Chapter 4

Cropping system and Agronomic/cultural Practices

Introduction
of crops
• The art and science of crop production is a dynamic process.
• Improvements in methods of planting, cultivation, soil and
water conservation and management, harvesting, storage and
marketing;
• New techniques for weed, insect pests and disease control
• The formulation of better fertilizer as well as improvements in
their efficient use are the main agronomic practices improved
through a time by doing research
 4.1. Site selection
Criteria of site selection
• Suitability of soil, (its fertility, texture, pH, depth….)
• Site must have proper drainage and no water stagnation
during rainy season
• There must be proper transport facilities either by road or
rail within the reach.
• Suitable climatic conditions,
• site is free from cyclone, frost, hailstorms and strong hot
winds.
• Availability of labor
• Wind break plants
 4.2 Land Preparation
• Tillage is changing a soil’s condition or position with a tool.
• Tillage is a mechanical string of soil for seedbed
preparation for planting.
• It includes cutting and inversion of hard soils and separates
it from lower layers after the harvest of previous crop or
fallow land.
• Purpose of tillage: - in general, tillage is carried out for one
or a combination of the following reasons.
a. Seedbed preparation/breaking crusts:- Tillage loosens the
soil, and results in a seedbed suitable for seed germination
and the development of young seedlings.
 Cont…
b. Control of weeds and insect pests
• Tillage kills weeds cutting them just below ground level
• Tillage also initiates the germination of many weed seeds
that will be destroyed by subsequent cultivation.
• Tillage exposes the eggs and larvae of insect pests to
adverse conditions such as sun and predators, and destroys
their breeding grounds.
• There is a similar effect on underground rodents.
 Cont…
c. Improving nutritional status of the soil
• Tillage incorporates organic matter and crop residue into
the soil.
• Once mixed in the soil, they are able to decay more
rapidly so that their residual nutrients can be made
available to the growing plant.
d. Soil and water conservation
• Improving soil moisture regime
• Improving infiltration
• Contour tillage can aid in erosion control
Cont…
e. Improvement of the soil’s physical condition
• Soil aeration, structure & texture improvement through
breaking of soil crusts
f. Improving soil sanitation
• By incorporating crop residues, weeds, volunteer plants in
to soil
g. Preparation of land for surface irrigation
h. Improving moisture regime: - reducing surface run-off
thereafter improve infiltration and may double the amount of
water stored in soil
 Types of tillage
i. Traditional tillage – using oxen drawn plough, hoe culture
ii. Conventional tillage – tractor plough followed by harrowing
iii. Conservation tillage – at least 30% of the soil remains covered
by crop residue after sowing. This includes:
 Stubble mulch farming - retaining crop residues on the soil
surface
 Minimum tillage –reducing tillage to the minimum necessary for
ensuring
a good seedbed,
rapid germination,
a satisfactory stand, and favorable growing conditions.
 No tillage (also called zero tillage)
 4.3 Sowing and Planting the Crop
• Field crops are established either from seeds or from some
vegetative plant parts
• Sowing is used for seeds, whereas planting for vegetative
plant parts.
Time of sowing/planting:- Several factors influence time of
sowing/planting.
• These include: Rainfall ,
 Temperature,
 Day length,
 Occurrence of diseases and pests,
 Availability of labor and equipment, Marketing, Cropping
systems
Cont…
Rate of sowing
• Rate of sowing depends on the expected percentage of
the seed and the number of plants desired per stand.
Spacing between stands
• The spacing between stands is largely determined by the
extent of the root and shoot systems of the crop plant in
question.
 Depth of sowing :- The depth at which the seed is placed
in the soil is influenced by:
• Seed size – the larger the seed, the greater the depth
from which it can emerge and the deeper it can be safely
sown.
Cont…
• Moisture status of the soil – under dry condition seeds
should be sown deeper in order to place them in contact
with moist soil.
• Soil type – all other factors being equal, seeds can emerge
from greater depths in sandy soils than in clay soils.
Method of sowing:
• Broad casting: sowing is done by scattering the seeds at
random on the field.
• Drilling: seeds are sown in continuous band in rows.
 4.4. Fertilizer application
• Manure/fertilizers:– encompass all the substances added
to the soil in order to increase the supply of plant
nutrients.
• This could be both organic and inorganic.
• Formulation of fertilizers – fertilizers are available in either
of the following
• Solid/dry
• Gas
• Liquid/fluid
No Organic fertilizer Inorganic fertilizer
1 Mostly dissolves slowly in Mostly dissolves quickly in the
the soil solution soil solution
2 Slowly utilized by plants Rapidly utilized by plants
3 Contains low concentration Contains high concentration of
of nutrients nutrients
4 It is formed from locally Mostly commercial fertilizers
available materials
5 Required as large Required in small quantities, in
quantities, in terms of rates terms of rates
Evenly application in the soil

Apply near the plant root

Covering the fertilizer with the soil after application

Apply fertilizer at appropriate time and growth stage

(before, during and after planting)

Apply irrigation after fertilizer application

 Application and management of fertilizers
• The four best management practices, commonly referred to as the
4Rs or four ‘rights’ of fertilizer management are to apply

– the right source of nutrient

– the right rate,

– the right time and

– in the right place to meet crop demand.

• The right fertilizer product means matching the fertilizer source

and product to the crop’s needs and the properties of the soil.
Cont…
• Fertilizers should be applied when the plant needs them (i.e.
before/at planting, flowering, fruiting)
• How do we apply fertilizers?
• Broadcasting – the fertilizer is spread over the entire soil area to be
fertilized
• Top dressing – applying fertilizers in standing crops
• Side dressing – apply fertilizers between the rows or around the
plants
• Band placement – application of fertilizers into the soil close to the
seed/plant and is employed when relatively small quantities of
fertilizers
• Foliar application – spraying of the leaves of growing plants with
suitable fertilizer solutions.
• Fertigation:- Application through irrigation water –which are easily
soluble in water.
 3.6. Crop Protection
4.1 Weeds
• Definitions
weed as a plant growing where it is not desired, or a plant out of
place.
• Weed Management Methods
a. Prevention Methods
b. Curative Methods
• Cultural methods or cropping methods and competitive methods
• Several cultural practices like tillage, planting, fertilizer application,
irrigation etc., are employed for creating favorable condition for the
crop.
• Field preparation
• Summer tillage/Dry season
• Optimum plant population
 Cont…
• Crop rotation
• Growing of intercrops
• Mulching
• Solarisation- using of solar energy for the desiccation of weeds
C. Mechanical methods
• Tillage
• Hoeing
• Hand pulling/hand weeding
• Digging
• Chiseling
d. Eradication Measures
e. Biological methods:- use of living organisms to suppress
f. Bioherbicides:- It is the use of plant pathogen
g. Chemical methods
 4.5. Disease & insect control
4.5.1 Insect Pests
• Definitions- pest is to include any organism that is detrimental to a
crop. Effect of insect pests includes:

• Reduction in yield (reduce plant population, diverting nutrients from

the crop, destroying the marketable product)

• Reduction in quality (blemished, discolored, light weight products

with off flavors

• Increase in production cost

• Transmit disease causing organisms

Options for insect pest control
• Regulatory methods – quarantine, phytosanitory
• Physical methods – nets and bags
• Mechanical methods – removal and killing of insect pests
• Cultural methods – timeliness operations, trap cropping, crop
rotation, inter-cropping
• Host plant resistance
• Biological control – use of parasites and predators
• Sex pheromones
• Insecticides
• Integrated pest management – judicious selection and use of
compatible control options to keep pest populations below
damaging level.
 4.5.2. Diseases
• Definition – plant that showed any deviation from normal
functioning of physiological processes said to be diseased plant.

• Classification of plant diseases based on:

• Causal agents of diseases – fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses

• Their occurrence on the plant – localized and systemic

• Where the causal agent occur – soil, seed and air borne

• The symptom they cause – root rot, wilts, smuts

• Parts of plants affected – root, stem, fruit diseases

Cont…
• Control measures for plant diseases

• Exclusion – the pathogen and the host should kept away each other

• Eradication of pathogens – eliminates, destroy or make inactive the

inoculum

• Immunization - development of resistant host

• Chemical control

• Integrated control of plant diseases

 4.6. Harvesting
• For successful and efficient harvesting of a crop, it is desirable to
know:

• When to harvest

• How to harvest

• How to minimize loss during harvest

• When to harvest (maturity of the crop)

• For food crops, maturity refers to the stage of development at which

a crop is most desirable to the consumer
Maturity symptoms for some crops
• Wheat: - yellowing of spikelets
• Barley: - loss of green colour from glumes/peduncle
• Maize: - black layer in the placental regions of the grain
• Sorghum: - yellow colored ears with hard grains
• F.millet: - brown colored ears with hard grains
• Tef: - yellowish of the vegetative part
• Pulses: - brown colored pods with hard seeds inside pods
• Groundnut: - pods turn dark from light color, on pressing the kernels, oil is
observed on fingers
• How to harvest :- Generally they are two types of harvesting
 Hand harvesting
 Mechanical harvesting