IMPLEMENTING CROP MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS

IMPLEMENTING CROP MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS Prof. I. U. Abubakar Executive Director, Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria African Farming’s 2nd Edition Agro-investment Submit 27-28 August, 2019; Sheraton Hotels Abuja, Nigeria

Introduction • Productivity of crops is a function of genetic composition of the variety, crop management and environment. • Crop management are practices that provides best condition for crops from planting to harvest • Integrated Crop management is a system of crop production which conserves and enhances natural resources while producing food on an economically viable and sustainable foundation. • Low yield variety will not turned into high yield by just management and environment • In the same vain, high yield variety will perform very poorly if poorly managed and grown in unsuitable environment • Crops respond to good environment and management to the limit of their genetic potentials Good crop management

Introduction Contd • Crop management has resulted in record yields across the world • The record yield for example maize is 14.8 tons/ha, wheat is 16.5 tons/ha and cassava is 40 tons/ha • These record yields are obtained from implementing crop management practices encompassing • Selection of planting material and seeding • Choice of land and land preparation • Sowing and plant population • Fertilization • Weed Management • Irrigation Management • Harvest Management

Well Managed Crop fields

Selection of Planting Material • Planting Materials includes • Seeds, • Fruits and aggregate fruits, • Bulbs and Cloves • Tubers • Leaves • Suckers • Vine • Stem cuttings • Roots

Selection of Planting Material • The planting material must be from high yielding crop varieties suited to the ecology of farmers • Varieties have various characteristics such as yield duration, quality, resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, marketability and market preferences • Quality standards of planting material such as viability, vigour, purity, susceptibility to disease and pests must be adhered • Planting material are produced conventionally, tissue culture and aeroponics • Vegetative planting material whose sex are not easily determined like date palm are better produced by tissue culture • Bulky planting materials like cassava and yams are better produced using aeroponics

Choice of Crop Land • Choice of land is a pre-requisite for high productivity of crops • Land should be chosen in ecologies suitable for specific crops • Information on climate, soil, water availability, land availability, access and security • Characteristics of the soil such as fertility, texture, structure, water holding capacity and bulk density have important influences on productivity of crops • Different crops respond differently to these soil properties • Steep land or land exposed to wind and water erosion control should remediated with erosion control measures • Waterlogged areas should be avoided and where necessary, drainage should be imposed

Land preparation • Land preparation is the use of various tillage implements to pulverize the soil to allow free circulation of air into it • Plough and harrowing are often use, together with ridging in some crops. • Land is further levelled to ensure smooth machinery operations during planting, irrigation, herbicides and pesticide operation • Land clearing and preparations condition the soil for germination and establishment crops • Proper land preparation eliminates weeds and prevents initial weed competition

Sowing and Plant population • Sowing is another important practice that must be done correctly for good yield • Crops are sown at specific density and seed rate based on recommendations that vary with climate, soil conditions and crops • Adequate density and plant population ensure optimum utilization of resources such as nutrients, soil water, air and light • Major causes of low yields in farms are under populations or over population • Yield of a crop is the end result of final plant population which is influenced by the number of viable seed germination and survival rate • Sparsely populated crop farms underutilizes resources whereas densely populated farms results in unwanted competition amongst crops • Optimum plant population helps to suppress weeds in arable crops

Sowing and Plant population Contd • Seed rate depends on method of sowing; Broadcast method of small grain requiring more seed rate than drilling • Seed rate depends on soil type, soil moisture, sowing depth, seed quality, diseases and insects. • Seed predators and dispersers influence plant population dynamics and community structure by affecting seed survival • Moisture also affect seed rate with low seed rate in dry areas than wet areas • Where crops are grown under less favourable conditions, the plants tend to be smaller than normal, and increasing the population slightly would normally be advantageous, particularly for fruiting crops. • High and better crop establishment rates are keys for optimum plant population, uniform growth and maturity, crop’s resistance to diseases and insects, competing with weeds and optimizing yield

Planting Time/Date • Time of planting is an important determinant of yield • Crops are planted to exploit rainfall duration, temperature, photoperiod, humidity and other climate variables • Crops are also planted to target market opportunities for good commodity prices • Crops are also planted to avoid drought and incidences of pest and diseases • Careful planning are therefore done to ensure that crops growing period coincided with their best climatic requirements • Late or early planting consequently results in poor yields due the climatic element limiting in the period • Planting time is particularly important in annual field and horticultural crops

Fertilization • Nutrients are essential for plant growth and development • The essential plant nutrients are C, H, O, N, P, K, Ca, S, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cl, Cu, B, Mo • These nutrients apart from the structural nutrients (C, H, O) blended either singly or blended form fertilizer materials • Fertilizer has reported to account for more 50% of increase in yield of crops • For fertilizers to be effective, the right type of fertilizer must be applied at the right time and quantity using the right method of application • The main fertilizer elements applied to crops are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) and a combination calcium, sulphur, magnesium to suit critical needs

Fertilizer Use and Precision Agriculture • The integrated plant nutrition systems that increase the use of all nutrient inputs from mineral fertilizer, organic manures and soil sources, and biologically fixed atmospheric nitrogen and optimize all other factors than enhance crop yield • Deficiency of any of the major nutrients could be harmful to plant growth and development • There are also interaction between the nutrients such that inadequate supply of one nutrient may prevent efficient utilization of the other • Excess application of some elements may be toxic to plants • In precision agriculture, nutrients are supplied to crops based on need arising from soil analysis

Organic fertilizer/Manures/Biological Sources • Organic manures are valuable byproducts of farming and allied industries, derived from plant and animal sources • Available organic sources include farm yard manure and animal droppings, crop waste and residues, sewage sludge and other human wastes and various industrial waste • Organic fertilizers do not only supply nutrients but conditions and provide life to the soil through introduction of organic matter to the soil • However, the problems in their use are: • low nutrient content, • slow release of the nutrient due to slow mineralization, • bulkiness hence difficulty in transportation • competing need for feeding livestock • Nutrients particularly N can be fixed from the atmosphere by legumes and made available to crop plants and increase soil fertility

Use of fertilizer trees and Mucuna to build soil fertility

Integrated Crop Nutrition • Due to increasing high cost of inorganic fertilizers, the concept of integrated Crop nutrition has gained momentum • Integrated fertilizer management entails the use of inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer, soil amendments, green manuring and compost, tillage systems that incorporate crop residues and rotation with appropriate legumes to achieve sustainable crop production and high yields • Nutrient status is measured against crop yield and necessary adjustments are made • Appropriate soil management and conservation practices are employed including amelioration of problem soils

Weed management • Weeds are plants growing where they are not needed and compete with crop plants for nutrient, water, solar radiation, space and air. • In addition, weeds are detrimental in the following ways: • Loss of crop yield • Loss of crop quality • Limit crop rotation and sequence • Harbor pests and diseases • Interfere with crop harvesting • Increase cost of production • Some weeds are poisonous • Provide habitat for dangerous reptiles

Weed management Contd • Weed control is a complex system involving a combination of complicated technologies and indigenous knowledge, the methods are: • Preventive ( preventing introduction and spread) • quarantine, • seed and weed laws • Mechanical • using tillage • mowing • Physical/cultural • hand pulling • mulches • mulches • flooding • fire and heat • plant population • Crop rotation • Biological • Allelopathy • Pathogens • Insect • Grazing animals

Weed management Contd Chemical Weed Control • The discovery of herbicides has revolutionized crop management. Herbicides are chemical, which often are water soluble, used to selectively control weeds in crops. • Most of them kill the weeds and allow the crops to continue to grow • Herbicides consist of inorganic compounds, organic compoundsand hormones • Many herbicides are poisonous hence extreme caution should be taken in handling them • Misuse of herbicides is detrimental to the environment • Usually extensive research are carried out on toxicity and hazard associated with herbicide before they are permitted to use and registered.

Pest and Disease Management • Pests and diseases are serious problems to crop production, significantly reducing yield both in the field and storage • Pests are usually insect, birds, rodents, wild animals like monkeys that compete with humans for harvest • Diseases are caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and nematodes • Pests and diseases have been with agriculture since its evolution • Man over the years has learned to live with them and manage them • Pest and diseases do not just decrease yield but significantly decrease quality and market value of crops. • Pests and diseases keep emerging either due migration from one region of the world to the other and mutation

Pest and Disease Management Contd Control of Pests and Diseases • Pest are also controlled using • Cultural methods • Field sanitation and hygiene • Crop rotation • Rogueing • Hand picking • Crop resistance /tolerance • Biological • Using natural enemy • Parasitoids • Botanicals • Chemicals • Insecticides • Nematicides • Avicides • Pesticides are harmful to human and the environment hence extreme care has to be taken in their use

Crop Management Under Irrigation • Crop management under irrigation entails efficient use of water for higher productivity of crops • Climate change presupposes less water available for rainfed agriculture and need for irrigation • Most countries of the world today depend on irrigation to meet their domestic food needs • The need to account for each unit of water cannot be overemphasized as water for irrigation are often insufficient to meet the growing by crop farmers • Application of too much water affects the growth and yield of crop just as scarcity causes water stress causing significant yield loss • In addition the reservoir may serve double or triple purpose of domestic and industrial supply

Crop Management Under Irrigation Contd • In Irrigation, the principal questions are: Irrigation Scheduling Methods such as crop appearance, critical period of water need, use of instruments and climatic parameters • When to irrigate? Providing water to meet the water requirements of crops in evapotranspiration and building tissues Irrigation methods such as gravity, overhead, drip and subsurface • How to much water to apply? • How to irrigate?

Crop Management in Organic Farming • Organic Agriculture is a system of Agricultural production that avoids the use of chemical fertilizers or chemical pest and disease control measures. • Organic agriculture, as defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, "is a holistic production management system that avoids use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically-modified organisms, minimizes pollution of air, soil and water, and optimizes the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and people. • It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. • Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones.

General Principles of Organic Agriculture The general principles of organic production, from the Canadian Organic Standards (2006), include the following: • protect the environment, minimize soil degradation and erosion, decrease pollution, optimize biological productivity and promote a sound state of health • maintain long-term soil fertility by optimizing conditions for biological activity within the soil • maintain biological diversity within the system • recycle materials and resources to the greatest extent possible within the enterprise • provide attentive care that promotes the health and meets the behavioural needs of livestock • prepare organic products, emphasizing careful processing, and handling methods in order to maintain the organic integrity and vital qualities of the products at all stages of production • rely on renewable resources in locally organized agricultural systems

Key elements of Organic Agriculture • The key elements of organic agriculture are: • Use of organic manure • Use of organic fertilizers • Use of compost • Use of bio-fertilizers • Use Green manuring • Maintain or increase soil organic matter in agriculture soils • Intercropping legumes with nonleguminous crops • Use of crop rotation

Key elements of Organic Agriculture • Use of fertilizer trees • Soil Conservation • Push-pull technology • Use of bio-pesticides • Diversification and integration of crop, livestock, tree, and fish to the extent possible in order to optimize nutrient cycling • use of local varieties and breeds in order to increase the system resilience to stress • Use of disease resistant/tolerant crop varieties • use of biological pest control to enhance predators • Promotion of symbiotic nitrogen fixation and biomass recycling

Green House Farming • A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a building where plants are grown under controlled micro environment. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings. • The structure has different types of covering materials, such as a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; • In the tropics like Nigeria instead of greenhouse warming, cooling becomes more important • Crops grown in green house are vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, onion, garlic and spices

Green House Farming Contd • Advantages of green house farming • Higher yields can be realized/intensive production per unit area • High quality produce • Minimized cases of diseases • Market timing for optimum profit • Production levels may be maintained all the year round • Other warm/cool season crops may be grown throughout the year • In green house crops are nourished with nutrients and water a fertigation system • Most green house crops are staked to maximize use of space and improve productivity

Crop Management in Hydroponic farming • Hydroponic farming is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. • The hydroponic gardener regulates the composition of nutrients in the liquid solution used to water the plants. • The farmer regulates the frequency of supplying the nutrients to the plants controls the growing environment of the plants. The system is highly automated of course but still requires to be well managed. • Hydroponic is water efficient and nutrient efficient, both of which are delivered directly to the plant’s root structure. Together, water and nutrients contribute to the success of and rate of growth. • lighting factor is critical in crop production. • Improved light interception is achieved by planting out in vertical structures where lighting is maximized while plant density, crowding and shading are minimized.

Conclusion • It is not possible to discuss crop management in one paper presentation. So this is just an icing on the cake. Details of recommendation for specific crops can be obtained from research and extension • In Nigeria, Agriculture remain the mainstay of our economy hence the need to apply best practices for best output and best reward • Crops appreciate good efforts of farmers by rewarding them with high yields

There are always solutions for all challenges Thank You

IMPLEMENTING CROP MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS