Agricultural Science Lesson Notes

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Definition and Importance of Agriculture

<h1><strong>DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Definition of Agriculture</li> <li>Importance of Agriculture to the Individual</li> <li>Importance of Agriculture to the Society</li> <li>Importance of Agriculture to the Nation</li> <li>Types of Agriculture based on Levels of Production: Subsistence & Commercial Agriculture</li> </ol> <br> <h2><strong>Definition of Agriculture</strong></h2> Agriculture can be defined as the art and science which deals with the growing of crops and rearing of animals for man’s use. <h2><strong>Importance of Agriculture </strong></h2> Agriculture plays an important role in the development of all nations. It used to be the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy and that of other developing countries. The importance of agriculture can be grouped into three categories: <h2><strong>Importance of Agriculture to the Individual</strong></h2> <ol> <li><strong>Provision of food:</strong> This is the <strong>most</strong> important contribution of agriculture to man because food is required for our survival. People need food in order to live. Farm animals also need food. The food could be meat, eggs, and milk from farm animals and products from many different crops such as yam, rice, maize etc.</li> <li><strong>Provision of shelter materials:</strong> This help to protect man from adverse weather conditions and predators. Agriculture is a source of materials used in building houses. Materials such as timbers and leaves are used in building houses.</li> <li><strong>Provision of materials for clothing</strong>: Agriculture provides fibre, silk and cotton from plants for textile production, hides and skins as well as wool from sheep for clothing, shoes, belts and bags.</li>

Classification of Animals based on Stomach Types and Feeding Pattern

<h1><strong>CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS BASED ON STOMACH TYPES AND FEEDING PATTERN</strong></h1> CONTENT Classification of Farm Animals based on; <ol> <li>Stomach Types: Ruminant and Non-ruminant Animals</li> <li>Feeding Pattern: Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores</li> </ol> <br> <h2><strong>Classifications of Farm Animals Based on Types of Stomach</strong></h2> Farm animals can be classified into <strong>two groups,</strong> according to the type of stomachs or digestive system that they possess. The first group is <strong>ruminants</strong> while the other group is <strong>non-ruminants</strong>. <h3><strong>Ruminants (Polygastrics)</strong></h3> These are animals that have complex stomachs and chew the cud e.g. cattle, sheep, goat, etc. They carry out regurgitation i.e. they act of bringing back already swallowed into the mouth for proper chewing. They chew the cud (rumination) which means they bring back their food into their mouth from the rumen through anti-peristaltic movement for proper chewing. This happened when the animal is resting. The complex stomach of a ruminant is made up of <strong>four cavities/</strong>chambers/compartments, namely;

Crop Propagation and Cultural Practices

<h1><strong>CROP PROPAGATION AND CULTURAL PRACTICES</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Propagation</li> <li>Methods of Crop Propagation</li> <li>Sexual Propagation of Crops</li> <li>Characteristics of a Good Seed</li> <li>Asexual Propagation of Crops</li> <li>Forms of Asexual Propagation</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Meaning of Propagation<u></u></strong></h2> Crop propagation is the practice of increasing the number of crop plants by sowing their seeds or planting their cuttings, leaves stems and roots. OR Crop propagation is the reproduction of a new plant as an independent unit. Propagation is primarily aimed at reproducing new young plants series by two methods. <h2><strong>Methods of Crop Propagation</strong></h2> <ol> <li>By seed (sexual propagation).</li> <li>By vegetative organs (asexual propagation).</li> </ol> <h3><strong>Sexual Propagation of Crops</strong></h3> This is the production of new plants through the use of seeds. Sexual propagation of crops involves the fertilization, that is union or joining together of male and female gametes (pollen grains and ovules) from two parents’ flowers to form the ovule which later mature to produce seeds. <strong>Seeds</strong> are the main plant form of reproduction in sexual propagation of crops. <h4><strong>Characteristics of a Good Seed</strong></h4> Seeds to be propagated should have the following characteristics:

Risk Factors in Water and Fish Farming

<h1><strong>RISK FACTORS IN WATER AND FISH FARMING</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Risk Factors in Water and Fish Farming</li> <li>Fishing Tools</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Risk Factors in Water and Fish Farming</strong></h2> These have to do with factors that are capable of causing water pollution and danger to fish and other aquatic organisms. Some of the risk factors in water and fish farming include: <h3>1. <strong>Use of chemicals</strong></h3> When residues of these chemicals used by farmers in farming activities are washed by rain water into a nearby river, stream, pond etc. that body of water will be contaminated and the lives of the fish in such water body will be at risk.

Meaning, Branches and Importance of Agriculture

<h1><strong>MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Agriculture</li> <li>Definition of Agriculture</li> <li>Branches of Agriculture</li> <li>Importance of Agriculture<strong> </strong></li> </ol> <strong> </strong> <h2><strong>Meaning Of Agriculture</strong></h2> Agricultural science is a subject that deals with the planting of crops, rearing of animals as well as the provision of raw materials for industries. Agriculture is derived from two Latin words ‘<em>ager</em>’ (field) and ‘<i>cultūra</i>’ (cultivation or growing). Literally it means field cultivation. Agriculture is as old as the existence of man. It is regarded as the mother of all other occupations. It is the live-blood of the nation’s economy   <h2><strong>Definition of Agriculture </strong></h2> Agriculture can therefore be defined as the act and science of cultivating the soil for the production of crops and livestock management to the processing, packaging, distribution and marketing of plants and animals products for man’s use. Simply put, <strong>agriculture </strong>is the art and science that deals with the cultivation of crops and the rearing of animals for man’s use. Agriculture is defined as the production of crops and the rearing of animals for man’s use. It involves the tilling of the soil, cultivation of crops, rearing of animals for numerous purposes as well as for food .   <h2><strong>Branches of Agriculture </strong></h2> The scope and branches (areas of specialization) of agriculture include the following:

Farm Machinery and Implements

FARM MACHINERY AND IMPLEMENTS CONTENT <ol> <li>Farm machinery- Tractor, Bulldozer, Sheller, Dryers, Incubators.</li> <li>Tractor- coupled implements: Plough, Harrow, Ridgers, Planters, Harvesters, Sprayer.</li> </ol>   Definition of Farm Machinery Farm machinery refers to complex machine and implement used for carrying out farming operations. Examples include: tractors, bulldozers, shellers, driers, and incubators. The most important implement or machines in the farm, which is used for operating many farm implements is the <em>tractor.</em>   Classification of Farm Machines Farm machines and implements can be classified into three groups based on the source and generation of power as follows: (i) Primary Machines: These are the machines that can supply power to other machines and implement for their farming operations. An example is the tractor. (ii) Secondary Machines: These are tractors coupled or mounted machinery or implement used for different operations. Examples are Ploughs, harrows, ridgers, planters, harvesters, and sprayers. (iii) Intermediate Machines: These are powered by a tractor, electricity, or an electric generating set. Examples include grinding machines, incubators.   Examples of Farm Machinery Examples of this farm machinery are: 1. Tractor It is a powerful multi-purpose farm machine capable of using its power to perform various farm operations. It has internal combustion engine with either two or four strokes. It transmits power through the power take-off (PTO) shaft, or by means of a moving belt connecting the tractor to another machine. A draw bar attached to the tractor is used in coupling other farm implement to it. Tractors are of different types, namely:

Farm Planning

<h1>FARM PLANNING</h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Farm Planning</li> <li>Importance of Farm Planning</li> <li>Factors to be Considered in Farm Planning and Design of Farmstead</li> <li>Principles of Farmstead Planning</li> </ol>   <h2>Meaning of Farm Planning</h2> Farm planning is the sketching, outlining and drawing of the farmstead as well as arrangement of the land for proper usage without the risk of land degradation. It is also the general arrangement of a farm before and after its take off. <br> <h2>Importance of Farm Planning</h2> Farm planning is important for the following reasons: <ol> <li>It helps in determining the actual dimension of the farmland</li> <li>It promotes neatness of the farm</li> <li>It helps to describe the future of the soil units</li> <li>It helps to maximize the use of labour and other factors of production</li> <li>It helps in the location of farm structures and buildings</li> <li>It can be used in the preparation of feasibility studies</li> <li>It prevents wastage of farmland and other inputs</li> <li>It is a prerequisite in the registration of farm enterprise</li> <li>It can be used as collateral for getting loans</li> <li>It helps farmers to project his yield before harvesting</li> </ol> EVALUATION <ol> <li>Define the term farm planning</li> <li>Why is farm planning important?</li> </ol>   <h2>Factors to be Considered in Farm Planning and Design of Farmstead</h2>

Animal Improvement

<h1>ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT</h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Animal Improvement</li> <li>Aims of Animal Improvement</li> <li>Methods/Processes of Animal Improvement</li> <li>Artificial Insemination</li> </ol>   <h2>Meaning of Animal Improvement</h2> Animal improvement is the process whereby inherited superior traits are transferred from one animal to the other of the same species. Certain characteristics such as good feeding conversion, growth rate, meat quality, high milk yield, good body form, etc. are major considerations in animal improvement.   <h2>Aims of Animal Improvement</h2> The following are the aims of animal improvement: <ol> <li>To produce animals with high yielding quality</li> <li>To produce animals with high feed conversion rate</li> <li>To produce animals with high growth rate and early maturity</li> <li>To produce animals that can adapt to varied climatic conditions</li> <li>To produce animals that are resistant to disease and parasites</li> <li>To produce different breeds of animals</li> <li>To produce animals that meets a particular purpose</li> </ol>   <h2>Methods/Processes of Animal Improvement</h2> The following are the methods/processes of animal improvement: (a) Introduction (b) Selection (c) Breeding   <h3>(a) Introduction</h3> This is bringing animals which are not native of a place but are known to have certain desirable characters into a new place from the place of origin. Such animals are called exotic. Introduction can be by physical importation either of the animals themselves or their semen. <h4>Advantages of Introduction</h4> <ol> <li>It enhances greater productivity.</li> <li>It leads to absence of pests and diseases.</li> <li>Breeds may perform better and able to adapt to local conditions.</li> </ol>

Types of Agriculture based on Levels of Production

<h1><strong>TYPES OF AGRICULTURE BASED ON THE LEVELS OF PRODUCTION</strong></h1> CONTENT<strong> </strong> <ol> <li>Meaning and Characteristics of Subsistence Agriculture</li> <li>Meaning and Characteristics of Commercial Agriculture</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Subsistence Agriculture</strong></h2> <h3><strong>Meaning of Subsistence Agriculture</strong></h3> Subsistence agriculture is defined as the type of agriculture which involves the production of crops and animals by a farmer to feed himself and his family. He produces food for the consumption of the family with little or nothing left for sale. <h3><strong>Characteristics of Subsistence Agriculture</strong></h3> <ol> <li>It requires small capital/finance.</li> <li>Mixed cropping is mostly practiced.</li> <li>There is limited used of agro-chemicals e.g. pesticides and fertilizers.</li> <li>Unimproved varieties of crops and breeds of animals are used.</li> <li>There is little or no surplus for sale.</li> <li>It involves the used of crude/traditional tools such as hoes, machetes/cutlasses.</li> <li>It involves mainly the production of food crops.</li> <li>It is done on small scattered land.</li> <li>It uses family/unskilled labour.</li> <li>Yield/output is low.</li> </ol>

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