. Magnum
 The egg is deposited into the magnum and will stay
there for 3 hours.
 The magnum has glands which produce albumen (egg
white) which is deposited around the yolk.

4. Isthmus
 Shell membranes are deposited around the albumen.
 The egg stays in here for 11/4 hours before proceeding to
the shell gland.
5. Shell gland (uterus)
 The calcium sell is deposited over the egg membrane,
 The egg stays here for 18-20 hours before it passes on.
6. Vagina
 Egg passes very fast through the the vagina.
 It receives sperms during mating and pass them on to
the infundibulum.
7. Cloaca
 Once the egg is here it is ready for laying.
 It is laid under the influence of the hormone called
oxytocin, only when there is light.
 The oxytocin activates the muscles of the cloaca to
contract and pass the egg out of the body.
8. Vent
 Exit for eggs
 Exit for digestive system.
 Site of sperm entrance.
NB: once the egg is laid the next follicle ruptures in 30
minutes. If there isn’t enough light to influence the
production of the oxytocin, the egg will remain in the body of
the bird until there is adequate light.
Reproductive system of a cock
Diagram

Functions of the parts

1. Testis
 Cock has two testes which produces sperm.
 When stimulated to mate by the male sex hormone the
sperm pass along the sperm duct(vas deferens) in the
fluid there is no penis in a cock and for mating to take
place the cock presses its vent against that of the hen.
2. Vent
 There is no penis in a cock and for mating to take place
the vent of the male must, be pressed against the vent of
the female.
  When the sperm are released they begin to swim
towards the ovary.
 If a ripe egg is present in the infundibulum it may be
fertilized by a sperm cell.

DIGESTION
 This is a process where food is broken down into small
particles in order to make absorption into the blood
stream possible.
 The digestive process takes place in three ways:
 By physical or mechanical means (mechanical
digestion) this is the digestion of food by the use of
muscles contraction, teeth, chewing e.t.c.
 By the action of micro-organisms (microbial
digestion)
 By the action of enzymes (enzymatic digestion)

Digestive system of a non ruminant

The alimentary (digestive) tract of a pig
Functions of the parts

1. Mouth
 The food is ground into a pulp by the teeth and mixed
with saliva.
 The saliva is produced by the salivary glands and it
contains the enzyme ptyalin.
 The enzyme acts on starch converting it to simple
sugars – maltose
2. Stomach
 The food is churned (broken down) by the squeezing
action of the muscular walls of the stomach and gastric
juice is added to it.
 The gastric juice is produced by the gastric glands in
the walls of the stomach and contains mucus,
hydrochloric acid, rennin and pepsin.
 The HCL acid provides an acid environment which
prevents further action of the ptyalin from the saliva.
 Pepsin breaks down proteins into peptides.
  Rennin is responsible for the breaking down of milk
protein

3. Small intestines
 Consists of the duodenum and ileum.
 Duodenum
 Pancreatic juice from the pancreas releases the
following enzymes to digest food:
 Amylase: breaks starch into maltose
 Trypsin: breaks down proteins into peptides
o Lipase: breaks down fats into fatty acid and
glycerol.
Bile from the liver contains salts that emulsify fats (makes
the soluble) so that fat splitting enzyme lipase can break
them down better. The bile also neutralizes the acidity of the
food coming from the stomach.

 Ileum
 The intestinal juice is produced by the glands of the
small intestines. It contains four important
enzymes:
 Peptidase: converts peptides into amino acids
 Sucrose: acts upon sucrose and changesit into
fructose
 Maltase: changes maltose into glucose
 Lactase: converts lactose into glucose and
galactose.
The ileum is also the main site of absorption. It contains
finger like structures (villi) which increase the surface area
for absorption of food. Here, glucose, inorganic salts and
amino acids are absorbed into the blood stream. Amino acid
are the end products of proteins.
4. Large intestine
 Consists of caecum, colon and rectum.
 It absorbs water from the chyme.
5. Caecum
 Microbial digestion takes place here with the help of
bacteria that form a symbiotic relationship with non
ruminant host.
 The bacteria break down cellulose and produces
vitamins which will be absorbed immediately upon
entering the colon.
6. Colon
 Water is absorbed from the waste material.
7. Rectum
 The waste materials are stored here before they are
removed from the body.
8. Anus
 The opening through which waste materials are
expelled.

Digestive system of a hen

Digestive system of a ruminant – cattle
Diagram
Functions of the parts
1. Mouth
 Mechanical digestion or physical digestion of food
begins here.
 Food is chewed by the large, flat teeth mixing it with
saliva to form bolus.
 The saliva moistens the food but unlike the non-
ruminant contains no enzymes to break down starch.
2. Oesophagus
 Food is passed from the mouth to this part and then
swallowed.
 In this part food moves by a process called peristalsis.
 This part opens into the rumen.
3. Rumen
 Ruminants eat fibrous food such as grass, hay and
straw.
 The fibre consists of cellulose which forms the cell wall
of the plant cells.
 In the rumen there are many micro-organisms
(collectively called rumen flora) mainly bacteria,
protozoan, and fungi. These breaks down the cellulose
to fatty acids and simple sugars.
  The fatty acids are absorbed through the walls of the
rumen.
 The micro-organisms produce amino acids and
vitamins and release quantities of gases e.g. carbon
dioxide and methane.
 The gases must be expelled through the mouth by the
process called belching.
 Sometimes these gases get trapped in the rumen
resulting in a condition called bloating. This is a
dangerous condition if not treated can cause death.
4. Reticulum
 From the rumen the food enters this part.
 This compartment sieves or separates finely ground
materials from coarse ones.
 Foreign materials such as stones or hard pieces of wood
are separated from food for regurgitation.
 From the reticulum the food goes back to the mouth for
re-chewing (regurgitation). This is known as chewing
the cud.
5. Omasum
 After the food has bee re-chewed in the mouth it goes
straight to the omasum.
 The muscular walls of the omasum grind food to a fine
consistency.
  They also strain the food and reduce the amount of
water.
6. Abomasum (true stomach)
 This is the true stomach because it functions the same as
the stomach of the non-ruminant.
 Here the hydrochloric acid (HCI) and the enzymes
pepsin and rennin acts on food.
 HCI is produced by the glands in the walls of the
stomach.
 The HCI and the enzyme mix together to form gastric
juice of which the pH value ranges between 1and 2.
 Pepsin: breaks down proteins into peptides which are
smaller compounds.
 Rennin: is to curdle the milk in young animals to
prevent it from passing through quickly.
 By the time all these actions have taken place, the food
becomes semi-fluid which is called chime.
 The chime passes slowly from the abomasums into
small intestines.
7. Small intestines
 Once the chime enters the small intestines, it is moved
continuously by the muscular contraction of the small
intestines.
 This action is called peristalsis.
 These is divided into two main parts:
 Duodenum
o Once the chime is in the duodenum, it is acted
upon by the following:
o Pancreatic juice from the pancreas
o Bile produced by the liver is stored in the gall
bladder and transported to the duodenum via
the bile duct.
o Pancreatic juice contains:
o Amylase: breaks down complex sugars into
glucose
o Trypsin: breaks down proteins into peptides
o Lipase: breaks down fat into fatty acids and
glycerol.
o Bile: emulsifies lipids into very fine droplets
which mix with chime. Other function of bile
is to reduce the acidity of the chyme.
 Ileum
o This is the coiled tube of about 40 m in cows.
o It contains finger like structures called villi:
which consists of blood capillaries and lymph
vessels.
o The glands in this part of the small intestines
produce intestinal juice which contains the
 enzymes: maltase, sucrose and lactase
responsible for breaking down simple sugars.
o Also peptidase responsible for breaking
peptides into amino acids.
o Absorption mainly takes place in the ileum.
o The villi help to increase the surface area of
the ileum so that maximum absorption takes
place.
o The nutrients that are dissolved in the chime
pass through the walls of the villi and are
carried away.
o Amino acids and glucose are absorbed into the
blood streams and carried to all parts of the
body.
o Fatty acids and glycerol are absorbed into the
lymphatic system.

8. Large intestines
 It is divided into three parts:

 Caecum
 o This lies at the junction of the small and large
intestines
o It contains a lot of bacteria which break down
any cellulose (microbial digestion) which has
not been previously digested.
 Colon
o It is a wide coiled tube which absorbs large
amounts of water from the waste into the
body.
o It is shorter than the ileum.
 Rectum
o It is a short tube at the end of the colon where
waste materials are stored before removal
from the body.
o It is closed by muscular sphincters which
keeps the waste inside until removed.
 Anus
o An opening through which the waste materials
are expelled.
Summary of the digestive enzymes
Part Juice Enzyme Function
secreted
Mouth none Ptyalin  Starch -------- maltose
(only in
non-
 ruminant)
Stomac Gastric Pepsin  Proteins -------
h juice peptides
Rennin
(abomas
um)  Coagulates milk protein

Liver Bile None  Neutralizes acid in the

chime (partially digested
food)
Pancrea Pancreatic Amylase  Starch --------maltose
s juice
Trypsin  Proteins+peptides -----
Lipase peptides
 Fats ------- fats acids
& glycerol
Ileum Intestinal Peptidase  Peptides ------- amino
juice acids
Maltase
Sucrase  Maltose ------- glucose

Lactase  Sucrose ------- fructose

 Lactose ------ galactose

Differences between the ruminant and non-ruminant

Ruminants Non -ruminants
Chew the cud Do not chew the cud
Have four stomach chambers Have one stomach chamber
(polygastric) (monogastric)
No ptyalin in the saliva Ptyalin in the saliva
Cellulose digested in the four Cellulose digested in the
chambers and caecum caecum for those which eat
grass only

ANIMAL HEALTH
An animal is healthy when its movement, appearance,
feeding, body temperature and excreta are normal i.e.
similar to the other animals in the herd or breed. Any
deviation from normal suggests that the animal is sick.
Characteristics of healthy animals
 Appearance: normal posture both standing and laying
down.
 Behaviour: upright, alert and responsive to touch.
 Good appetite
 Defaecation: excreta should be normal i.e should
neither be too hard nor too watery.
 Skin coat: glossy or shiny in bright light, streamlined
and very clean and show complete cover without
patches.
 Head held upright
 Eyes are clear and bright
  Pulse rate and respiration rate: should be normal
 Temperature range for cattle should be between 38.5 –
39.50c and for chicken should be between 40.5 – 43.0 0c.

DISEASES
Classification of animal diseases basing on causative agent
and host animal affected
Disease Causative agent Host(s) animal
Tuberculosis Bacteria Poultry, cattle, sheep,
goats
Mastitis Bacteria Dairy animals e.g.
cattle
Botulism Bacteria Cattle, sheep, goats
Contagious Bacteria Cattle, sheep, goats,
abortion donkey
Anthrax Bacteria Cattle
Fowl typhoid Bacteria Poultry e.g. chicken

Foot and mouth Virus Cattle, sheep, goats,

pigs
Rabies Virus Cattle, goats, dogs,
cats
New castle Virus Poultry e.g. chicken
Swine fever Virus Pigs

Trypanosomiasis Protozoa Cattle

Coccidiosis Protozoa Poultry e.g chicken

Heart water Rickettsia Cattle, sheep, goats

CBPP (contagious Mycoplasma Cattle

bovine pleuro mycoides
pneumonia)

Aphosphorosis Lack of Cattle

phosphorus
Rickets Lack of calcium Cattle, poultry
Piglet anaemia Shortage of iron Piglets

General methods of prevention of livestock diseases

 Housing: suitable living conditions for animals are
important. There should be enough space, light and
ventilation in livestock houses, no dampness, no cold
draught and no overcrowding.
  Suitable diet: give animals enough fresh and clean food
of the right type. Malnourished animals have little
resistance.
 Separation of young and old stock: to avoid older
carrier’s transmitting disease to the young animals that
have little resistance.
 Hygiene: regular cleaning and disinfection of drinkers
and troughs. Cleaning and disinfection of houses and
cages after one batch of animal leave and before
another one is brought in.
 Isolation: sick animals should be separated from the
rest of the flock or herd. This prevents them from
passing pathogens to healthy animals.
 Control of vermin: these are pests like rats and mice.
They eat the food meant for farm animals and often go
into dirty places like drains and rubbish heaps. This
means they carry pathogens from one place to the other
(vectors of diseases).
 Control of parasites: ticks, mites, flies, fleas, lice and
tsetse flies are external parasites living on animals. They
bite and suck blood from the animal and they transmit
several diseases. Most external parasites are controlled
by regular dipping of stock.
FOOT AND MOUTH (FMD)
 Foot and mouth is a highly contagious and infectious
diseases of cloven hooved animals e.g. cattle, sheep,
goats, pigs, kudu e.t.c.
Aetiology (cause of disease)
 It is caused by a virus which attacks the mucus
membrane of the mouth and coronet (area below and
between the hooves)
 The virus can persist for over a year in infected areas,
for ten to twelve weeks on clothing and feed, and up to a
month on hair/ animal fur.
 The virus can also survive in bull semen for atleast a
month.
Transmission
 This is spread by both inhalation and ingestion.
 The disease is spread mainly by the contents of blisters
on bursting and by milk, urine, nasal discharge and
other secretion and excretion which convey the infection
directly from a sick animal to those that are healthy.
 The spread from pigs to cattle is via movements of
people, animals or abattoir waste in which case
ingestion is the likely method of spread.
 Further spread to cattle and between cattle is more
likely to be by air borne means.
 The virus can persist in aerosol form for long periods.
 It is estimated that sufficient virus to initiate an
infection can be wind borne as far as 100km.
Symptoms
  Blisters / lesions in the mouth and tongue, udder and
coronets.
 Fever- high temperature of about 40 – 410c
 Dullness
 Loss of appetite
 Lameness due to wounds in the coronets
 There is abundant salivation, the saliva hanging in
strings.
 Rapid loss in milk yield occurs during acute periods.
 Loss of weight which may lead to death.
 Loss of hooves
Prevention and control
 Control by destroying infected animals i.e. all animals
slaughtered and burned
 Regular vaccination every six months.
 Herds should be placed in quarantine whenever there is
an outbreak.
 Suspected cases must be report to the police or animal
health department
 Cordon fence should be used to control movement of
animals.
PARASITES OF LIVESTOCK
  These are living organisms that depend on their living
organisms for shelter and food.
 These can be classified into two groups:
Internal or endo- parasites
 Roundworms
 Tapeworms
 Liver flukes

External or ecto- parasites

 Ticks
 Flies
 Mites
 Lice
 Tsetse fly
Internal/ endo- parasite (liver fluke)
 A liver fluke is an example of an endo- parasite.
 It is the worm with flatten body that lives in the liver of
the host.
 Different species of liver flukes attack all grazing
animals such as sheep, goats and cattle. Animals that
feed on wet or swampy pastures are most likely to be
 attacked by liver flukes as part of their life cycle is spent
in the water.
Life cycle of a liver fluke

Stages of the cycle of a liver fluke

1. An adult liver fluke lives in the liver of the primary host
(the cow).
2. Their eggs are passed down the bile duct to the
intestines and are passed out with the faeces.
 The eggs may be laid in the grass and stray for
many months without hatching if the weather is
dry.
3. As soon as the water is present they hatch and larvae
can swim about for up to two weeks.
 If they meet a certain species of a snail, the larvae
bore through its skin.
  They live and feed on snail as their secondary host
and their numbers multiply.
4. Then they live the snail and swim up the stems of the
grass or other plants in the thin film of water on the
surface.
 When they are on the grass they form cysts, this is
a resting stage of the life cycle.
 They are waiting for animals to eat grass.
5. When the grass is eaten by an animal, the cysts hatch
into flukes in the intestines.
 These flukes then burrow through the intestines
and reach the liver where they stay.
Damage caused by liver flukes
 Upset digestion and loss of appetite leading to acute
weight loss.
 Animal become dull, depressed.
 Swollen abdomen and painful in acute cases.
 Hemorrhages’ of the liver and anaemia.
 Death may follow in few days.
Prevention and control
 Control of snail which are intermediate host by
draining all wet and swampy and land and keeping
away grazing animals.
 Spray snails with copper sulphate.
  Treat animal with anthelmintics (medicine that kills
internal worm like parasites).
External/ecto- parasites (ticks)
 These ecto-parasites belong to a group of parasites
which cause major losses in livestock production, by
sucking blood, and transmission of bacterial, viral and
protozoa diseases which they achieve by their habit of
moving from one animal to another.
 There are several species of ticks, blue tick (Boophilius
microplus), bont tick (Ambloyama hebraem), red legged
tick (Rhipicephalus evertsi).
Damages caused by tick on cattle
 Suck blood and transmit diseases such as heart water,
east coast fever, red water and anaplasmosis.
 As they suck blood they damage the skin which lowers
the hide value.
 May cause severe wounds through which pathogens can
enter the body.
 Cause severe weakness due to loss of blood.
 Performance of the animal is reduced e.g. milk
production may be low.
Life cycle of the tick
NB: This differs according to the species of the tick.
Stages of the life cycle of the tick
1. The tick feeds on the host until it becomes engorged.
2. When full of blood it jumps to the ground and lay eggs
on the grass.
3. The eggs hatch into larvae which have six legs.
4. These climb up the grass waiting for a host to pass by.
5. On the host they undergo a process called moulting a
few times before maturing.
6. At maturity they have eight legs.
7. They continue feeding from the host and mate until
becoming engorged and the cycle repeats.
Prevention and control of ticks
Procedures commonly used are:
  Application of acaricide (also dips) e.g. arsenic trioxide.
Acaricide are very poisonous and must be diluted with
water before use. The animal is painted or dipped in the
acaricide to kill ticks and prevent further infestation.
 Burning of pastures to reduce tick population.
 Cultivation where land is used for pasture reduces tick
population by burying them deeply.
 Natural enemies- certain animals are known to feed on
ticks, ants and birds consume large numbers of ticks
and help reduce their number.

GAME FARMING AND RANCHING

Game farming
It is where wildlife animals which are domesticated or semi-
domesticated are kept in small enclosures. These animals are
either reared private or communal areas under controlled
conditions. E.g. crocodile, ostrich are common in Botswana.
They are usually kept for production of market products
such as meat and skins.
Game Ranching
It is an enterprise where game animals are managed on large
open ranges (Lenaga) without internal fences, but with
peripheral fence. In Botswana game ranching occurs mostly
in Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) near game reserves
or privately owned game reserves e.g. Mmokolodi
Game & Livestock Ranching
It is an agricultural enterprise where livestock together with
wildlife species are kept in a fenced area under good
husbandry, common in some freehold & leasehold ranches.
Examples of game animals
Roan antelope, impala, springbok, buffalo, kudu, elephant
etc
The table below shows some game animals found in
Botswana together with their respective geographical areas
in which they occur.
Game animal Geographical area
Roan antelope, elephant Chobe
Buffalo
Impala, kudu Tuli Block

Gemsbok, eland, springbok Kalahari

The importance of game farming in Botswana

1. Source of foreign exchange
 Export of game & game products such as live ostriches,
ostrich eggs, meat and skins earns foreign exchange for
Botswana.
2. Tourist attraction
 Some tourists visit our country to view game species
found in Botswana and for trophy hunting. This also
earns the country foreign exchange
3. Conservation of endangered game species
 Some game ranches contribute to the population
increase of conserved game species, eg Waterbuck in
the Tuli Block areas
4. Creation of employment
 People are employed to work on game ranches

5. Source of raw materials

 Products from game farms & ranches are important
raw materials for agribusiness eg ostrich & crocodile
skins.

Ecological principles used in selecting a suitable game farm

1. Size of the area
 -Large farms offer game better chances for survival,
while small farms can easily become overgrazed & lead
to other management problems.
 The size of the area also determine the level of
management to be used, whether intensive farming or
extensive ranching.
2.Carrying capacity
  Carrying capacity is the maximum number of animals
that can be supported by a particular area without
causing damage to the environment.
 Carrying capacity determines the number of game
species that the farm can contain as well as the type of
species that the farm can support.
 Carrying capacity is not constant; it varies according to
range conditions, plant composition & climate.
 Therefore, the carrying capacity of an area can either
be increased or decreased for a particular game species.
3.Number of game (game population)
 The number of game kept on the farm is mainly
determined by carrying capacity, size of the area & the
level of management used.
 If large numbers of game animals are desired then the
farmer must ensure that the area is suitable to support
them.
4.Ecosystem concept
 The concepts are biotic factors & Abiotic factors
i) Biotic factors: consisting of living organisms ranging
from the biggest to the smallest (microbes)
ii) Abiotic factors: consisting of non-living such as soil,
water, climate etc.
 The two components act inter-dependently influencing
one another in many ways.
 All are essential for preservation of life in a given area.
 A change or disturbance in any one aspect of an
ecosystem has an effect on the whole system.
  This can lead to a disruption of the equilibrium which
will require adjustments in the population.
5.Flow of energy
 Sunlight--- Plants (producers) -- Herbivores (game
animals) ----Carnivores/ omnivore (Man)
Energy
 All energy for life originates form the sun. Plants
(producers) convert sunlight energy into
carbohydrates.
 Then the producers are eaten by the herbivores
which most of are animals used for game farming.
 Carnivores or Omnivores then eat these herbivores.
 In game farming carnivores/omnivores are mainly
people.
 Thus, energy flows from the sun to people via plants
& herbivores/ game animals.
 If one aspect of this is disturbed all other aspects will
also be disturbed creating a worse effect.
 Therefore, farmers must ensure that plants grow to
ensure that game produce so that the farm can make
profit & be successful.

Habitat preference of three species found in different
habitats of Botswana
Name of game Habitat Geographical
animal preference area
Impala, kudu Light woodland Tuli Block
with little under
 growth, bush
veld.
Buffalo, roan Well-watered Chobe
antelope, savannahs,
elephant swamps & flood,
tall grass, forest.
Open grassland

Springbok, eland, Arid open Kalahari

gemsbok grassland &
semi-desert,
short grassveld,
shrubs.

Methods used to capture game animals

 Movable capture corrals (Bomas)
 Crossbows
 Capture nets
 Dart guns & game capture drugs
Reasons for capturing game animals
 To obtain exact measurements; body weight, length
 To collect samples of blood & parasites
 Marking for future recognition
 For treatment of wounds & examination of the animal
 For vaccination or diagnosis of diseases
Describe the capture of game by use of crossbows, dart
guns & game capture drugs
 Dart gun is designed to fir dart syringes which will
inject capture drugs into the animal to be captured
 Capture drugs are immobilizing drugs & tranquillizers
 Immobilizing drugs brings an animal to a standstill,
anaesthetizes it & renders it unaware of its
surroundings
 Tranquillizers are mainly used to relieve anxiety & fear,
& decrease motor activity
 Tranquillizers & immobilizing drugs can be mixed &
placed in an aluminum plastic dart, the darts are shot
from a distance by a dart-gun
 The capture drugs can also be injected with syringes
after the animals have been caught in nets or any other
mechanical means
 Chemical immobization is used to capture elephants,
rhinos, hippopotamus, gemsbok, roan antelope, adult
eland, kudu bulls & buffalo.

Advantages of using capture drugs & dart guns

 it is a useful method for removing aggressive or injured
animals from holding pens or transport crates
 it is the safest method used to capture rare & valuable
animals
 it is the safest method for capturing & handling, loading
& transportation of large or aggressive animals

Disadvantages of using capture drugs/dart guns

  capture drugs are strictly controlled by The Ministry of
Health
 some drugs may have side effects on an animal which
can not be treated
 a shot at one animal disturbs others & they may run
away

OSTRICH FARMING
Importance of ostrich farming
 Kept for meat and eggs
 Its feathers and eggs shells are used for decoration.
 The skin is used for making shoes, belts and jacket.

Advantages of ostrich meat over beef

 Low fat content
 Very low cholesterol level
 Very high in iron
 More tender & tasty
 Higher price in the world market
 Healthier for heart disease patients
 Safer to export because of lower rate of disease
incidence

Methods of rearing ostriches/ rearing systems

 Extensive system
 Semi-intensive system
  Intensive system

Extensive rearing system

 Birds are kept in camps where they are allowed to roam
over a large open area.
 The birds obtain their nutritional requirements from
the range/ natural vegetation.
 Birds find nests for themselves & breeding birds hatch
the eggs laid.
 The chicks are brought up by their natural parents.

Advantages of extensive rearing system

 Low feeding costs
 Low labour required
 Do not need much skill to operate

Disadvantages of the extensive rearing system

 Low productivity or hatchability
 Birds & eggs may be eaten by predators
 Birds waste a lot of energy searching for food
 Difficult to control parasites, diseases & breeding

Semi-intensive rearing system

 Birds are kept in medium sized paddocks of up to 40ha.
 The area is cleared of stumps & large rocks to avoid
physical injuries to the birds.
  Birds are allowed to breed & lay eggs freely.
 The ostrich nests are identified & some of the eggs are
collected & taken to the incubator where they are
hatched while birds are allowed to hatch others.
 Birds get much of their food from the range but receive
regular supplements from the farmer.

Advantages of Semi-intensive rearing system

 Low feeding costs
 Low labour requirements
 Higher productivity than extensive rearing system
 Lower mortality rate

Disadvantages of Semi-intensive rearing system

 Birds are not protected from predators
 Difficult to control parasites, diseases & breeding.
Intensive rearing system
 This is a zero-grazing system where birds are kept in
paddocks & all feed is supplied by the farmer.
 Two-three birds are kept in paddocks of 0.2-0.5ha.
 Paddocks are cleared of stumps & large rocks to avoid
physical injuries.
 Trees for shade are left in the paddocks.

Advantages of the intensive rearing system

 High productivity & hatchability
  The birds are protected from predators
 Easy to control diseases, parasites & breeding
 Low mortality rate.

Disadvantages of the intensive rearing system

 High feeding costs
 Expensive to operate
 Need skilled manpower

Incubation of ostrich eggs

 Incubation is a process of providing warmth to eggs
inoder to hatch them using the incubators.

The procedure for egg incubation involves the following

steps;
 Egg collection: eggs are collected once a day, late
afternoon or early in the morning soon after they have
been laid.
 Storage of eggs: eggs waiting to be incubated are stored
in a cool place of Relative Humidity of 75-80% for no
longer than 10days
 Cleaning & fumigation: Dirty eggs are cleaned with a
brush & then fumigated with Formalin (a mixture of
potassium vii magnate & formaldehyde)
NB: Eggs should not be washed as washing removes mucin
 Pre-heating of eggs: Put eggs at room temperature of
250c for at least 12hours
  Cleaning & fumigation of incubators: Clean &
thoroughly fumigate incubators with Formalin
before incubation commences
 Incubate the eggs: -The recommended temperature for
incubation is 35-360c & must not change by 0.50c
 Relative-Humidity of the air should be 40-42%
 There should also be sufficient airflow (ventilation)
that ensure a carbon-dioxide of less than 0.5%
 Turning of eggs
 Electronic incubators turn eggs automatically
24times a day
 Hand turning of eggs is done 2-3times a day
 The air-sac should always face upwards
 During the last week when eggs are transferred to
the hatchary they should not be turned

NB: Ostrich eggs hatch after an incubation period of 42 days

on average
Microchips
These are very small, metal pellet-like apparatuses that can
store large amount of information like a computer. These
are easily inserted beneath the skin on the neck of the ostrich
using a special tool that acts like a syringe. It remains there
for life of the ostrich. New information retrieved using a
hand held microchip reader.
Advantages of marking birds (captured birds) by the use of
microchips
The use of microchips is a requirement by the Department of
Wildlife & National Parks (DWNP) & Department of
Animal Health & Production because;
 they enable these Departments to identify wild caught &
captive born birds
 they can easily make approval for requests for export &
internal trade
 they are very important to the farmer as a means of
identifying captured birds from the wild birds in order
to avoid theft of captive birds & to prevent the illegal
harvesting of wild birds
 Causes no stress or damage to the birds hide.
 They are not easily removed or altered by thieves.
 Not easily obtained or used outside the knowledge of
DWNP thus preventing their use on illegally captured
wild birds.

Disadvantages of using microchips

 Requires technical skills to use and to insert.
 Equipment is expensive

The efforts by the Government in order to develop game

farming in Botswana
 Administers the import of game & game products
through the Department of Wildlife & National Parks.
  Undertakes inspection & registration of game farms to
ensure that standards set or required by importing
countries are met
 Provides funding to farmers through CEDA & NDB
 Provided ostrich abattoir at Sebele.
 It trains interested farmers in game farming at Gantsi
district (Demonstration Game Ranch at
Matlhoaphuhudu) & Wildlife Training Institute at
Maun.
 Provide disease control assistance thorough Department
of Animal Health & Production

Legislative measures to ensure sustainable use of game,

specially endangered species, the Department of Wildlife &
National Parks came with policies, strategies & guidelines
which are;
 Wildlife conservation policy of 1986
o It states the potential value of both consumptive &
non-consumptive use of the country’s wildlife
resources in a sustainable way in rural areas
 Crocodile policy
o It provides guidance on the use of crocodile
population for commercial, research & other uses
 Bird conservation policy
o It provides guidelines for utilization &
conservation of the bird population in Botswana
 Ostrich management policy of 1994
 o It provides guidance & monitoring on the
utilization of the ostrich population for
commercial, research & other uses
 Elephant management plan of 1991
o It offers guidance to the Department in the
conservation management of the elephant
population
 Game Ranching policy
o It aims to give guidance & monitoring of the game
ranching projects in the country
 Rhino management strategy
o It gives clear guidance on how rhinos in the wild &
those in Sanctuaries should be managed.
 CITIES (conservation on international trade in
endangered species) Botswana became the signatory in
1997.
o CITIES controls and monitors trade in endangered
plant and animal life throughout the world.

RANGE & PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Range
 It is the vegetation that grows naturally on the
rangeland
Pasture
 It is a land area planted with plant species of high
forage value (grasses & or legumes)
Rangeland
  It is an extensive land area covered with natural
vegetation which is dominated by grasses which
provide grazing & browsing for livestock & wildlife
Range/ Pasture management
 It is a way in which range/rangeland is used to obtain
maximum livestock production.
 OR care and maintenance of the grazing land to
provide the highest yield and better food for livestock.

Factors affecting range management in Botswana

 Drought
o Frequent occurrence of drought disturbs the
proper management of the rangeland
 Knowledge & skill of farmers
o Skilled farmers implement good management
practices while unskilled farmers do not use any
management practices
 Veld fires
o Correct use of veld fire help to control bush &
maintain the range in good condition, while
indiscriminate burning of the range lead to
destruction
 Type of livestock
o This affects range management because proper
utilization of range resources lies in matching the
type of livestock with the dominant vegetation type
 Population growth rate
 o In Botswana more stock is put on the range & at
the same time rangeland is being used for arable
farming.
 Temperature
o Due to excessive heat, plants wilt and die or grow
poorly resulting in low carrying capacity.
 Soils
o Most of the country has sandy soils which are
deficient in phosphorus and less organic matter.
This result in low fertility and poor water holding
capacity, therefore plant growth will be poor and
hence carrying capacity will be low.
Composition of ranges in Botswana
All ranges in Botswana have varying amounts of the
following:
1. Grasses
o These provide the main food for the animals. They
are many species found in each range and each has
its own grazing value. Examples are Panicum
maximum(guinea grass), Cenchrus ciliaries (buffalo
grass), Chlorisguyana (Rhodes grass), Cynodon
ductylon (couch grass)
2. Forbs
o Also called herbs, these are broad leaved and non-
woody plants. They are usually of little value of
grazers’s e.g. Datura ferox, flannel weed, Mexican
poppy.
3. Browse
o These include all woody plants, trees, shrubs and
bushes. They have woody stems and are perennials.
 Many are source of food for browsing animals.e.g.
Grewia bicolor (mogwana), Boscia foetida (mopipi).
4. Bare ground
o This is an area where no plants grow. These areas
may be the results of overgrazing, veld fires, and
foot path or insects damage. They are prone to
erosion.
5. Occasionally standing water
o This is water that does not flow. Animals often
drink this water although it may contain parasites
and diseases causing organisms.

Natural vegetation
 Physical vegetation; includes soil, pans, water etc
 Biotic vegetation; includes plants & animals

The plant vegetation is made of grass & woody plants

Woody plants are trees & shrubs, they play important
roles of
 protecting rangeland from soil erosion
 encourage water intake into the soil
 some provide browse to animals
 trees provide shad to the animals

Grasses are classified as increasers, degreasers or invaders

depending on their feeding value & how they respond to
grazing pressure.
1. Decreasers (desirable grasses)
 These are grass species that decrease as grazing pressure
increases. They are mostly liked by livestock because they
are; -- palatable, -- nutritious, -- have suitable height and
are also perennials. eg Guinea grass (Panicum maximum)
Star grass (Cynadon dactylon), Buffel grass (Cenchrus
ciliaris) Weeping love grass (Erogrostis curvula).
2. Increasers (intermediate grass)
These are grass species that increase with the pressure of
grazing or increase due to selective grazing/ or
underutilized. They escape grazing because they are
shorter or less palatable and less nutritious eg Eragrostis
rigidor, chloris virgata.
3. Invaders (undesirable species)
These are plant species that invade the area as increasers
& degreasers are reduced by constant grazing. They are
usually unpalatable shrubs and unnutritious to livestock.
Some of them are poisonous to livestock. eg Broom love
grass

TYPES OF NATURAL VEGETATION FOUND IN

BOTSWANA
1. Woodland
 These are mostly trees and shrubs with a ground
cover of a mixture of grasses. Some of these offer
 valuable browse for animals especial at the end of the
dry season. E.g. Combretum apiculum (mohudiri),
Grewia flava,Colophospermum mopane (mopane),
Boscia albitrunca (sherperds tree). It is found on the
North West of the country.
2. Grass savanna
 These consistently mostly of grass, sedges and herbs.
This grassland can cover large area. E.g.
makgadikgadi pans. A few trees or woody plants may
be scattered among grasses. They constitute the most
important feed for livestock in the rangelands.
3. Forests
 This consists mostly of tall trees. There is little grass
at ground level. The area receives a more rainfall and
has good fertile heavy soils. It is found on the
northern part i.e. chobe district.
4. Shrub savanna
 Are few trees and many scattered shrubs. The
vegetation consists mostly of acacias and they are
found in South west of the country.

Map of Botswana showing the natural vegetation

Explanation of the concepts and definitions of some terms
undelying range management
1. Forage
 These are plants on which animals feed OR
 It is any vegetative plant material fed to livestock.
E.g. silage, crop residues, range/ pasture grass etc.
2. Fodder crops
 These are crops grown by man to feed livestock e.g.
Lucerne, maize etc.
3. Livestock unit (LSU)
 it is a mature live animal of 500kg weight.

GENERALLY;
no of livestock per LSU LSU per given no of
livestock
6 goats/ sheep I LSU
Suckling calves 0 LSU
1 donkey/cow/horse 1LSU
1bull 1.5 LSU

4. Stocking rate (SR)

 The number of livestock actually kept per hectare OR
 Amount of grazing land given to a livestock unit.
 The units for SR are: ha/LSUor LSU/ha.

5. Carrying capacity (CC)

 The correct stocking rate for a given area OR
 the area of grazing which should be made available to
one LSU so that it can be maintained and produced
efficiently without damaging the grazing area.
 The units of CC are ha/LSU or LSU/ha.

6. Overstocking
 When the stocking rate exceeds the carrying capacity
OR when there are more LSU’s than the
range/pasture can support.
 For ha/LSU it is when the SR is less than the CC.
 Summary for this: LSU/ha--SR>CC
Ha/LSU-SR<CC
7. Under stocking
  This is when the stocking rate is lower than the
carrying capacity. OR when there are fewer LSU
than the range/pasture can support.
 For ha/LSU the SR exceed the CC.
 Summary for this: LSU/ha-- SR<CC
Ha/LSU--SR>CC
8. Overgrazing
 When the grass is grazed to such an extent that it
cannot re-grow and it dies.
 This is usually a result of overstocking.
 This may result in soil erosion, low quality
production and increase in number of poisonous
weeds.

9. Under grazing
 The grass is fully grazed and is allowed to grow old
and become un-nutritious.
 It is usually the less palatable grasses that are
undergrazed. These then prevent the re-growth of
the more desirable grasses resulting in poor
range/pasture.
 If SR = CCthe area is balance.

10. Mixed species grazing

 When two or more different species of animals are
allowed to graze an area together. E.g. mixing
cattle and goats.
 This can be an advantageous as the two feed
differently e.g. cattle graze while the goats browse.
  The species do not compete for the same plants and
therefore the range/pasture is more fully utilized
completely
Formulas for calculation of the stocking rate and carrying
capacity
Stocking rate = area grazed OR
No of LSU

= No of LSU
Area grazed
Carrying capacity =usable forage
Quantity demanded
Usable forage = forage that can safely be grazed
= forage produced *% of allowable usage
(50%)* Area
Quantity demanded = weight of LSU (500kg) * daily dry
matter intake * no of days in a year (365days).

EXTENSIVE RANGE MANAGEMENT (continuous

grazing)
 This is where animals are allowed to graze & browse
over a large area consisting of naturally growing
plants.
  There is no fencing & animals are allowed to move
freely.
 The herd boys stay with the herds and guide them to
the grazing areas during the daytime and kraal them
at night.
 This system is characterized by overstocking, soil
erosion & overgrazing.

Advantages of continuous grazing

 Is cheap
 Less labour is required
 No skills required
 Anyone is free to have livestock.
 There is no limit to the number of animals one may
have.

Disadvantage of continuous grazing

 It encourages disease & parasites build up
 It is difficult to maintain correct stocking rate
 Animals are not protected from predators and they can
get lost.
 It leads to overgrazing & soil erosion (land degradation)
 It encourages selective grazing

Use of indigenous plants to increase range productivity

  Sometimes the vegetation in the range is depleted or is
not very good for feeding livestock.
 The range/pasture can be improved by sowing plant
species of high grazing value which are locally available
as they are more adapted to the climatic conditions of
the country.
 These are over-sown i.e. the original grass layer is left
intact and seeds of the new species are broadcasted on
the surface and left to germinate when rain begin.
 Some useful indigenous grasses are Panicum maximum
and cynodon dactylon.
 Grasses such as buffel grass, star grass, guinea grass &
weeping love grass can be grown
 Trees such as Leucaena & Sesbania can be planted
along paddocks fence.+
 Some Acacia species can be left on the grazing land as
they produce pods which can be eaten by the stock
especially the sheep and goats.
 Indigenous annual grasses which are nutritious and
palatable can be maintained on the grazing land. E.g.
Phoka (Urochola trichopus).

Ways in which man can destroy range lands

1. Overstocking & overgrazing

 Keeping more animals in an area will lead to
overgrazing, soil erosion & bush encroachment
2. Deforestation
 Cutting down of trees in the rangeland will lead to
rangeland degradation
 3. Indiscriminate burning of rangelands/ veld fires
 Uncontrolled burning causes damage to plant
composition & cause loss of valuable grazing areas
4. Use of inappropriate stock
 The use of stock which is not well suited to the type of
vegetation available will cause damage to the
rangeland and which will encourage selective grazing.
5. Improper grazing management –
 Uncontrolled grazing systems like continuous grazing
encourage overgrazing & selective grazing which lead
to deterioration of the pasture.
6. Bush encroachment
 Grazing one species in an area without mixing
different species led to most of the grasses and browse
old and end up being un nutritious and undesired by
livestock and led to bush encroachment.
7. Activities that lead to atmospheric pollution.
8. No effort taken to conserve soil against soil erosion.
9. No effort taken by the farmers to maintain soil fertility.

Ways of avoiding destruction of range and rangeland

(preventive measures)

 Practice correct stocking rate during wet & dry seasons

 Discourage annual fires & also control veld fires by
construction of firebreaks
 Livestock farmers should be educated on the
importance of sustainable use of rangelands
 Encourage fencing & paddocking to allow range
management practices
  Stock the range with animals which are well suited to
the forage available
 Provide enough or adequate water points & distribute
them evenly to avoid livestock concentration around
water points
 Properly mix both the browsers & grazers on the range
to avoid bush encroachment or ensure uniform grazing.
 Preventing the soil erosion and conserving soil in the
range land.

INTENSIVE PASTURE MANAGEMENT

This involves practicing the intensive grazing systems which
cause less or no harm to the range. This also refers to the
condition where the pastures are fenced to control the
movement of the livestock. The pastures are maintained in
good condition to ensure that they provide quality feed to the
livestock throughout the year. An improved pasture
provides food for the animals hence the livestock will grow
and reproduce well. E.g. creep grazing, rotational grazing,
strip grazing and zero grazing.
Methods or Ways of improving range & pasture utilization
1. Night grazing
 night grazing allows animals more time to graze when
the conditions are much cooler than during the day
2. Correct stocking rate
 Correct stocking rate of animals in an area that can
support them prevents overgrazing
3. Fodder conservation
  Excess fodder produced during wt season should be
conserved as hay, standing hay or silage to be used
when grazing area is poor during dry season.
4. Provision of adequate water points
 an even distribution of water points over the grazing
area ensures an even utilization
5. Fencing & paddocking of rangeland
 This makes it easy to implement controlled grazing
systems.
 The farmer is also able to control movement of his
livestock to give time for certain areas to regrow.
6. Mixing of suitable stock species
 Stocking the range with stock species that are well
adapted to the forage available results in optimum
utilization of the range.

Types of intensive grazing systems

1. Creep grazing system
 It is a technique whereby young stock is allowed to go
through a small opening to obtain good quality pasture.
This opening does not allow adult animals to go
through.

Advantages of creep grazing young stock

 young stock have access to good quality pasture
 it improves the growth rate
Disadvantage of creep grazing
 it requires fencing & paddocking
 good quality pasture needs to be maintained

2. Rotational grazing system

 It is a system in which rangeland is divided into camps
or paddocks that are grazed intensively.
 A given paddock is grazed for a given period & then left
to rest & recover while animals are moved to another
paddock.
 A large area of land is divided into at least 2 paddocks.

Advantages of rotational grazing

 Allows the pasture to recover
 It prevents parasites & disease build up by braking
their life-cycle
 Allows pasture grasses to mature & produce seeds
 It allows for fodder conservation for future use
 It permits higher stocking rates & results in increased
livestock production.
 Reduces danger of selective grazing.
 Irrigation, fertilization and other maintenance
measures are easily done.

Disadvantages of rotational grazing

 Needs high management standards
 Increased costs of fencing & water reticulation
 Requires extra labour to maintain the fences
  Changing camps may cause stress to the animals
 Large area of land is needed.

3. Strip grazing system:

 It is an intensive method of rotational grazing.
 Paddocks are divided into strips of pasture using an
electric fence which is removed daily for day to day
razing. OR
 It is a system whereby animals are confined to a small
(or narrow pieces) of pasture called strips on which to
graze.
 Any animal that come in contact with an electric fence
receives a slight shock and therefore moves away.
 The control of the animals is done by an electric fence.

Advantages of strip grazing system

 Minimizes selective grazing and overgrazing.
 Ensures uniform distribution of manure over grazing
land.
 There is higher production of both livestock & pasture.
 The pasture can re-grow quickly.
 Animals can gain weight quickly as movement is
severely restricted.
 Animals are protected from predators.
 Grass is eaten at its highest grazing value.

Disadvantages of strip grazing

 High costs of electricity, fencing & water reticulation.
  Require high standards of management.
 Suitable only for highly productive animals like dairy
cattle.
 Areas already used need to be top-dressed with
fertilizers to encourage re-growth.
4. Zero grazing system
 Described as a ‘cut & carry system’
 Animals are not allowed to graze at all.
 Animals are not allowed out to graze in paddocks but
rather forage is harvested & brought to them in a kraal
or shed.

Advantages of zero grazing

 Only a small area is need for the pasture.
 No need to fence & water reticulation.
 Livestock can easily be inspected and treated for
parasites and diseases.
 The type of feed can easily be changed if it is the wish of
the farmer.
 Animals use less energy, hence high production.
 Regular resting & heavy fertilizer application lead to
high production of pasture.
 There is more efficient use of fodder.
 There is uniform food intake which lead to higher
animal production & increased stocking rate.
 Animals are protected from predators.
 Animals can gain weight quickly as movement is
severely restricted.
  The pasture is not spoiled by trampling hence it re-
grows quickly.
 Selective and overgrazing are prevented.

Disadvantages of zero grazing

 There is labour required for manure disposal & forage
collection.
 It requires housing& bedding for animals.
 When used on a large scale fodder harvesting
equipment is needed.
 Requires high management standards. E.g. how much
feed to order and
 In case of disease outbreak, disease is likely to spread
very quickly.
 Animals do not get enough exercise since there are
confined to a small area hence got paralysis.

Ways in which fodder can be preserved for future use

(methods of fodder conservation)
 Dried hay
 Standing hay
 Silage (through fermentation)

1. Standing hay (stand-over)

 This is whereby plants are left standing in the
rangeland & is allowed to dry there (not cut).
 The pasture is set aside for use only during winter or
dry season.
  The pasture to be conserved is left ungrazed for some
time before the end of a wet season.
 The un-grazed period is long enough to allow for a high
yielding crop to form.
 Standing hay just provide maintenance ration because
its feeding value & palatability are low.

2. Hay making
 Hay refers to fodder which has been cut, partially dried
to be used as stock feed.
 It is preserved through drying.
Steps for making hay
 The fodder crop is cut when green and fresh before it
flowers.
 Cut the crop at flowering (beginning of flowering) stage
during sunshine.
 Dry the cut material in the sun or by artificial heating
to reduce moisture content to up to at least 20%.
 It is left to dry for a day or two in the sun.
 It is turned so that it dries evenly and when it is dry to
touch it is then ready for collection into bundles or
bales.
 These bales or bundles of hay must be stored in a cool
dry place in shelter or under the shed out of the sun.
 If the hay has not dried correctly (when too wet) it will
rot or be unpalatable and less nutritious.
 If made well and stored well it remains good, nutritious
feed for livestock for up to 5 years.
  As it is dry water must always be made available when
feeding hay.

3. Silage making
 Silage is a succulent stock feed produced through the
process of fermentation of green & fresh fodder.
Fermentation: involves anaerobic respiration (i.e., without
oxygen)
NB; Good silage is usually yellowish-brown & have a
sweetish smell
Characteristics or conditions suitable for silage making
 They should be young & succulent (moisture content of
65-70%)
 Contain enough fermentable carbohydrates
 Highly nutritious
 Easy to compact to exclude/ remove oxygen

Steps to make silage

 The crop is cut at its flowering stage before the stem
hardens.
 Material with high moisture content is wilted in the sun
for few hours before ensiling.
 Chop the plant into small pieces and place them in
airtight pit or silage heap or silo. Spread the chopped
material evenly inside the silo stepwise.
 Dig a trench around the silo to keep off the surface
water
 The filling should be completed within 3- 4 days
  Compress the material to remove most of the air
(oxygen) and cover with airtight plastic (polythene) to
make it air & water tight.
 Leave material for 3-4 weeks to allow it to ferment.
 The bacteria found naturally on the crop will ferment
the crop changing complex carbohydrates (cellulose)
into simple sugars and producing acids and alcohols
which will preserve the grass.
 Silage activators maybe added to speed up the
fermentation process.
 Keep on checking the progress.
 After some weeks or months, depending on the material
used and climate the crop will be fully converted to
silage and will be ready to feed to livestock.
 If the silage is ready it must have thee following;
o mild,
o pleasant aroma,
o slightly acidic taste
o greenish yellow colour
 It is advisable to feed livestock silage in winter as it is
moist and warm.
 The silage must last for a few months before it begins to
spoil and becomes unsuitable for feeding.
Methods of improving intensive pastures/ Pasture
improvement practices
1. Fertilizer application
 The pasture is applied with nitrogen & phosphorous
fertilizers on regular basis to maintain soil fertility &
forage production examples of fertilizers that can be
 applied are LAN and UREA for leaf growth and
phosphate fertilizers for root development.
2. Irrigation
 In an intensive system pastures need to be irrigated
during a dry season or drought it increase yield hence
more feed for livestock.
3. Correct stocking rate
 Stock the animals according to the carrying capacity of
the pasture land to prevent overgrazing & under-
stoking.
4. Prevention & control of soil erosion
 This will help to conserve soil & water, & improve
condition of the pasture.
5. Regular topping
 This is the removal of stemmy fibrous material left over
after a period of pasture grazing.
Reasons for topping
 it stimulates fresh growth of grass
 result in pasture of good health
6. Over-sowing with legumes or mixture of legumes
 Sowing legumes in the pasture will increase the bulk of
forage present & improve the feeding value especially
during dry season.
7. Re-seeding
 The area may be ploughed and planted with new better
varieties of grasses or pasture legumes which can make
 the pasture more nutritious, faster growing and
palatable.
8. Bush control
 Removal of all the invaders that can compete with
fodder crops.
 They waste space, steal nutrients and water and prevent
the grass from covering the ground.
9. Watering points
 The points for drinking water should be enough and far
enough apart so that the animals will not spend all the
time grazing in one area near the water source.
10. Fencing
 The fence confines the livestock within the grazing area
and also prevents unwanted animals fro entering and
feeding inside.
 The farmer is also able to control movement of his
livestock to give time for certain areas to re-grow.

Causes of pasture deterioration; this means causes of

decline/decrease in pasture production.
1. Weed invasion
 appearance of undesirable grass species, shrubs &
unpalatable bushes
2. Soil erosion
 Which leads to loss of soil fertility, hence decline in
pasture production.
3. Over grazing
  which leads to excessive defoliation
4. Selective grazing
 this lead to disappearance of the palatable & nutritious
grass species
5. Veld fires
 The occurrences of uncontrolled fires lead to reduced
quantity of the pasture.
6. Drought

Poisonous plants found in Botswana

1. Poison leaf (Dichaptualumcymosum): mogau
2. Devil’s thorn (Tribulusterristris): mostlho
3. Wild striped cucumber ( Cucumismyriocarpus): monyaku
4. Rubber hedge plant: motsetse
5. Thorn apple (Datura ferox) mokhure
6. Pick berry (Lantana camara)
7. Mexican poppy (Argemone Mexicana)
Grass species found in Botswana
1. Rhodes grass: Chloris gayana
2. Kikuyu grass
3. Guinea grass: Panicummaximum
4. Buffel grass:Cencrusciliaris
5. Star grass;Cynodondactylon
6. Weeping love grass:Eragrostiscurvula
7. Teff grass: Eragrostisteff
Legume species
1. Stylo: Stylosanthesgracilis
2. Lucerne: Medicagosativa
3. Lablab: Lablabpurpreus
4. Leucaena: Leucaenaleucocephala
5. Sesbania: Sesbania spp
Describe Buffel grass (Cencrus ciliaris) or Guinea grass
(Panicummaximum) and Lucerne (Medicana sativa) under
the following :
 Form & growth
 Soil & climatic requirements
 Persistence ( length of growth)
 Fertilizer treatment
 Planting time & method of planting
 Nutritional value
1. Buffel grass (Cencrus ciliaris)
a. Form & growth habit
 It is deep-rooted, erect tufted grasses which reach a
height of 1m or more.
b. Soil & climatic requirements
 It does well on a wide range of soils which are well
drained.
  It is suited to light textured soils.
 it is suited to areas of medium to low rainfall because is
drought resistance.
c. Persistence (length of growth)
 It is a perennial grass which is tolerant to fire
d. Fertilizer treatment
 Basal dress with 2:3:2 (22) fertilizer at a rate of 300-
500kg/ha
 Top-dress annually with 2:3:2 (22) at the rate of 150-
250kg/ha at the start of the rains.
e. Planting time & method of planting
 Plant in December when there is sufficient rainfall.
 Broadcast seeds at the rate of 3-5kg/ha & cover the
seeds by light harrowing (do not use fresh seeds).
 Sow the seeds at a depth of less than 2cm
f. Nutritive value
 It high nutritive value with crude protein value of 6-
11%.

2. Guinea grass (Panicummaximum)

a. Form & growth habit
 It is an erect tussock forming grass
 Grows up to 70-90cm tall.
 There are tall and short varieties.
 It has a distinct crown
 It has richly branched root system.
 It stores food and grow new tillers.
  It produces small seeds.

b. Soil & climatic requirements

 Prefers fertile damp soil
 Warm climatic conditions with moderate rainfall are
preferred.
 Grows well under the shade of trees and bush.

c. Persistence
 It is a perennial grass.
 Store food in the ground stem and produces new tillers
 It is easily adapted to other soils and climatic condition.
 Withstands grazing pressure.

d. Fertilizer treatment
 Well rotten manure at rate of 30-40 ton/ha is added to
soil 2 months before sowing.
 Double superphosphate of 200-300kg/ha is added before
planting, this can be added at a rate of 150kg/ha every
second year after the cut hay is harvested.
 If organic manure is not available adds NPK 2:3:2 as
top dressing at the rate of 250kg/ha.

e. Planting time & method of sowing

 Small varieties are established by seeds.
 The seeds should not be buried more than 5-6cm deep.
 Spread the seeds on the well prepared soil and bury
them by dragging a harrow.
  Sowing rate is 4-5kg/ha.
 They can also be established by cuttings
 Planting can be done at the beginning of the rainy
season.
 The soil moisture content should be high during
planting time.

f. Nutritive value
 It is very palatable
 It is high in roughage and carbohydrate.

3. Lucerne: (Madicago sativa)

a. Form & growth habit
 Is a bush plant with deep tap root system
 It grows to a height of 1m
 Have erect stem
 Many small trifoliate leaves
 Small purple flowers.
b. Soil & climatic requirements
 Requires soils which are deep, well-drained with pH
value of 5.5 & above (slightly acidic).
 Prefers loam soil which is slightly alkaline.
 Prepare soil to a fine tilth.
 Prefer cool weather conditions.
 Needs rainfall of around 450 mm/ year.
 Not suited to dry land farming conditions

c. Persistence
  It is a perennial plant that withstands drought but not
overgrazing

d. Fertilizer treatment
 Basal dress with Single Super-phosphate at a rate of
250- 400kg/ha to increase phosphorous content level in
the soil 2 months before sowing.
 Well rotten manure should be added to the soil at a rate
of 10-20 tons/ha 3 months before planting.
 If manure is not available top dress after 3 weeks of
germination with ammonium sulphate.
 If the soil is acidic it should be limed at 1 on/ha.
 Top dress with 2:3:4 fertilizer at the rate of 100kg/ha
after every cut.

e. Planting time & method of sowing

 Sow the seeds in May so that the lower temperatures
can suppress weed growth.
 The best time for planting is summer/early autumn.
 Inoculate seeds with Lucerne group rhizobium bacteria
just before planting.
 Inoculated seeds are drilled in rows of 45cm apart
 Broadcast seeds over a well prepared soil.
 Spacing between plants should be 20 cm.
 Sow seeds at a rate of 15-25kg/ha at a depth of less than
2cm
 Under sow with a cereal crop.
f. Nutritive value
High nutritive value;
 Rich in protein (18- 25% CP)
 It has essential minerals, carotene & most vitamin A
 Deficient in phosphorous, iodine & energy
 It is not palatable.
 Fresh grazing Lucerne can cause bloating in animals.

NB: Suitable for feeding all classes of livestock

MODULE FIVE
CROP AND LIVESTOCK IMPROVEMENT
GENETICS
Terms
a) Genetics: it is the study of mechanisms by which
characters (traits) of a parent are handed to offspring.
OR study of heredity and variation.
b) Chromosomes: these are fine, coiled, thread like
structures found in the nucleus of the cell which consists
of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) OR can be described as
slender, thread like strands that contain units of
inheritance (genes). Chromosomes appear in pairs.
Each chromosome is made up of two parallel strands
called chromatids.

 Examples:
 cattle = 30 pairs
 Sheep = 27 pairs
 Pigs = 19 pairs
 Chickens = 39 pairs
 Garden pea = 14 pairs
 Human = 23 pairs

Identification of chromosomes, alleles and genes in a

cell

 There is fixed number of chromosomes for each

species.
  The number of chromosomes in a species is the same
in all its body cells.
 The chromosomes are always in pairs.
 The number of chromosomes in the body cell
(somatic cell) of an animal or plant is called the
diploid number(2n). It is always an even number.
 Gametes have only half number of chromosomes.
This is known as haploid number.
c) Gene: it is a unit of inheritance OR is a particle found in
the nucleus, which determines the presence or absence
of certain characteristics in an organism OR is the basic
fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity
that is transmitted from parents to offspring in
reproduction. Sections of DNA molecule constitute the
genes.
 Examples are: skin colour, eye colour, flower colour,
fruit flavour.
d) Alleles: are different forms of a gene controlling the
same character and occupying the same position on
homologous chromosomes(pair of same chromosomes)
two alleles being different forms of a gene are
represented by alternative forms of the symbol e. g. A
or a. A represent a dominant trait while a represents a
recessive trait. Further more alleles can be defined as
genes, which occupy corresponding positions on
homologous chromosome and control the same
character / traits.
e) Homozygous: having identical genes from both the
parents for certain trait. E.g. AA or aa. AA is termed
homozygous dominant and aa is termed homozygous
recessive.
f) Heterozygous:Having one dominant and one recessive
gene for a certain trait. E.g. Tt, Rr
 Here the genes occur on the same loci are having
different effects. E.g. gene for height: Tall (T),
Short(t)
g) Recessive: when form of a trait is completely hidden in
the first generation OR traits that are expressed only if
they are in homozygous state.It is shown by lower case
letters t, p,r
h) Dominance: ability of an allele to express itself in the
presence of an alternatives allele i.e. in a heterozygous
condition. E.g. when tall and short maize are crossed all
the offspring produced will be tall. This is expressed by
upper case letters. E.g. T, P, R. tallness is dominant to
gene of shortness.
i) Complete dominance: this refers to whenthe
heterozygous organism has an outward appearance as
the homozygous dominant organism. The two cannot be
distinguished except by breeding experiments.
j) Co – dominance: the expression of both alleles in a
heterozygous organism. The organism shows both traits
of homozygous organism. E.g. alleles that determines
the blood groups of human beings.
TYPES OF CELL DIVISION
They are two types of cell divisions that take place in an
organism’s body namely:
a. Mitosis
 This is a type of cell division by which a nucleus of a
cell divides to produce two daughter nucleus
containing identical set of chromosomes.
 It is usually followed immediately by an equal
division of the cytoplasm, the reformation of cell
surface membrane and cell wall (in plants) or cell
membrane (in animals) and the separation of the
daughter cells i.e. cell division.
 Mitosis results in the increase in number of cells. It is
a method by which growth, replacement and repair
of worn out tissues occur in most plants and animals.
Illustration for mitosis.
b. Meiosis
 It is a process by which a cell nucleus divides to produce
four daughter nuclei each containing half the number of
chromosomes of the original nucleus i.e. the number of
chromosomes in a cell is reduced from diploid (2n) to
haploid number (n).
 The significance of this process is that it enables the
chromosome number of a sexually reproducing species
to be kept constant from generation to generation.
 Meiosis occurs only in gamete formation in animals. It
produces gametes that fuse together during fertilization
to restore a diploid number of chromosomes.
 N.B. Haploid means containing one set of chromosomes
while Diploid refers to containing two sets of
chromosomes.

Illustration for meiosis.

TEST CROSS
 A cross between heterozygous organism (Aa) and
homozygous recessive organism (aa) is called test cross.
i. Genotype
 It refers to the genetic make – up of an organism. E.g.
homozygous recessive is represented by two similar
small letters – aa, homozygous dominant represented by
two similar upper case letters – AA, while heterozygous
is represented by a lower and upper case letters – Aa.
 The two maize plants, TT and Tt have the same
phenotype but different genotype. The two
rabbits, BBand Bb have same phenotype but different
genotype.
ii. Phenotype
 This describes the outward appearance of an organism.
E.g. colour, height or tall maize and black skin coat of
rabbits.
RESULTS OF GENETIC CROSS
a. The three to one ratio
 A homozygous tall plant (TT) is crossed with a
homozygous dwarf (tt) plant.
 A heterozygous tall plant is crossed with another
heterozygous plant.
  Phenotype ratio: tall: dwarf = 3:1
 Genotype ratio: TT: Tt: tt = 1:2:1
b. The one to one ratio
 Crossing a heterozygous (Tt) tall plant with a
homozygous dwarf plant (tt)
  Genotype ratio: Tt : tt = 1:1
 Phenotype ratio: tall: dwarf = 1:1
PUNNET SQUARE
i. Example 1
 Predict the outcome of the cross between a homozygous
black rabbit (BB) and a homozygous brown rabbit (bb)
 A punnet square can be used to do the cross
B b
B Bb Bb
b Bb Bb

 F1 generation will be all black Bb = black

ii. Example 2
 Predict the out come of a cross between the offspring of
the F1 generation from the previous example.

VARIATION
It refers to the difference in characteristics shown by the
organisms belonging to the same species. The difference in
phenotype may be due to the following factors;
1. Genotype/ genetic make-up
 Variation due to genetic make-up can cause
differences in size, coat colour, eye colour etc.
 Occur as a result new gene combination which
occurs during sexual reproduction.
 Can also occur as result of mutations. Mutation is
unpredictable. It is a sudden change which occurs
as a result of a change in gene or chromosome; it
occurs in both somatic and germ cells and only
those in germ cells are heritable. Mutations can be
induced by mutagens, e.g. X rays, UV light, certain
chemicals, radiation.
 Random assortment of chromosomes during
meiosis.

2. Environment
Some of the traits are determined by the environment under
which an organism grows.
 Example: Maize plants provided with all necessities
for plant growth will grow faster than those lacking
one or more of such plant necessities. Other factors
include:
- Level of feeding
- Diseases and pest control
- Climate (rainfall, temperature, light).
Traits often affected are level of production, weight, height,
and behaviour.

Phenotype/ the outward appearance =genotype +

environment
BREEDING
This is the development of new plant or animal types with
improved traits by controlled mating of parent organisms.
OR it is when male and female are crossed so that heritable
traits are passed to the offspring.

Importance of breeding
The major importance of breeding is to produce
organisms that have;
- high yield of products such as meat, milk, fruits, forage
mass, wool & eggs
- develop resistance against certain pests & diseases
- develop new breeds & cultivars
- increased yield per given area or animal
- develop resistance against drought, cold & adverse
climatic conditions

- Improve quality of products e.g. colour and texture of

fur, colour and texture of fruits, flavour and size of
eggs.
 - Increased economic benefit to farmers.
Methods of breeding in both animals and plants
1. Crossbreeding (in animals)
2. Hybridization (crossbreeding in plant)
3. Inbreeding
4. Upgrading
5. Selection

1. Crossbreeding
It is a method of breeding that involves mating individuals
of two or more different breeds. The offspring produced
in crossbreeding is called a crossbred. E.g. Tuli bull and
Tswana cow and Cherry tomatoes and Money maker.
2. Hybridization (crossbreeding in plants)
It involves two or more different/distinct parent lines or
cultivars to produce hybrids with new & superior
combination of traits.
In plants it involves transferring pollen grains from anther
to stigma of another plant of the same species (cross-
pollination). This is achieved by covering some plant parts to
avoid self-pollination.
NB: Hybridization is NOT applicable to plants propagated
only by asexual means.
- selection usually follows hybridization to isolate the
superior combinations & discard undesirable plants
 - When desirable traits are fully developed in a hybrid &
can be propagated vegetatively, then no further
selection is necessary.
Hybrid vigor/Heterosis: Is a situation where the crossbred
shows to be better than both of its parents
Hybrid vigour can be maintained by vegetative reproduction
or cloning.
Example; One variety of tomato produces large fruits but
has poor resistance to diseases. Another variety has
resistance to diseases but produces small fruits. If these two
varieties are cross pollinated we may be able to produce a
generation with large fruits and good resistance.
Illustration
Large fruit; HH Small
fruit; hh
Resistant; RR Non resistance; rr

Large fruit & poor resistance X

small fruits & good resistance
(HHrr) X
(hhRR)

HrRr large fruit &

good resistance
Advantages of crossbreeding in animals & hybridization in
plants
- Results in hybrid vigor (this means that offspring are
better adapted for survival than their parents).
- Increased heterozygosis; increases genetic variation in
offspring.
- Combines two sets of desirable traits from different
parent lines in offspring
- Undesirable traits in either parent can be hidden in the
offspring by the dominant gene supplied by the other.
- Produces animals and plants of higher quality and
better traits.
- Development of new breeds.

Disadvantages of crossbreeding in animals & hybridization

in plants
- Hybrids do not always breed to ‘their true type’, that is
their offspring are often worse.
- Need skill to get desired hybrid
- Individuals to be crossed must belong to the same
species
- It is costly; buying of equipment and materials used.
- Hybrid breeds are usually expensive and are not easily
available.
- Needs pure bred male of different breed from that of
females.

3. Inbreeding (is a form of pure breeding)

In animals: it is where closely related animals are allowed to
mate, eg mother & son, father & daughter, brother & sister.
In plants: It occurs when pollen from the same plant falls on
the stigma of the plant (self-pollination). This method is
followed when the breeder wishes to concentrate a particular
desirable character in his flock
Advantages of inbreeding
- increases homozygosity/reduces genetic variation
- undesirable traits may be exposed
- provide pure sources of crossbreeding & hybridization
programmes
- concentrates desirable traits in the progeny ( that is
important traits may become present in more
quantities, e.g. high milk, high fruit production)

Disadvantages of inbreeding
- certain undesirable traits may become established in
plants or the herd
- it often gives rice to deformed animals
- skills required to do it
- inbreeding depression occurs ( noticed as a reduction in
the quality of the character/trait, e.g. lower milk yield,
lower fruit yield)

4. Upgrading in livestock (repeated crossbreeding)

It is the mating of superior pure bred males of specific bred
generation after generation with females of an inferior breed
to improve offspring.
NB: Pure different bulls are used to mate the offspring, i.e.
repeated crossing where same breed of males used (bulls
different).
Description of upgrading
Crossbred females of F1, F2, F3, Fn (where n is number of
generation) crossed with same breed bulls (Tuli). At every
successive generation the female traits (Tswana) are halved
& replaced by desirable traits from the Tuli. After 8 th
generation the upgrade is almost pure Tuli breed.

The diagram below illustrate upgrading

Tuli Bull 1 Tswana cow

F1 (1st generation) X Tuli bull

2
50% Tuli
F2 (2nd generation) X Tuli bull
3
75% Tuli

F4 (3rd generation) X Tuli bull 4

87.5% Tuli

F4 (4th generation)
93.75% Tuli
Advantages of upgrading
- it results in hybrid vigour
- no danger for unwanted characteristics
- with upgrading offspring are well adapted to the local
conditions
- the breeder does not need any specialized knowledge
and skills to do it.
- can be done easily by AI
- cheap to buy bulls rather than buying a whole new herd
- Improved quality of offspring.

Disadvantage of upgrading
- it is difficult to get good quality bulls
- it is a slow method of improving the herd
 - it is expensive to buy different breeds of bulls
- if AI is not available, the farmer must own or hire a
purebred bull of a given breed
5. Selection:
This is the process of making choices for parents of the next
generation to achieve desirable combinations of traits. This
method is used by breeders to make a long-term genetic
change in plants & animals.
Selection can be either natural or artificial
a) Natural selection: It is the nature which chooses animals
to become the parents of the next generation, e.g., weak
animals will die because of diseases, drought
b) Artificial selection: It is a deliberate choice by man to
determine the parents of the next generation. Those that
are not needed are culled ( killing or selling)

Methods of selection
a) Mass selection; which is based solely on individual
merit.
b) Pedigree selection; focuses on the quality of the
ancestors rather than quality of the individual itself
c) Family selection; based on the qualities of collateral
relatives, such as full- or half- siblings, is somewhat
rapid.
d) Progeny selection; involves selecting individuals based
on the records of their progeny.
 e) Pure-line selection involves continued inbreeding and
selection for one or several desirable traits to produce a
genetically homogenous (homozygous) population.

BIOTECHNOLOGY
It is the application of biological organisms, systems or
processes to manufacturing & service industries
Genetic engineering
This is the technique used to alter or remove genetic
material from one organism to the other such that the
transferred individual traits have new traits that enhance
survival.
DNA of organisms is modified using recombinant DNA
technology & new genes with new characteristics are
produced.
NB: Plants & animals produced by genetic engineering are
called transgenic
Types of biotechnology
1). Traditional biotechnology
2). Modern biotechnology
Traditional biotechnology
It refers to the olden, well established & widely used
biotechnologies that operate at the level of the entire animal,
plant or microorganisms & at the level of individual cells or
larger organisms. OR activities that farmers practice
culturally which involve biotechnology but are done in the
absence of scientific understanding.
Examples of traditional biotechnology are;
- Conventional animal & plant breeding
- Artificial insemination
- Artificial vegetative propagation
- Production of conventional vaccines
- Making sour milk (madila) microbes alter the structure
of the milk.
- Composting (bacteria breaking down the organic
material.
- Brewing of beer and wine (micro-organisms ferment the
sorghum, grapes etc.
- Making silage (micro-organisms ferment grass)

Modern Biotechnology
These are biotechnologies that operate at molecular the level
where individual genes for specific traits are transferred into
target organisms. It involves the use of new technologies;
particularly those based on the use of recombinant DNA
technology, monoclonal antibodies & advanced cell tissue
culture techniques.
Examples of modern biotechnology are;
- Engineered crops that are more disease and pest
resistant
- Engineered crops that are more tolerant of herbicides.
- RDNA vaccine production
 - Transgenic plants for production of products of
improved nutritional value
- Modified bacteria that are used in ruminants for
improved digestion.
- Modified bacteria used to digest toxic chemicals and
plants.
- Transgenic animals

Instances where biotechnology could be applied

- Mushroom cultivation; mushroom culture is grown on a
solid substrate of organic matter rich in cellulose under
warm conditions (25 – 28Oc) and high humid
conditions.
- Milk processing:e.g. .use of lactic acid bacteria
(Lactobacillus) to process milk by fermentation it into
cheese, yogurt, sour cream & sour milk
- Biogas production
- Vaccine production: rDNA vaccines for control of
infectious livestock disease are being produced.

Advantages of using biotechnology

- Increased crop & livestock production
- Better use of agricultural waste, e.g., using cow dung for
biogas production
- Improved food processing methods
- Preservation of fodder through silage making
- Vaccine production for control & prevention of diseases
- Safer & healthier environment due to the use of bio-
fertilizers & bio-pesticides.
- Increased opportunity for use of marginal land.
 - Better use of agricultural waste.
- Preservation of fodder.

Disadvantages of biotechnology
 Risk of causing harm to non target organisms.
 Risk of creating super weeds.
 Loss of biodiversity
 Widening economic gap.
 Skilled personnel
 Long time of research and development
 Sensitive to environmental changes