CONTENT:

Definition of post-planting operations

Post planting operations

Post planting operations:

They are the operations carried out after planting. It creates good conditions and proper maintenance for plant growth.

Post planting operations include the following:
1. Thinning
2. Supplying
3. Irrigation/ watering
4. Use of manure and fertilizer
5. Mulching
6. Weeding
7. Harvesting
8.  Processing
9. Storage, etc.
10. Thinning:
It is the removal of excess, weak, or not well-positioned seedlings from a seedbed after the viable seeds have germinated

Advantages of thinning
1. It helps to avoid overcrowding
2. Proper aeration is ensured, leading to high yield Supplying:

It is the replanting of propagative materials where they fail to germinate.

Supplying should be done as soon as possible.

Advantages of supplying

1. Correct plant population can be maintained

2. The farmer can achieve uniform maturity Irrigation (watering):
It is the artificial watering of farmland, especially during the dry season.

Advantages of irrigation

1. It makes the soil temperature moderate for plant growth

2. It enables a good nutrient supply to the plant

Manuring/fertilizer application:

It is the addition of organic manure such as poultry droppings, cow dung and green manure or inorganic manure (made from chemicals) to the soil to maintain soil fertility. Manure can be in the form of:

1. Animal and plant refuse (organic manure)

2. Chemical manure (inorganic manure).

Organic manure

1. Green manure: This involves growing of a crop usually a legume, and just before flowering, it is ploughed into the topsoil to rot down

2. Farmyard manure: This consists of faeces or excreta, urine, and other waste products of domesticated animals. Animals dropping are usually
mixed with straw.

3. Compost: Plant and animal remains and ashes are heaped together and allowed to decay properly by ensuring that there is plenty of air in the
mix. It is then spread on the farmland to incorporate nutrients into the soil.

Inorganic manure (Fertilizer)
These are chemical substances which are usually prepared on the farm; they are made in the form of liquid, powder, granules, pellets, or crystals
Fertilizers should be added to the soil only when the soil shows that some important minerals are lacking. Commercial fertilizers usually contain
macronutrients or elements that are removed in large amounts by crops.

Fertilizers, therefore, usually contain nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and
potassium (K).
Some examples of Nitrogen fertilizers are ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, urea, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc.

Examples of phosphate fertilizers are single superphosphate, triple superphosphate.

Examples of potash fertilizer are potassium nitrate, sulphate of potash.
Care should be taken when applying inorganic fertilizer because it can burn the plant if it comes in contact with it.

Ways of applying fertilizer

1. Broadcasting

2. Localized placement in the row or in a circle around the plant (side placement)

3. Spraying

4. Foliar fertilizer application

Advantages of manuring/fertilizer application

1. It supplies the plants with essential nutrients

Mulching: Mulching is the covering of the surface of the soil with a layer of the clean, dry vegetative part of a plant, such as grasses or leaves.

Advantages of mulching

1. It conserves soil moisture.

2. Regulation of the soil temperature.

3. It reduces weeds and prevents erosion.

4. It adds humus to the soil.

Weeding: Weeding is the removal of unwanted plants (weeds) from the farm. It can be done with the aid of a cutlass and hoes or by spraying herbicide. It is
done for the following reasons:
1. To avoid competition for nutrients, moisture, sunlight, and space between crops and weeds.
2. To prevent the buildup of pests and pathogens.
Harvesting:
It is the removal of the ripe or matured useful part of a crop is known as harvesting. Commonly harvested parts of a plant are tubers, leaves, fruits,
seeds, roots, etc. Harvesting tools like cutlass, hoe, knife, sickle etc. are usually used for harvesting, and in mechanized farms, harvesters are used.

Effects of timely versus late harvesting

Delayed harvesting can lead to a total loss of products, although some crops like maize can be left on the field to get dry before harvesting, others like tomatoes and other perishables must be harvested immediately they are due for harvest.

Delayed harvesting can lead to pest attacks on crops or decay of products.

Post-harvesting operations

After harvesting, processing of the product is required to make the product more

acceptable and to prevent spoilage. In some farm products, processing starts from the farm site, e.g., melon, groundnut, cassava, etc. Melon is usually extracted from its pod and pulp on the farm, also groundnut is detached on the farm, at times, peeling of cassava starts from the farm. Extraction of cocoa beans from its pods, fermentation, and drying of beans, in most cases, take place on the farm.
Other forms of processing, like milling, de-husking, etc., which cannot be done on the farm, are done in factories where machines have been installed
for that purpose.
Storage:
After crops have been processed to usable forms, storage, which is the keeping of farm products for future use, is done. Methods of storage are the usage of barns, cribs, silos, refrigerators, baskets, sacks etc.

 Evaluation
1. What is thinning?
2. List two weeding tools.
3. State two reasons for weeding.
4. Why is supplying important?
5. What is manure?
6. State the two main types of manure.
7. List three types of organic manure.
8. State three ways of applying chemical fertilizers.

General evaluation
1. What are cultural practices?
2. Distinguishing between the categories of cultural practices.

Fieldwork on land preparation

Demonstration of all practices taught on the farm site using simple farm tools.

Theory

1. What are cultural practices? 2. Write a short note on the following: A. Land clearing B. Tillage

3. Write a short note on the following: A. planting distance B. planting depth seed viability.

In our next class, we will be talking about Husbandry and Cultivation of Selected Crops.

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