*Climatic Zones in t

he Tropics*

 Humid tropics
 Sub-humid
 Semi-arid
 Arid and desert areas
 Tropical highlands
*Agriculture*

Subsistence-oriented
Low productivity
High production risk
Uncertainty
Kaingin system previals
*Factors that affect Crop growth*

Technical (natural)

a) Physical – climate, soil

b) Biological – pests, diseases, weeds, cropping patter
n

Human elements

a) Exogenous factors
b) Endogenous factors
Physical factor: Climate

•Temperature range
•Humidity
•Rainfall pattern
•Water system / management
•Solar radiation
•Wind
3 Cardinal Temperature affecting plant p
rocesses:

•Minimum temperature
-below which velocity of reaction becomes zer
o
•Optimum temperature
-reaction velocity is at maximum
•Maximum temperature
-above which reaction velocity becomes zero
Classification of Crops based on
Temperature requirement

•Cool season -Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, cauli

flower), peas, potato, Shasta daisy, carnation, tea, etc.
•Warm season
-Rice, banana
•Tropical - Coconut, pineapple
•Sub-tropical - citrus
Plant Types: Moisture Need

• Xerophytes
-Plants in arid environments (cactus)
• Hydrophytes
-Aquatic plants
• Mesophytes
Land plants – most of the economically grown pl
ants
Factors affecting rainfall

• Topography
• Air circulation
• High Relative Humidity
• Sufficiently low temperature (below con
densation point)
• Condensation nuclei
• Sufficiently low pressure
Drought

• The insufficiency of rainfall/moisture wh

ich affect plant growth
• Absolute drought – 29 consecutive da
ys without rainfall of at least 0.25 mm
• Partial drought – 15 consecutive day
s without rainfall of at least 0.25 mm
Solar Radiation

• most important factor that affect crop yield

3 aspects of light:
• Intensity (foot candles or lux)
• Duration or daylength (hours from sunris
e to sunset)
• Wavelength (Angstrom or nanometers)
Light intensity
Classification: Light in
tensity
•Heliophytes
•Medium
•Sciophytes
Classification: Light inten
sity
• Heliophytes
-Sun-loving plants
-Light saturated at about 5,000 ft. candle
s
corn, upland rice, cowpea, peanut, swee
t potato, watermelon, papaya, banana, ci
trus, various vegetables
Classification: Light inten
sity
• Medium
-Sunny at least four hours a day
Onion, garlic, chinese chives (kutchay), a
sparagus, carrot, celery, cabbage, chinese
cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, pechay, m
ustard, lettuce, spinach, gabi.
Classification: Light inten
sity
• Sciophytes
-Shade-loving
-Light saturated at about 500 ft. candles
Black pepper, cacao, coffee, lanzones, m
angosteen, durian, ginger, vanilla
Daylength

1. Photoperiodism
2. Photoblastism
 Daylength

•Photoperiodism
• Day-neutral plants
-Flowering not regulated by daylength
Kidney bean
• Short-day plants
-Plants that flower in short days (↓
CDL)
Chrysanthemums, pineapple, coffee
• Long-day plants
-Plants that flower in long days (↑CD
L)
Wheat, Aster
Daylength

Photoblastism
•Positively photoblastic
- Germination is influenced by light
Grasses, Lettuce, carrot, mustard
•Negatively photoblastic
- Germination is inhibited by light
Melon, pumpkin, cucumber
Wavelength

• Red and Blue

– effective in photosynthesis
• Far-red and red
– effective in photoperiodism
• Far-red (700-800 nm)
– influences morphogenesis
• Ultraviolet light
→ causes damage on plants
Effects of strong winds

• Crop lodging
• Subsequent yield reduction
• Grin shattering
• Affects transpiration
• Straight, upright, curved growth
• Sterility due to pollen loss
• Reduced CO2 levels esp. in enclosed spaces
• Disease spores dispersal
Physical Factor: Soil

• Geography as it covers boundaries, n

umber of cities, municipalities and
barangays
• Topography and elevation range
• Land size
• Soil properties
Soil Properties

• Soil texture – smoothness or gritness o

f soil which depends on the proportion of
variously sized particles
• Soil structure – a function of the arran
gement of the soil particles and the spac
e between them
• These are related to the soil workability
and water holding capacity
Textural Class: Sand

• Course Texture
• 0.10 – 2.00 mm diameter particles
• Excellent aeration and drainage
• Low cation exchange
• Fast permeability by water
• Low water/nutrient-holding-capacity
• Easy tillage and erodibility by water
Textural Class: Silt loam

• Medium Texture
• 0.002 – 0.05 mm diameter particles
• Good aeration and drainage
• Medium cation exchange
• Moderate permeability by water
• Moderate water/nutrient-holding-capacity
• Moderate tillage and erodibility by water
Textural Class: Clay

• fine texture
• Less than 0.002 mm diameter particles
• poor aeration and drainage
• high cation exchange
• Slow permeability by water
• High water/nutrient-holding-capacity
• Difficult tillage and erodibility by water
Soil structure

• O-horizone - leaf litter

-organic materials
• A-horizone -plough zone
-rich in organic matter.
• B-horizone -zone of accumulation
• C-horizone -weathering soil
-little organic material or life
• R-horizon -unweathered parent material
Soils of the Tropics

•Oxisols
•Alfisols
•Ultisols
•Aridisols
Soils of the Tropics

• Oxisols
-Highly weathered soils containing h
igh amounts of oxides of Fe and Al
• Alfisols
-Soils formed in well-drained upland
areas of coarse to medium surface tex
ture with a clay B horizon of more th
an 50% base saturation.
Soils of the Tropics

• Ultisols
Highly leached acid soil with less tha
n 50% base saturation found in humid t
ropical and sub-tropical areas.
• Aridisols
Soils of arid or dry regions
with limited change in the parent mate
rial because of low rainfall.
LAND PREPARATION
Types of Land Preparation
Wetland or Lowland (rice)
-Wet or Dry Preparation
Dryland or Upland (rice and most crops)
-Dry preperation
LAND PREPARATION
Wetland/Lowland Preparation
• Soaking
-Water is absorbed until soil is saturated
• Plowing(1-2x)
-Initial breaking and turning-over of soil & we
eds  PRIMARY TILLAGE
• Harrowing or Rotovation (> 2x)
-Soil clods are broken down & puddled  SECO
NDARY TILLAGE
LAND PREPARATION
Wetland/Lowland Preparation
• PUDDLING
Macropores destroyed
Micropores maintained/increased
Plowpan formed
• Leveling (1x)
Final preparation  sometimes synchronized with basal
fertilizer application
LAND PREPARATION
Dryland/Upland Preparation
• Plowing(1-2x)
Cut soil into furrow slices
Incorporate weeds
• Harrowing/Rotovation(2-3x)
Pulverize clods
Compact soil at certain degree
Final weed incorporation
• Leveling
Finala activity
Done after harrowing
Types of Tillage Operations

•Primary tillage
•Secondary tillage
•Seedbed preparation
•Inter tillage
Primary tillage
• the most aggressive tillage operation
• undertaken when the soil is wet enough to
allow the field to be ploughed and strong
enough to give reasonable levels of tract
ion
• after the crop harvest or at the beginnin
g of the next wet season
• includes the ploughing operation which is
opening of the compacted soil with the he
lp of different ploughs
Primary tillage

• Open the hard soil

• Separate the top soil from lower layers
• Invert the soil whenever necessary
• Till the soil to attain a reasonable depth (1
0-15cm ) with varying clod sizes
• Kill weeds  by burying or  cutting  and expos
ing the roots
• Soil aeration and water accumulation
• Chop and incorporate crop residues           
        
Primary Tillage Implements

① Moldboard plough
② one-way disc plough
③ Tine disc plough
④ Offset disc plough
Primary Tillage Implements

• Moldboard plough
causes total inversion of the soil sod a
nd relies on the digging point for penetr
ation
throws the soil in one direction
least damage to soil structure
works well in very hard soil conditions
but no built stump or obstacle protection
Primary Tillage Implements

• One-way disc used with 4-wheel tractor

causes total inversion of the soil sod and
relies on the ploughs in built weight for p
enetration
throws the soil in one direction
works well in hard soil and heavy trash con
ditions and can ride over stumps or obstacl
e in the soil
Power requirement is less than a moldboard
Primary Tillage Implements

• Offset disc for 4-wheel tractor

capable of operating offset from t
he tractor
throws the soil in different directi
on
very versatile and can be operated i
n any ploughing pattern
widely used in upland situations
Primary Tillage Implements

•Tine plough
most versatile

used in secondary tillage

modified to be used as a seed drill

dry working situations

cut the soil rather than invert the soil

kill weeds by cutting and lifting the wee

ds to the surface
lower power requirements

Secondary Tillage

any working completed after primary

tillage
shallower and less aggressive
includes the operations performed af
ter ploughing such as leveling, disc
ing, harrowing etc.
Secondary Tillage Implements

① peg tooth harrow

② disc harrow
③ tined cultivator
④ rotary tiller
⑤ inter row cultivator
Secondary Tillage Implements

• Peg tooth harrow

used in animal and 2-wheel tractor p
owered systems
for second workings, soil puddling a
nd land leveling
Secondary Tillage Implements

• Disc cultivator
used in dry fields and upland si
tuations
very aggressive action of the pl
ough gives good weed control and
cuts and buries crop residues
Secondary Tillage Implements

• Tined cultivator
used for secondary tillage and as a se
ed drill
dry working situations
cut the soil rather than invert the so
il
kill weeds by cutting and lifting the
weeds to the surface
Secondary Tillage Implements

• Rotovator
for secondary workings and especi
ally seedbed preparation
Upland and flooded fields
very aggressive action, which pul
verizes the soil and buries weeds
and crop residues
Secondary Tillage Implements

• Upland Tillage
aerobic soil conditions
non-puddled soils
no freestanding water in the fields
too dry soils will not till easily, in clay soils l
arge clods may be formed
very wet, near soil saturation, smearing and soil s
ealing can become problems
water erosion can be a problem and ploughing on the
contour is recommended
Seedbed Preparation
for germination of seeds
 & growth of crops, called as SEEDBED
includes harrowing, leveling, compacting the
soil, preparing irrigation layouts such as ba
sins, borders, rides & furrows etc.
carried out by using hand tools or implement
s like harrow, rollers plank, rider etc.
Inter tillage

carried out in the standing crop

after sowing or planting and prior t
o the harvesting of crop plants
includes gap filling , thinning , we
eding , mulching, top dressing of fe
rtilizers, hoeing, earthling up etc.
Tillage Patterns

• reduces the time spent in non-produc

tive work
• minimize the number of turns and max
imize the length of the tillage runs
• circuitous, up and back or headland
and working in lands
Tillage Patterns

① Circuitous pattern

② Up and back or headland patter

n

③ Land system
Tillage Patterns

• Circuitous pattern
used with moldboards, discs and offset discs

most animals are accustomed to working

ends up with a large cut out furrow in the ce

nter – difficult to drain and get an even de
pth of cultivation
Tillage Patterns

• Up and back or headland pattern

runs parallel to each other
used for tined implements, rotovators, ha
rrows and reversible ploughs
most field efficient system and if equipm
ent is correctly set up and operated shou
ld not leave furrows in the field.
Tillage Patterns

• Land system
runs parallel to each other
used for tined implements, rotovators, ha
rrows and reversible ploughs
most field efficient system and if equipm
ent is correctly set up and operated shou
ld not leave furrows in the field.