Best Pre-Planting and Planting Activities In Crop Production.

Principles of crop production are activities or farm operations that a farmer goes through at different times to achieve higher productivity.

This can be divided into pre-planting, planting, and post-planting activities.

The pre-planting and planting activities that farmers go through at different times to ensure higher productivity in general are outlined below:

• Selection of appropriate varieties.
• Site selection and land preparation.
• Method of propagation and planting methods.

Selection of Appropriate Varieties.

Many crops have different varieties that are cultivated.

But the variety selected by a farmer for cultivation will be based on the factors such as:

• The season of cultivation.
• The soil being used.
• The type of farming, that is, whether subsistence or commercial.

It should be noted here that even in commercial farming, export varieties of crops may differ from varieties for local consumption.

Site Selection and Land Preparation.

• Normally, a piece of land to be farmed has natural bush growing on it.
• The type of crop will determine the soil to be used.
• The sloping nature of the land is also a factor to consider since steep slopes are easily prone to erosion.
• Usually, flat land or gently sloping land is preferred.
• After the site is obtained, the land must be prepared.

Land preparation involves activities such as:

• Clearing of the bush.
• Removal of stumps and any obstructing materials.
• Tilling of the land, such as ridging, mounding, or bed preparation.
• Laying out the site using pegs and lines.

Depending on the thickness of the bush, the land may be cleared with a cutlass, tractor, or bulldozer in the case of thick forest.

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Method of Propagation and Planting Methods.

• Plant propagation refers to the formation and development of new plants (offspring) from the parent plant.
• It is the multiplication of the plant population.
• There are two main types of plant propagation, which are sexual propagation and asexual propagation.

Sexual Propagation

• This is also referred to as propagation by seeds.
• Thus, for sexual propagation, seeds are the means of propagation.
• New plants can be obtained when seeds are planted or sown, and they germinate to form seedlings and later develop to maturity.

Seed Selection for Propagation

• To select seed for propagation, you should consider the quality of the seed.
• Seed quality is influenced by the following factors:

Variety Purity

• To obtain variety purity, you must:
• Ensure that the seeds belong to the true variety that is to be grown.
• Select seeds from the inner part of the field to avoid contamination.
• Avoid a mixture of seeds.
• Obtain seeds from a certified source.

Viability and Vigour

• Viability describes the strength of a seed to germinate and grow.
• This depends on maturity, drying, storage, and the age of the seed.
• Seeds must be well-matured before harvesting, and well dried before storage.
• High temperature, humidity, and insect damage reduce the viability and vigour of seeds.

Impurities

• Seeds must be clean, free from weeds, pests, and diseases.
• Weed seeds are a big problem in crops with small seeds such as millet, sorghum, and onions.
• Disease-infected seeds may spread diseases from plant to plant.

Viability Test

• It is important to conduct a viability test of seeds before they are planted.
• The viability test is the process of finding the percentage of seeds that will germinate under a given condition.

Methods of Viability Test

The two methods of viability test are:

Floatation Test

• To perform a floatation test, the following steps must be followed:
• A quantity of seeds is poured into water in a container or bucket.
• Viable seeds sink to the bottom of the container while non-viable seeds float.
• Generally, the bigger and heaviest seeds are the best.

Germination Test

To carry out the germination test, follow the following steps:

• Select a sample of 100 seeds.
• Place the seeds in a fold of moist blotting paper on a flat plate, petri dish, or sow in a seed box.
• Keep the sown seeds at a room temperature and the paper or soil always moist.
• A day after the usual period of germination, count the seeds that have germinated. This represents the percentage germination of the whole seeds.
• Germination of between 80-100% shows good seeds.

Advantages of Seed Propagation

• Plant breeders can obtain offspring with desirable characteristics from a selected plant.
• Rapid increase in plant population can be easily achieved by the use of seeds.
• It is a surer method of storing a disease-free plant.
• Seeds are convenient and easy to handle and transport.
• Seeds, when well stored properly, can remain viable for a long time till the planting period.

Disadvantages of Seed Propagation

• Undesirable characteristics or variations in offspring may occur due to differences in the constitution of the two parents, especially in cross-pollination.

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Asexual Propagation

Vegetative reproduction is the use of different plant parts apart from the seed to produce a new and independent plant.

• The methods of vegetative reproduction include the following:
• The use of specialized vegetative plant organs.
• The use of cuttings
• By simple layering
• By air layering or marcotting
• Budding
• Micropropagation or tissue culture
• The use of an apomictic embryo or apomictic seed.

Selection of Vegetative Parts for Propagation

In selecting parts of a plant for vegetative or artificial propagation, the following factors determine the quality of the vegetative parts:

• Presence of viable parts
• Stored food in the organ
• Adventitious roots presence
• Presence of lenticels
• Presence of scaly leaves to protect the buds and to conserve moisture in the organ.

Advantages of Vegetative Reproduction

• New plants produced retain the genetic characteristics of the parent plant.
• New plants produced reach the maturity stage early.
• It is the only possible method by which reproduction occurs in plants that do not produce viable seeds, such as cassava.
• Only one parent or sex is needed.
• Seed dormancy problem is avoided.
• Vigorous and healthier plants are produced.

Disadvantages of Vegetative Reproduction

• No new varieties are produced, as there is no mixing of characters.
• Disease-causing agents already existing on the parent plant are carried to the new plant.
• Planting materials may be bulky to handle compared to the use of seeds.
• Sometimes the planting material cannot be stored for a long period, unlike the seed.
• The method can sometimes be complicated or laborious.
• Lack of variety leads to a reduction in resistance to disease and changes in climate.
• Colonization of new localities is unlikely as offspring are always produced close to the parent.
• Offspring and parent plants compete for light and nutrients as many individuals occupy a limited area of land.
• Many individuals may be destroyed by disasters such as fire and flood, whereas dormant seeds may survive such conditions.

Planting Methods

Planting involves the preparation of planting materials and the sowing or planting of the planting materials.

The two main methods of planting are:

Nursing of Planting Material

• With the first method, the seeds are grown first in a nursery bed and given all the tender care until they are hard enough and are capable of surviving the harsh conditions in the open field.
• The seedlings are then transplanted onto the field at the correct spacing.
• Examples of crops that are nursed before planting in the field are pepper, tomato, and garden egg.
• In the nursery, seeds can be sown by broadcasting, in which case they are scattered over the nursery bed, or in drills, in which case they are planted in series or continuous lines.

Direct Planting or Planting at Stake

• With planting at stake, the seeds are planted directly into the field and given the necessary care until they mature.
• Examples of crops sown directly are beans, groundnuts, maize, melons, and carrots.

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