AGRICULTURE GRADE 5 TEACHING NOTES
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TOPIC 1 CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES.
1.1-SOIL CONSERVATION.
Soil is very important in agriculture because of the following:
It provides a surface in which plants grow in.
It provides air.
It also provides water.
Soil provides the nutrients needed by the plants for their growth.
Therefore, loss of soil affects growth of plants and animals which usually depend on
plants. How can Top soil be lost?
- When there is too much water on soil surface like when it is raining, some of the water
is not absorbed by the soil since it has already absorbed much.
- The excess water then flows on the soil surface. This flowing water is called runoff.
- The runoff water usually carries the top soil when flowing. This process is called
soil erosion.
- Soil erosion leads to the loss of important nutrients which are in the soil.
- This makes the plants to grow poorly.
Surface run off after rain.
Soil Recovery.
When runoff carry top soil that is fertile, the soil is deposited in areas where we cannot use it again
such as in the rivers, forests and along the roads.
Top soil should be taken care of by conserving it to prevent it from being carried away.
This can be done by the process of soil recovery.
Soil recovery is the process of collecting soil from soil from the site where it is deposited and using
it to replace the lost top soil.
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SOIL IMPROVEMENT.
Soil improvement is the addition of fertility in the soil to improve the nutrients in the soil.
This can be done by addition of organic manure.
A pit can be constructed using tools such as jembe and spade where you can deposit
materials such as plant wastes (dry grass, or weeds, dry plant leaves, crop remains), food
remains and kitchen wastes.
The materials should be cut into smaller pieces using a panga.
They should be dumped in the pit or in the composts bin every day until it is filled up. (full)
Where compost pits cannot be made, you can use a drum or a wood pallet as a compost bin.
A drum. Wood pallet
Organic waste in a pit. Turning organic matter in the pit until it
. is fully decomposes.
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NOTES:
✓
Care should be taken when handling organic matter by observing hygiene. This can be done by
using gloves and gumboots during the activities.
✓
Wash your hands after handling the organic waste materials.
✓
Avoid dumping materials plastics and chemical containers in the compost pits or bin.
Growing crops in an Organic waste pit.
Some crops can be planted in an organic waste pit which has fully decomposed waste
materials.
For compost pits, the waste material should be removed and mixed with the soil.
Crops planted in an organic waste pit should be taken care of by:
✓
Watering.
✓
Weeding to remove weeds.
Therefore, if a poor area is provided with compost pit and organic materials, the area is improved
and crops can be grown.
1.2-WATER CONSERVATION.
Some farming practices can be used to conserve water.
These practices help to retain water in the soil for the crops to use when growing.
The following are practices used to conserve water in the soil for plant use: a.)
Mulching.
b.) Shading crops.
c.) Cover cropping.
1. Mulching.
Materials such as dry grass clippings, dry leaves, straws, seaweeds, crop remains, garden weeds
and wood chippings can be placed on the ground near crops to cover it.
This is called mulching.
It helps to reduce evaporation of moisture from the soil hence conserving water from crops to use.
Mulching also can control weeds as it prevents growth of weeds from the soil.
Mulches also reduce splash erosion as they prevent rain drops from reaching the ground directly.
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Photograph showing Mulching materials (dry grass)
2. Shading crops.
This is erecting a shade over growing crops.
The shade prevents direct sunlight from reaching the soil which reduces evaporation of moisture.
a shade used to prevent evaporation of moisture.
3. Cover cropping.
Cover crops are crops whose leaves cover the soil surface.
They protect the soil from losing water through evaporation.
Cover crops also prevent splash erosion because they stop rain drops from reaching the ground
directly.
What are the examples of crops used as cover crops in farming?
Beans.
Desmodium.
Sweet potatoes.
Beans and cowpeas.
Pumpkin plant.
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Desmodium Sweet potatoes.
Beans Pumpkin plant
1.3- CONSERVING WILD ANIMALS.
Importance of Wild animals.
✓
They earn us money through tourists who come to see them.
Some wild animals are dangerous to human and domestic animals while others destroy crops
in the farm.
What are some of the ways to use in controlling wild animals without killing them?
✓
Use of sound.
✓
Using smells.
✓
Use of smelly and bitter tasting plants.
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✓ Use of irritating plants with thorns.
✓ Use of light reflecting objects such
as CDs. ✓ Use of scarecrows.
✓ Using fences.
✓ Trapping them and returning to game parks.
Care and safety from Wild animals.
Some wild animals are dangerous.
They attack human beings and even kill them.
Animals such as wild dogs, wild cats’ monkeys when they bite you or scratch, they transmit
dangerous diseases such as rabies.
It is always advisable to keep safe distance from the wild animals.
Do not touch or provoke wild animals.
NOTE:
Wild animals should not be killed as they earn money for the country when tourists come to
see them.
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