Cultural practices involve all the activities carried out on the farm before, during and after planting of crops include the following
a) Choice of site
Site selection is the first step in starting a farm when the crop to be grown has already
been decided. It also includes the selection of the right geographical location. This is so
with corporate investors and enterprising individuals with sufficient capital. They would
have realized that engaging in the commercial production of certain crops is a sound
business venture. The farm may be located within the country or region of their
residence or elsewhere. Examples of commonly pre-decided crops prior to site selection
are sugarcane, banana, pineapple, rubber and oil palm. These are mostly high-value
crops and are widely preferred for commercial planting in plantation scale. The selection
of a suitable farm also follows when an individual decides to go into farming, the
purchase of a farm lot being considered as a better alternative of investing hard-earned
money rather than depositing it in a bank. Here one of the most important
considerations is the value of the property, that is, the selling price is as low as can be
reasonably possible. Other factors being considered are water supply and those which
make the farm suitable to a wide choice of crops and investment opportunities.
b)Clearing of land
Land clearing is the process of removing trees, stumps, brush, stones and other
obstacles from an area as required to increase the size of the crop producing land base
of an existing farm or to provide land for a new farm operation. The newly cleared land
must be ready for cultivation, including liming and leveling to meet acceptable crop
rotation and soil conservation goals.
c) Ploughing
The primary purpose of ploughing is to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing
fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying weeds and the remains of previous crops
and allowing them to break down. As the plough is drawn through the soil it creates
long trenches of fertile soil called furrows. In modern use, a ploughed field is typically
left to dry out, and is then harrowed before planting. Ploughing and cultivating a soil
homogenizes and modifies the upper 12 to 25 cm of the soil to form a plough layer. In
many soils, the majority of fine plant feeder roots can be found in the topsoil or plough
layer. Ploughs were initially human-powered, but the process became considerably
more efficient once animals were pressed into service.
d) Harrowing
A disc harrow is a farm implement that is used to till the soil where crops are to be
planted. It is also used to chop up unwanted weeds or crop remainder It consists of
many carbon steel and sometimes the longer-lasting boron discs, which have many
varying concavity and disc blade sizes and spacing (the choices of the later being
determined by the final result required in a given soil type) and which are arranged into
two sections (offset disc harrows;) or four sections (tandem disc harrows). When
viewed from above, the four sections would appear to form an X which has been
flattened to be wider than it is tall. The discs are also offset so that they are not parallel
with the overall direction of the implement. This arrangement ensures that the discs will
repeatedly slice any ground to which they are applied, in order to optimize the result.
The concavity of the discs as well as their offset angle causes them to loosen and lift
the soil that they cut’ A discer is an evolved form of a disc harrow, more suitable to
Saskatchewan prairies, where it was developed in the 1940s. It does not leave ridging
and it is lighter to pull, so it can be made bigger. After the 1980s their domination
started to fade. [ In agriculture, a harrow (often called a set of harrows in a plural
tantrum sense) is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the
soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper
tillage.
e) Ridging
Ridge-till, a tillage system involving scalping and planting on ridges built during
cultivation of the previous year's crop, usually involves spring-planted row crops grown
with a combination of herbicides and at least one cultivation
f) Moulding : This is the gathering of soil around the plant to avoid soil erosion, and
for proper aeration.
g)Mulching :Mulching is the placing of dry grass, cardboard or plastic to keep soil
moist and prevent soil erosion
Staking: It is a situation whereby a stick is placed besides a plant to prevent it from
bending or fruit from touching the ground. This helps the efficient growth of the crop.
h)Weeding: Weeds are unwanted plants, weeds grow on their own. They cause
damage to the crops, by consuming water and manure, and in this way not allowing the
crops to grow fully, the removal of unwanted plants is necessary and important for a
healthy crop to grow. (Weeds compete for nutrients)
i)Pruning: It is the removal of branches of the center and end of plant to allow
sunlight. The sunlight is very important in the growth of crops.
J)Irrigation: This is the watering of the plant for growth and development.
k) Fertilizing: It is the adding of nutrients to the soil. The placing of organic or
chemical manure to the soil helps to improve nutrients)
l)Harvesting
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the
cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a, sickle, etc. On smaller farms with
minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing
season. On large mechanized farms, harvesting utilizes the most expensive and
sophisticated farm machinery. The term harvesting in general usage may include
immediate post-harvest handling, including cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling. The
completion of harvesting marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for
a particular crop, and the social importance of this event makes it the focus of seasonal
celebrations such as harvesting festivals, found in many religions.
m) Crop processing
Crop processing is a crucial step in converting raw harvested agricultural products into
valuable marketable products. Processing has many facets, whether its fine tuning
processing methods for traditional crops, finding new processing approaches for
traditional crops or developing new processes for new crops.
n)Crop storage
Storage is an important marketing function, which involves holding and preserving
goods from the time they are produced until they are needed for consumption. The
storage of goods, therefore, from the time of production to the time of consumption,
Food storage is the best way to be ready for any emergency or disaster. Emergency
food storage can help you and your family be prepared for 10 years with traditional
basics or 25-30 years with top of the line freeze dried food. Ensures a continuous flow
of goods in the market Keep dry storage areas clean with good ventilation to control
humidity and prevent the growth of mold and bacteria. A store dry food at 50°F for
maximum shelf life. However, 70°F is adequate for dry storage of most products.
NatalieR answered the question on May 23, 2022 at 07:20