Crop production is the planned growing of plants for food, feed or sale. The yield depends on the soil, the planting method, and the care after emergence.
The idea
Land preparation gives the seed or the seedling a place to root. Clearing removes the bush. Ploughing turns the soil. Harrowing breaks clods and leaves a finer bed. Ridges or mounds are used where drainage is poor or where the crop, such as yam, is planted in a heap. Some crops are sown direct into the field. Maize, cowpea and groundnut are usual examples. Others start in a nursery and are transplanted. Tomato, pepper, cabbage, onion and many tree seedlings are treated this way because the young plant needs protection, and because the farmer can select the strong ones. A nursery fails when it is too wet, too shaded for too long, or so crowded that the seedlings become thin.
Spacing is not one number for every crop. The reason for spacing is stable: each plant needs light, water, nutrients and air, and the farmer needs room to weed. Too close, and the plants compete. Too wide, and weeds take the gaps and the land is wasted. Weeds compete for the same light, water and nutrients, and some shelter pests. A legume in a rotation, such as cowpea or groundnut, leaves nitrogen through the bacteria in its root nodules, which is one reason not to grow the same crop on the same plot every season. Harvest at the right stage, then dry grain before storage. Damp maize invites weevils. The store should keep grain dry and make entry by pests difficult.
The General Agriculture tips guide sets out the papers, how to answer the essay and the practical, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE General Agriculture tips
What earns the marks
A nursery answer must say why the crop is not sown direct: small seed, need for protection, or selection of strong seedlings. Spacing marks go to the reason, not to a memorised centimetre, unless the question asks for a figure from a stated variety. Weed control needs the harm weeds do, not only the name of a tool. Storage answers should include drying. A pesticide dose is not required and should not be invented.